Crafting a PR strategy for 2026

By: Will Herman, Associate Director

PR and content play a hugely important role in helping to educate audiences, raise awareness of a concept and ultimately, encourage behavioural change. For many businesses - as well as charities, trade associations and other organisations, all three are critical to achieve long term goals.  

But without a clear PR and content strategy in place, even the strongest ideas lose momentum. Everyone gets lost. 

That’s why every campaign planned by The Jargon Group starts with the development of a communications strategy. We follow a proven methodology that ensures the programme of activity aligns with the organisation's objectives and delivers measurable impact.

For the marketeer, this methodology can be expressed simply in five key steps:

• Probing – understanding the challenge

• Planning – identifying the solution

• Preparing – production of campaign assets

• Promoting – delivering the campaign

• Perception – evaluating the campaign’s success.

This final step, perception, feeds directly back into the beginning of the process, enabling organisations to refine tactics and evolve their approach in response to shifting market dynamics.

Start by understanding your audience

Before diving into campaign delivery, businesses must build a clear picture of their target audience. Find out what is important to them, what would make them take the desired action, how best to reach them, and where they typically consume information.

By combining these insights with a structured communications framework, it becomes much easier to devise a PR and content strategy that will engage target audiences. 

Behavioural changes require steps

While a business’s aim may be to influence behaviour, it’s important to take it one step at a time. The first priority should be raising awareness of the concept or educating audiences on why this action is needed. This "why now?" Context often determines whether a campaign gains traction.

Reaching audiences early in the process can be challenging, especially when the concept is new or unfamiliar. That's why working with experienced PR professionals are deploying a considered, multi-stage strategy - is so important.

Today's audiences expect more information than ever before, but they also expect authenticity. Journalists and industry opinion formers remain valuable gatekeepers, but audiences are increasingly fragmented and harder to reach. If these influential groups aren't convinced or informed, reaching the people who matter most becomes significantly more difficult.

It is only when these thought leaders and influencers are wholly aware and educated that a business should move on and seek to achieve behaviour change. 

PR Tactics to drive awareness and behavioural change 

There are a variety of PR tactics that can be used effectively to increase awareness of a concept or position a business as a thought leader in its field, as well as to influence consumer behaviour. 

Thought leadership

Long-form content such as expert-led features, white papers and in-depth commentary allows organisations to demonstrate expertise and guide readers through complex subjects. Thought leadership can also be delivered through consumer-focused insights that help audiences overcome challenges or rethink familiar topics.

Survey and data-led news stories

Research-based stories remain a powerful way to explain new concepts through familiar formats. National media often use data to highlight trends, issues or emerging concerns - giving you an opportunity to introduce your message in a natural, credible way. Expert commentary and timely “newsjacking” are also effective tools.

Case studies and testimonials

Real examples of a concept or approach in action help audiences see tangible results. Case studies provide the social proof and credibility needed to build trust, especially during early stages of adoption.

Visual content

Infographics and in some cases, animated film content often enables complicated subjects or data-heavy information to be communicated visually, making key messages more accessible and engaging. They also require less of the audience’s time and are well suited to highly targeted communication. 

Although these tactics are familiar to many communications teams, true differentiation lies in deploying the right ones at the right time - guided by strategy rather than habit.

Looking ahead to 2026: A new PR Landscape

As 2026 approaches, businesses in every sector face a challenging financial landscape plus wider geopolitical and economic uncertainty, not to mention the growing influence of an AI driven technological transformation. Fake news might be old news, but the demand for authenticity is rising, sustainability is set against greenwashing and growth focussed PR demands more than media coverage.  

Ultimately, there is no one size faits all. And whatever your PR strategy, the work is far from done once it has been developed. Campaigns must flex and respond to the challenges that will inevitably arise. But the basic principles remain unchanged, and without that clear PR strategy, everyone will get lost along the way – the business, its people, and your customers. 

If you want clarity on where your PR and communications strategy stands ahead of 2026, start with our Jargon Brand Scorecard. It takes just a few minutes and gives you a personalised snapshot of your strengths and opportunities.

Prefer to speak with someone directly?

If you're ready to build a strategy that delivers meaningful impact in 2026, get in touch with our team - we’d love to help.