Is 2026 the Year to Start Investing in Public Relations?

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, where trust is currency and attention is fleeting, PR has evolved from a nice-to-have to a business-critical investment. If you’re questioning whether PR deserves a place in your 2026 budget, the real question should be: can you afford not to invest in it?

So, let’s make it simple for you and break it down. Why should you invest in PR this year?

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1. PR establishes genuine, authentic trust and credibility.

The way businesses build awareness has fundamentally changed. Traditional advertising faces growing scepticism, with consumers continuing to question whether what they are seeing or watching is fake or real, actively blocking ads and questioning branded messaging. Meanwhile, earned media, authentic storytelling, and third-party validation have become the cornerstones of credibility. PR sits at the heart of this shift, offering something paid advertising simply cannot replicate: genuine trust.

In 2026, visibility without credibility is worthless. Your potential customers, investors, and partners are more discerning than ever. They research extensively before making decisions, seeking out independent validation of your claims. Strategic PR ensures you’re not just seen, but believed.

2. It underpins your growth strategy and ambitions.

At a panel event with Virgin Startups in November last year, Gyve Safavi the co-founder of Suri highlighted how critical PR was to the brand awareness and ultimately exponential growth of the business.

PR is a strategic discipline that directly impacts your bottom line in measurable ways. When executed effectively, PR accelerates growth by opening doors that remain closed to pure marketing efforts.

Consider the buyer’s journey. Before someone becomes a customer, they need to trust you - back to our first point. They’ll read reviews, seek recommendations, and look for evidence that you’re a legitimate player in your space. Strong PR creates this ecosystem of trust.

When a respected publication features your company, when industry analysts mention your innovations, when thought leaders engage with your ideas, you’re building social proof that money can’t buy.

PR also creates a multiplier effect across your entire marketing mix. Content from earned media can be repurposed across channels, lending authority to your owned content. A feature in a trade publication gives your sales team a powerful conversation starter.

Coverage in mainstream media can significantly reduce customer acquisition costs by pre-warming prospects before they ever speak to your team.

3. It is an inevitable need in today’s AI visibility challenge.

Being excellent at what you do is no longer enough. If your target audience doesn’t know you exist, your expertise is irrelevant.

In 2026’s fragmented media landscape, visibility requires a sophisticated approach. Your audience isn’t in one place. They’re reading industry publications, listening to podcasts, scrolling LinkedIn, attending virtual events, and following thought leaders. Effective PR creates a coordinated presence across these touch points, ensuring consistent visibility where it matters most.

What makes visibility particularly critical in 2026 is the fundamental transformation in how people discover information. We’re witnessing the dawn of a new search era, one dominated by artificial intelligence and generative engine optimisation (GEO). When someone asks ChatGPT or other platforms about solutions in your category, will your company be mentioned? Do you come up as a purchase option? This isn’t hypothetical. AI-powered search is rapidly becoming the primary way professionals research vendors, evaluate solutions, and make purchasing decisions.

AI models synthesise information from authoritative sources to generate responses. This means your visibility depends on being cited in the high-quality content that trains and informs these systems. Press coverage in respected publications, bylined articles in industry media, podcast appearances, and expert commentary all feed into the corpus of information AI models reference. Without this presence, you’re invisible in the conversations that matter most.

Companies with strong media presence, thought leadership, and third-party validation get recommended. Those without this foundation simply don’t appear in the conversation. It’s the difference between being considered and being forgotten.

4. PR builds a reputation that matters, and lasts.

Reputations are built based on a one hit article. It isn't built through advertising claims or marketing messages. It's constructed through consistent presence, expert positioning, and the accumulation of third-party validation over time. When industry publications regularly feature your insights, when analysts cite your company as an innovator, when peers reference your expertise, you're building reputational capital that appreciates with every mention.

As your reputation strengthens, opportunities begin seeking you out rather than requiring pursuit. Media approach you for comment. Speaking invitations arrive unsolicited. Potential clients initiate conversations having already decided they want to work with you. This is the ultimate return on PR investment: a reputation so robust it generates opportunities autonomously.

5. It differentiates your brand and what you stand for against competitors.

Every company has a story, but few tell it strategically. PR transforms fragmented messages into a coherent narrative that positions your brand distinctively in the minds of your audience. This isn’t about slogans or taglines. It’s about consistently communicating your values, your perspective on the industry, your vision for the future, and the principles that guide your decisions. When this narrative is articulated through earned media, thought leadership, and strategic commentary, it carries authenticity that owned channels cannot replicate.

Consider how the most memorable brands in your sector are known not just for their offerings but for what they represent. They’ve taken a stance on industry issues, championed particular approaches, or embodied specific values that resonate with their audience. This positioning didn’t happen by accident. It emerged from deliberate, strategic communication that used PR to amplify a clear and differentiated point of view.

6. PR elevates leadership authority and thought leadership.

Behind every successful business is leadership that commands respect and attention. Strategic PR transforms executives and founders into recognised industry authorities whose perspectives shape conversations and influence decisions far beyond their immediate sphere.

Personal authority is one of the most valuable yet underutilised assets in business. When your CEO or founder is recognised as a thought leader, it elevates everything your company does. Their insights lend weight to your product launches. Their opinions on industry trends position your organisation at the forefront of innovation. Their presence at events and in media creates opportunities that would otherwise require years of relationship building to access.

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So, how do you make such an investment work for you?

Effective PR in 2026 requires thinking beyond traditional press releases. It demands a strategic approach that aligns PR activities with business and broader marketing objectives. The best PR programmes combine media relations, thought leadership, content creation, and strategic communications into an integrated effort that drives measurable business outcomes.

Start by identifying what success looks like for your business. Are you entering a new market? Launching a product? Looking to scale? Raising investment? Building credibility with investors? Your PR strategy should ladder directly to these goals, with clear metrics that demonstrate impact.

Invest in relationships, not just transactions. The most valuable PR outcomes come from sustained effort and authentic relationships with journalists, analysts, and influencers in your space. This takes time, but the payoff is substantial.

You can get in touch with the Not Born Yesterday team to better understand how the right PR strategy could work for your 2026 goals.