5 things for comms people to look out for in 2026
A new year is here - like it is every January. But this time, I can’t be alone in thinking it feels a bit, well, different.
As has been widely reported, 2025 was an interesting year in comms. The tempestuous nature of the British and indeed global economies has impacted everyone working in this industry, from the big commercial ad agencies to small teams doing DIY comms in the public or third sectors.
For those of us working in what I broadly define as “public service”; there’s a feeling of dusting ourselves down, and going again in a changed world. It continues to be uncomfortable and scary, don’t get me wrong. But I, for one, am “here for it”.
And there are 5 things I’m looking out for in comms this year in particular. They’re not “predictions” per se (there are a lot of them around). They’re a mixture of “hopes”, “observations”, and “aspirations”…
Rumblings of change in public sector land
2025 was very tough for comms in the public sector, for well-documented reasons. It’s still tough out there for a lot of in-house comms pros too. In the NHS in particular, there are some great comms pros who will be going through an uncertain time right now, who have my absolute sympathy and empathy (having been through something similar myself).
But actually, if you look close enough - there are some really interesting things happening in government and the NHS which should open up some interesting possibilities for comms people.
It’s a long way from being “fixed”, but there are tangible signs of improvements in the NHS. And certain parts of the system are being given the remit to do things differently in their comms. There are some really interesting comms and marketing things happening in cancer care, for example. It’s looking like some aspects of the system will be seeing long-awaited capital investment - all of which will need increased public and internal engagement…
In government, the Combined Authority agenda is really gaining a lot of momentum too. Some are well established, and some are just getting started. The more established ones are increasingly leading the comms agenda in their areas (and appear to be growing their teams), and the newer ones are doing a lot of public engagement and getting their narratives set up.
Even just this first week of January, I am also seeing more and more job ads for comms pros out there (which I certainly wasn’t seeing six months ago).
It’s still a long way from the glory days / golden era of pre-2008, but there are signs out there that interesting things are happening in pockets, and all of these have the potential to translate into exciting opportunities for comms people…
2. Green tech and sustainability
I’m really excited about this. I spent a lot of 2025 working in renewables, and I can’t tell you how much this sector is growing. It’s potentially hugely exciting for comms pros.
The agenda is huge, ambitious, and has government backing. And there are some great organisations doing incredible work in generation, infrastructure, manufacturing, installation, certification, regulation— you name it.
But… while there are some organisations doing comms really well (and actually the UK Government— in particular Ed Miliband— deserve some rare credit for their comms on this), the vast majority of the industry, in my view, still needs huge support in all aspects of comms.
Stuff like brand building and high-quality content is still in its infancy for all but most of the big players in the industry— but there are huge opportunities in narrative building, strategy, and public engagement; as well as the more operational / creative aspect of things.
There are some big industry events happening early this year that I’m excited to attend and find out more about. But renewables and green-tech is definitely an industry to find out more about if you’re a comms pro.
3. A healthier relationship with AI
It wouldn’t be a list about comms without mentioning AI….
But what I’m looking at here is whether or not comms pros (and their organisations) start to develop a slightly healthier relationship with these incredible (but still - in my view - highly flawed) technologies.
The narrative around AI in comms, for me, has focused for too long on the extremes: it’s either going to destroy our profession, or it’s going to be the answer to every problem we face. And as with most reductive discussions, the reality is neither of those things.
I do think people have started to cotton on to the idea that replacing creative work done by skilled humans with ChatGPT has led to what we all know of as “AI Slop”.
So I wonder whether using AI to actually produce creative content wholesale may begin to become the sole preserve of those dodgy nostalgia Facebook pages.
But does AI have a healthy, practical use for comms people? Absolutely yes.
ChatGPT has essentially become my new search engine. I’ve found it incredibly helpful for research and theming things that have helped inform some of my decisions. I know a lot of people I work with swear by AI-powered apps for note-taking and theming. And in the course of creating content, it can be super helpful for automating certain labourious tasks. (I did get it to spell and grammar check this blog, for instance - so if you notice anything wrong - it’s the machines’ fault).
They are incredible technologies. But they are based on data. And the problem with data is that it’s historical. It might be “historical” up to a nanosecond ago, but still, they’re *currently* unable to make creative decisions that haven’t already been made by someone else.
That’s where human judgement comes in - and I’d like to see a more balanced conversation and a healthier use of it to help us all do great creative and strategic work this year.
4. The continuing shift of social media content
I was asked recently for my thoughts on where social media fits into the current comms landscape for the public sector, and I broadly thought about how it has seemed to have evolved into three specific uses:
Useful platforms for targeted online ads (in particular Meta, Google and increasingly TikTok)
Platforms for essentially broadcasting good-to-high quality video content (in particular TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram)
Hyper-local, neighbourhood level discussions (via those local Facebook and WhatsApp groups we all love - as well as the somewhat murky waters of Next Door)
On that latter point, the great Dan Slee continues to write great stuff on this agenda. This (from 2024) is great on Nextdoor - this (from 2025) is great on Facebook groups.
You may agree or disagree with those categories - but what I think is inarguable is that social media has changed hugely. How many organisations have successfully changed with it though? That’s another question…
Wherever you are on the spectrum: sorry, but it’s time to stop your live-tweeting, your posting and hoping, and your “engaging communities in conversations online”. The smart work is being done in creating really good content that understands the narrative form of each platform, on using ad platforms really smartly (which means building content and calls-to-action for every aspect of the customer / stakeholder journey), and on doing the hard yards of finding IRL community advocates who can help to build your credibility and act as gatekeepers in those hyper-local online spaces.
Also the equally brilliant Alex Waddington has written this piece on how social media data is even more important to take heed of than ever - and how the “social media toolkit” might well be soon going the way of the Gen Z Marketing Script video…
I’ll be really interested to see how organisations continue to adapt to this new world - and what world will come after that.
5. Use of strategic foresight
This is an area of personal and business development I’m going to focus on this year too.
I’m a passionate comms strategist at heart. What I love about this discipline is the sharp focus on the future. The future is both scary and exciting, and given the aforementioned tempestuous waters we’re all swimming in at the moment, I think it’s incumbent on us comms strategists to develop skills and capacity to help organisations navigate it better. Uncertainty is a feature, not a bug, of our current world, and communication is at the heart of it.
I’ve been a member of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies for a few years now. I love their quarterly Farsight Journal, and one day I’m going to get to Denmark to join their two-day Strategic Foresight course. One day…
But until then I have learned a huge amount from their free workshops, and many of their excellent publications. I’ll be looking to put some of the principles I’ve learned so far into my strategy work this year. I’ll let you know how that goes.
What are you looking out for this year in comms?
If you’d like a further chat about anything - or are looking for any help with any comms challenges you’re facing this year, get in touch and let’s talk.
