Top PR Trends for 2025: What to Expect and How to Prepare
As we wrap up a successful year here at Violet PR, we're looking forward to embracing the new trends that will define the PR industry in 2025. With technology evolving and newsroom dynamics changing, PR professionals will need to stay on their toes to adapt to the shifts. Here’s a look at the top PR trends on our radar:
1. AI Content Generation
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been steadily making its mark on the PR world, and in 2025, it’s poised to become a mainstay. In 2024, 44% of PR pros said their companies should focus on integrating new AI tools into workflows, a 13% increase from 2023. From drafting press releases to social media posts, AI-driven tools for content generation will help further streamline workloads and enhance productivity. These tools can produce content faster and at greater volume, giving PR teams the bandwidth to focus on strategic decision-making, client counsel, and media relationship-building. However, balancing AI efficiency with human creativity and oversight will remain crucial to ensuring messages feel authentic and align with client goals.
2. Shrinking Newsrooms Means More Room for Thought Leadership
Newsrooms have been shrinking for years, and the effects are increasingly felt across the PR industry. The media sector downsized by 836 jobs in January 2024 alone which impacts how PR agencies interact with the media. With a smaller staff, many publications have limited bandwidth for covering non-critical or high-profile news, which means getting coverage can be challenging. In response, we are finding thought leadership opportunities and opinion or editorial pieces, especially in trade publications, are becoming more available. These authored pieces provide opportunities for clients to pen expert articles flush with key messaging, gaining visibility even when newsrooms can’t offer direct editorial coverage.
3. Personalizing Pitches for Reporters Covering Multiple Beats
Because of shrinking newsrooms, the days of reporters sticking to a single, specialized beat are fading. Fewer reporters now cover more beats, and many newsrooms, especially local ones, are moving away from print editions, focusing solely on digital content. For PR professionals, this means a need for adapting outreach strategies to account for a journalist’s broader – and potentially shifting – interests. More than anything else, journalists ignore or reject pitches because they are irrelevant to their coverage focuses, therefore, understanding that a single reporter might be juggling multiple subjects highlights the need for tailored pitches now more than ever. Researching a journalist’s recent coverage and offering context to tie your story into various beats can help your pitch stand out, especially in a busy, multi-faceted inbox.
4. Numbers, Numbers, Numbers
Data-backed stories are gaining more traction, as both journalists and readers seek reliable, evidence-based information. According to Cision’s 2024 State of the Media report, 68% of journalists look for original research and trend data in pitches. In 2025, PR professionals will need to continue prioritizing metrics, statistics and quantifiable insights in their pitches to make them more compelling and credible. Whether the numbers show the impact of an initiative, demonstrate trends or offer unique industry data, they strengthen a story’s appeal and provide journalists with ready-made facts and timely hooks to incorporate into reporting. This trend will also emphasize the role of PR professionals as both storytellers and data translators, presenting information in a clear, engaging way.
5. Providing "Fully Baked” Story Pitches
Short-staffed newsrooms mean journalists often lack the time to follow up on stories, dig deeper or request additional angles. In 2025, PR teams will need to increasingly lean toward giving reporters comprehensive information, including multiple data points and sources while avoiding hyperbole and fluff. By presenting a “complete package” in one pitch, PR professionals can help ease the workload of busy journalists and improve the chances of getting coverage. "Fully-baked" pitches may take more time to craft but are proving effective in a media environment where efficiency and completeness matter.
Looking Ahead
The PR landscape in 2025 will demand strategic use of technology, data-driven insights and flexibility to navigate the shifting media environment. As PR professionals, our ability to embrace these trends—leveraging AI, adapting to smaller newsrooms and providing valuable, data-oriented pitches—will be essential to helping clients stay visible and relevant in a crowded earned media market. Here at Violet PR, we’re ready to tackle these challenges head-on and help our clients navigate this evolving media landscape with confidence.