We’ve all heard best tips to break through the noise, to better pitch reporters, to land the next story. But the harsh reality is today’s media relations pro needs to pivot to building influence across a shifting landscape of owned, earned and algorithmic ecosystems. In this panel, we’ll explore what’s ahead for media strategy, the rise of AI-generated pitches, and the growth of owned channels like corporate newsrooms. Learn how to apply the RPIE (research, planning, implementation, evaluation) framework with a 2026 lens—and how to design campaigns that generate measurable ROI. Learn about:
- Owned Channels as Media Muscle: How investment in internal newsrooms, branded podcasts, and leadership Substacks can publish directly to niche audiences.
- Proof Over Presence: Creative ways to show media ROI (and not by cooking the books) using sentiment, lead attribution, market access, share of voice, and importantly: direct impact to business growth or value.
- Pivot to Video: How to incorporate video pitching, including thought leadership clips and B-roll, into your outreach strategies.
- Next-Gen Outreach: How AI is transforming pitching—from data-informed journalist targeting to automated angle generation and response prediction—and where it falls flat, giving the human the advantage.
- Integration with Demand Gen: How to collaborate with marketing to ensure earned media campaigns are tagged, tracked and tied to lead gen metrics.
- Global-Local Fusion: Develop frameworks for giving regional PR teams autonomy while maintaining brand consistency—especially across regulated industries and culturally sensitive regions.
