The third annual survey for arts PRs shows worries about arts space and a big shift towards influencer relations

Communications agency Mobius Industries has revealed the results of their annual survey aimed at taking the temperature of arts PR across the UK.

Answered by those in PR or with PR responsibilities, the vast majority (68 per cent) cited a decline in coverage space and an oversaturated market as their biggest concern for 2025, citing outlets closing or merging, journalist redundancies, and increased competition for space.

The past year has seen the Evening Standard transitioning from daily to weekly, the sale of the Observer, and around 4,000 journalism jobs cut in the UK and US. Possibly because of the decline in and threats to publications, a much larger percentage of participants gave ‘influencer relationships’ as one of their top five responsibilities than in previous years, 25 per cent this year compared to 3 per cent last year.

In other marked differences from the 2024 survey, this year has seen a bigger spread in how manageable respondents feel their workload is. 2024 saw a more neutral response with nearly half the participants saying their workload was manageable, whereas this year saw a decline in those saying manageable and an increase in all other answers (very manageable, somewhat manageable, unmanageable and highly unmanageable).

A greater number of in-house venue staff reported that their workload was unmanageable or highly unmanageable in comparison with agency and freelancers, 45 per cent compared with 20 per cent.

However, the survey showed that recruitment has become easier, with 31 per cent finding it easy compared to 9 per cent last year.

Once again, participants were asked how easy or difficult types of coverage – news, feature, review and broadcast – were to achieve compared to the previous year. Results across the categories, split between national and regional, showed similar patterns to last year’s survey with the easiest coverage to achieve being regional broadcast, which 26 per cent of participants said was easier, up from 16 per cent last year, and regional news was shown to have the fewest participants finding it more difficult at 28 per cent.

On the other hand, national broadcast was cited as the most difficult with 67 per cent saying it was difficult or very difficult, and across all categories national press was shown to have a greater percentage of participants agreeing it was growing more difficult than in the regional press categories.

Whilst the predictions for 2025 show pessimism with ‘more difficult’ being the most popular answer across all eight categories, the predictions for 2024 showed a similar level of pessimism and were partly unfounded: only three categories had responses that predicted coverage would be easier, whereas at the end of the year all categories had at least one positive response.

Respondents to the survey work across multiple art forms with theatre and performing arts being the most prominent. Half the respondents were in-house at UK arts venues, with the other half split between agency or freelance, and more than half the respondents work outside of London.

Head of press Emma Berge saidL “Amid the shifting landscape of arts PR, our latest survey reveals a sector still grappling with diminishing media space and mounting competition yet adapting in creative ways.

“While challenges persist, from the decline in national coverage to the workload pressures that are in particular affecting in-house staff members, we’ll continue to find new ways to reach new audiences and champion the work of our amazing industry.”

Influencer campaign lead Lorn Elvin said: “It is encouraging to see other PRs in the arts sector embracing the value of influencer and online content led campaigns. In an age where personal recommendations carry immense weight, content creators in the theatre and arts niches are such a valuable asset to campaigns and have transformed how we can connect to audiences.

“As influencers have built a loyal, engaged following sharing content which is accessible and tailored to their audiences, they fill a void we’ve seen left by the growing cutbacks across more traditional media.

“The trust and engagement influencers have with their audience mean that PRs can create effective campaigns which merit not just reach but resonance.”

Established in 2003, the team at Mobius provide PR, marketing, design, print and distribution services for the arts, specialising in theatre and dance. They have an established track record of working on festivals and other multi-strand events, as well as initiatives in health, tackling social issues and engaging local communities. They promote arts in London, across the UK and at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Last year’s survey results can be found here: https://www.mobiusindustries.com/news/state-arts-pr-survey-2024/

Notes to editors

The sample was made up of 40 responses, which showed:

a bias towards longer-standing practitioners
half were in-house with 30 per cent freelance and 20 per cent agency
47.5 per cent were London based and a large representation from the Midlands and Scotland
85 per cent were white/white British
A majority were female identifying