The budget dedicated to PR and the perceived value of communication agencies grows, according to Scopen

Jane Anderson

September 9, 2025

Figura de un hombre con un altavoz frente a una multitud

Advertisers consider that their communication agency contributes, on average, to grow their business by 16%. And the budget that allocates public relations has grown almost 7% compared to two years ago. However, the investment ratio regarding its billing has been stagnant since 2009.

They are some of the data collected in the PR SCOPE 2025/26, prepared by the Copen consultant. It is a biennial investigation that analyzes the relations between communication consultants and their clients, as well as the perception and image of market consultants.

On this occasion, the opinion of 1,051 professionals has been considered: 529 responsible for companies, 377 consulting professionals and 145 media professionals. The field work was carried out between February 19 and May 9.

The profile of the sample has been composed of almost 62% by professionals located in Madrid, and almost 64% have been women, with an average age of about 44 years and an antiquity both in the position and in the company close to 9 years. 81%have been managers, being the positions of Director of Communication (34%) and Marketing Director (25%), the most prominent. 54% work in foreign multinational.

Here are the main findings:

Investment in Public Relations

As Scopen data points out, the budget for public relations has increased 6.7%, and in 2025 it is almost at an average of 241,000 euros annually, compared to 226,000 of 2023.

Taking into account that the companies interviewed invoice, on average, 292 million euros per year (5.5% more than two years ago), the investment in PR remains low: 0.1% of its turnover continues to represent, a figure that has been maintained for almost two decades.

Almost 55% of that budget is allocated to online media, compared to 45% dedicated to offline media. By disciplines, won means is the most budget (42%), followed by paid means (31%) and own means (28%).

Facing 2026, the highest budget growth is estimated for brand and product areas, since almost 52%of respondents propose to increase it compared to 2023. To a lesser extent, the investment will also increase in Social Media (48%) and Branded Content (35%).

The agency-client relationship

The study points to a tendency both integration and specialization. When asked the respondents about the type of agency they would like to work, 49.8% indicate agencies that offer integrated services, which represents a 1% growth compared to 2023. However, the data is 44.9% for specialized agencies, growing 1.6% against two years ago.

The previously done work is the main tool to choose communication consultant (75%), although it descends compared to 2023. You grow, however, the recommendations (70%), which are in second position, above the experience and personal knowledge (63%).
With regard to the system, the Briefing contest remains the first option.

In response to the average duration of the relationship between client and communication consultant, the figure stands at 4.5 years, falling from the 4.9 years of 2023.
The duration is greater (4.7 years) in large companies, than in small (3.8 years).

In addition, the most common relationship model is continued (83%), which grows a percentage point with respect to the previous edition of the study. It does so to the detriment of the relationship for projects (17%), which loses a percentage point.

Almost 95% of customers declare to be satisfied with the service they receive from their agencies, data that would explain the low intention of change: only 5% of customers are thinking of changing the consultant (8% in 2023). Satisfaction would also be one of the reasons why 61% have maintained remuneration this year compared to 2024, and also for which 64% will keep it for 2026.

The companies interviewed consider that their consultant contributes, on average, to grow their business by 16%, compared to 10% in 2023, evidencing the value provided by communication agencies.

The future of public relations

With regard to the future of discipline, the study highlights three main challenges. The most mentioned by customers is consumer knowledge (29%), although it loses strength. So does the brand reputation (25%), and the use of creativity to reinforce it. On the other hand, the challenges linked to the credibility of the contents (17%) and strategic knowledge (17%) gain prominence.
For agencies, the main challenge is to adapt to artificial intelligence.

This edition of the PR SCOPE has considered the assessments of professionals regarding artificial intelligence, and points out that they believe that technology will replace or eliminate certain current services from consultants. Text writing, press releases, measurement and content generation are perceived as the most vulnerable.
Among the benefits, agility and time optimization stands out (63%).

The most admired professionals and brands

Once again, PR Scope has revealed which are the most admired professionals in the communication and press sector, as well as the brands that stand out in the discipline

Communication professionals in more admired companies: Heads the list Cristina Isidoro (Huawei), followed by María Luisa Martínez Gistau (Caixabank) and Laura Bárcena (Samsung).

The most valued communication professionals: Pelayo Alonso (Edelman) leads the ranking, ahead of Ana Zumalacárregui (Probabry) and Lorena Javierre (True).

The best valued brands for their communication: McDonald’s, Moeve and Westfield.
The best valued communication campaign: Cepsa’s brand change to Moeve heads communication cases by spontaneous memory.

The Rankings of Communication Agencies

The study also evaluates the perception and image of communication consultants, and prepares several rankings analyzing aspects such as spontaneous knowledge, exemplarity, or customer assessment.
The most mentioned in the top 3 of these six are Llyc, which appears in four of them; and Apple Tree, which appears in three. For their part, Ogilvy, daring and Havas pr appear in two of them.

Spontaneous knowledge: