Press relations are no longer about sending press releases. In 2026, they let tech, home, sport and lifestyle brands build credibility, durably occupy their market and feed their entire communication strategy. Integrated with Creator Marketing, they strengthen consumer trust and create the conditions for durable growth. The best programmes then extend this momentum through affiliation (media, creators, affiliate sites), to support key commercial moments and progressively link visibility to revenue.
Are press relations still relevant in 2026?
With every new platform, the same question returns: with TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and now artificial intelligence — are press relations still useful? The answer is yes. But their role has deeply evolved.
For a long time, press relations were seen as a visibility lever, with the main goal of getting as many articles as possible. Today that approach is too limited. Consumers no longer buy simply because they discover a product: they buy because they trust it.
And that trust is built progressively, from several proofs accumulated along the buyer journey: an article, a product test, a video, a recommendation, a comparison, a demonstration. Press relations are often the first of these proofs — they give the product a legitimacy the brand cannot claim on its own. This is precisely why they remain indispensable.
Consumers don't buy the way they did in 2015
Buying behaviours have changed radically. Considering a robot vacuum, a projector or a pair of headphones, your first reflex is rarely to go straight to the manufacturer's site. Instead you will:
This behaviour now applies to most considered purchases: tech, home, sport, lifestyle. Consumers build their decision progressively and seek to reduce risk: the more technical or expensive the product, the more important this research phase. In this context, press relations play a fundamental role — they bring independent information at the very moment consumers are looking for answers.
Why credibility now matters more than visibility
A few years ago, brands mainly sought to be visible. Today, every brand is visible: the real challenge lies elsewhere — being credible. This difference completely changes how you communicate. An ad is produced by the brand; an article is produced by an independent media outlet. The perception is very different.
Press relations create this first level of trust, which then benefits all of the brand's other messaging. This is why they remain a strategic investment.
Press relations build trust
Journalists are not ambassadors: they are not there to promote products, but to select the information they judge relevant for their readers. This independence is precisely their value. When a specialised outlet publishes a test, a comparison or an analysis, that publication becomes a credible source of information — one consumers often trust more than a brand's own communication.
For considered-purchase brands, this credibility is especially important. Consumers want to understand what really sets the product apart, how it works, what its limits are and which uses it suits. Press relations feed this thinking.
Press relations aren't only about getting articles
This is probably the biggest shift of recent years. For a long time, a PR campaign was judged on the number of placements obtained. Today that view is incomplete: content published by the media keeps existing well after publication. It appears on Google, is read months after a launch, is shared on social media, feeds search and AI engines, feeds comparisons, reassures retailers and sometimes serves as a reference for other journalists.
In other words, a press placement progressively becomes a durable editorial asset whose value far exceeds its publication day. This is why the best-performing brands now think in terms of building credibility assets rather than a simple number of placements.
Search engines make them even more important
In 2026, consumers no longer search only on Google: they also use ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity. These engines generally favour sources considered credible. Editorial content published by recognised media therefore indirectly strengthens a brand's presence in these new environments.
Press relations thus help build a credibility that goes well beyond a single article: they progressively feed the whole information ecosystem around the brand.
Press Relations and Creator Marketing: two roles, one strategy
Some companies still pit journalists against creators. Yet their roles are deeply complementary. Journalists bring independent analysis, context, comparisons and credibility. Creators bring concrete demonstration, real-world uses, closeness and pedagogy.
At JAIA, we are convinced these two levers should no longer be run separately. Press relations build credibility; Creator Marketing turns that credibility into brand preference. Working together within one programme, they create a far more powerful momentum than two independent approaches.
This conviction guides our positioning: the brandformance agency uniting Press Relations, Creator Marketing and affiliate marketing. We design these programmes for consumer tech, home, sport and lifestyle brands, built to last rather than to multiply one-off operations.
Why integrated programmes perform better
For years, companies ran their press relations and creator campaigns as two separate disciplines: one agency handled media, another handled creators, with different objectives, calendars and messages. This no longer fits consumer behaviour. Today a buyer no longer discovers a product on a single channel: they may read an article, watch several YouTube videos, find a demonstration on TikTok, check reviews, then return days later to the brand's site.
The journey has become continuous; communication must be too. The best-performing programmes no longer pit press relations against Creator Marketing: they make them work together. Journalists establish credibility, creators bring the product to life, and both build durable brand preference. For these brands, this complementarity has become a real competitive advantage.
Press relations no longer stop at publication
One of the most widespread misconceptions is that a PR campaign ends when the articles are published. In reality, that is often when their value begins. An in-depth article keeps being referenced for months, sometimes years: it is found in Google searches, cited in comparisons, shared on social media, used as a source by other journalists, and can be picked up by AI engines answering questions about a product category.
In other words, a press placement progressively becomes a durable editorial asset whose value far exceeds its publication day. This is why the best-performing brands now think in terms of building credibility assets rather than a simple number of placements.
From press relations to commerce: a new way to think about communication
For a long time, press relations and commercial performance were seen as two distinct worlds: the former grew awareness, the latter generated sales. Today that boundary is blurring. Visibility is no longer an end in itself: it is the starting point of a journey that can lead to purchase.
At JAIA, we believe press relations and Creator Marketing should not be run as two independent services, but as one system. Press builds credibility; creators make it concrete by showing products in real situations. This momentum extends through media and creator affiliate programmes.
The goal is not to turn press relations into a performance lever, but to let editorial and creator content keep supporting consumers during key commercial moments — launches, promotional offers, Black Friday, seasonal operations — while measuring their contribution to revenue more precisely. Affiliation is not an extra pillar: it is the natural extension of an already high-performing Press Relations and Creator Marketing programme.
Why this approach works for considered purchases
Tech, home, sport and lifestyle products share a common trait: they almost always require an understanding phase. Before buying a projector, headphones, a robot vacuum or a connected device, consumers seek to answer several questions: is the product really good? How does it compare with the competition? Does it suit my needs? Is it worth the price?
No ad answers these alone. An ecosystem of editorial content, product tests and creator demonstrations progressively provides all these answers: press relations explain, creators show, and both build trust together. This is precisely why we focus on considered purchases, from consumer tech to home, sport and lifestyle: products that are tested, compared and recommended before people buy. In consumer tech, launch cycles are faster still. This reality calls for a dedicated approach.
Why an "always-on" strategy beats a series of campaigns
Many companies communicate only at a product launch: for a few weeks the messaging multiplies, then disappears until the next announcement. This creates spikes of visibility, but rarely a real brand presence.
Conversely, long-term programmes maintain a continuous relationship with media, creators and consumers. They support products' full lifecycle, showcase updates, new features, awards, comparisons and uses, and progressively build a stronger share of voice than competitors. Communication then becomes a continuous investment rather than a series of isolated operations — for these brands, this "always-on" logic is often one of the main differentiators.
The mistakes that make press relations less effective
Some mistakes recur regardless of company size. The first is treating press relations as a mere press-release distribution: without an editorial strategy, differentiating messages and a long-term vision, results stay limited. The second is communicating only at launches — brands that go silent for months between announcements struggle to build a media presence.
It is also common to fully separate press relations and Creator Marketing, when journalists and creators meet different but complementary expectations. Finally, many companies still judge their press relations only on the number of publications, when the quality of coverage, its ability to strengthen credibility and its contribution to the overall strategy matter far more than volume.
The 7 criteria of a high-performing PR strategy
Not all PR strategies deliver the same results. Before launching a programme, make sure these fundamentals are in place:
An effective PR strategy does not only seek publications: it progressively builds a credibility that durably supports the brand's development.
Press Relations, advertising and Creator Marketing: what's the difference?
The three levers pursue different objectives. Pitting them against each other no longer makes sense: they become far more powerful working together.
| Lever | Main role | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Press Relations | Build credibility | Independent editorial validation and durable presence. |
| Creator Marketing | Bring products to life | Concrete demonstrations, real uses, closeness. |
| Advertising | Accelerate visibility | Fast, targeted distribution with full message control. |
The best-performing brands no longer choose between these levers: they coordinate them within one programme.
How to measure a press relations strategy
Indicators have evolved considerably. The number of placements or potential audience is no longer enough. A modern strategy is assessed across several dimensions: the quality of coverage (media relevance, article depth, fit with objectives — often more important than volume); share of voice (the space occupied vs. competitors, tracked over time); visibility over time (a regular presence rather than a spike); complementarity with Creator Marketing (editorial content supports creators, and vice versa); and contribution to performance when an affiliate programme (media, creators, affiliate sites) links some actions to commercial results, notably during launches and key moments. This approach does not turn press relations into a direct sales lever: it extends their impact within a broader programme.
FAQ
Yes. They remain essential to build a brand's credibility, support launches and strengthen consumer trust through independent editorial content.
Press relations build credibility through the media; creator marketing demonstrates products to engaged communities. Both become far more effective integrated within one programme.
They are not a direct sales lever, but strongly influence purchase decisions by bringing credibility. Extended by affiliate programmes (media, creators, affiliate sites), they can support performance during key commercial moments.
Yes, provided there is genuine news and a differentiating value proposition. Company size often matters less than the relevance of the story.
Press relations deliver their best results within a long-term strategy. A regular presence progressively builds a brand's credibility and visibility.
Tech, home, sport and lifestyle products have specific launch cycles, uses and buyer journeys. A specialised agency builds strategies suited to consumers, media and creators.
Press relations have never been more valuable — not because they generate more articles, but because they answer a need that has become essential: creating trust in an environment where consumers have unlimited access to information. For considered-purchase brands, they should no longer be an isolated lever, but the first pillar of a programme able to turn visibility into credibility, credibility into brand preference, and preference into growth.
Why JAIA
At JAIA, we made a deliberate choice: we are not a generalist communication agency. We work with considered-purchase brands (consumer tech, home, sport and lifestyle) in France, Benelux and the UK.
Our conviction is simple: Press Relations, Creator Marketing and affiliate marketing are run together. The first builds credibility; the second turns it into demand; affiliation (media, creators, comparison and cashback sites) measures it all the way to the sale, across launches, commercial operations and promotional moments. One system, one report.
We don't build campaigns: we build integrated programmes, designed to support brands over time. Because for a considered-purchase brand, communication is no longer just about being seen — it must create trust, support demand and durably contribute to growth.
Let's build your brand credibility.
JAIA Global — The Press Relations agency for consumer tech, home, sport & lifestyle brands, extended by Creator Marketing and affiliate marketing. Paris · Benelux · UK.
7 rue Meyerbeer, 75009 Paris
contact@jaiaglobal.com