As 2026 gets underway Rise is delighted to be working some fantastic, long-standing clients to strategically manage their public image, reputation and communication; to build goodwill, trust and positive perception with their target audiences and customers.
We wanted to explore the fundamental differences between having a PR company retained and helping businesses with their PR on with one-off, or piecemeal PR.
We have the experience, skill, contacts and capability to work in both ways but wanted to explore why we think having a PR company retained and invested in is critcal in the PR arena.
So, why does having PR Company Retained Work (And Why One-Off PR Rarely Does)
There’s a persistent myth in PR that you can dip in and out when you need attention.
Launch coming up? Do some PR. Quiet quarter? Pause it. Awards deadline looming? Panic and buy a press release.
We understand why that thinking exists. Budgets are tight, timelines are real and PR can still feel mysterious from the outside. There’s also a belief, probably stemming from London agencies commanding exorbitant monthly retainers with long ‘notice’ periods, that retained PR will consumer your entire marketing budget but this is definitely doesn’t have to be the case!
The truth is this:
PR doesn’t work best in bursts. It works best in momentum.
At Rise, we see the difference every day between brands that treat PR as a long-term strategic investment and those that approach it piecemeal. The results aren’t subtle.
PR isn’t a switch, it’s a system
PR isn’t advertising. You can’t turn it on, get instant visibility and turn it off again without consequence.
Good PR is built on:
- relationships with journalists
- credibility over time
- deep understanding of a business
- consistent presence in the right conversations
None of those things thrive on stop-start activity.
When brands work with us on a retained basis we’re not just “doing PR tasks”. We’re embedding ourselves in their world. We understand their goals, their pressure points, their people and their story. That’s what allows us to research relevant media outlets, build media lists and forward feature lists, spot opportunities early, respond quickly and shape narratives rather than scramble for coverage.
Momentum beats moments
One-off PR projects often aim for a single moment: a launch, an announcement, a story spike.
Retained PR builds momentum.
Momentum means:
- journalists recognise the name
- editors trust the source
- commentary feels natural, not forced
- stories land faster and go further
- coverage compounds rather than resets
It’s the difference between shouting into a crowded room once and being someone people already expect to hear from.
Journalists don’t build relationships with campaigns
Here’s an uncomfortable truth the industry doesn’t always like to say out loud: journalists don’t build relationships with press releases, they build them with people.
When PR is handled on a retainer, journalists see consistency. They learn that when Rise sends something it’s relevant, timely and useful. That trust can’t be rushed.
Project-based PR often skips this step entirely. A brand appears out of nowhere, wants coverage immediately and then disappears again. Sometimes it works and at Rise if we have a client who needs some piecemeal PR we will throw everything at it to get them the very best results we can. But, often it doesn’t and even when it does, the relationship with the media involved can reset back to zero afterwards.
Strategy needs breathing space
The most valuable part of retained PR often happens quietly, behind the scenes:
- refining positioning
- sense-checking messages
- shaping (and training) spokespeople
- aligning PR with business growth, not just marketing activity
- planning for awards, commentary and reactive opportunities before they arise
These are not things that fit neatly into a two-week project plan.
Retainers allow space to think, challenge, adapt and evolve; which is where the real commercial value sits.
The hidden cost of stop-start PR
Ironically, piecemeal PR often costs more in the long run.
Each new project means:
- re-onboarding
- re-explaining
- rebuilding context
- reintroducing the brand to journalists
That’s time and energy spent getting back to where you already were.
Conversely, retained clients move forward.
PR that grows with your business
Businesses change, markets shift, news cycles move extremely fast; particular online with the immediacy that digital news outlets give us all.
A retained PR approach flexes with those changes.
It allows us to:
- pivot messaging when the landscape changes
- react instantly to news opportunities
- build stories/comment from a position of strength
- position business leaders as credible commentators, not occasional voices
In a world where visibility is increasingly driven by authority and trust, especially as AI reshapes how information is delivered, consistency matters more than ever.
The Rise view
At Rise, we don’t believe PR should feel frantic, performative or transactional.
We believe it should be:
- strategic
- measured
- confident
- relationship-led
- commercially grounded
That’s why we favour giving you PR on a retained basis and being invested in your business. Not because it suits us, but because it works for you.