Some industries are as slow as a turtle when it comes to change, but not PR.
One day, you’re grasping a new requirement and exhaling in relief; the next you find out that trend is already on its way out. What worked yesterday might be obsolete tomorrow and keeping up with everything is now just a part of the job.
That’s why we’ve broken down the five biggest PR trends shaping 2025. Curious? Let's dive in!
Top 5 PR Trends for 2025
- Trend: AI-powered PR
- Trend: Data-driven strategies
- Trend: Hyper-personalization
- Trend: Focusing on the niche
- Trend: Strategic partnerships
Trend #1: AI-powered PR
In 2025, AI will no longer be excluded from anyone’s workflows.
It has already reshaped the industry and altered how professionals conduct research, analyze data, write press releases, and create content. While initially met with hesitation, AI has become a valuable partner, assisting in day-to-day tasks and providing insights that once required significant time and effort.
This comes as no surprise, given that 74% of the PR professionals we surveyed said incorporating AI into their everyday PR work is the leading trend this year. Looking back on statistics we’ve gathered over the last two years, it’s safe to say that most of the industry has adjusted to this trend. With the numbers jumping from 19% in 2022 to 36% in 2023, and now skyrocketing to 74%.
The key benefit?
AI’s capacity to process large volumes of data. This can help you examine media coverage, social media patterns, and audience sentiment in real time.
💡 For example, Prowly has incorporated AI features that help draft press releases by having you answer custom questions based on what journalists would ask, ensuring all information is included and nothing is overlooked. Email pitches? Attention-worthy subject lines? You can now brainstorm it all with the help of AI.
While AI is powerful, it still requires human oversight.
Sure, it can assist with analyzing data and even in writing content for you, but it often lacks context, understanding, and emotional intelligence—things only a PR professional can provide. A lot of bad things can happen if, for example, you summarize data using AI and it disseminates inaccurate information, such as false reports about public figures. When that happens, trust is quickly broken, and your brand, company, and even you risk serious reputational damage.
That said, you can’t deny how much AI has increased efficiency and improved the ability to analyze large amounts of information quickly. Tasks that once required extensive manual effort, such as checking a press release multiple times for typos, grammar, and resonance, can now be completed in a fraction of the time. This automation allows you to focus on strategic initiatives and informed decision-making instead.
Practical applications
1️⃣ Research your audience
No, you won’t be able to just ask a question and get a credible answer. However, you can gather massive amounts of data and let AI process it for you. Additionally, you can ask it to analyze your data and make recommendations. Who knows—maybe you’ll come up with an idea you hadn’t thought of before?
2️⃣ Personalize your pitches
You can input all the recent work your target journalist has done and find a way to capture the recipient’s attention. You can also use tools like Prowly to ensure the email aligns with your press release, along with tailor-made subject lines designed to increase open rates.
3️⃣ Automate repetitive tasks
Creative work is your oyster, but do you dread checking grammar and punctuation? You’re not alone—but thankfully, AI can help. You don’t even need to train it to do the work for you. This, along with many other Sisyphean tasks, can be handled using AI.
"With the growing presence of AI tools in our industry, it's essential to adopt an AI Code of Conduct policy to set the standards and expectations for PR pros and clients alike. We have created an AI Policy discussing how we have adopted AI in our business, how we ethically use it, and where we would never use it. We also provide clients with this code of conduct so they know our policy, and what is expected of them, as well. We want to ensure that no answers to interview questions or pitches generated by AI will ever be sent to an editor... EVER!"
Jen Berson; Jeneration PR & Jeneration Academy
Trend #2: Data-driven strategies
Did you know that 37% of the people we surveyed said they will be basing their strategy on concrete data? While intuition—especially in our field—rarely fails, working in line with hard numbers is more than just a competitive advantage. Managers want to see it and clients are interested as well. With an oversaturated market and the current economic climate, no one wants to invest in predictions based purely on gut feelings.
Data-driven PR is the practice of using analytics, audience insights, previous campaign statistics, and other performance metrics to inform decisions that impact messaging, branding, and story angles. However, it goes well beyond that. Rather than relying on vanity metrics like impressions and reach, savvy PR professionals are taking a more strategic approach—evaluating their outcomes against revenue, lead generation, and customer retention.
Not showing tangible business impact? It’s hard to stay ahead if that’s the case. Don’t worry, though—you don’t need to completely forgo creative storytelling in favor of strategies that drive direct revenue, but it’s important to align your efforts with larger company objectives.
Practical applications
1️⃣ Integrate PR with a CRM
Use tools like HubSpot or Salesforce to analyze customer journeys and sales. While setting them up may require some assistance, the insights you can gain are invaluable. For example, imagine most customers from Instagram click the link but abandon their purchase in the cart, whereas TikTok users complete their transactions. Without a specialized tool, you wouldn’t be able to see that.
2️⃣ Analyze your audience’s behavior
Whether your brand is stronger on social media or entirely web-based, you can use tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar to analyze user behavior. Depending on your findings, you may be able to make concrete decisions about your strategy moving forward.
3️⃣ All metrics are not “your” metrics
Just because something is a PR metric doesn’t mean you should be using it. You should do your research and focus on KPIs that are actually applicable to what you’re doing and that align with your unique business goals and priorities.
"Analytics are becoming even more important. But your role shouldn’t focus on collecting the data, AI will do that, but how to correctly interpret and share it with your senior leadership to influence business decisions. It will be our job to understand the emotions behind the numbers."
Doug Downs; President of Stories and Strategies
Trend #3: Hyper-Personalization
Once a novelty, now a necessity. Being precise in all communications is what drives results and 1 in 3 of our respondents agree. Consumers now have higher expectations, making generic campaigns simply ineffective. Yes, hyper-personalization takes more time, but it also translates to success.
However, keep in mind that hyper-personalization in PR is not just about segmenting audiences by demographics. It involves much more than that. Real-time data, behavioral insights, and predictive analytics can help you craft emails, pitches, and messages tailored to individual interests, beat preferences, and engagement patterns.
Unlike traditional personalization, where you simply insert a token for their name or the outlet they work for, hyper-personalization ensures that each touchpoint resonates on a deeper level. That means sending the right message at the right time, using the right format and channel.
This strategy is the secret weapon of the most successful PR specialists. Additionally, those with access to advanced tools have a clear advantage. These tools can analyze engagement patterns, sentiment trends, media coverage, and even track how many times your recipient clicks on the email you’ve sent.
It’s a shift, a fundamental one to be quite honest, as audiences become more selective and more brands fail to deliver personalized storylines and experiences. Beyond just reaching targets with this method, you’ll also build long-lasting relationships with journalists and your audience.
Practical applications
1️⃣ Customize outreach on a deeper level
Journalists receive hundreds of pitches daily. They’re tired of getting nonsense emails that aren’t even remotely relevant to their beat. To capture their interest, reference their recent work, interests, or social media activity to show that you’ve done your research. Tailor your message to fit their coverage style and audience. A hyper-personalized pitch is far more likely to get noticed and result in actual press hits.
2️⃣ Use social listening tools to find and target smaller, engaged communities
The most valuable opportunities aren’t always right in front of you. To find them, dig through niche forums, Slack groups, LinkedIn communities, and other conversations. Prowly’s Media Monitoring and Social Listening tools can help you track emerging discussions, identify key influencers, and get your message heard by the right people in a context that fosters trust and credibility.
3️⃣ Use AI to segment your audience
However, don’t just ask AI to pull up information and do it for you. Gather larger datasets and categorize audiences based on behavior, engagement patterns, sentiment, and more. Analyzing this information can help you determine which content is most likely to perform well, on which platform it has the highest chance of success, and where your audience is most active.
Trend #4: Focusing on a niche
If I had a cent for every time someone in public relations told me about a story where their client harassed them for a mention in Tier 1 media, I’d be a multimillionaire by now. And while there’s absolutely nothing that can warm a heart more than seeing your brand mentioned in a fancy outlet, there are other ways to get it recognized—and leave an impact.
Think of it this way: marketers started utilizing micro-influencers to sell their products some time ago because they yield better results. That’s because they’re more authentic and speak to highly engaged audiences. Well, the same goes for niche outlets.
Unlike mainstream media, niche outlets have specialized audiences who are already deeply interested in your topic. You don’t need to convince them—they’re ready to hear you out. This means that any coverage secured is more likely to convert into meaningful actions, whether it’s brand awareness, new leads, or increased sales.
Additionally, journalists and editors at niche outlets are often more receptive to tailored pitches, as they’re constantly on the hunt for high-quality, relevant content rather than something generalized. In effect, niche outlets give you the opportunity to foster truly impactful relationships rather than just securing one-off placements.
Practical applications
1️⃣ Explore community-driven platforms
Sometimes, putting more energy into places like Reddit, Discord, or even LinkedIn can yield great results. Some brands have strong, community-led conversations there that you wouldn’t know about from things like customer feedback or social media comments. Bonus tip: check for sentiment while you’re at it. People on these platforms can be unhinged—both positively and negatively.
2️⃣ Identify niche-focused mediums
Even if your brand or product is ridiculously narrow in terms of the audience it can serve, you’ll probably find a community that follows it religiously anyway. Whether they have a podcast, newsletter, or Reddit thread, it’s smart to pitch stories directly or offer things like invitations to interviews, if possible.
3️⃣ Leverage micro-influencers
Involve them in campaign development and provide detailed yet flexible briefs to ensure their authenticity is on point—all while meeting brand objectives.
Trend #5: Strategic partnerships
If you’re looking for a place to allocate your budget, 48% of respondents in our PR Trends 2025 report said it will be strategic partnerships. The past actions of many professionals show that this move offers brands and in-house teams the opportunity to reach diverse audiences and strengthen their message more effectively.
Through collaboration with strategic partners, companies can adjust their messaging to resonate more deeply with their audience and broaden the impact of their PR initiatives. The key to making this trend work lies in identifying the right partners. This isn’t always an easy task, but with the right research and a soft trial-and-error approach, it can result in a successful strategy for the future.
Think of who your audience already trusts. Whether they’re influencers, industry experts, or adjacent brands that spark joy within your target community, choose those who have already made an impact or are about to. Then nurture those relationships to ensure long-term success. Respect their time and contributions and don’t treat it purely as a business transaction. They, too, want personalized experiences in their interactions with brands that work with them.
Strategic partnerships offer a way to strengthen PR strategies by bringing in new perspectives and testing different communication angles. Select them carefully, stay in touch, and you’ll start seeing success unfold before your eyes in no time.
Practical applications
1️⃣ Test for compatibility
Not every partner you’d like to work with will be the perfect fit. We’re all human, after all. To test the waters, invite them to low-risk initiatives like co-hosting webinars or contributing to a whitepaper before going all in and committing to larger campaigns.
2️⃣ Measure success using joint metrics
To strengthen the impact of an upward or downward trend, use joint metrics. Did both media impressions and reach increase after a specific action? Start by defining shared KPIs for partnership campaigns to ensure both sides gain the value they seek.
3️⃣ Create case studies
To attract similar collaborations in the future, create case studies or summaries of your work with a particular partner. Not only will this benefit you and help secure more budget in the future, but it will also show others that your work delivers results aligned with broader company goals.
Conclusion
From AI-powered workflows to hyper-personalized outreach, niche media strategies, and strategic partnerships, what’s going to be trending in 2025 will solidify the shifts we’ve observed over the past few years. However, meaningful relationships and strong audience connections are staying at the forefront and not going anywhere (at least in 2025!)
To read more about what PR professionals are spending their money on, what practices they’re honing and which ones they’re leaving behind, you can download the full PR Trends 2025 Report for free.
