A recent issue of The Economist discovered an island of good news for our economy in a sea of bad. With entire industries ravaged by drops in revenue, plummeting share prices and uncertainty over the impact of sweeping regulatory changes in the worlds of finance, health care and the environment, public affairs has come to the rescue.

According to an analysis by private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), 2008 spending on public relations in the U.S. climbed 4 percent, followed by a trend-busting 3 percent boost in 2009. Those rosy figures contrast sharply with spending on traditional advertising and marketing, which saw investment declines by 3 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

The Economist notes correctly that public relations becomes the vanguard in times of crisis.  Major brands will seek to shore up their reputations and defend their markets share while new players emerge to challenge the status quo.  PR can and should play a central role in helping shape the outcome of these battles over consumers, policy outcomes and public opinion.

But The Economist also makes note of a small caveat in our industry’s otherwise stellar report card.  According to data from StevensGouldPincus, a communications industry consulting firm, “nearly 64 percent of participating firms saw revenues slide in 2009 and only 23 percent saw revenues increase, perhaps because businesses put their faith only in the biggest and most established firms.”

Do established brands best satisfy their communications needs when spending major dollars on other established brands? Not necessarily.

Smaller, growing public relations and public affairs firms know first-hand what needs to be done to stand out from the competition. They’re doing so themselves. And they’re utilizing essential tools and tactics – particularly in the online and new media spaces that didn’t exist when big box firms were forging their own reputations. It’s the internal business drive of “boutique” firms that can translate so well into innovative results for clients.

Innovating approaches and a nimble agility are what set brands (and their collaborators in PR) apart, and should be what companies look for when trying to share some good news in these challenging times.