PR budgets are set to rise, amid continuing growth in marketing spending, according to a major survey of in-house marketing professionals from around 300 UK companies.
A greater number (15.3 per cent) of marketing professionals increased PR spending between July and September this year than those who reduced it (12.7 per cent). This resulted in a net balance of +2.5 per cent for PR budgets in Q3, according to the latest quarterly IPA Bellwether Report by financial firm S&P Global.
This represents “another modest uptick in PR spending” with PR budgets “revised higher for a ninth straight quarter during Q3 2025”.
The report adds: “The latest upward revision to public relations expenditure was broadly aligned with firms' projections for the 2025/26 financial year, which showed a net balance of +3.3% of panellists foreseeing greater budgets.”
It also reveals that marketing budgets have grown for the second quarter running. There was a net balance of +3.6 per cent of UK companies revising their marketing budgets upwards in Q3, with 22.3 per cent of respondents reporting an increase compared to 18.7 per cent reporting a reduction.
“This positive figure marked back-to-back quarters of total marketing budget expansion and was a notable contrast to Q1's -4.8% net balance,” the report says.
“According to anecdotal evidence from the survey panel, expansion initiatives such as entries into new markets drove the need to boost marketing budgets, although others deployed marketing strategies as part of a defensive manoeuvre to protect market share,” it adds.
The rise in overall marketing budgets was fuelled by increases in the amounts allocated for PR, as well as direct marketing and events.
“According to panellists, growth in these modes of marketing reflected the reallocation of resources to methods which enable brand managers to be more targeted, focusing on lead generation and customer engagement,” the report states.
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Responding to the report’s finding of continuing growth in PR budgets, Amy Garrett, UK president, Weber Shandwick, said that it indicates PR’s “continued importance for brands navigating today’s challenges.” She added: “PR efforts are increasingly being valued for their ability to engage specific audiences through carefully crafted messaging and strategic outreach.”
Garrett argued that PR is “no longer just about reputation” and “plays a significant role in driving leads and conversions, helping businesses focus on targeted approaches like lead generation and customer engagement”.
She said: “In an uncertain economic climate, PR remains a trusted tool for building relationships, delivering measurable results, and driving meaningful impact.”
The report also found that respondents were more likely to be optimistic about the financial fortunes of their companies for the first time in more than a year. “Over a quarter (25.7%) of companies felt more optimistic about their financial outlook, slightly surpassing the 22.8% of respondents expecting a deterioration. This resulted in the net balance rising to +2.9%,” it states.
“It was the first time since Q2 2024 that the net balance posted in positive territory,” the report notes.
However, respondents “remained downbeat towards industry-wide financial prospects” with a net balance of -24.0 per cent in Q3. “More than a third of respondents (33.9%) foresee an industry-wide decline, whereas only 9.9% expressed optimism,” according to the report.
It describes how companies are operating in a “challenging UK business climate” with constraints such as “high payroll expenses, domestic policy and geopolitical uncertainty, inflationary pressures and elevated borrowing costs.”