For years, communication and public relations have been obsessed with one question: how much impact have we made? In our sector, this question is still on our clients’ lips, but it is beginning to lose its meaning. This is not because visibility is no longer important, but because it is no longer enough.
In a context saturated with messages, content automation and fragmented audiences, the true value of communication lies not in how often you appear, but in who you reach, what you position and what influence you generate.
Welcome to the age of strategic PR.
From volume to relevance (at last)
Although the classic model of public relations—press releases, clippings, number of hits—continues to be our daily bread, it has been showing signs of exhaustion for some time. The reason is not that it is dead, but that it no longer explains the real impact of communication.
Looking ahead to 2026, which has just begun, we could say that:
- An impact without context contributes little (hence our leitmotif, communication in context).
- A mention without a story does not build a brand.
- An appearance without credibility does not generate influence, and that is what we are going to try to seek.
Brands no longer compete to ‘be there’, but to be relevant in the spaces that matter. This forces us to rethink how we understand success in communication.
- Fewer resources, better selected. It’s time to clean up the databases.
- Fewer messages, clearer ones. It’s up to us to build good storytelling.
- Less noise, more discernment. It’s no longer about achieving volume (although that too), but about generating influence. That’s what we’re going to address.
Influence: the new (and uncomfortable) metric
Talking about influence is uncomfortable because it cannot always be measured with a quick figure, and it complicates our KPIs. But that is precisely where the game will be played in 2026.
Influence is built when:
- They quote you as a reference, not as filler (one of the great tasks of good PR).
- Your spokesperson provides analysis, not empty headlines (try to position them as expert voices).
- Your brand appears associated with a relevant conversation, not a passing fad.
In PR, this translates into a clear change: the focus shifts from impact to positioning. It matters less how many media outlets publish and more what image is consolidated in the minds of journalists, analysts, stakeholders, and customers.
Journalists (and content creators) are no longer a channel, they are influencers.
Another key change for 2026 is that the media and journalists no longer function solely as mouthpieces. They are the new filters for generating credibility, and you have to earn it.
This is because, in an environment where anyone can generate content, the value of journalists lies in their judgement, while that of the media lies in trust and that of relationships lies in the long term. The latter is extremely important in our work, because we need to be able to take a long-term view.
For brands, this means moving away from a transactional approach (‘I’ll send you a note and hope you publish it’) and focusing on real relationships based on providing information, context and analysis.
PR is finally relational again, not industrial, and that’s what we like best. The old school is beginning to regain strength.
AI in communication: an accelerator, not a substitute
We cannot talk about trends and overlook the role of artificial intelligence, because, whether we like it or not, it will be a structural part of communication in 2026. It will do so not as a promise, but as an everyday reality: context analysis, draft plans, active listening, trend detection, scenario simulation…
However, there is something that AI cannot do, or at least not yet: decide what is worth telling and how it affects a brand’s reputation.
In communications and PR, AI can speed up processes and lay the groundwork for us, optimise resources and, above all, reduce mechanical tasks (blessed help!).
However, there is something that AI cannot do, and that is to provide the added value that we professionals offer:
- The strategic criterion.
- The tone.
- The narrative.
- The political, social and media interpretation of the environment.
The more automation there is, the more important the human factor will become.
The new PR is more like a consultant than an executor.
Having said all this, we can affirm that, in 2026, the communication and PR agencies that add value are not those that ‘achieve the most impact’, but those that help their clients define what to say and what not to say, choose when to speak and when to remain silent, prepare spokespersons with discourse (not just key messages) and understand the media and social context in which they operate.
Communication, therefore, ceases to be an appendage of marketing and becomes a strategic tool for business, reputation and leadership.
Events, content and PR: it all starts with the story
I would not want to conclude without sharing another key lesson for 2026: nothing works without a narrative, without context, without a long-term perspective. Not an event, not an interview, not a press release, not a campaign. Isolated actions lose their meaning if they are not part of a coherent narrative sustained over time.
Thus, the brands that stand out are not those that do the most, but those that have a point of view and a key positioning, and are faithful to that positioning by maintaining a recognisable discourse.
PR ceases to be reactive and proactively becomes the basis of strategy thanks to storytelling.
