Around one fifth of in-house comms professionals believe their budgets for agency PR and for marketing services will increase in 2026, according to a survey for PRWeek and In.Comms; whereas only around one in 10 expect it to decline.
The results of the anonymous survey, released ahead of the publication of the 2026 UK Power Book, reveal the opinions of nearly 100 in-house Power Book entrants canvassed to gauge their views on key issues.
Of those near-100 in-house respondents, 21 per cent expect that their budget for agency PR will ‘increase somewhat’ this year compared to 2025, while 19 per cent say their agency marketing budget (including paid, owned and earned media) will ‘increase somewhat’.
One stated that “uncertainty about the wider market and consumer/advertising confidence” would lead to further pressure on in-house budgets and team size. As a result they expect that this may open up opportunities for external agencies to “fill some gaps, without the risk of a long-term commitment” for the company.
One respondent from a company which is expanding thinks that “this may lead us to outsource more PR work to agencies, likely on a project basis”.
Another person surveyed, who said their company will be expanding globally, sees their role growing too, taking on a more global remit which will include “extra agency management and team growth” as a result, along with a “greater focus on corporate affairs, investor relations and stakeholder management to ensure consistent messaging”, elevating the role of comms within their organisation.
Although one fifth of respondents expect their agency budgets to increase, well over half of the respondents (62 per cent), think their agency PR budget will stay flat, and 59 per cent believe that of their agency marketing budgets.
Only around 10 per cent of respondents think that either agency PR or marketing budgets will decline in the next year.
Whether budgets are squeezed or not, one person polled added: “I expect that agencies’ costs will be queried and scrutinised but eventually proven worth it.”
The 2026 UK Power Book, which will be published by PRWeek and In.Comms next month, lists the most influential figures in UK comms as chosen by the editorial team.