With the holidays fast approaching and inboxes (hopefully) getting smaller, it’s the perfect time to get ahead of your 2026 media and analyst strategy. Setting aside time during December and early January can reap rewards, helping you to extend editorial and analyst coverage, smooth launches, and reduce unwanted surprises. So, what should you be thinking about?
1. Refresh Your Lists
Journalists and analysts change roles, publications come and go, and mergers and acquisitions reflect a constantly shifting landscape, particularly in the fast-moving tech industry. Review your priority contacts to understand any change in focus or organization and identify who you should target during the year ahead.
Simplify this step by keeping up to date with the latest media contacts by subscribing to PR Vibes and following our industry Moves, Adds, and Changes (MACs).
2. Audit Your Messaging and Boilerplates
Don’t underestimate your boilerplate. It’s a crucial component of your marketing strategy and brand identity. If you don’t do this annually, prioritize it ahead of the new year and schedule annual reviews moving forward.
Does positioning and messaging still reflect your company’s mission, vision, business and marketing goals, or your categories and achievements? Remove outdated or irrelevant information that no longer serves your business or speaks to your target audience (old and new). What messages do you want to convey in 2026? Decide on the core messages you want to highlight in 2026 and ensure they align with your direction and recent successes. Circulate early to stakeholders for approval.
3. Review Executive Bios, Media Training Needs & Press Kits
At this time of the year, it’s also a good idea to cast an eye over executive and spokesperson data. Update titles and ensure they reflect current responsibilities and relevant industry topics. Ask yourself:
-Are bios current?
-Is anyone overdue for a media training refresher?
-Do you need to update headshots or product photos?
Make suggested updates, mark gaps, and circulate for approval. Identify key focus areas from 2025 notes and begin scheduling training in the new year. Request updated headshots and new or refreshed product imagery, where needed.
4. Build Your Q1 Story and Prep Your Commentary
Map out content for the next three months. Email business leaders and product managers to identify potential product updates or launches, as well as opportunities to insert commentary aligned with predicted industry trends and shifts. Draft initial quotes or talking points and share them with SMEs for approval.
Next, review and create a list of assets that need updating early for potential product launches, so your digital presence aligns with your refreshed story.
Finally, review your crisis responses to ensure you are prepared for every eventuality.
5. Review Your Trade Show Focus Identify where to spend your trade show budget for the best ROI in 2026:
-Review your 2025 show attendance and identify which events offered the greatest ROI or engagement. Stop spending on those that no longer serve your business.
-Have priorities shifted? Are you going after a new customer base or vertical? Identify the trade shows that can support your new direction. What new events are occurring in 2026 that would offer the greatest exposure for your business?
-Determine what level of participation you want to have at each event. For example, do you want sales to walk the show, or meet with partners and/or customers? Do you want to garner a speaking opportunity or meet with the media and analysts? (Calysto only recommends exhibiting if the audience is one of your priorities for the year and prospects and customers are there.)
See our recent article 7 Ways to Make Trade Shows Work for Your Business and keep an eye out on TradeShow Vibes for timely event reviews to help you prioritize your event planning.
6. Refresh Data & Proof Points
Strong analyst and media engagement depends on fresh, insight-driven content and credible evidence. Identify what worked well in 2025 and which assets need updating, including benchmark studies/polls, reports and customer successes. Flag gaps and contact SMEs to fill them, scheduling reminders for the new year.
7. Review Your Online Presence
Are your owned channels working for you? Audit your newsroom, press pages and social profiles and remove and update outdated product information, broken links or stale imagery. Check pinned posts, leadership bios and “About” sections across LinkedIn and X to ensure consistency with your refreshed 2026 messaging.
8. Revisit Your Measurement Framework & KPIs
Review your 2025 media and analyst metrics to identify what did and didn’t work. Set your 2026 KPIs (quality coverage, sentiment trends, share of voice, analyst perception shifts, message delivery measurement), spokesperson effectiveness and review reporting requirements.
Hand over the Prep
Of course, all of this can take time, and you’ll likely see the new year before many tasks can be completed. Working with a PR agency like Calysto, however, allows you to hand over the heavy lifting, leveraging our more than 27 years of experience in fostering media and analyst relationships, our knowledge of trade events and our strategic planning expertise.
We work with you to craft compelling stories, targeting the right influencers to amplify your messages, build credibility and trust, expand coverage and optimize the impact of all your campaigns. Contact us to see how we can work with you in 2026.
Happy Holidays from all at Calysto!