For boutique PR firms, there is new business to be had, and plenty of it, now that international networks are flourishing. The U.S. economy may be in the dumpster, but before you hunker down and reach for the piggy bank, consider this: International PR networks are boosting the bottom line for boutique agencies. The drop in the economy has even become the competitive edge du jour for my company in soliciting clients. Those from outside the U.S. can break into a usually restrictive market, and those stateside can look to where the dollar still holds some weight.

I've been in PR for 25 years, and the economy has slumped and risen and slumped again. Through all the ups and downs, though, I always ask myself, "How do we survive this drop in the economy, and, more important, how do we use it to our competitive advantage?" The answer, I've discovered, is in finding and manipulating relevancy—something we PR people do every day with every client and every media contact.

Boutique PR firms, many of them owner-operated, have found relevancy through burgeoning international PR networks. These networks offer larger clients the relevant and cohesive public relations they need, throughout the world, at a fraction of the cost of PR conglomerates laden with high overhead and bureaucratic systems.

By tapping into international networks, boutique firms are able to identify new opportunities on behalf of all of their clients, opportunities that exist because of the networks' expanded reach and individual member agencies' knowledge of their own turf. What makes an international campaign seamless, successful and cost-efficient is the local agency's intimate knowledge of its own culture, market trends and media landscape.

Independent U.S. agencies have never been more relevant to clients outside the U.S. When the dollar is strong, European companies, for example, view obtaining PR and publicity in the U.S. a very expensive proposition because of the sheer size of the country and the vastness of the media within it. Now that the dollar is down and the Euro is up, many European companies are taking a second look at launching or bolstering their PR efforts here.

Similarly, U.S. PR agencies can offer their American clients media campaigns for Mexico, Brazil or Argentina or wherever, at any given moment, as the dollar will buy more value. China is a no-brainer. India is a natural. The Middle East is ripe with possibilities. These opportunities are to be embraced, and the time is now. But even when the weakened dollar remains stronger than another country's currency, a PR campaign here can be valuable. The dollar has taken a recent tumble against the Brazilian real, for example, which allows Brazilians interested in U.S. publicity a chance to purchase more value than it did five years ago.

In addition to currency exchange rates, I also look at cultural trends for indications of opportunity. In South America, for instance, Uruguay and Paraguay have quickly become popular vacation destinations. For beach-lovers, it's a tropical frontier, inexpensive and edgy, minus the tourists you find elsewhere. An international PR network offers a chance for businesses from all parts of the globe to reach these jet-setting beachcombers, because Uruguay and Paraguay offer cost-efficient publicity venues to reinforce their messages. And because each member agency is on top of their local emerging cultural trends, and information is shared within the network, business opportunities are more plentiful and a whole lot easier to spot. Clients, while not always accepting of proposals for globalizing their publicity efforts, welcome the suggestions for expansion. It gives them new ideas they can budget for in the future, and oftentimes broadens their thinking on extending the territory for their products and services.

Identifying underserved markets is another way I spot opportunity. The legalization of gay marriage in California offers companies from around the world the prospect of reaching targeted U.S. consumers through PR and publicity efforts. And if budgets are tight, a campaign targeted just to the California gay and lesbian community offers a limited yet valid test of PR efforts. Resort owners in Paraguay may well be interested in seeing a proposal to reach gay honeymoon-seekers from California. For a manufacturer of bridal veils, California's new "brides" may open up a market the company hadn't considered before.

As entrepreneurs, we ask ourselves, "Do we pull back or ramp up when times are tough?" We have a decision to make. To factor in the world economy, and not just the U.S. economy, makes that decision much easier. Then the question becomes not if but where to ramp up. For larger clients who might be tempted to opt for the services of one of the "Big Boys," and for smaller clients interested in dipping a toe into international waters without it costing an arm and a leg, PR networks present just one more reason—in addition to turn-on-a-dime personalized service, "senior only" account representation and competitive pricing—to retain a boutique firm.

International business opportunities are out there, and belonging to a well-connected international PR network means boutique firms, no longer the proverbial stranger in a strange land, can now have a piece of that action.

Gaye Carleton is the president and CEO of Mantra Public Relations, Inc., based in New York. Mantra (www.mantrapublicrelations.com), a boutique firm, is a member of the International Public Relations Network (www.pr-network.biz) and its exclusive U.S. agency.