Traditional media still reigns when it comes to the sources professional services marketing specialists turn to for quality, reliable content, according to a new survey released by Chicago-based B2B communications agency Greentarget and legal consulting firm Zeughauser Group.
The annual industry survey, which analyzes the informational consumption habits of C-suite executives and in-house communicators across the legal and various professional services marketing field, found that an overwhelming majority (79 percent) of in-house PR counsel believe traditional media still provides the most valuable and trustworthy sources of content for professionals working in their sector today.
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In fact, traditional media sources’ esteem among professional services marketers overall has actually risen in the last year—perhaps due to the level of journalistic scrutiny these publications provide in contrast to the “fake news” era—from 74 percent in the 2018 version of the survey to 82 percent this year.
More than three-quarters (77 percent) of in-house counsel said they consume traditional media at least weekly, and nearly half (49 percent) said they do so daily. Trade publications and publications covering their profession were the only other sources that even came close to being accessed with an equivalent level of frequency among these professionals, at 48 percent and 54 percent, respectively.
Within the profession, respondents were somewhat divided regarding what types of traditional content they tend to gravitate toward. C-suite executives favor interactive charts. In-house counsel, on the other hand, said they prefer articles. When does content miss the mark? About half (51 percent) of in-house counsel said content falls flat when it’s “too salesy.” The same percentage of C-suite executives said content that isn’t “sufficiently relevant” is a deal-breaker.
The report also discovered the presumed importance of rankings might be overblown in the professional services world. Fewer than half of in-house counsel (41 percent) find rankings to be “somewhat important” when researching firms for potential hire, and only nine percent said they consider rankings “very important.”
The ninth annual “2019 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey” polled 100 in-house counsel, 100 C-suite executives and 30 law firm marketing officers during April and May.
Jones Lang LaSalle, the $19.4B real estate and investment firm, has hired Laura Vallis as head of communications.
Ken Kerrigan, a 20-year veteran of Weber Shandwick and Ernst & Young, has joined The Bliss Group as senior VP and co-head of its professional services group.
The art of knowing when to spread the news and knowing when to lie low.
The convergence of traditional professional services firms with software-as-a-service capabilities presents new value to clients and has broad implications for the future of the marketing industry.
PR veteran Ken Kerrigan, who did ten-year stints at Weber Shandwick and Ernst & Young, has joined legal, professional services and crisis shop Infinite Global.
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