PR Budgets Are Rising. The Question Is: So What?

Here’s a question I’ve asked myself for three decades. If you have a throbbing frontal headache, do you reach for antibiotics? No, you reach for a Saridon. No dose of even the most powerful antibiotic will fix that headache, because you’re treating the wrong problem.

Yet in corporate communications, we keep having the wrong conversation. We talk about budgets rising and budgets being cut as if a bigger number is always the answer. It’s not.

A company facing a governance crisis needs a different intervention than one launching a new product. A brand struggling with consumer trust needs something entirely different from one battling regulatory scrutiny. The treatment must match the diagnosis. The budget must follow the business problem—not the other way around.

So, let’s stop asking whether PR budgets are rising. Let’s start asking whether we’re spending on the right things.

The Data Deserves a Second Look

Gartner predicts earned media budgets will double by 2027. PRCAI’s SPRINT 2026 report shows Indian PR growing 11% to ₹3,230 crore. The narrative is clear: PR is becoming strategic.

But here’s what the headlines don’t tell you. Gartner’s actual survey found that 46% of CCOs report budget cuts. Another 44% lack the budget to execute their strategy. Most companies spend just 0.5% of revenue on communications. Even Gartner shows a mixed picture—and their survey doesn’t even include India.

The PRCAI survey had only 143 respondents. That’s a snapshot, not the whole picture. Traditional private corporates’ share of PR spending declined from 48% to 42%, while government spending nearly tripled and startups surged to 22%. The “rising budgets” story isn’t uniform; it’s fragmented.

What I’ve Learned in Three Decades

When I started my career, we focused on newspapers and television. Today, you have social media, YouTube, influencers, and AI-generated search. Earned media and crisis preparedness remain priorities. But now, leadership visibility, social media, digital content, employee communication, CSR, and ESG are baseline activities. Have budgets kept pace? Not even close.

Having worked with FICCI, Aditya Birla, ArcelorMittal, Moser Baer, Sobha, and now Puravankara, I’ve run campaigns with a team of two on shoestring budgets and delivered real impact.

At one company, we ran an online “click to buy” exhibition. We built trust by sharing how we design and build our products, not by spending big, but by speaking honestly. At another, we used radio programs to address tribal communities’ fears about land acquisition. We went where they were and spoke their language. At a large conglomerate, we ran communications workshops across industrial units, teaching leaders to communicate with trust and confidence. None of this required massive budgets. It required understanding the business problem first.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t invest in the future. We should. But investment must deliver clear business value. And PR is fundamentally a human business, not a technology business. Budget increases flowing to AI tools won’t solve the talent gap. People need training, development, and strategic direction, not just bigger budgets.

The Agency Agenda

I suspect the agency perspective will cite the same reports and call it a victory. A victory for whom? For the industry’s top line, or for the clients whose business problems remain unsolved?

We keep reading about budgets rising. But no one talks about creating real value—how to build genuine earned media, move beyond the press release, and deliver strategic counsel. Raising budgets without raising the quality of counsel is a house of cards. When management asks for proof, and the only answer is “we got 200 clippings,” the budget collapses.

The Measurement Trap

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: 92% of communicators want standardised measurement. Only 46% have a budget for it. We’re asking for the tool but refusing to pay for it. We’ve all been part of that conversation—demanding better metrics while baulking at the cost. 

AMEC’s frameworks exist. The Barcelona Principles exist. The new GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) Principles for AI-driven discovery are in place. AMEC recently launched the GEO Principles to help us measure how brands appear in AI-generated responses. And here’s the thing—studies show 84% of what AI cites comes from earned media. That’s not a small number. It means PR is more valuable than ever. But if we don’t invest in measuring it properly, we’ll end up chasing ‘AI visibility’—which is just the old AVE dressed up in new technology. We’ve been there before. The problem isn’t that we can’t measure. It’s that we won’t invest in measuring properly. It’s a collective failure.

Gartner’s data confirms this. Despite 35% of CCOs planning to increase tech spend, measurement spend has grown from 2.9% to 4.1%—still less than half of marketing’s 8%. We’re talking about data-driven communications. We’re not funding it.

The Real Question

At the end of the day, a bigger budget doesn’t fix a misdiagnosed problem. You don’t prescribe antibiotics for a headache—no matter how much the patient is willing to pay.

The conversation needs to shift from “are budgets rising?” to “what are we actually buying?” A budget is an input, not a metric of success. If we can prove the value, the budget will follow. If we can’t, no report and no amount of agency advocacy will help.

Here’s my ask: before your next budget meeting, ask yourself—can I show management the business impact of every rupee I’m requesting? Proof first. Budget later. Not the other way around.

As for whether budgets will double by 2027? We’ll just have to wait and see. But let’s hope that by then, we’ll have learned to measure what we’re buying—not just celebrate what we’re spending.

Because a headache doesn’t care how expensive your antibiotic is. It just wants the right medicine. Let’s get the Saridon first!

– Abhinav Kanchan

(The author is the Chief Communications Officer at a large real estate firm. Views are personal)