CHARLOTTE, N.C. — According to new research by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, the marketing and public relations industry is seeing growth in Charlotte and Raleigh, outpacing the national average.

In Raleigh, employment growth increased over 200% since 2010 — leading the nation. Charlotte has almost doubled in growth since 2010, seeing an 85% increase in employment. The state is outpacing the nation, which grew 30% over the same time period, all according to the report.

Chernoff Newman is a marketing communications firm with an office in Charlotte. The CEO, Carrie McCament, says the company is pouring more resources into Charlotte based on industry projection numbers in the area.

“It helps with the recruitment from some of the ... strategic communications metros, such as Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, New York,” McCament said. “We were getting inbound inquiries post-COVID from people who wanted a change in lifestyle.” 

McCament says tech roles needed in the marketing field, like analytics, data and web design, are acting as a recruiting catalyst.

Matt Rayner is the executive media director at Chernoff Newman. He is a part of a task force exploring how they incorporate artificial intelligence into the work they do.

Rayner says companies like Chernoff Newman can use AI to complete mundane tasks and collect data quicker for clients. Part of the task force is analyzing the shortcomings of AI as well.

“You have to know whether the tool you’re using is actually pulling from all the data in the world, does it have a bias or gaps in its knowledge, or it’s interpreting data in the wrong way,” Rayner said.

He says the marketing and public relations field had to adjust when the internet was invented, then mobile phones, quickly followed by social media. 

“Now AI is the next thing,” Rayner said. “We have to learn about it and embrace it, because that’s how we continue to be successful in the future.”