Blog Posts - Vuelio

Fitness, wellness, money issues and trends: How to get UK press coverage in December

December 12, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

What do journalists need from PRs as we enter the final few weeks of the year? While the media industry never takes a break from reporting on the news, this is generally a quieter time for journalism. However, many will be looking to get ahead with features and articles for 2026 and as you will see from the main topics performing well in November on the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, there are still lots of opportunities to take advantage of.

Staying on trend

Throughout November and December, journalists look ahead at getting pieces started for the new year and these are quite often trend articles. Last month, 5% of all enquiries were looking for ‘trends’. The majority were looking for trends for next year and that meant ‘2026’ appeared in just under 8% of the total requests, too. Some were also looking to reflect on the year just gone and what trends we had seen.

These sorts of requests can cover a huge variety of topics and last month we had enquiries for trending fitness classes, 2026 travel trends and hot destinations, retail trends, emerging kitchen trends, and AI trends in business.

Going forward? We expect to see the most ‘trends’ requests this month, as in December 2024 we had 18% of the total requests containing this keyword. The topic area can vary greatly but should present lots of chances to get experts featured in titles such as The Independent, The Telegraph, Ideal Home, The Daily Mail, Women’s Health, and HR Grapevine – who all sent requests with this keyword in November.

Feeling fit and well

‘Fitness’ and ‘wellness’ are two keywords that perform well throughout the year but especially so in the final few months. In November, ‘fitness’ appeared in 3% of all enquiries and ‘wellness’ was in 4%.

Journalists from Women’s Fitness, The Times, PA Media, Stylist, and Marie Claire all sent enquiries in November. The requests included looking for wellness getaways out of London, fitness watches, wellness gifts for him, and moving in style where fitness meets fashion.

Going forward? Fitness and wellness are always buzzwords in the new year, with events like Dry January and Veganuary, journalists will increasingly look to experts and to get case studies to cover these topics. In December last year, ‘fitness’ requests jumped up to 8% of all enquiries and ‘wellness’ increased to 6%. There will be plenty of opportunities to secure media coverage on these topics.

Money worries at Christmas

Money becomes more of an issue at Christmas for many, and is one that journalists regularly look to cover. Last month, 4% of all enquiries contained the keyword ‘money’ and with the Budget coming out in November too, this also appeared regularly in enquiries with 5% of the total featuring ‘budget’.

Requests varied from looking to speak to a money/personal finance expert on how Brits can host Christmas on a budget, to advice on how to make your ‘treat’ money go further. Enquiries came from journalists writing for The Sun, My Weekly, The i paper, Money Marketing, The Guardian, and The Financial Mail on Sunday.

Going forward? Journalists tend to look for money or personal finance experts when it comes to covering these topics so have comments ready to supply to the press. Last year in December, 10% of the total requests for the month contained ‘money’ and we are likely to see a similar high volume again this year as it continues to be a hot topic to cover.

Other opportunities for PRs in December and beyond

Travel is a category that performs well all year and November was no exception with 6% of the total requests containing the keyword. Journalists are normally looking for Winter sun or possibly for the travel trends and top destinations for the new year. It’s a topic that stays popular into January as back in the first month of 2025, 5% of enquiries included travel in them.

While it’s a bit further down the road, December is when we start to see our first Valentine’s Day requests. Its popularity will then grow as we go into the new year, and in January 2025, 6% of all enquiries were looking for ‘Valentine’s’ related information or date ideas, so have these prepared early to potentially get covered in national press or a big consumer media title.

Want to get the most out of the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service? Find out how here.

14 PR and comms trends for 2026

December 11, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Public Sector, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Political Services, PR, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

2025 was a year of constant upheaval for all of the creative industries, as comms teams battled with the possibilities and realities of AI adoption; the media was irrevocably changed by the impact of LLMs and democratised content generation; and many communities across the world became increasingly siloed.

What will 2026 bring for PR and communications? Here are predictions from 24 PR industry experts already preparing for what’s ahead – take note of these PR trends for 2026…

1) Uncertainty

‘The signals for 2026 are unusually coherent.

‘Geopolitical volatility is no longer an externality; it is a daily operating condition for communication leaders. AI, meanwhile, is accelerating faster than organisational capability, widening the adoption gap and exposing the limits of shallow governance. Add to this a generational divergence in values, media behaviour and workplace expectations, and the pressure on leadership becomes structural, not cultural.

‘Traditional models such as PESO, demographic segmentation, and hierarchical messaging are breaking under the weight of distributed influence and AI-mediated discovery. High performance will depend on disciplined listening, foresight, intergenerational literacy, and a shift from output craft to organisational intelligence.’

– Stephen Waddington, co-director of Wadds Inc. and co-founder of Socially Mobile

‘For me, the biggest trend will be how PR responds to uncertainty. I suspect it will stop being treated as an exception and become the normal operating environment. Political instability, economic pressure and rapid technological change mean teams will spend less time “managing crises” and more time navigating constant change. As a result, judgement, leadership and clear communication will matter more than speed alone.’

– Andrew McLachlan, Head of Strategic Communications, Mediazoo

2) Further fragmentation of the media

‘The biggest challenge for our industry in 2026 will be working within a shrinking, more fragmented media landscape – fewer journalists, more niche outlets. It means those trusted relationships and highly targeted placements will be more valuable than ever.’

– Sarah Owen, Founder and CEO, Pumpkin PR

‘It’s already happened, but podcasts are reaching more people than ever – understanding how to promote and use the content on different platforms is savvy, economical and helps keeps organisations stay on message.’

– Gorki Duhra, PR Manager, RNIB

‘The days of relying on one or two social channels are over. With algorithms constantly changing and new platforms emerging, diversification will be key. Rather than chasing every trend, 2026 will be about choosing the right mix for your audience, from established spaces like Instagram and TikTok to the community-led platforms like Facebook or gardening forums. By broadening their digital footprint, garden brands can reach audiences where they already spend time, while reducing dependence on any single platform.’

– Holly Daulby, Managing Director, Honest Communications

‘I foresee a rise in “professional influencers”. More PR and comms pros will use digital platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn to share their insights to the wider world – not simply speaking to the industry but to the general population about key PR and comms issues. I also see the power of our algorithmic influence being something that really gains traction – how PR and Comms has the power to drive algorithmic narratives across multiple strands is an exciting thing to consider and study.’

– Ronke Lawal, PR Consultant, Ariatu Public Relations

3) Going niche

‘Sub communities of sub communities are where conversation is at its richest. With Reddit and online communities having increasing power on both AI and social chatter, PR campaigns that go super-niche and speak directly to those groups are going to fly and build a really engaged fan-base at the same time.’

– Dominique Daly, Director, Hope&Glory

4) Increased scrutiny and skepticism

‘I think agencies are going to come under scrutiny from clients about how they are using AI – clients will think they can do it themselves if you’re regularly using large language models as a starting point for content.’

– Joanne Gill, Director, Cyber Crisis Readiness & Response

‘With generative AI so widely used, all content – generated and genuine – will be viewed with caution because people are increasingly assuming that AI is behind most of what they see. A jaw-dropping photo? No way. A beautifully written poem? Probably AI. Fake products, fake reviews, fake images and videos are only going to be more common and harder to distinguish, so trust at all levels is going to be harder and harder to earn.

‘Brands need to counter this by making their products and messages more authentic in whatever ways they can. This could mean less polished promotional imagery, more behind-the-scenes realness, more personal connections and social media collaboration to give audiences more reason to trust what they have to offer. Hopefully, people will also trust the mainstream media more as a result, but they need to pull their socks up too.’

– David Sykes, Head of PR, Carrington

5) Imperfection as a mark of authenticity

‘A sharper focus and value on human authenticity. Human-created content, with its quirks, humour, and even minor flaws, is what marketing and PR are all about – because it feels relatable and real. That is what clients trust us to deliver. This deliberate embrace of “imperfect” storytelling is what will support agencies to stand out and brave this new AI era. Over adoption of AI will see client disconnect, leading to poor results and ultimately a negative impact on business for both parties.’

– Pamela Badham, Founder and CEO, Four Marketing Agency

‘PR teams who help brands to make an emotional connection with their consumers will contribute to their growth, even in tough economic conditions. Consumers don’t need polished messaging and perfect imagery, meaning PR can be low on cost providing you’re telling the right story. Whether you’re husband-and-wife distillers who have sunk all your savings into rescuing a historic water mill (Dunnet Bay Distillers) or an 85 year old dairy farmer who has embraced TikTok and become an influencer (Graham’s The Family Dairy), it’s these real, raw stories of human endeavour that connect with audiences in a sea of heavily curated content.’

– Eleanor Bradford, Director of Corporate Communications, Muckle Media Group

6) Real-time reputation recovery

‘Stakeholders will expect more real-time responses. Brands are shifting investment into scenario planning, faster cross-team alignment, and proactive issue-spotting.’

– Ruth Jones, CEO and Founder, 3THINKRS

‘We’ll also see reputation management evolve into a real-time discipline. Misinformation, rapid-cycle crises and deepfakes will require faster monitoring, shorter approval chains, and scenario planning that’s actually used – not just a ‘nice to have’ that’s filed away gathering dust.’

– Claire Crompton, Co-Founder, TAL Agency

7) The rise of GEO

‘2026 will be the year GEO, generative engine optimisation, will stop being a buzzword and become a core part of every comms strategy. As AI-driven search reshapes how people discover news, products, and brands, earned media will surge in importance again. If you aren’t landing high-quality coverage in trusted outlets, you simply won’t show up.’

– Matt Brown, CEO, W Communications

8) A clamour for case studies

‘PR professionals need to support the media by ensuring that pitches and content are highly targeted, relevant and human. More journalists are asking to interview spokespeople directly rather than relying on written responses, and there is a growing emphasis on proving the real expertise and credentials of those spokespeople.

‘The positive news is that PR teams are well placed to guide clients through this shifting landscape. It all comes back to building trust, developing clear and meaningful messaging, and demonstrating expertise across media and owned channels.’

– Claire Gamble, Managing Director, Unhooked Communications

9) Honesty

‘There’s debate in PR about whether being a “friend” to your client helps or harms growth. For us, it’s not about being a yes-person; it’s about honest counsel and integrity that runs at every level in the agency. That shared trust allows for frank conversations and leads to better outcomes.

‘Growth for me isn’t about being everywhere; it’s about being indispensable to the right people – and always keeping a step ahead on insights and opportunities.’

– Jane Pavia, Managing Director, Vista PR

10) Getting personal

‘2026 will be shaped by consumers seeking calm, comfort and control.

‘For all the excitement around AI, consumers ultimately want something profoundly human: brands that respect their time, reduce stress and help them make better choices. The mantra for 2026? Do less that is fast, do more that is meaningful – and let authentic intelligence guide you.’

– Anthony Tattum, CMO, Leopard Co

‘With so much content being created by AI and fake case studies and news filling up journalists’ inboxes, PRs will have to get even more personal and creative in landing their stories. Journalists will actively seek out those PRs they can trust to give them legit news, which means building relationships will matter more than ever. If any organisation thinks they will be able to produce content with AI, think again. 2026 will be all about authentic and interesting stories – anything and everything to put us further away from typical AI cliches. Yes, it will be challenging, but the challenges will help differentiate between magic and artibots.’

– Dinara Omarova, director, Peach Perfect PR

‘Smarter-than-ever targeting, continuing to focus on building strong relationships, tighter angles offering exclusivity and hyper-focused on the platform, and adding genuine value in the form of useful assets, data, access, or experts for example tailored to the platform – they will win in 2026 and beyond. The days of spray and pray media ‘targeting’ are gone and relationship-first now beats volume every time.’

– Gary Jenkins, MD, No Brainer

11) Flexibility

‘In 2026, the PR and communications industry will need to become far more value-driven, agile and purpose-led. Clients are increasingly questioning what they’re actually paying for, and are no longer willing to overlook hefty agency fees that largely cover overheads such as office space and infrastructure rather than talent, strategy or delivery.

‘There’s already been a clear shift towards smaller, more agile agencies winning major briefs – not because they’re cheaper, but because they’re proving they can deliver the same (or better) results with sharp thinking and leaner operations.

‘We’ll see a move away from traditional, rigid agency structures and towards flexible agency models that unite specialist talent networks, rather than expecting in-house or agency teams to be “jacks of all trades.” By bringing in the right experts for each project instead of relying on one-size-fits-all roles, agencies can deliver higher-quality work, remain more agile, and focus on results and impact rather than office presence or hierarchy.

‘It also has a bigger impact on the industry as a whole. This shift enables more experienced professionals – particularly parents, carers, and those navigating health or life challenges – to stay in the workforce and continue contributing their expertise without being forced out by outdated agency expectations.’

– Charlotte Dovey, Founder, Quince Creative Communications

12) Press releases (yes, really)… but with a twist

‘PR teams have always built stories for human audiences. In 2026, they’ll build them with the understanding that AI is becoming an early interpreter of every brand, business, and organisation. This is where the press release will step back into the spotlight. Journalists rely on it as a verified source of truth, and AI is beginning to treat it the same way. When teams don’t supply clear, authoritative information, models generate their own version, which travels fast and shapes perception long before anyone sees a headline. The industry needs to be ready for that shift.’

– Lizi Sprargue, Co-Founder, Songue PR

‘My biggest prediction is that the press release will no longer be the centrepiece of communications – but rather a supporting document in a much larger ecosystem of storytelling, cultural engagement, and credibility-building. Successful PR will shift from announcement to storytelling. And what will define PR in 2026 is speed, narrative, and trust.’

– Sheridan Okey, Head of PR, Tribera

13) Virtual immersion

‘Immersive, hybrid (phygital) storytelling & experiences. The divide between “digital campaign” and “real-world activation” will shrink further. More brands will explore virtual press events, AR/VR product experiences, interactive storytelling, delivering beauty not just through words or visuals, but through experiential, sensory engagement.
‘For beauty brands especially, this opens doors to try-at-home virtual make-up filters, immersive product launches, experiential retail + digital storytelling combos, and more.’

– Patrizia Galeota, PR Specialist & Podcast Host of PR LIKE A BOSS!

14) And AI, of course… but with ethics

‘We won’t be able to escape the impact of AI and how it can help our work. I just don’t want to see any PR disasters caused by its misuse! Reputation really does include AI ethics.’

– Stephanie Mullins-Wiles, Strategic Communications, Marketing and PR, BlueSky Education

For more on navigating the media ecosystem in 2026 and beyond, check out our Vuelio report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’.

Introducing Lumina: The AI Suite built from the ground up for PR & Comms

December 9, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media, Public Affairs Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, Political Services, PR, Political Database, Press and Bloggers, Political Monitoring Blog Posts /by Alex Bryson

The media moves faster than ever, influence shifts in seconds, and today’s leaders are expected to understand every angle instantly. To navigate this, public relations professionals don’t need generic tools—they need technology that speaks their language.

That is why we’re unveiling Lumina, a new intelligent suite of AI tools from Vuelio. Trained specifically on the workflows and realities of modern PR & communications, Lumina helps you surface critical insights faster — and use your time, skills and judgement where they bring most value.

‘The PR, Comms and Public Affairs sectors have been experimenting with AI, but most tools have not been built with their real challenges in mind,’ said Joanna Arnold, CEO of Pulsar Group (Vuelio’s parent organisation).

‘Lumina is different; it is the first intelligence suite designed around how narratives actually form today, combining human credibility signals with machine-level analysis. It helps teams understand how stories evolve, filter out noise and respond with context and confidence to crises and opportunities.’

A new standard for PR intelligence

Lumina is about empowering, not replacing, the human element of communications. The suite of AI tools is designed to help PR, comms and public affairs pros improve productivity, enhance clarity, and spot risks early.

Understand & Interpret: Move beyond simple alerts to map how stories spread.
Focus & Personalise: Gain the clarity to act before the moment moves on.
Execute & Monitor: Rapidly action strategy rooted in insight.

Available now: Stories & Perspectives

We are kicking off the launch of Lumina by immediately releasing our first module: Stories & Perspectives.

In the current fragmented media environment, a list of clips and alerts is no longer enough to give you the full picture. You need to know not just what is being said, but how it is being perceived.

Stories & Perspectives organises mentions into a clustered set of stories, reflecting different media, audience, and stakeholder angles. It allows you to:

Rise above the noise: See at a glance which topics are gaining traction or fading.
Zoom in on the details: Uncover the voices and communities shaping the narrative.
Catch the pivot point: Identify the exact moment a story shifts from an opportunity to a reputation risk, or when a new voice begins guiding the conversation.

‘Media isn’t a stream of mentions,’ said Kyle Lindsay, Head of Product at Pulsar Group. ‘But rather a living system of stories shaped by competing perspectives. When you can see those structures clearly, you gain the ability to understand issues as they form, anticipate how they’ll evolve, and act with precision. That’s what we mean when we talk about AI built for communicators, and that’s what an off-the-shelf LLM can’t give you.’

The road ahead: a full suite of AI tools designed for PR & comms

Stories & Perspectives is just the beginning. Over the coming months, we will be rolling out the full Lumina roadmap, introducing a comprehensive set of tools designed to handle every aspect of the communications lifecycle.

Here is what you can expect to see joining the suite soon:

Curated media summaries: AI summaries customised to leadership priorities, highlighting the stories that matter most each day.
Reputation analysis: measurement of how themes like ethics, innovation, and leadership are shaping your perception.
Press release & media relations assistant: tools to create focused pitches that reach the right contacts, faster.
Predictive intelligence layer: technology to track story momentum and anticipate change before the window of opportunity closes.
Intelligent agents: background agents scanning continuously for key spokespeople and emerging risks.
Enhanced audio, broadcast & crisis detection: complete oversight of what is being said across every channel, allowing you to build context fast and deliver the best response.

Get in touch to register your interest.

Communicating in the chaos: How to map out today’s multi-channel media space

December 5, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

PR professionals are operating in a media environment that looks nothing like it did even a decade ago. With no clear map ahead for sharing your message and gaining the attention of your desired audience, how should comms teams proceed with their campaign planning and media outreach?

Vuelio’s latest webinar ‘Mapping the media: How do stories travel today’s fragmented landscape?’ delved into the issue with the help of industry experts Sean Allen-Moy, Head of Media Relations Strategy at Burson UK and Jacob Granger, Community Editor for JournalismUK.

Missed it? Watch the full webinar here.

Read on for trends explored during the session to help with your strategic comms…

The decline of ‘traditional’ media: Is it all bad for PRs?

The emergence of digital platforms has fundamentally changed how audiences consume content. The numbers from the 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report give a stark reminder of this reality: UK consumption of print is down to 12% and television news to 48%.

‘I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anyone,’ says Sean, who leads Burson’s engagement and innovation within the earned media space, from corporate to consumer, and served over a decade as a broadcast journalist for outlets including Sky and the BBC.

‘If you were on the tube this morning, I doubt you saw many people reading broadsheet newspapers. Everyone would have been staring at their screens and scrolling.’

Online-first, mobile-led formats like TikTok are stepping in to take up the slack, offering digestible news and entertainment in vertical video formats, catering to shorter attention spans and more niche interests. The traditional, top-down approach of old, pushing out a press release and awaiting coverage, simply doesn’t work across all modern channels.

Adding to this challenge is the trend of news avoidance and media distrust. Interest in news has dropped significantly in the UK, from 70% in 2015 to just 38% last year, something more pronounced among women, young people, and those without a university degree. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are many ways to reach audiences now, already being grasped by publishers, and ready to be capitalised on by the comms industry with stories to share.

‘What makes this less depressing is if you think about general content,’ advised Sean.

‘Yes, people aren’t consuming as much news, but they are still consuming information and content, and that’s what the media provides.

‘The average length that people can pay attention to screens is 43 seconds, and that’s what we’ve got to work with now. We might not be seeking coverage on a linear television channel, but 60% of people watch their TV news coverage on Instagram and TikTok, so they are still going to new organisations to find that content; they’re just finding it in other places.

‘It’s thinking about newspapers no longer being the number 1 target – actually think about where your audience is. Rather than aiming for the front page of The Times (which would be fantastic), try The Times’ podcast, Times Radio, the subscriber newsletters – that’s where we need to go.

‘It’s up to us as comms people to go where our audiences are, rather than where we think they are, or where they were traditionally.’

Nichification: The power of the highly-engaged stakeholder

While securing a national front-page splash remains a highly valuable get for any comms team (as long as the story is positive, and wanted by your organisation, of course…), it shouldn’t be the ultimate aim for every campaign. Fragmented media creates pockets of highly valuable, deeply engaged audiences well worth tapping into.

Vuelio’s latest report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’ tracked five public interest stories to highlight the different ways narratives can spread across today’s media ecosystem. Analysis of the journey of reporting around ‘AI for Heart Health’ highlights the power of reaching a highly-engaged audience first versus blasting out a message to the general public and hoping for the best.

This story’s spread was rooted in science-led articles and organic, community-driven conversation on forums like Reddit before moving to mainstream online news outlets.

In this landscape, volume alone does not tell the whole story. Reaching a small, highly-engaged audience of experts, academics, or policymakers can be far more valuable than a fleeting mention in a national publication. This same logic applies to format: while radio coverage might offer higher volume, a mention on a relevant podcast can be a more strategic win, reaching an audience that has actively chosen to download and engage with the content.

Jacob, who reports on the digital news industry for JournalismUK, explained the parallel pivot to an increased focus on audience within the media:

‘It’s just harder and harder to get people’s attention nowadays, and the only solution to that problem, as far as I’m concerned, is a greater emphasis on relevance, and really understanding exactly what it is that people care about. Making sure that is your focal point, and that you’re addressing that every day in your coverage.

‘I’d say for the last ten years or so the news industry has been grappling with this problem, and creating more audience-centric strategies to be more relevant to our users.

‘There’s more to this publishing model of today than just what’s breaking and what’s just happened – the “who, what, where, when, why” that Sean and I were trained on as journalists.

‘The only answer is a greater emphasis on relevance and understanding who your audiences are, what they care about, what their pain points are, and making sure those are addressed.’

The rise of community and audience interaction

The drive to reach ‘top of funnel’ traffic for the media as well as PR teams has been made incredibly difficult, and even redundant in many cases, with the rise of LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT ‘middlemanning’ between the public and publishers.

‘Direct traffic isn’t what it once was,’ said Jacob.

‘Search and social is increasingly competitive, and news is losing the fight there.’

Where the media can bring audiences back into the fold to engage with their content directly is in the ‘mid-funnel’ space – online forums, app brand extensions, LinkedIn groups, and community features like comment sections and Q&As.

Established brands, like The Times, are actively investing in their apps and community features to retain audiences. By encouraging interaction in the comments section and making readers feel heard, they are centring community building and audience retention.

The part of PR here is to recognise that outreach is a two-way street. Once a story is shared, platforms and forums can prolong it, kill it, or even warp it beyond recognition. This makes monitoring and engagement critical. Find where your stakeholders and audiences are, and engage with them there, advises Sean:

‘We all exist on social now, and from our perspective, it’s “social everywhere, and social always”. Yes, we are consuming video from the BBC, but we tend to be consuming it on social media.’

Escaping a media silo by identifying key connectors

Despite the interconnectedness of modern platforms, a single topic can still spread in distinct ways that never intersect, resulting in severely siloed stories. Which is great if you have a crisis you don’t want to hit the aforementioned front pages of national newspapers… but not so wonderful if your story isn’t something you want to keep quiet.

Comms teams can overcome a story staying siloed by identifying and leveraging connectors.

For the story of ‘Surge Pricing’ – which took two very different directions in the UK broadsheets and the tabloids – connectors included specific interest publications (sport-centred outlets like LADBible and SkySports) and influencers and experts (finance expert Martin Lewis, who can project a story across otherwise distinct groups).

Identifying these connectors is a vital part of a modern media relations strategy, offering opportunities to break a story out of a single, self-reinforcing narrative or echo chamber. If you want to do that, of course…

‘That relates to how we plan our campaigns now, how we plan our outreach,’ said Sean.

‘We no longer just ask, how do we target print journalists? What channels do we need to look at? How do we look at social? What we now try to do is look at the ecosystem. Who are the voices that are influencing our target consumer and our target audience? Is it brands? Is it particular journalists? Is it influencers? Is it Gemini and ChatGPT? Is the audience consuming them via broadcast? Are they consuming them on their mobile phone, in real life?

‘Look at the platforms they’re on, and then create the content that reaches them on those platforms. Are they consuming content on Instagram, on TikTok? Are they watching the content on YouTube? Are they mostly steering towards audio on Spotify?

‘At the heart of this is getting rid of the way we have traditionally done things.’

No story’s journey is predictable, so make flexibility part of your plan

This fragmented media landscape is not something to fear. Filled with opportunity for new voices to break through, and ways to reach previously uncatered-to audiences, the media and comms industries must be ready to adapt.

For the comms side, this means being flexible when working with the media, too:

‘Newsrooms know their readers best, and you need to trust them to do their jobs, trust them to know the right angles, to know the right treatments for the stories,’ said Jacob.

‘If they’re saying this is a story for social, that’s going to look different than if they were to run it on the front page of their newspaper. There might be a completely different set of values and treatments and approaches to telling that story. But it might also be that a journalist comes back and says, look, there’s an entirely different angle here that we should explore.

‘Be open to that, because it is in news organisations’ best interest to perfect this, because they live or die by how relevant they are to their audience.’

For Sean on the PR side, it’s about ‘moving from thinking to knowing’:

‘My colleague Allison Spray, our Chief Data Intelligence Officer for EMEA always talks about moving from thinking to knowing. And that has to be the goal, really, in anything we do, and what we do for our clients.

‘Earned media tends to be more influential, but it involves more risk. The answer is to find out where your audiences are. We can’t guess now.’

Mapping out the media space now? Forge a path of audience-centric strategies that are as fluid as the modern media ecosystem itself.

For more on what media fragmentation means for your comms strategy, read the Vuelio report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’.

Advocacy in the media ecosystem: Today’s PR playbook for the charity sector

November 27, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Marketing, Charity, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The third sector is built on driving change, raising awareness, and giving voice to the voiceless, and today’s media landscape has a plethora of platforms offering access to wider audiences. But with these platforms so fragmented, how can Not-For-Profit organisations connect with audiences spread across online forums, social media, national press, broadcast, and more?

Vuelio’s latest report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’ tracks a number of major public interest and politically-driven news stories from the first half of 2025 to provide a map for comms teams in need of coverage for their campaigns.

Here are key insights for comms teams in the third sector:

1. Niche reach outlets are just as valuable as mass media

National news coverage might be impressive to the board, but a crucial lesson for health charities, research bodies, and policy-focused organisations is that tabloid coverage shouldn’t be the ultimate aim for every campaign.

Reaching a small, engaged group of clinicians, academics, or policymakers with a write-up in a specialist journal can be infinitely more impactful for your mission than a fleeting, 10-second mention on breakfast TV.

Have a story that would work for very distinct audiences? Try a two-track comms plan: one for your specialist stakeholders and one for your mainstream fundraising, without risking a generic multipurpose approach that is unlikely to be picked up by the press at all.

2. Politics adds unpredictability

For any charity involved in advocacy, the impact of politics in amplifying, or silencing, a campaign will be very familiar.

Kelly Scott, VP at Vuelio, describes the journey of public interest stories as a ‘pinball machine’ – either pinging to unexpected places from political realms, or quickly falling out of play.

If your issue gets politicised, picked up for party gain, or distorted, motivating third party stakeholders to speak on your behalf can be the most credible asset for the third sector.

Service users, your volunteers, and your academic partners can add credibility and balance to the public discourse.

3. Echo chambers can stop a story in its tracks

The UK media landscape is severely siloed, with one example from our latest report being coverage of surge pricing in the UK. Reporting on this issue was split, with audiences largely staying in their own echo chambers, experiencing further reinforcement of their own existing takes and opinions.

For the Charity sector, breaking through this is a critical challenge. A campaign on the cost-of-living crisis could be framed as a human-interest tragedy in one silo, and a complex economic policy failure in another.

The job of the comms team is to find the ‘connectors’ that break through these siloes – identifying and building relationships with figures and platforms that cut across barriers and build public trust.

4. Your advocacy is the story

Some of the most powerful stories that pick up speed in the press are public interest, and these often start life on social media. But also important are case studies – connecting the media with real people, who have real stories to tell.

This happens to be a superpower for the charity sector. Your work is built on personal experiences and advocacy for communities – amplifying voices, and engaging with people across platforms, can be the engine of an entire media strategy.

5. Adapting to mission-driven comms

This fragmented world requires a new strategy, one built on agility and insight. As Amy Chappell, Head of Insights at Vuelio, advises, comms professionals must ’embed adaptability into comms strategy’.

This means having spokespeople and expert commentators ready to engage. In this landscape, the most credible and authoritative voices will retain a degree of control.

Ultimately, your strategy must shift:

From Endpoint to Ecosystem: Stop treating a press release or a media hit as the “finish line”. Instead, anticipate how your story will evolve as it’s passed between different platforms and audiences.

From Counting to Navigation: Monitoring is no longer about counting clippings. It’s about understanding how narratives are reframed along the way, so you know exactly when to step in, clarify, or amplify.

This new environment is complex, but for charities, it’s a playing field filled with opportunity. Authentic stories can find their audiences in a myriad of ways.

For more on how stories move through the modern media landscape, read the full Vuelio white paper here.

AI in measurement: Counting, connecting, and getting attention in the algorithm

November 26, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR Blog Posts /by Amy Chappell

The world of visibility is changing fast. As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT become new information gatekeepers, PR is no longer just competing for audience attention. It’s competing for algorithmic inclusion.

In a digital landscape increasingly shaped by automated content, the quality, credibility, and authority of earned media have never mattered more. What cuts through now is not simply how much content exists, but which content is trusted enough to be cited, surfaced, and amplified by both humans and machines.

At the same time, the way we measure communications is evolving just as rapidly. Our Head of Insights Amy Chappell recently attended the AMEC AI Day, and one message stood out: AI isn’t here to replace human intelligence – it’s here to enhance it. Measurement professionals are no longer just counting the past; we’re connecting data to insight, outcomes, and influence in ways previously impossible at scale.

Together, these shifts point to a fundamental change in how PR and measurement work hand in hand in an AI-driven world: Credible storytelling fuels visibility, and intelligent measurement proves its impact.

Why earned media still dominates

Research presented at the AMEC AI Day suggests that around 90% of AI visibility comes from earned sources, not paid placements. That’s because LLMs favour content that is accessible, credible, and editorially independent. Paid content often falls short on two counts:
It sits behind paywalls or sponsorship disclosures, reducing citability.

It lacks the credibility signals that LLMs prioritise when determining trusted sources.

In an era when 60% of Google searches end without a click, visibility increasingly depends on being cited rather than clicked. AI-generated summaries pull from high-authority, earned sources, meaning quality and credibility of coverage matter more than ever.

The new role of qualitative metrics

If AI models prioritise credible coverage, it’s no longer enough to measure volume or sentiment alone. Understanding the authority and influence of sources, and how well your coverage aligns with your strategic narrative, becomes essential to assessing impact across both human and AI audiences.

In a landscape where automated content is multiplying, human-authored, well-sourced journalism carries greater weight.

That’s why the focus must shift from volume to value: not how many pieces you secured, but how credible, contextual, and influential those pieces are.

Emerging ideas like ‘share of answer’ (which explore how brands appear in AI-generated responses) hint at where measurement might go next. But these are still early indicators, not yet established metrics.

How we measure in the age of AI

Metrics like share of search and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) scores are early attempts to quantify visibility in AI environments. But as discussed at the AMEC AI Day, the industry is still testing and calibrating what “good” looks like.

The takeaway? Don’t measure for measurement’s sake.

Storytelling still drives machine understanding

AI is reshaping how visibility works, but not what makes it valuable. The best route to long-term visibility, with both audiences and algorithms, remains the same: authentic earned media, built on credible storytelling, relationships, and expertise.

As the line between human and machine audiences blurs, PR’s superpower endures, creating messages that are not only seen and read, but also trusted.

Where AI supports measurement

AI can assist across every stage of the workflow:

Collection and cleaning: unifying messy inputs from multiple sources.

Categorisation: speeding up tagging and sentiment analysis while ensuring consistency across languages.

Insight generation and prediction: highlighting emerging risks, narratives or audience shifts earlier.

AI’s strengths are clear: speed, scalability, consistency, and cross-market comparability. But its weaknesses are just as important to understand: opaque decision-making, bias in training data, false confidence in generative summaries, and the temptation to switch off human critical thinking.

That’s why we will see a shift from analysts acting less as ‘data producers’ and more as ‘insight curators’, allowing us to spend more time understanding, interpreting, and recommending than ever before. New skills are emerging: prompt engineering, validation, ethical reasoning, and bias checking. These sit alongside the fundamentals: empathy, relevance, and context.

Human accountability remains essential in measurement

Governance is catching up fast. AMEC is developing standards to ensure ethical use of AI in measurement. But the guiding principle is simple: AI can enhance, not replace, human judgment.

The best measurement programmes will use automation for efficiency, freeing up analysts to focus on interpretation, storytelling and strategy. The industry is shifting from manual counting to intelligent contextualisation, and AI is the accelerator helping us get there.

Preparing for the next era of visibility

AI is not a passing trend in communications and measurement; it’s a structural shift in how visibility, influence, and trust are created and understood. For PR teams, that means doubling down on what machines can’t replicate: credible relationships, meaningful narratives, and human judgment. For measurement professionals, it means evolving from trackers of activity to interpreters of influence.

The organisations that will lead in this next era will be those that combine high-quality earned media with intelligent, accountable use of AI, using technology to go faster and further, without losing sight of strategy, ethics, or impact.

Want help with measuring the success of your campaigns? Find out more about Vuelio Insights.

For more about the impact of AI tools on the media and measurement spaces, check out key takeaways shared at the 2025 Press Gazette Future of Media Technology Conference.

Plotting press coverage when every story is political

November 24, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Public Affairs Political Services, PR, Political Database, Political Monitoring, Public Sector Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

For public affairs professionals, the challenge of comms is no longer just about getting a message through. It’s about managing how that message evolves once it enters the current fast-moving, politically-charged, and increasingly fragmented media landscape.

The latest report from Vuelio, ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’, provides a data-driven look at how stories move across the modern ecosystem — here is a closer look at what this means for those operating at the intersection of politics, policy, and public opinion.

A media ecosystem without clear borders

Tracking specific stories through the media confirms what those in Westminster and Whitehall already know: there is no longer a single, stable route for a story to reach its audience. Instead, the news cycle has become an ecosystem – complex, reactive, and full of feedback loops between political actors, journalists, and the public.

In this ecosystem, narratives that once followed predictable arcs (a ministerial statement, a round of coverage, then commentary and response) now move multi-directionally. They emerge from local conversations, ricochet through social feeds, and land on front pages already laden with political significance.

Mental Health Matters’ External Affairs and Policy Manager Charlie Campion sees the closer connections playing out, directly impacting how PA and comms teams work:

‘Politicians are paying closer attention than ever to public opinion. That means that conversations in the press, online forums, and across social media have become essential to any successful public affairs strategy and to influencing the government’s agenda. This is why integration and collaboration between public affairs and communications teams is more critical than ever.’

Political buffers and public pinball

Vuelio’s analysis of five major stories from the first half of 2025 spotlight this effect. From reporting around the RAAC Crisis to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and the Zero Hour Contract Ban, each issue demonstrates how the political sphere can act both as amplifier and accelerator.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) began as a hyper-local debate about planning and mobility. But as online community discussions grew across X, Reddit, and local blogs the topic was pulled into the national conversation. By the time of local elections, it had become shorthand for wider political divisions around environmental policy, civic freedom, and government control.

RAAC Crisis reporting by contrast, shows how policy accountability narratives spread in unexpected ways. Regional news outlets drove much of the early coverage, but attention from MPs and regulators kept it alive in the national press. The story’s longevity wasn’t purely due to public interest — it was fuelled by parliamentary intervention and the policy implications that followed.

The Zero Hour Contract Ban demonstrated the convergence of social and political storytelling. What started as personal testimonies across social media grew into union advocacy and, eventually, coverage of specific political action, including the Worker’s Rights Bill.

Each case underlines a central point: policy stories don’t just sit within political news anymore. They move between issue communities, partisan echo chambers, and mainstream media with remarkable fluidity – reshaped every time they cross a new threshold.

Kelly Scott, VP Government & Stakeholder at Vuelio, summarises the phenomena:

‘The journey of public interest stories can be like a pinball machine — hitting political buffers that change their course. It’s vital to correct misinformation at pace, engage with both media and political influencers, and mobilise credible third-party voices.’

In this ‘pinball’ model, the risk of distortion is constant — but so is the opportunity for those who can anticipate the next pivot.

Fragmentation and connection

Major obstacles for any comms team tasked with getting vital information out to audiences are media siloes, which are abundant, even in an age of digital abundance. Reporting and conversation around the story of Surge Pricing for example, shows different media audiences consuming parallel (but largely disconnected) versions of the same issue.

Broadsheets and business outlets framed surge pricing as a question of market regulation and fairness. Tabloids focused on its impact on consumers, from concert tickets to the price of a pint. Each narrative reinforced itself within its own echo chamber, while cross-over between the two remained minimal.

This division presents a serious challenge for public affairs teams: a single policy debate can now exist in multiple, self-contained forms. A story that looks resolved in one arena may still be live (and inflamed) in another.

National broadcasters remain one of the few connecting threads, offering brief bursts of shared attention, but even these tend to lack the interpretive depth audiences once found in print. Increasingly, it falls to issue specialists, from think tanks to influencers to community groups, to bridge the gaps.

The collapse of siloes between media and politics

Perhaps the most consequential finding for political communicators is how blurred the lines have become between media management, public affairs, and reputation strategy.

In a world where journalists quote MPs’ tweets and policy conversations trend before they’re debated in Parliament, separating media and stakeholder engagement strategies could be dangerous.

‘In our recent call for increased investment in the charity sector ahead of the Autumn Statement, our approach extended beyond engaging MPs or the Chancellor directly,’ says Charlie. ‘The Mental Health Matters team worked with the media and in turn, built public support that can drive change.’

For public affairs professionals, integration is now essential. Understanding the media’s rhythms helps shape political engagement, while political intelligence helps anticipate where and how a story might evolve once it enters the news cycle.

Influence in an age of flux

Public affairs practitioners must think beyond Westminster and mainstream media to include the new spaces where policy conversations take shape — podcasts, Substacks, TikTok explainers, and influencer commentary all play a role in framing political stances and, in some cases, impact policy.

If the traditional model of influence was about control, be it controlling the message, the moment, and/or the medium, the new model is about navigation.

‘Know where your audience consumes content, and meet them there’ – Burson’s Head of Media Relations Strategy Sean Allen-Moy.

Fragmentation hasn’t diminished the power of public affairs; it’s simply expanded the field. Every story, from infrastructure to employment, is now a live and dynamic object — interpreted, politicised, and repurposed across audiences.

Those who can read the ecosystem, engage multiple stakeholders, and adapt their strategy in real time will not only survive this shift but thrive within it.

Because in today’s media environment no story stays still, and no issue stays purely political.

Read our full report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’ and find out more about Vuelio’s services and support for the Public Sector here.

Navigating the modern media maze for brands

November 19, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Press and Bloggers, Political Monitoring, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Political Services, PR, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

In 2025, the idea of a story travelling directly from the PR team, to the newsroom, straight to the right audience is long gone. Today, stories scatter, ricochet, and sometimes completely transform as they pass through an ecosystem of platforms.

For in-house comms teams at big UK brands tasked with securing significant attention for their campaigns, this fragmented environment can feel chaotic and difficult to circumnavigate. But it’s also full of opportunity – here is what brand comms teams need to know for connecting with audiences now…

From broadcast to broadband: the shape of today’s media

According to the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report, UK audiences have shifted away from print and TV (down to just 12% and 48% respectively) towards an online-first, mobile-led media landscape.

For PRs, this means the traditional ‘top-down’ model of securing coverage and waiting for amplification no longer applies. Every story now takes a unique, often unpredictable route through the media ecosystem.

This doesn’t mean that ‘traditional’ media isn’t important – long-trusted media brands have simply branched out into a number of new formats, and audiences can be found spread among them.

Stories take unexpected turns

Vuelio’s latest report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’ tracked specific stories across the first half of 2025 – from the AI for Heart Health innovation to the Zero Hour Contract Ban. The findings reveal just how differently narratives can evolve:

AI for Heart Health stayed niche and technical, thriving in academic journals and specialist sites before making a surprise leap to tabloids when an AI pyjamas invention caught the press imagination.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods moved from hyper-local activism on Reddit and X into national election talking points.

Surge Pricing split the nation’s media in two: broadsheets debated regulation and market fairness, while tabloids raged about pint and gig prices.

Zero Hour Contracts began as social storytelling – people sharing experiences online – before policy debate brought it into mainstream broadcasting.

These examples highlight a key lesson: media coverage is no longer linear, but lateral. Stories can leap between siloes, or split into parallel versions depending on who picks them up.

The new rules of engagement

As Vuelio’s VP of Government & Stakeholder Kelly Scott notes, ‘The journey of public interest stories can be like a pinball machine — hitting political buffers that change their course’.

Brands are particularly subject to regulation and therefore political interest. Managing reputation in this landscape means engaging quickly, across both media and political spheres.

Correcting misinformation, activating credible third-party voices, and keeping stakeholder networks mobilised are now essentials, not extras.

Amy Chappell, Vuelio’s Head of Insights, adds:

‘Each platform, each audience, leaves its imprint. A story isn’t a fixed communication anymore – it’s a fluid journey shaped by who picks it up and how it’s retold.’

How brands can adapt

For in-house comms leaders, this fragmentation requires a mindset shift:

Think ecosystem, not endpoint. A press release isn’t the end of your campaign — it’s the start of a story’s evolution. Map where it might travel next.

Monitor for meaning, not mentions. Media monitoring should track how narratives are reframed across outlets and audiences, not just tally coverage.

Plan for pivots. Build adaptability into campaign design. Prep spokespeople and experts to engage at pace when narratives shift.

Bridge your siloes. Media, comms, and public affairs teams can’t operate separately anymore – their worlds now overlap daily.

Opportunity in the fragmentation

Fragmentation isn’t just a challenge – it’s fertile ground for smarter strategy. With the right insight, the right relationships, and the right timing, stories can thrive in unexpected places.

As Burson’s Head of Media Relations Strategy Sean Allen-Moy puts it:

‘To succeed, brands must know precisely where their audience consumes content and meet them there.’

For UK comms professionals, the task is to treat this new landscape not as a maze to get lost in, but as a map full of alternative routes. Because in 2025, the story doesn’t stop at publication – it starts there.

Want more on navigating this new media landscape? Check out the full story in Vuelio’s latest report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’.

What PR agencies need to know about the CLA

November 17, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

In PR, success is measured in visibility. That means getting coverage in the right titles, shared with the right people, at the right time. But when it comes to sharing that success, copyright compliance can be difficult to navigate. Whether you’re distributing press clippings to clients, showcasing coverage on your website, or using published content in campaign reports, you need permission to do so.

You may already be familiar with NLA media access, which licenses the reuse of newspaper, magazine, and news website content. But what about the huge range of other published material, like books, journals, magazines, and websites? That’s where the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) comes in.

What is the CLA?

The CLA, a regulated not-for-profit organisation, licenses organisations to lawfully use, copy, and share text and image-based content owned by authors, publishers, and visual artists. Revenues are distributed to owners, ensuring fair compensation for rights holders and support for the UK’s creative economy.

Through its collective licences, CLA provides blanket permissions to reuse millions of books, journals, magazines, and websites, including international titles from the US and beyond. Its licences allow businesses, public sector bodies, and educational institutions to copy, share, and reuse content without infringing copyright.

For PR and advertising agencies, this means you can legally share coverage, insights, and published materials with clients and colleagues, without the risk.

CLA and NLA: What’s the difference?

It’s a common misconception that one licence covers all published content. In reality, CLA and NLA media access manage different repertoires:

CLA covers books, journals, most magazines, and over 10,000 websites.
NLA covers UK national and regional newspapers, selected magazines, and around 4,000 websites.

There’s no overlap. If your agency shares content from both sets of sources, you’ll need both licences to stay compliant.

Why copyright compliance matters in PR

PR and marketing campaigns often rely on high-impact words, compelling visuals, and timely media coverage. But taking content from the internet or forwarding articles without permission can lead to serious consequences, including fines, reputational damage, and even the loss of a client.

One of the biggest fears among agencies is a client being contacted by a copyright holder because reused content wasn’t properly cleared. Another is having to scrap a campaign because the creative assets can’t be legally used. These risks are real and avoidable.

Copyright compliance isn’t just about avoiding mistakes. It’s about building trust, demonstrating professionalism, and protecting the creative ecosystem that PR relies on.

Which CLA Licence do PR agencies need?

There are two main CLA licences relevant to PR and comms teams:

Business Licence

The CLA Business Licence gives organisations blanket permission to copy, print, scan, and digitally share (e.g. email or upload) published content internally, covering:

Intranets and shared drives
Internal emails and presentations
Campaign planning and team collaboration

It also includes Workplace Generative AI permissions, allowing teams to use published content as prompts in permitted AI tools for things like summarisation, ideation and analysis.

Media Consultancy Licence

Designed specifically for PR, advertising and communications agencies, the Media Consultancy Licence is an essential add-on to the main CLA Business Licence, empowering PR and media agencies to lawfully share content with their clients.

It’s ideal for agencies that report on media coverage, showcase results, and want to ensure copyright compliance while doing so.

What publications are covered?

With a CLA licence, you are permitted to copy and share millions of publications, including books, journals, magazines and websites. CLA’s Check Permissions search tool lets you see what you can copy, share or re-use legally under each type of licence.

Why licensing builds credibility

Retained clients are the holy grail for PR agencies. And while great campaigns and strong results are essential, credibility plays a huge role in client retention. That credibility isn’t just built through awards or viral success, it’s built through professionalism, transparency, and ethical practice.

Licensing helps agencies:

Avoid legal pitfalls and protect clients
Streamline internal processes with blanket permissions
Build trust through transparent reporting
Support the creative industries that fuel PR success

Amplify your coverage with peace of mind

With a CLA licence, agencies can also republish up to five articles at a time on their websites, perfect for showcasing media coverage and building credibility. It also enables smarter client consultancy, helping clients understand their media landscape and the impact of PR efforts.

And yes, it makes you look good. Licensing demonstrates professionalism, respect for creators, and a commitment to ethical practice, all qualities that resonate with journalists, clients, and partners alike.

Want to Learn More?

Explore the CLA website to find the right licence for your agency, search the repertoire, or speak to the CLA team for tailored advice.

For more about copyright licencing, read our PR guide to the NLA.

Beyond the front page: A playbook for agency PR in a fragmented media world

November 11, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media, Public Affairs Press and Bloggers, Political Monitoring, Public Sector, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, Political Services, PR, Political Database Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

For agency professionals in public relations, communications, and public affairs, the old PR playbook is officially out, with the traditional, top-down method of disseminating information – pitching your press release to a national, getting a front-page splash, and watching your story spread – a thing of the past. Today, comms operates on a fragmented map with no clearly marked course forward.

This multi-platform media environment, defined by complex and unpredictable story journeys, is a fresh field of opportunity for comms professionals who understand its new rules. For agencies, it’s a time to update strategies, redefine what success means for clients, and integrate public affairs and media relations efforts more closely than ever before.

To help, here are key pointers for agencies:

1. Redefine ‘Success’: Niche is the new national

Despite the huge variety of platforms out there, plenty of clients continue to put pressure on agencies for a front-page splash. But a story doesn’t have to hit the front page of a national newspaper to reach a significant audience.

Analysing a specific story’s journey highlights the different routes available to agencies and their brands. Tracking coverage and conversation around the topic of ‘AI for Heart Health’, for example, shows that tabloid coverage shouldn’t be the ultimate aim for every campaign.

This story’s spread was rooted in organic, community-driven conversation, starting on forums, and moving to academic papers, journals, and websites, successfully reaching very specific, and highly valuable, stakeholder audiences.

A crucial distinction for agency client management – volume alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Reaching a small but highly-engaged audience of experts, academics, or policymakers can be far more valuable than a fleeting mention on a national broadcast.

This also applies to formats. While radio coverage volume might dwarf that of podcasts, for example, the latter has a dedicated audience of downloaders, much more likely to be engaged with the content. For our clients, landing that perfect niche podcast could be a more strategic win than a dozen scattered radio clips.

2. Manage the ‘pinball machine’ of politics

Public affairs and politics are now almost inseparable from PR, and should be considered as part of any campaign.

Vuelio’s Kelly Scott describes public interest stories as potential ‘pinballs’, that can ‘hit a political buffer, bouncing around further, racking up more coverage… potentially distorting the story if it becomes politicised for party gain.

‘If your media team and public affairs team are following stories separately, and using a siloed engagement plan… you are missing a huge opportunity,’ she warns.

Political and regulatory attention – like CMA investigations – can prolong a narrative’s lifecycle significantly, and land them in unexpected sectors. Reporting around the RAAC crisis, for example, received more coverage in Regional outlets than in the expected Construction & Property sector. The story of surge pricing received surprisingly little coverage in law-focused outlets, despite questions from online audiences about its legality.

For agencies, mapping stakeholders is a solid starting point, but so too is being prepared for a story to be picked up by actors with their own agendas.

When a story becomes politicised, agencies must be ready to:

– Correct misinformation at pace and offer good data.
– Engage directly with the media and political influencers involved.
– Motivate third-party stakeholder voices to add credibility and balance.

3. Find the connectors to break through the echo chamber

Despite all the interconnected platforms that make up the modern media landscape, it can still become severely siloed.

Coverage of surge pricing provides a clear example of this – broadsheets focused on issues around labour and fairness, alongside regulatory and market implications, while tabloids centred instead on drawbacks for the general public, with the price of concert tickets a recurring element.

Audiences for each largely stayed in their own echo chambers and weren’t exposed to diverse and different takes on the issue.

The value agencies can bring is bridging such silos by identifying the connectors. For the story of surge pricing, these are national broadcasters (which provide a shared space), specific interest publications (like LADBible or Sky Sports, that reach audiences across class lines), and influencers/experts (projecting a story across very different groups – Martin Lewis is just one example).

These connectors are a vital part of a modern media relations strategy, providing opportunities to break a story out of a single, self-reinforcing narrative.

4. Master the Two-Track Story

One of the curious parts of media fragmentation is how a single topic can spread in distinct ways that never intersect. AI for Heart Health coverage from the first half of 2025 did exactly this:

Track 1: The technical, medical story. This lived in academic or medical publications, and among niche communities and forums online. It reached a limited, but highly engaged, group of professionals, academics, and autodidacts.

Track 2: The mainstream story. When a specific angle of ‘smart pyjamas’ crossed over, it appeared in outlets including Daily Mail and The Mirror, but skipped spaces that ordinarily play host to more technical discussions.

Monitoring niche publications and social spaces to understand which stories have the capacity to break through into the mainstream is vital for agencies working with a variety of clients.

5. Ditch ‘Social First’

Still pitching ‘social first’ strategies? You could already be falling behind.

As Sean Allen-Moy, Head of Media Relations Strategy at Burson, puts it:

‘The concept of a ‘social first’ strategy is outdated. The reality is “social everywhere, always”.’

Tracking coverage of the zero hour contract ban in the UK bears this out. While the story was driven by personal experiences and work advocacy shared on social platforms, this fueled broadcast segments and column inches, which are always in need of case studies. Forget traditional media at your peril.

Monitoring and understanding the interplay between traditional coverage, social sharing, and forum-based discussion is a must – agencies must identify where audiences consume content and meet them there.

‘It’s endlessly fascinating how stories evolve, but it presents a real challenge for brands to fuel the fire – or put it out in some cases – across so many, constantly changing platforms and algorithms,’ says Brands2Life Exec Chair, Business & Technology André Labadie.

‘Using (increasingly AI-enhanced) listening and analytics tools to identify emerging trends through social is key so you can influence the narrative in its infancy. This is really changing how brands can take control of issues early and predict how they’re likely to evolve.

‘What definitely hasn’t changed is the need to add something new to the story, stay close to the media to develop new angles at the right time, and then use all the relevant platforms to amplify it.’

6. Follow the new PR playbook

This fragmented landscape demands a fluid strategy. As Amy Chappell, Head of Insights at Vuelio, puts it, a story is ‘no longer a fixed communication, but a fluid journey shaped by who picks it up and how it is retold’.

The agency playbook must be built on adaptability:

Think Ecosystem, Not Endpoint: Stop treating media coverage as the finish line. Instead, build responsive strategies that anticipate how stories will evolve across platforms.

Reframe Monitoring as Navigation: Tracking coverage isn’t about counting clips. It’s about understanding how narratives are reframed to know exactly when to step in, clarify, or amplify.

Embed Adaptability: Build flexibility into campaigns. This means having spokespeople and expert commentators ready to engage quickly to retain a degree of control in unpredictable times.

For agencies willing to embrace this complexity, the opportunities are immense. Moving from linear pitching to dynamic navigation can prove the indispensable value of agency support to clients and prospects.

Want more on navigating this new landscape? Check out the full story in Vuelio’s latest report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media environment’.

Health in focus: Run-up to the Budget

November 10, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, Public Affairs Political Services, PR, Political Database, Political Monitoring, Public Sector Blog Posts /by Aidan Stansbury

As Labour continues to slide in most polls, tensions between Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association (BMA) continue to surge.

Most recently, the BMA rejected another pay offer from the Government which included covering the cost of exam fees and greater training capacity. Streeting has said the strikers are ‘unnecessary and irresponsible’, the state will not be held to ransom by the doctors and challenged the notion that a 28.9% increase in pay was not the ‘crumbs’ that was being described. With the NHS experiencing its highest demand over the summer and the inevitable winter crisis that looms in the near future, the importance of maintaining the supply of healthcare is paramount. The issue that looms for Streeting is that he must balance the ‘whip’ of the Treasury, who already is squeezed for cash, with the ambitious targets on elective waiting lists which become hampered by the strikes over pay.

To counter these waiting lists, the Labour Government is keen to stress the importance of innovation in the NHS, with what seems like daily press releases on a new technology or pilots that will improve access, speed up care, and cut down the waiting lists. Despite this, the constant recurring theme seems to stick to ‘money’. On the macro level, last year’s Budget saw a £29bn uplift to fund the inherited crisis and on the micro level, both the resident doctor strikes and the crisis in pharmaceutical investment, shows that innovative string to Streeting’s ‘bow’ can only go so far, and he inevitably ends up at the door of No. 11. Kemi Badenoch would likely tell you to ban the strikes to free up cash that could be sent to the pharmaceutical industry, a decision that could implode any state relationship with resident doctors and the BMA. This would likely harm productivity and efficient healthcare, but more widely for Labour, any worsening of tensions with the health workforce would strike a dark tone for the Government of disavowing the very labour it names itself after.

Elsewhere, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appeared in front of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee to explain their involvement in life sciences investments. A key criticism of NICE has been on their QALY threshold, which has remained at £20,000-£30,000. CEO Dr. Sam Roberts specifically outlined that the QALY threshold is designed to model how the public see the health-to-cost ratio for the length and quality of life. The process of QALY’s, notably through the EQ-5D-5l assessments, was also criticised due to its subjectivity and limitations in assessing chronic illnesses. In PMQs last week, Jonathan Brash criticised NICE for not permitting omaveloxolone to treat Friedreich ataxia on the grounds that it couldn’t be classified as an ultra-rare disease. Fundamentally, NICE is being criticised by two sides of the same coin, one, to expand medicine provision to improve health outcomes, and the other, to expand provision to decrease life sciences disinvestment. In the committee, Dr. Sam Roberts noted that movement of the threshold is ultimately a Government decision and will either come at a cost to the public purse or will lead to cash being strapped from other areas in health or the wider economy.

In Parliament, two high-profile Bills have begun to make their way through committee stage, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has drawn up a strong level of media attention and is now in the process of being scrutinised by the Lords. The Lords have held oral evidence sessions for the Bill, an uncommon process for Bill committees but one that highlights the desire to scrutinise the Bill further. This included a session with relevant stakeholders from New Zealand who previously implemented a similar Bill titled End of Life Choice Act in 2022. Members heard of the threat of the Bill’s expansion through bureaucracy and the challenges it brought to palliative care, as well as the benefits of gratitude and relief that the Bill brought to families. Notably, with a recent NAO report finding that nearly two thirds of adult hospices reported a financial deficit in 2023-24, any further burden placed on this sector through the administrative complexity and social consequences of assisted dying legislation could further jeopardise any stability left in the sector.

One of the most prominent recent Parliamentary debates was on baby loss, tabled by Andy MacNae as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week. The debate included powerful speeches from Members of Parliament, some of whom had personal experiences to share. The debate highlighted the failures of maternity care, which have prompted the national investigation into maternity and neonatal care. This included experiences of ‘overt racism’ and clear cases of avoidable harm and loss. In a written response to one of the debate’s contributors Bobby Dean, Streeting highlighted how families have often felt abandoned, ignored, and damaged by the health services they are supposed to rely on. He also took note to recognise the importance of mental health support for mothers and families on the ward. As well as the national investigation, Streeting also noted work undertaken by Tommy’s into a ‘graded model of care’ for miscarriage including in bereavement support, health advice and risk assessments.

In October, Streeting also met with celebrity Vicky Pattison who has been a strong campaigner against medical misogyny following her experiences being diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Streeting committed to involving Pattison in the upcoming Women’s Health Strategy and including medical misogyny as a fundamental aspect. With this coming alongside an announcement that menopause will be included in routine NHS Health Checks, and the confirmation that the Women’s Health Strategy will be published next year, the Department for Health and Social Care has used recent weeks as a ‘policy blitz’ for their mission to remedy women’s health care and health disparities more widely.

In total, the last month has shown us that even in the philanthropic nature of healthcare, cash is king. Recent reports running up to the Budget speculate that tax increases are likely in order to safeguard the £53bn of new funding for the NHS. If it wasn’t clear from commitments set out in the Spending Review, the Spring Statement and the last Autumn Budget, the NHS, and cutting its waiting lists, is a boundless priority. Nevertheless, Streeting will have to tackle the clamour for more funding from the different prongs of the healthcare sector. Most prominently, the strikes remain a threat to both his political credibility and public sector productivity.

AMEC Silver win Vuelio Insights and Marie Curie

AMEC Awards 2025: Vuelio wins alongside Marie Curie

November 6, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, Insights, PR, Charity, Communications, Media Not-for-profit, Media Monitoring, PR, insights Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The Vuelio Insights team are proud to have been awarded Silver at the AMEC Awards 2025 in the Step Change Award category for best improvement of a measurement journey, recognising our work with end of life charity Marie Curie.

Last night’s AMEC Awards 2025 was its 23rd year of celebrating excellence across the comms and measurement industry, spotlighting the campaigns, teams, and ideas redefining communication measurement across the world.

To be recognised for this collaboration with Marie Curie on such an important project is something we’re very grateful for as a team. With the initial objective of demonstrating the value of PR to senior stakeholders, the Vuelio Insights team worked with Marie Curie to shift public perceptions around difficult subjects like death, dying, and palliative care through high-quality media coverage, securing key messaging in target audience media.

The introduction of simple yet strategic reporting at board-level, as well as new methodologies, put in place frameworks to guide planning, support behavioural change, and elevate performance conversations going forward.

From never missing a story, to evaluating contribution, we’re glad to see this step change have real impact for Marie Curie, and those it works to support.

‘We’re really pleased to be recognised by AMEC in the Step Change Award category – the collaboration between Vuelio and Marie Curie to create this new framework has made meaningful change across the organisation, which is so rewarding to see and be a part of.’

– Amy Chappell, Head of Insights, Vuelio

‘We’ve always known the importance of the stories we tell, but this framework has helped us articulate the value of our work in a much clearer and more meaningful way. It’s given our team the language and tools to evaluate what good looks like – not just in terms of media volume, but in the quality, relevance and resonance of the coverage we’re securing.

‘It’s helped us build confidence across the organisation. We’re now able to show how communications supports our wider mission, and report that narrative credibly at every level of the charity.’

– Marie Curie comms team

AMEC said: ‘This journey showcases the power of compassionate insight, proving that smart evaluation can amplify purpose-led communication with clarity and empathy’.

How to build agency resilience in the age of AI

November 5, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

With the challenges of lower budgets, smaller teams, and extra crunches on clients, AI has been embraced by many across the PR industry as a potential cure-all. But with the very welcome efficiencies and shortcuts has come new challenges. What becomes of PR when content can be generated, and outreach and measurement automated?

Its vital function as moral guide; educator; builder and protector of reputation and knowledge. Read on for advice and insight on centring strategy and thought leadership while making the most of what AI brings to the table.

Steer AI in the right direction…

‘We need to remember that AI is a new tool that still requires human operation to be used successfully, creatively and ethically, so focusing on developing this expertise is key for PR teams moving forward,’ says Sheridan Okey, head of PR at Tribera.

‘PR teams should double down on deep storytelling and reputation management – areas where nuance, empathy, and emotional intelligence matter most. AI can generate words, but it cannot replicate the instinct to sense when a message will resonate or when it will backfire. This is where the industry’s energy should be concentrated: blending the efficiency of AI with the irreplaceable judgement of experienced professionals.’

Add value for journalists

The media is also battling with the pros and cons of artificial intelligence. What they don’t want? Servings of slop, says James Brockbank, managing director and founder at Digitaloft:

‘With AI, anyone can create content on anything they know nothing about, in seconds. And this means that, all of a sudden, too many journalists are finding themselves bombarded with ‘consensus’ comments from PRs who wrote them using AI.

‘That’s not adding value. A journalist could go and do that themselves if they wanted.

‘It’s more important than ever to focus on speaking with subject matter experts (who have genuine experience and expertise in the topic) to offer journalists value-adding comments, insights, and information to take their articles to the next level.

‘It sounds simple, but in a world where too many jump straight to ChatGPT, we’re losing the fact that genuine experts must be at the heart of everything we do.’

Colin Hallmark, founder and lead consultant at 3:nine Communications, also advocates for original case studies and expert comment:

‘There’s already a narrative emerging in the media around the proliferation of bland, generic soundbites via AI. Look no further than the recent controversy in the House of Commons, where MPs were criticised for using it in their speeches.

‘Journalists want credible, authentic voices and original commentary around busy news cycles – the growth of Substack and newsletters is proof of that . In media terms, it feels like we’re entering the age of the specialist. As more people use them as search engines, LLMs themselves are starting to rely heavily on contextual trust and authority drawn from a variety of third-party content, particularly in specialist and industry titles.

‘There’s a big role for PR professionals to work closely with clients to think creatively about how they can bring their expertise and frontline experience to these audiences.’

Continue to connect with people

‘AI will quickly become a delivery service to many brands and businesses,’ acknowledges Georgie Upton, managing director, Wild Card Public Relations.

‘But for us, AI is not the answer to people and brands living life in full colour; it lacks the deep understanding of human beings, the subtlety of connections, and nuances of knowing people – that quick glance, that inner-thought. Business thrives through people connections.

‘It is using AI in a combined approach that allows the survival of human-to-human businesses.’

Sarah Lloyd, podcaster and founder of ISPR, agrees with the importance of face-to-face, in-person, interactions:

‘The industry itself should focus on the human connection. Actually meeting with real people, and creating real relationships through sharing stories. In the age of automation and bringing it all online, we have lost the skill set that had us all working in PR in the first place.

‘AI can complement it – but can never replace it.

‘The value that individuals bring to the table for clients is relationship. Relationship with them, with the press and with agency staff. PR agencies are hired on results AND ALSO chemistry. Results and process is possible via AI, but chemistry is the soft skills that humans require so they can trust the team and agency who is representing them. People buy people at the end of the day.’

Add empathy back into the equation

‘The ability to connect with empathy, is what sets us apart,’ believes Anthony Cooper, company director, Clarient Global Limited.

‘Humans respond emotionally to ideas and events, and it is this ability that allows PR professionals to deliver maximum impact. Large language models can generate content, but they cannot recognise or interpret emotional currents in the way people can. To deliver lasting value, agencies should lean into their biggest assets, which are their people, while embracing AI as a tool that frees us to focus on what we do best.’

Step into the strategist role

‘If your relationship with clients is transactional and more reporting and press office-based, it will be diluted by AI,’ warns Laura Lear, managing director, AMBITIOUS.

‘PR teams will therefore need to be laser-focused on value and strategic consultancy. Our value lies in strategy and clarity, cutting through noise and challenging inaccuracies, and shaping insights and guidance that is tailored for each client.’

Natalie Sutton, tech comms board advisor, agrees:

‘We need to shift from being content factories to being strategic architects. The future belongs to agencies that can navigate complex stakeholder dynamics, predict reputational ripples, and craft nuanced positioning that resonates with human emotion, not just algorithms.

‘Stop competing with machines on their turf. Double down on what makes us irreplaceably human: cultural intuition, ethical judgement, and the ability to build genuine trust. AI can write a press release, but it can’t look a CEO in the eye and tell them their strategy is fundamentally flawed.’

Ask the questions LLMs won’t

‘Right now, we need to demonstrate our value and our worth,’ says Amy Dawson, owner of Gatekeeper Communications.

‘We are the ones who can respectfully challenge and push back, being the voice to remind our clients, “Is this the right thing to do?” or “What could be the fallout from this?” or “How can we change this conversation?” or “Could this quick win impact our long-term reputation?” An AI tool will only ever do what the prompt is asking it to do, so our value has to show that we are taking the right steps to build trust and authority, and that we are contributing towards positive behaviours.’

Echo chambers can be an unfortunate consequence of an over-reliance on LLMs, warns Marco Fiori, MD of Bamboo PR:

‘Fewer companies are looking over the horizon and considering the future impact of their public communication now. This risk is intensified by AI.

‘PRs already play a critical role in setting nuanced positioning, which will become even more sought-after in the coming years.’

Become brand guardians

‘If PR teams aren’t helping brands stand out if they lean on AI simply to churn out content,’ says David Clare, Head of Fusion, Fire on the Hill.

‘PR professionals need to reframe their perspective on AI. It isn’t just a productivity tool; it’s an ecosystem PR can actively influence to help brands tell their story.

‘Generative AI Engine Optimisation (GEO) is ripe for the picking for PRs. LLMs cite coverage, analyst reports, and community content – all areas our industry excels in. But to marry our traditional expertise with the new world of AI demands rigour, digital literacy, and ongoing analysis.

‘PR has always promised to build authority and trust. Today, delivering on that promise means moving beyond clever branding to evidence-based results that genuinely shift visibility and credibility for clients. The AI opportunity is not a productivity boost, it is our ability to create meaningful content that influences AI and sees LLMs do the brand storytelling for us.’

Rebuild your team’s skillset

Karen Idorn, digital PR director at SEOMG!, sees a need for some serious upskilling across the industry to make the most of these new opportunities opened up by the adoption of AI:

‘PR has always been about more than coverage. It’s about guiding organisations through complex, often sensitive conversations. As society becomes more polarised and every brand decision is scrutinised, our role as trusted advisors is more valuable than ever.

‘To really embrace this, PR teams need to invest in deeper industry knowledge, ethical training, and the confidence to challenge clients when necessary. It’s about moving from being just storytellers to being strategic partners who help organisations do the right thing, not just say the right thing.’

Be the voice of reason

How can agencies remain resilient in the age of AI?

‘The role of PR professionals will remain in the capacity of appreciated advisors, says Stephanie Mullins-Wiles, COO of BlueSky Education.

‘Provide moral guidance and be a voice of reason in a world increasingly impacted by AI.’

For Chris Norton, founder and managing director at Prohibition PR, PR remains vital – and should be at the top of the table:

‘The real opportunity for PR is to be seen as a trusted advisor at board level. We should be helping clients make not just communications decisions, but reputational ones: what they stand for, how they act, even where they draw the line ethically. Then, we devise a plan for how that is communicated to the world.

‘That’s a big responsibility, but it’s also what makes the role so valuable. To get there, agencies need to invest in their people – teaching younger professionals to think critically, speak with confidence, and not just ‘do PR’ but advise with authority to ultimately become consultants.

‘It’s this shift that will make our industry more resilient, ensure we’re adapting alongside AI, and that will future-proof the value of agencies.’

For how Vuelio can help agencies with their work, check out our Media Database, Media Monitoring, and Insights solutions.

‘AI has made it so that anyone can pose as an expert’ – Media interview with Jacob Granger, community editor at Journalism.co.uk

October 21, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Database, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

What sort of relationship do journalists want with PRs now? In an ever-changing media landscape, it can be difficult to know the best ways to make connections and understand what publishers want and need from you. Someone that is seeing these changes take place first-hand is Jacob Granger, who works as community editor at Journalism.co.uk.

Below, he shares some of the ways that the relationship between journalists and PRs can be improved, explains how the industry has changed during his nearly ten years covering it, and discusses the impact that AI has had for both sides.

What are some of the main changes that you have seen during your time covering the media industry, and do you think these have been positive or negative developments?

The buzzword at the moment is the ‘user needs model’. This was developed by a journalist called Dmitry Shishkin when he was at the BBC, and it’s since been expanded from six user needs up to eight. I think this has been transformative for our industry, because it has confirmed something for journalists and editors – people want more from the news than just an update. Maybe they want help connecting, or they want help being distracted, or they want to be illuminated by something. There’s more to the news experience than just updates.

The traditional model has long peddled this view that the metrics of success for journalism is measured by page views and eyeballs and scoops and scandals and the rest of it. This is still valid, but I think something else has emerged. An important metric for success now is value and habitual use and loyalty, and the user need model complements this so much, because it takes away the incentive of visibility. It says, what do the analysis articles do for our publication model? What do lists of ‘top ten experts to follow’ do for our business model? What’s emerged from this is the realisation that we’ve over-commissioned on one type of story.

The penny has dropped for a lot of publishers and they have realised what’s missing in our model. Many publishers have run with it, including The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Conversation, Vogue, Berlingske Media in Denmark. There’s so many great adopters of this strategy now, and it’s really feeding directly into newer business models that maybe have different KPIs around subscriptions or memberships. That’s the big change. I’m really enthusiastic about it, and it’s been a really wonderful framework for our industry.

In terms of negatives, we’ve seen a lot of job layoffs in recent years in the news industry. When you talk to young journalists, this is a really big concern for them. Is there a place in the industry for me now? The jobs are so fiercely competitive, but also so fragile in terms of their job security. I worry about this being a really big deterrent for young journalists coming through the industry. We can’t just keep cutting jobs to cost save. We have to figure this out and get our business models in order.

Why is the relationship between journalists and PRs such a key one in the media industry? And how do you think it can be improved further (from both sides)?

I think it’s always good for journalists to have new story leads that they wouldn’t otherwise have considered. It’s always good for them to be introduced to sources that may not otherwise come into their world. The problem with this is that PRs tend to come to journalists and newsrooms with ulterior motives. They’re wanting publicity or wanting something in exchange.

Some of the best PRs I’ve worked with, you go back to them and say, this isn’t a story for now, but let’s come back in three to six months when we’ve got some results to show. They say, okay cool, let’s schedule a call in that space of time. At that point, I’m saying that there is a story we could publish, but who does it serve beyond just your publicity? Our job as a journalist is not to give publicity to PRs, it’s to serve our audience. Where there is that clear value exchange, and they’ve thought about the audience, and there’s some exclusive data or access to an expert, that’s legitimate and fine as far as I’m concerned. But there has to be that negotiation between both sides, and there has to be some way of meeting in the middle.

I’ve met some PRs who are very insistent on their marketing lines, and they sit in on interviews, and they interject, and they do all the things that journalists hate. You just end up canceling the interview. My advice is to go into these interviews with some curiosity and be open to the possibilities from the interview. Don’t be afraid to try and change the angle. I’ve got an interview to do tomorrow and this is the second time I’ve spoken to them. It came to me through a PR agency, but the main angle that they approached me with when I had a scoping call with them, I could see it doesn’t really do much beyond trumpet your own cause. I’ve gone back and said there’s a better angle to this conversation. This is one that I think will serve our audience. How do you feel about this? And I’ve got a green light. I think that’s the way to handle these things.

AI and its use in the media has been a hot topic for the last year or two now, what are the main ways that journalists and publishers are using it? And what impact does this have on the PR industry?

I think it’s useful for doing the things that journalists either can’t do or they spend too long doing. I’ve sat there, like any journalist, and transcribed an interview manually. It’s awful and it’s a waste of time. Put it through an AI and it will give you a good transcription. You can also use AI to crawl through a data set to try and find some meaningful data points and statistics. It would take you, as the journalist, ages to do that. There’s no need to waste so much time doing that if you can reliably use a trustworthy AI and corroborate the findings afterwards.

If you’re lazily using it to turn out AI slop, then it is probably not the best idea in the world. I think you could train an AI model to write quite closely for your publication. Train it on a user needs model and your own previous writing, and get it to emulate that fairly closely. You have a first draft, and then you can go in and work from that sort of standpoint and that’s all right in my view. Plus, it’s good for translation, particularly for very niche languages. You know, we did a piece last year about a publisher who was using it to transcribe Greenlandic. You might be able to get some translators, but if you’ve got a reliable AI to do this, then it will save you a lot of hard work in the long run.

In terms of the PR side, the arrival of AI has made it so that anyone can pose as an expert. I think journalists now, with a lot of the scandals that have emerged from journalists being hoodwinked and deceived by sources that are just using AI, probably have their guards up. If you’re a PR, just be aware of this. There would probably be extra credentials needed to prove that you’ve got a legitimate source to speak to, so be prepared to show your credentials and the qualifications of your expert. That’s one impact I think AI has had on the PR world.

Journalism.co.uk offers courses and training not just for journalists but also for people in comms and PR. What are the main skills that a media professional needs nowadays when communicating with the press?

The main skill is to be digitally literate and realise that not all journalists want to have a text interview. Perhaps they want to do a podcast or maybe they want to do a live video, or just do something a little bit outside of the realms of possibility. If you’re a little bit more digital savvy, you can clip it up for social afterwards. It’s good to have those production values in mind about what’s going to look good visually and what’s going to sound good. That’s another thing, get yourself a good mic. A lot of times I’ve been set up with interviews and they’re using iPhone microphones or whatever and that just doesn’t do the business. So being aware of the production values and the different platforms that journalists want to be across, is a very good skill set to have.

I would also be remiss not to give my colleague, Ophelia Birch, a huge shout out for the work she’s doing on revamping our training across the board. I saw one the other day that I thought was really cool, which was about interviewing advice for panel podcasts and about how to do an interview for different scenarios. It’s good to be upskilled in that area I’d say as well.

For more on the modern media landscape and how it’s changing, download our Vuelio report ‘How news travels in today’s fragmented media landscape‘.

Digging in on Labour’s New Towns

October 20, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, Public Affairs Political Services, Political Database, Political Monitoring Blog Posts /by Ellie Farrow

On the opening day of their annual party conference (28 September), the Government issued its initial response to the New Towns Taskforce alongside the publication of the Taskforce’s final report.

The Report sets out a comprehensive series of recommendations on how to plan and deliver new settlements of 10,000 homes or more. Central to this is the identification of twelve potential new town sites, selected through existing evidence, a call for submissions, and assessment against clear criteria. Each of these new towns has been recommended by the Taskforce for its potential to deliver on the following objectives: whether sites can unlock or support economic growth, accelerate housing delivery, provide housing for strong communities and contribute to transforming the way that large settlements are delivered.

In its response, the Government endorsed all twelve sites. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook described them as ‘particularly promising as sites that might make significant contributions to unlocking economic growth and accelerating housing delivery’. Of these, three (Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank, and Crews Hill in north London) were singled out as extra promising for driving growth and accelerating housing delivery. The Government pledged to ‘get the spades in the ground’ on these within the lifetime of this Parliament. Final decisions, however, remain contingent on a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), due in Spring 2026, which will evaluate the environmental impacts of new town development. Alongside this, the Government has broadly committed to exploring the Taskforce’s recommendations through a set of formal processes.

As ever, the real test will be delivery. The Government’s response is arguably subdued on one of the Taskforce’s central points: the need for sustained consensus-building and public participation in both shaping and governing new communities. Without clear, national-level commitments to high standards in placemaking and delivery at the outset, the ambitions outlined risk slipping into aspirational rhetoric rather than actionable policy. On finance, the tone is equally cautious, while funding is promised in principle, detail is deferred.

Meanwhile, organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) have welcomed both the Taskforce’s report and the Government’s ambition, but stress that success depends on more than hitting housing targets. As the CIH argues, new towns must ‘go beyond housing numbers to create sustainable, inclusive communities with appropriate services, transport, green spaces and a strong commitment to social and affordable homes’.

Party Conferences 2025: Health in focus

October 9, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, Public Affairs Political Monitoring, Political Services, Political Database Blog Posts /by Aidan Stansbury

The last month brought the annual rendition of party conferences and it wouldn’t be controversial to say that health took a back seat this year, in the wake of wide-spread political discourse on immigration, free speech and the war in the Middle East. This state of play is an indictment of how Reform UK, a party with five seats in Parliament, have been able to warp the political and media landscape in their interests; keeping the ball in their court as they lead some polls by over ten points.

This absence of health in political commentary can be encapsulated by Shadow Secretary of State for Health Stuart Andrew’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference. Andrew offered little in regard to policy alternatives but used his speech to hold a debate with four interested members in the health space, including a former swimmer, a former minister, a GP, and a think tank chief executive. The panel spoke on technological innovation, prevention, primary care prioritisation and social care reform respectively. Interestingly, the first three causes are positions championed by the Government in the 10-Year Health Plan, occupying all three of the symbolic shifts. Andrew also affirmed that the Conservatives were prepared to agree and work to form cross-party solutions with Labour, with his vision of a patient-centred and innovation-harnessing health service. In this sense, Andrew, at least from this speech and the content of his panel, would struggle to differentiate himself from a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care.

A more interesting insight from the Conference was a fringe event titled Realising the Potential of Life Sciences: How can the UK compete. As a member of the panel, Shaun Grady, Chair of AstraZeneca UK, took aim at the UK’s life sciences landscape, in particular, its aversion to the adoption of innovation. He said that the NICE threshold budget was out-dated and appalling, and other competitors both in Europe and across the world offer a better environment and incentives for innovative investment. Grady’s comments come amid a row between the Department of Health and Social Care and big pharma over drug prices. Recently, MSD, an American pharmaceuticals company, scrapped its investment in a £1bn expansion in London, citing that the UK government had undervalued life sciences investment for too long. With Lord Vallance, Science Minister, calling for ‘necessary’ price increases, and now reports confirming that Ministers are preparing increases, it seems like the big business may have got its way. No doubt Wes Streeting will be committed, especially given the constrained state of public finances, to not be held to ransom.

Elsewhere, in September, the Liberal Democrats passed a policy motion titled ‘Getting Emergency Care Back on Track’ which calls on the Government to end corridor care by the end of the parliament, fix the social care system, tackle staff shortages, and guarantee safer emergency services through more qualified clinicians and mental health crisis services. For the Liberal Democrats, social care is a dominant issue, with Helen Morgan, Health Spokesperson, saying that the Casey Commission being published in 2028 is far too late, an absence of leadership, and is the most important issue she would raise to the Prime Minister.

In Zack Polanski’s speech at the Green Party’s conference he promised to protect the NHS. Besides this, health featured little at their conference, with the only potential explanation for solving the NHS being found in a wealth tax to help fund better care. Critics, including the Labour Government, would argue that this would just be supplementing the status quo that has put the NHS into disarray in many areas of the UK. Further substance to their ‘eco-populist’ health ambitions will have to be seen. Reform UK, the leading party in the polls, have been laser-focused on issues away from health. In a similar capacity to the Greens, there are promises to fix the health service, with little policy substance to back it up from the conference. Nigel Farage has almost become synonymous with privatising the NHS; where this has gone from, in cases, a mere rumour to now being peddled by Labour ministers on social media and the Prime Minister in PMQs. Reform have tried to shut this down previously, including in a social media post released in April; but it would be no surprise to see this line repeated in the coming months ahead of the upcoming Senedd and Holyrood elections, in hopes to deter voters from Reform and the slippery slope that a change in the funding model could create.

At the Labour Party conference, Wes Streeting pushed this exact line again, warning against an insurance-based system and condemning the ‘post-truth’ politics and ‘con artist’ antics that are pushed by the right of politics and Farage. He also warned against Reform’s immigration stance which could see NHS workers deported even after decades of service. Rather, voters should vote for the successes of the current administration in line with the three shifts, ones that Streeting has unambiguously heralded; whether that is through AI innovation, which can be seen in recent announcements on breast cancer screening and smart glasses, or the extra emphasis and resourcing of community primary care services to drive prevention and early treatment.

With the 10-Year Health Plan growing more distant, emphasis has turned to delivery, and just last week, Streeting appointed a new special adviser, Matthew Hood OBE, to assist on this in the department’s delivery unit. The last month also saw a host of new announcements, including procurement shifting from ‘cost-first’ to ‘patient-first’, the publication of NHS trust league tables, GP appointments to be opened up to all hours of the day, and the announcement of NHS Online by the Prime Minister. The aim is to begin the action set out in the Plan and its three shifts, and deliver clear improvements. In this case, an overachievement in productivity to 2.7% is a strong sign for Streeting. Success in the health sector could be a potential saving grace for the Labour party, acting as a key vehicle in leveraging the success of a Labour Government in the upcoming devolved elections.

Elsewhere, Streeting took aim at the British Medical Association (BMA) again, who have resisted reforms and pay offers. He sharply warned that clinging to conservatism could turn the NHS into a ‘museum’. Earlier in September, Streeting spoke at a meeting of the BMA asking for them to take an ‘olive branch’ and form a ‘partnership’ to save the NHS. Streeting has got a difficult task of juggling two seemingly competing forces, expansive innovation and a constrained workforce, and currently, accounting for both in the maximum seems unlikely. Inevitably, social care sits on the margins in the political space, but the announcement of a fair pay agreement, backed by £500m investment, could prove pivotal in solving workforce tensions and has been welcomed as a positive step forward by the sector. However, with a final report expected from the Casey Commission in 2028, it does not seem that social care will move at the speed and certainty that Streeting has commanded the health service to do so.

With political focus and attention elsewhere and opposition to his policy plans few and far between, the party conference season highlighted how Streeting has a clear mandate to deliver. His success in turning around the ‘broken’ NHS and social care system could be crucial to Labour’s future in Government. But, as some might argue, it may also be an opportunity for Streeting to prove himself to be a formidable replacement for the struggling Starmer.

The impact of regulation on reputation: Why comms teams can’t ignore politics

October 8, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Political Services, PR, Political Database, Press and Bloggers, Political Monitoring, Media Database, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The Online Safety Bill, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, upcoming HFSS legislation changes, and Net Zero targets – did you factor these legislation updates into comms strategies for your business, and clients?

As made clear by the impacts of these regulations on the UK business landscape, staying out of politics is not a viable option for comms teams. Being aware of what’s happening in Westminster isn’t just a bonus skill – it’s a core competency that’s essential for risk management, opportunity spotting, and strategic counsel.

For practical advice for staying ahead in these politically-charged times, check out this round-up of advice from those in the industry successfully weaving political know-how into their brand and client strategies.

How politics permeates PR

Politics influences and intersects with every aspect of our daily lives, and this is no different for organisations.

Kerry Parkin, founder of the Remarkables, believes the issue is two-fold for comms:

‘1) Politics drives the agenda. The geopolitical world is moving faster than ever, often dictating the speed and direction of media and stakeholder conversations. Take tariffs as an example: a major political decision, well signposted in advance, can suddenly make or break something as straightforward as a tequila launch. If your product, business or brand is touched by political or geopolitical events, it must be factored into your mindset, planned for, and executed around, even through, the disruption.

2) Timing is everything. If you are pitching stories on the very day a budget lands, you can kiss goodbye to any meaningful coverage. Without political awareness, teams risk wasting opportunities and undermining credibility by being out of sync with the national conversation.’

In fact, a lack of political know-how can be poison for public relations, as Anton Greindl, director, public affairs, at the Tilton Consultancy explains:

‘Without a working grasp of the political agenda, agencies can drift away from their clients’ real priorities. If you don’t track policy and regulation, you mistime launches, miss stakeholder expectations, and risk using messages that are about to become politically toxic or legally constrained.

‘You also lose earned opportunities, such as select committee calls for evidence, regulator consultations, media windows, because you’re reacting after the fact. Policy literacy is the difference between PR being a noticeboard and PR being a strategic lever for revenue, risk, and reputation.’

Reputation could be the first casualty of a lack of awareness:

‘Without political awareness of the now and what’s upcoming, PR teams risk aligning their clients with narratives that are outdated, or even damaging,’ says Claire Crompton, commercial director at TAL Agency.

‘Politically and socially, society evolves daily – the political sphere is continuously shifting. Managing a brand must be timely in the wider context of society, without anticipating what’s ahead, PR teams are essentially navigating blindfolded.’

The role of political monitoring

While it’s impossible to be present for every PMQs, there are tools to help you keep on top of what’s happening in politics.

Laura Moss, managing partner, Parisi explains what political monitoring can do:

‘A good example of monitoring in practice came when we picked up on emerging Home Office policy proposals to ban critical national infrastructure (CNI) owners and operators from making ransomware payments.

‘We immediately flagged this to a client, the cybersecurity specialist team at a global law firm, and worked with them to provide rapid legal and policy analysis. Within hours, we were able to take their expert commentary to targeted media outlets, ensuring they were among the first voices shaping the debate. This not only positioned the client as a go-to authority on ransomware policy but also strengthened their relationships with journalists covering cyber and national security.’

Monitoring can provide the warning signs for potential crises on the horizon, believes Kerry:

‘It allows PR teams to anticipate rather than react. I saw this first-hand during my time at Costa, when Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched his campaign against paper cups. At the time, we treated it as purely a media issue. What we did not realise was that the subject had been raised at Prime Minister’s Questions a month earlier.

‘Political monitoring would have flagged that in advance and given us the chance to prepare the business and the narrative more effectively.’

Another example with huge ramifications for comms and wider industries – the uncertainty around TikTok’s continuing availability in the United States earlier this year:
‘In one fell swoop, this would have disenfranchised millions of young Americans from a channel that they could identify with, and would have cost the platform and its advertising partners, and brands that rely on it, millions in revenue,’ explains Yasper founder Julian Pearce.

‘Businesses from all corners need to be aware of the threats, and the potential fragility of their relationships.’

Political awareness is needed globally, nationally, but also locally, adds Katie Nelson, director and head of construction at Cartwright:

‘Recent months and years demonstrate this perfectly with a power change in Number 10, new housing targets and national infrastructure strategies, and changing cabinets. By being tapped into that political space, we’re able to work with clients on how best to navigate changes from a communications perspective – which as PR pros, we know the role comms has to play.’

Moving from passive observation to proactive strategy

What comms teams do with the information is what makes the difference – reacting to what’s happening in the political sphere, but also taking a proactive stance:

‘On its own, data is useful,’ says Laura. ‘But the real value comes from PR consultants interpreting it and adding their knowledge and insights on the potential business impact, then advising clients on how they may or may not wish to respond. By turning monitoring into actionable insight, PR teams can help clients shape communications strategies and identify opportunities for engagement with policymakers or industry bodies.’

Anton agrees:

‘Too many consultancies follow the same pre-packaged newsletters from a narrow set of public affairs – specific outlets, which limits scope and insight. While these are extremely useful in our day to day, every practitioner should skim the key national and international papers each morning, plus at least one business title, one sector trade and the relevant regulator feeds. Go to the source, such as government portals, consultations, committees and statistical releases, rather than relying solely on pre-focused summaries. And I believe we should close the loop weekly with a short, internal, client-specific briefing that covers what changed, why it matters, and the recommended actions.’

In summary, ignore what’s happening in Parliament at your peril…

Your stakeholders will care, so should you, says Jan Christoph Bohnerth, CEO of Life Size.

‘Communications teams can and should go beyond simply tracking when a new bill or regulation is introduced. It’s now also about anticipating how different stakeholders are likely to move, and communications has an important role to play in influencing and shaping public discourse. Done well, this gives PR teams the intelligence to stay ahead, guide strategy and achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients or organisations.’

‘Those that fall short tend to be the ones cutting back in political and communications engagement,’ warns Kerry.

‘In today’s environment, that is short sighted. Now is the time to be investing in these capabilities, not retreating from them, because the political and media landscape is only becoming more complex and uncertain.’

‘The takeaway for PR is simple,’ adds Anton. ‘When politics moves, lead with substance, consistency and implementation detail.

‘Treat policy milestones like a content calendar, make your spokespeople useful to the debate, and ensure every message is anchored to actions the organisation is taking next.’

Tap into what’s happening in politics with Vuelio Political Monitoring and our Political Database. Want help with stakeholder management? Check out Vuelio Stakeholder Relationship Management.

Gift guides, keeping warm & half-term holidays: How to get UK press coverage in October

October 7, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Deciding how to get coverage in the media in October? Halloween may be the immediate focus but there are plenty of other trending topics and issues that you can tie campaigns and experts into. Find out below what has been popular in September on the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service and what this will mean for the rest of this month.

Gift guides in demand

Christmas is approaching quickly and journalists have been keen to get their gift guide features compiled in the last month. Over 7% of the total requests in September contained the words ‘gift guide’. This has resulted in some big increases for some of our more consumer-related categories with Men’s Interest rising by 60% compared to August, a 44% increase for Women’s Interest & Beauty and a massive 88% increase for Children & Teenagers.

Journalists at The Sun, Cosmopolitan, Health & Wellbeing, The Guardian, Saga, and GLAMOUR have all sent gift guide-related enquiries in the last month. These have been ‘for him’ and ‘for her’, as well for children, for pets, food & drink products, beauty items, wellness and much more.

Going forward? Gift guide requests will remain frequent throughout October and November as we build up to Christmas. In October 2024, nearly 10% of the total requests was for ‘gift guides’ so expect an increase in journalists from national press and major consumer magazines asking for product samples to test and feature in their reviews.

Staying warm is hot stuff

October marks the beginning of the colder months of the year and journalists have been keen to find out ways that people can stay warm during the Autumn and Winter. ‘Heat’ has appeared as a keyword in just over 1% of all requests in September and ‘warm’ in just under 2%. This also ties into the topical issue of concerns over energy bills and how this might impact people’s personal finance and budgets – with ‘budget’ also appearing as a keyword in nearly 3% of enquiries.

Requests have included looking for expert insights on how UK households are staying warm and cutting energy costs; a heating expert to share expertise on the best time of the day to put the heating on and the best electric blankets to help keep warm this Winter.

Going forward? With temperatures set to drop in October, then there will be more requests around ways that people can stay warm for less. This will increasingly link into the finance side of things as ‘budget’ appeared in over 4% of requests last October. Get heating and finance experts ready and you could be featured in outlets such as GB News, Ideal Home, or Homebuilding & Renovating.

Travel back in fashion

June and July are usually peak season for both the Travel category and ‘travel’ as a keyword but September has seen its popularity rise again. ‘Travel’ cropped up in over 6% of all enquiries last month and the Travel category as a whole increased by 35% compared to August.

This is in part due to journalists looking to get recommendations on where families can head to for the October half-term. However, there have been other topics too with requests for unusual travel experiences, staycations with a twist and trade-friendly tour operators that specialise in adventure travel. These have been sent by outlets such as PA Media, Selling Travel, National Geographic Traveller, and The Wall Street Journal.

Going forward? There will be requests for last-minute travel packages for the school break plus journalists will be looking further ahead with other Autumnal getaway destinations and information on Winter holidays, too. Be prepared with information on different escapes and travel experts to offer comment and there is potential for coverage in a national press title.

Other opportunities for PRs in October and beyond

While we aren’t that far into Autumn, ‘Winter’ becomes more popular on the Journalist Enquiry Service from this point onwards. Last year it appeared in over 4% of requests during October and we would expect to see a similar level of interest this year. This can vary in topic from gardening jobs to do during this period to looking to get information on the fashion and beauty trends for the Wintertime.

It doesn’t receive masses of requests but journalists spend this month gathering information on the best places to see firework displays to celebrate Bonfire Night. Around 1% of all enquiries in October 2024 were centred around this topic, so if you’ve got information on different locations putting on events to celebrate this occasion then have them ready if you want to get press coverage.

Want to get the most out of the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service? Find out how here.

Communicating in a world redefined by AI

October 2, 2025/0 Comments/in Event, Communications PR, Comms, Crisis Comms Blog Posts /by Sal Morton

Artificial intelligence has quickly moved from futuristic promise to present-day reality, reshaping how we work, connect and communicate. That shift was at the centre of Vuelio’s recent event, Communicating in a world redefined by AI, which brought together comms leaders to explore the opportunities and risks of this new era.

The discussion highlighted the dual narratives currently shaping AI: on one side, optimism about its role as the driver of a new industrial revolution, fuelling productivity and growth; on the other, scepticism about its potential to erode trust, creativity and even democracy.

We interviewed André Labadie Exec Chair, Business & Technology for Brands2Life and Vuelio’s Head of Insights Amy Chappell after the event to unpack their perspectives further.

The narratives defining AI today

The event began by asking a simple but pressing question: how is AI being framed in our conversations right now?

According to André, two narratives dominate. On one side, there is enormous enthusiasm: AI as the driver of the next industrial revolution, promising growth, productivity and creativity at scale. “It’s the idea that AI is going to power the next industrial revolution, a major engine of productivity, creativity and economic growth. Technology firms, consultancies, governments all want to push that message, and there’s real substance behind it.”

On the other, there is caution that recognises that these technologies also come with risks to trust, creativity, and even democratic processes. “We’ve moved on from the Robocop-style stories of killer robots,” André explained, “but there are still concerns. Whether around misinformation, ethical use, or how reliant on automation we should allow ourselves to become.”

This tension of optimism versus scepticism is playing out across media coverage, political debate, and popular culture. Communicators now face the challenge of addressing both sides with honesty and balance.

Where media and public diverge

The event also explored where media and public opinion align on AI, and where they diverge.

At a macro level, both groups are aligned on jobs and ethics: whether roles will be displaced or reshaped by AI, and whether its applications are ethical. But beyond that, priorities differ.

“From a media lens, there’s a preoccupation with big-picture risks,” André says. “But the public, as employees or consumers, are more concerned with pragmatic and personal issues — can my child use AI safely for homework? Can I trust the reviews I’m reading online?”

This divergence matters for communicators. Messaging that plays well in the press may not resonate with employees or customers. Equally, public anxieties that appear small-scale can quickly become reputational flashpoints.

AI as solution as well as risk

Amy added an important counterpoint: AI may cause problems, but it can also be part of the solution. “It’s almost ironic, isn’t it — using AI to fix AI problems,” she reflected. “But AI can help detect misinformation, catch fake quotes, and verify sources. We’ve seen misquotes in the media around medical advice, and being able to use AI to spot and correct those quickly is vital.”

She also pointed to AI’s ability to process vast volumes of data: “From an analyst perspective, it can help us act quicker. If there’s a narrative playing out in the media, AI can help us understand what’s going on and deal with issues before they escalate.”

This dual role — both a risk factor and a potential safeguard — is central to how communicators should frame AI internally and externally.

Key challenges for communicators

For communicators trying to find their footing, André outlined three key challenges:

Avoiding sensationalism. The hype cycle means every brand feels pressure to make statements on AI. “There are a lot of so-called thought leaders with strong opinions,” André noted. “The challenge is cutting through with something grounded and valuable.”
Adding substance. Research shows most major companies now reference AI in their annual reports, but few explain how it has genuinely improved their operations. That gap between rhetoric and reality risks hollowing out trust.
Maintaining credibility. Brands that present themselves as human-first but secretly rely on automation risk being caught out. Transparency, he argued, is the safest strategy.

André highlights Puma, the sportswear brand, faced criticism for releasing an AI-generated campaign despite its identity being rooted in human performance. Outsourcing to automation felt discordant and undermined credibility. By contrast, LinkedIn rolled out AI-generated job descriptions and career advice with clear labelling and careful positioning. “They presented it as a co-pilot rather than a replacement,” André says. “Consumers knew it was AI-driven, they understood its limitations, and they were more forgiving when mistakes occurred.”

The rise of new comms channels

As AI changes not just messaging but also the information ecosystem, the question of channels is increasingly pressing.

For André, executive communications remain key for signalling authenticity. Employees, too, are crucial — often the first to amplify or critique how AI is used internally.

And interactive forums matter more than ever. “Reddit AMAs, Q&As — those have a double benefit,” he explained. “Not only do they engage audiences directly, but AI-powered search engines and large language models are increasingly over-indexing on content from those spaces.”

This led to wider discussion on phenomena like “Google Zero”, where AI-driven summaries reduce traffic to news websites. As André pointed out, this is a business model crisis for publishers — but also a challenge for communicators, who must ensure brand content surfaces in the discursive spaces where AI is now sourcing information.

Keeping humans in the loop

Both panellists stressed the importance of human oversight.

Amy highlighted the need for governance and scepticism when working with vendors: “Don’t use AI outputs as the finished article. Keep humans involved in verification, and don’t overtrust vendors who overpromise.”

She also emphasised the role of human spokespeople: “If you have a person quoted in an article or broadcast, you maintain a level of trust that an AI output alone can’t offer.”

André echoed this, pointing to the risk of “slop” — AI-generated work that looks polished but lacks depth. “The differentiator is still judgment,” he argued. “What makes communication stand out is originality, cultural awareness and human connection.”

The future of junior comms roles

The conversation turned to how AI will reshape entry-level and mid-level roles. André was clear: junior communicators must still be trained in the fundamentals. “Graduates are tomorrow’s middle managers. If we don’t train them properly now, we’ll face a crisis later,” he warned.

He also predicted new skillsets: “We’ll all become orchestrators of agents. Rather than going to a colleague for help, you’ll go to AI agents. So junior staff will need to understand how to stitch technologies together and manage processes as well as people.”

Amy agreed, emphasising the need for critical thinking: “If we don’t train graduates, they won’t know how to interrogate AI outputs. Critical thinking and strategic oversight are going to be essential skills.”

Pitfalls to avoid

Over-reliance was a recurring theme. Amy warned against being dazzled by tools that overpromise: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. No tool can do everything — so don’t integrate anything you can’t fully trust.”

André added that organisations often try to move too fast: “Don’t boil the ocean. Start with a subset of workflows, experiment, and build from there.”

Both panellists agreed that while AI can streamline workflows, it cannot replace human creativity, judgment and accountability.

Experiment boldly, communicate authentically

The overarching takeaway from the event is that AI is here to stay — but its impact will be defined by how organisations choose to use it.

Experimentation is important, but so are transparency and authenticity. As Amy noted, combining AI-driven monitoring with human oversight is key to managing fast-moving narratives. As André stressed, an “okay” AI-generated pitch won’t win new business — originality and distinctiveness still matter most.

Artificial intelligence may be redefining the landscape, but it is human judgment that will continue to shape the stories worth telling.

Liberal Democrat Conference overview: A pushback against the infiltration of ‘Trumpian’ politics

September 29, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, Public Affairs Political Monitoring, Political Services, Political Database Blog Posts /by Aidan Stansbury

Written by Aidan Stansbury and Billy Barham, Vuelio Political Team.

The Liberal Democrat Conference saw no halt in Sir Ed Davey’s relentless bombardment of the right wing of politics. In fact, it reinvigorated his arguments, as he pushed against what he described as Trumpian-style politics infiltrating, by proxy, across the Atlantic.

In his closing speech, Davey did not hesitate to call out the US president, challenging him on the flight of medical researchers from the US, and his claims regarding autism in children caused by paracetamol. Further, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Callum Miller’s speech was dominated with anti-Trump rhetoric, accusing the UK of bending over backwards for the US. Davey also used the conference to further take aim at Elon Musk, lengthening their public dispute from X to the shores of Bournemouth. The party has called for criminal charges against Musk for the language used at the Unite the Kingdom march a few weeks ago. The anti-Trump notion was reiterated by Sir Nick Clegg, who confirmed he would not be returning to politics after leaving Meta as President of Global Affairs earlier this year. In a fringe event on Big Tech, AI and Political Conflict, the former Deputy Prime Minister did not hold back on his criticisms of the ‘special relationship’, branding the UK’s dependence on the US as embarrassing and increasingly ‘cringey’. He warned that the UK would soon have to choose between the US and the EU to protect its values and sovereignty.

It would be hard to argue that Nigel Farage, Reform UK Leader, was not a contending protagonist of the conference, absorbing the closing speech titled ‘Don’t let Trump’s America become Farage’s Britain’. The Liberal Democrats have worked to jointly connect the attitudes of Donald Trump and his ‘number one cheerleader’ Nigel Farage, accusing him of being anti-democratic and anti-patriotic, with little interest in advancing the UK. Given that Reform UK only has five seats in Parliament, it is clear the party is looking to the future, guided by opinion polls, where Reform UK could sweep up country-wide disillusionment with the current establishment. Davey’s ploy here is to challenge the UK’s cosying up to the US administration, both through Labour’s desire ‘to do everything to appease Trump’ and Reform UK’s Trumpian political ambitions. To supplement this argument, Liberal Democrats gave out toy lego characters of Farage named ‘Plastic Patriotic’, complete with a MAGA hat and a boot for the Farage figure to lick. Davey has said the Liberal Democrats have a moral obligation to tackle Reform UK and are unwilling to back down to the bullies on the right, positioning the party as a centrist ‘pro-business’ alternative.

In regard to the incumbent Government, the Liberal Democrats’ rhetoric has become
increasingly critical. Davey, in his closing speech, argued that the Government was testing the patience of voters, lurching from one crisis to another. The Government, he said, was hurting pensioners, carers, and farmers across the UK. He implied that the damage to public trust was irreparable, suggesting that the decisions of voters would now be between the Liberal Democrats or Reform UK. A bold move to completely disassociate the established parties, looking to capitalise on shifting opinion polls and public disillusionment.

The former minister for schools David Laws and the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Education, Children and Families) Munira Wilson both questioned the Government’s political strategy. They claimed that caution and a lack of strategic vision had meant that the Government’s stuttering start to power was focused on minimal evolution rather than revolution. They believed the public could feel this tension and that it was the party’s duty to present an optimistic vision of the future to challenge the right.

Further, a key theme across the conference was the shared belief in the importance of community and that locally-led solutions were critical to deep rooted political issues and as a vehicle for systemic change. Baroness Pinnock, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government went further, directing criticism towards the Government’s stance on devolution. She argued that the Government’s interpretation of devolution is fundamentally flawed and lacked key democratic principles, warning against the assumption that devolution will automatically lead to a more prosperous future on a local and national level. Separately, Angus MacDonald criticised the Government direction on energy and the just transition, arguing that it had alienated the rural economy and had been done to the public rather than with them.

Fundamentally, the Liberal Democrat conference showed a key signal that the party is willing to stand up and fight off the right of politics; whether that is tackling the Conservatives in a hope to outmuscle them at the next election, or, more prominently, warn potential voters away from the perceived dangerous Trumpian ambitions of Nigel Farage. In doing so, the Liberal Democrats aim to offer an optimistic future for the UK, one which they believe Labour is unable to provide.

For more on UK politics, sign up to our Point of Order newsletter.