Media placements are tougher than ever. Two out of three PR professionals who responded to the PR Agency Insights Survey 2025 (India Edition) said securing editorial coverage has become increasingly difficult, underscoring the need for stronger storytelling and digital-first PR approaches.

As per the report, the rising difficulty of earned media signals the need for PR professionals to adopt more creative storytelling techniques and diversify their outreach strategies, as relying solely on traditional media placements is no longer sustainable.

Interestingly, the respondents who face a tough-earned media environment are not younger professionals but PR professionals with 20 years of PR experience.

Clients Stuck in the PR Time Warp

 66% of professionals find managing outdated client expectations a major challenge, as many brands still define PR solely through media coverage. Two in three respondents expressed frustration with managing client expectations, rooted in outdated definitions of PR.

Disconnected Teams = Disconnected Messaging

Two out of three respondents feel a lack of ownership in their roles as they struggle to connect brand messaging to PR beyond press coverage. This detachment highlights the critical need for agencies to foster a deeper understanding of strategic brand communication among team members, enabling them to see the bigger picture and contribute more meaningfully.

AI in PR 

98% of respondents use AI one way or the other. This includes brainstorming and ideation for generating story pitches, campaign ideas, and research, in addition to content creation.

Roughly 74% of respondents have content responsibilities. Of these 80% use AI for content creation. Roughly half of those without content responsibilities depend on AI for content needs. Despite this, 67% fear the eroding creativity and 73% lack of human touch.

While it is true that GenAI has been able to reduce the burden of content creation, the writing is on the wall.

Professionals are not sure of the long-term implications of GenAI and their own ability to ideate and create compelling stories. In a sector dominated by engagement, GenAI may be able to tell you what the top stories are, but professionals still believe they are needed if the story has to be told right.

Not surprisingly, more than half of the respondents (54%) rank creativity, storytelling, emotional intelligence and empathy as the key skills for the future. Interestingly, the importance of creativity also increases as you move up the hierarchy.

Interestingly, data analytics ranks low on people's radar unless they are partners or CEOs.

Tips for Improving Media Coverage

In this reporter's experience, the following tips can help in securing coverage:

- Create a storytelling grid using Chat GPT or Gemini to narrow down your story. 

- The grid could include parameters such as sector news, eco-political environment, policy environment, industry associations point of view, company news-people and brand, supply chain challenges where relevant and impact of tech.

- Forget elevator pitch, prep your notification pitch. If you can narrow down your story to the size of a mobile phone alert, you have cracked it. Check out Zomato alerts for inspo.

- No substitute for reading. If you are not able to go through newspapers every day, sign up for their free newsletters. Include one pink paper and one weekly international paper newsletter ( New York Times or FT weekend) in your reading kit. Round it off with 'Morning Brew' and 'The Ken' newsletters. 

Other Key Takeaways from the report include 

• Job Dissatisfaction: Only 12% of PR professionals are fully satisfied with their salaries, and just 16% express job satisfaction. 
• In-House Roles Gaining Popularity: 38.5% of agency professionals are actively considering a move in-house, with 90% of those exploring this shift citing dissatisfaction with compensation or job roles.
• Mentorship & Career Growth Lacking: More than half (54%) of PR professionals believe creativity, storytelling, and emotional intelligence are the most critical skills for the future, but structured mentorship opportunities remain limited.
• Workload vs. Compensation Mismatch: Many agency professionals handle 2-6 clients while working 45-55 hours per week yet feel undervalued and overworked.

The survey is presented by The PR & Comms Collaborative (PRCC) and Public Relations Professionals of India (PRPOI) in partnership with WhatsApp communities IPRF, Media Connect, One Source, PR & Comms Collaborative, PRangers, and PRPOI.