70% of PR Budgets to Stay Flat or Decline, Survey Finds
Meltwater survey reveals 70% of PR budgets stagnant or shrinking as teams struggle with ROI measurement and leadership alignment. Resource constraints top challenges.
PR and communications teams are struggling to demonstrate business value while confronting stagnant budgets and expanding leadership expectations, according to a new global survey by Meltwater and We. Communications. The State of PR Report, based on responses from over 1,100 practitioners worldwide, reveals that nearly 70% of PR budgets are expected to remain flat or decrease.
Resource Constraints Top List of Challenges
Resource constraints emerged as the top challenge facing PR professionals, cited by 24% of respondents. The budget pressure comes as teams face increasing demands to prove their worth to organizational leadership.
Measurement difficulties compound the problem. About 21% of practitioners struggle to prove ROI and business impact, while many teams continue relying on activity-based metrics like media placements and reach. Leadership, however, demands clearer connections to business outcomes. The report found that 34.7% of respondents struggle to align communications metrics with business KPIs, while 27.8% cite difficulty proving PR's value to leadership.
Melissa Waggener Zorkin, Global CEO of We. Communications, noted: "We now have sophisticated AI solutions that connect communications to reputation and business value in clear, quantifiable ways."
Disconnect Between PR Teams and Executives
A significant gap persists between PR teams and organizational leaders. In 40% of organizations, leadership lacks a strong understanding of PR activities. Communicators identified executive leadership as the department they most want greater involvement from, at 23.1% of responses.
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This disconnect complicates budget discussions and agreement on meaningful measurement approaches. Mimrah Mahmood of Meltwater emphasized the need for "clearer alignment with leadership priorities and a more meaningful approach to measuring impact."
The challenges are particularly acute in Asia-Pacific, where teams manage multiple markets and fragmented media landscapes. Regional complexity adds layers of difficulty to already strained resources and measurement requirements.
AI Integration Gains Traction Amid Efficiency Push
Generative AI is gaining adoption as teams seek efficiency gains. The technology is somewhat integrated for 42.1% of respondents and highly integrated for 13.3%. Common applications include reporting, media monitoring, and writing briefs.
However, concerns persist about AI's impact on the profession. About 25% of practitioners worry AI could reduce demand for human talent and increase budget pressure. The technology represents both opportunity and uncertainty as teams navigate resource constraints.
Social Media and Coverage Priorities
The report also identified key priorities for PR practitioners. LinkedIn ranks as the most valuable social channel, cited by 62.4% of respondents. For securing media coverage, subject relevance matters most at 32.1%, followed by timeliness at 24.2%.
These findings suggest PR teams are focusing on platforms and strategies that deliver measurable engagement, even as they struggle to connect those metrics to broader business outcomes that satisfy executive expectations.
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