Happy Friday! Please enjoy your Daily PR Brief - February 13, 2026
It's time for PR to break up with traditional search; Crisis-era digital PR link strategy; Craft a thought leadership narrative that wins; more!
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Read some of today's best PR and Comms industry news clips:
Sorry, SEO, it's not you… it's AI. Why it's time for PR to break up with traditional search. (Agility PR Solutions - February 3, 2026)
PR Roundup: Ring's Ad Backlash, Palantir Employee Pushback and AI Super Bowl Skepticism (PRNEWS - February 12, 2026)
Trust in Brands in the Age of AI (Institute for Public Relations - February 10, 2026)
Stunt Watch: The Valentine’s Day special (PRmoment (UK) - February 12, 2026)
Communicator spotlight: Filippa Bolz of Klarna (Axios - February 12, 2026)
Crafting A Thought Leadership Narrative That Wins (Forbes - February 13, 2026)
The Power Shift No One Branded: How Entertainment PR Quietly Regained Control (Everything PR News - February 13, 2026)
Crisis-era digital PR link strategy: Earn authority and protect branded SERPs (Axia Public Relations - February 13, 2026)
Why crisis response can't save bad decisions (CIPR Crisis Comms Network - February 12, 2026)
January 2026 Agency Search Trends Report (CommPRO - February 12, 2026)
Your Story and Voice Matters: A First-Gen's Guide to Thriving in PR (Culpwrit - February 12, 2026)
February Social Media Updates: Why AI is Crushing on LinkedIn Articles & Finding Your Perfect Platform Match (FINN Partners - February 13, 2026)
Clients Take Agency Mergers in Stride: "It's the People Who Make the Difference" (PRovoke Media - February 13, 2026)
Harry Brook and the curse of the crisis comms cover up (Media First (UK) - February 9, 2026)
Summary Section:
Sorry, SEO, it's not you… it's AI. Why it's time for PR to break up with traditional search.
By Jill Casey Pintor
Agility PR Solutions - February 3, 2026
We hate to see it happen so close to Valentine's Day; however, it appears that some brands' long-time affinity for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) could be cooling off. What started as curiosity — typing a question into ChatGPT "just to try it" — has grown into something more serious.
PR Roundup: Ring's Ad Backlash, Palantir Employee Pushback and AI Super Bowl Skepticism
By Nicole Schuman
PRNEWS - February 12, 2026
This week’s PR Roundup shows how quickly trust can unravel. Ring’s Super Bowl ad received backlash; Palantir CEO Alex Karp faced employee backlash; AI-driven ads drew criticism.
Trust in Brands in the Age of AI
Institute for Public Relations - February 10, 2026
Qualtrics explored how consumer trust and expectations are shifting as AI becomes more embedded in customer experiences.
Stunt Watch: The Valentine’s Day special
By Hannah Jackson, creative director at Pangolin
PRmoment (UK) - February 12, 2026
Valentine’s Day. Love it or hate it; it’s the date on every PR’s calendar to either lean into, or avoid like the plague. Here are the campaigns that turned my head this week.
Communicator spotlight: Filippa Bolz of Klarna
By Eleanor Hawkins
Axios - February 12, 2026
Filippa Bolz serves as global head of communications and public policy for the newly public buy-now-pay-later company Klarna. Millennials and Gen Z are looking for flexible ways to spend, with many turning to platforms like Klarna.
Crafting A Thought Leadership Narrative That Wins
By Sara Payne, President of Inprela
Forbes - February 13, 2026
Trust in companies is eroding. Audiences are burnt out from being targeted. Anything that resembles marketing content or an ad gets met with skepticism, and that lack of trust has never been higher. But behind the skepticism is a massive upside.
The Power Shift No One Branded: How Entertainment PR Quietly Regained Control
Everything PR News - February 13, 2026
For more than a decade, PR in film, television, music, and streaming existed in a state of constant defense—against social media cycles, against collapsing press ecosystems, against internal stakeholders who confused visibility with value. The work became louder, faster, and more fragmented, even as its strategic influence diminished. Then something changed.
Crisis-era digital PR link strategy: Earn authority and protect branded SERPs
Axia Public Relations - February 13, 2026
Learn ethical digital PR link tactics during a public relations crisis to earn trusted coverage, protect branded SERPs, and sustain visibility without backlash.
Why crisis response can't save bad decisions
CIPR Crisis Comms Network - February 12, 2026
Discover why crisis preparedness is key to managing reputational risks. Learn the essential phases of effective crisis communication.
January 2026 Agency Search Trends Report
By Simon Erskine Locke
CommPRO - February 12, 2026
This snapshot highlights the PR and communications agencies most frequently surfaced in search and how corporate communications leaders are looking for new capabilities, specializations, and scale that matches needs in today’s evolving agency search landscape.
Your Story and Voice Matters: A First-Gen's Guide to Thriving in PR
By Geoff Curtis
Culpwrit - February 12, 2026
I am a proud first-generation college graduate and while sometimes difficult, my career and life experiences shaped everything about who I am today. I want my experiences to provide a guide for all first-generation college graduates that come after me.
February Social Media Updates: Why AI is Crushing on LinkedIn Articles & Finding Your Perfect Platform Match
By Charlotte Allen
FINN Partners - February 13, 2026
LinkedIn articles win at AI search, TikTok finalizes its US joint venture, and Threads overtakes X on mobile. Get the top social updates for February 2026.
Clients Take Agency Mergers in Stride: "It's the People Who Make the Difference"
By Paul Holmes
PRovoke Media - February 13, 2026
The world's largest corporate communications clients are neither shocked nor particularly troubled by the latest consolidation in the public relations agency business: the news this week that Omnicom would be combining four of its global public relations brands, merging Ketchum into Golin and placing Porter Novelli under FleishmanHillard.
Harry Brook and the curse of the crisis comms cover up
By Adam Fisher
Media First (UK) - February 9, 2026
England cricket captain Harry Brook has been making plenty of headlines and apologies. What's gone wrong? What crisis comms lessons can you learn from it?
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