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We’ve finally reached the final stretch of the year. Newsrooms are winding down, brands are still pushing for “one more piece of coverage”, and January stories are already being commissioned.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

December is always the same pattern: quiet news cycle, fewer staff in the office, but plenty of space for simple, useful stories.
If your angle genuinely helps a journalist file quickly, they’ll use it.

Here’s what’s worth focusing on for the rest of the month — and what 2025 has shown us about how PR really works now.

What Still Lands in December

Straightforward explainers

Journalists lean towards practical, easy-win content this month:

  • “What to expect for NYE travel”

  • “Why everyone returns gifts on the 27th”

  • “January budget resets”

  • “What beauty trends will actually matter next year”

Anything that helps people plan, save, fix or understand something does well.

End-of-year behaviour stories

Editors like data-led pieces around:

  • Spending

  • Search trends

  • Home clean-ups

  • Booking spikes (beauty, fitness, moving, travel)

  • What people regret buying

If you have internal data, now is the time to use it.

Short expert commentary

This is the fastest route to coverage in December.
Producers want a clear quote they can drop into a piece — no angle dressing, no big campaign needed.

What We Learned From 2025

After a year of pitching, journalist interviews, and testing what actually converted into links, a few things became clear:

Strong data beats creative ideas.

Stories tied to real behaviour consistently outperformed “big concepts”.

Experts mattered more than stunts.

A good comment landed faster than a campaign with a landing page.

Journalists wanted context, not noise.

If the hook wasn’t tied to something happening now, it didn’t get opened.

Regional angles unexpectedly grew.

Local papers picked up more data-led stories than usual this year.

How to Use December Well

Prepare January commentary now

January moves fast. Editors line up:

  • Cost-of-living updates

  • Wellness resets

  • Beauty predictions

  • Fitness trends

  • Career advice

  • Money detox stories

Having quotes ready gives you a head start.

Build one “always-on” list for 2026

Create a simple bank of:

  • 5 expert comments

  • 3 data angles

  • 10 journalists already covering your space

You’ll use these every week next year.

Keep pitches short

Everyone is tired.
A straight, factual subject line + 3 lines of main copy is all that’s needed.

Three Useful Search Shortcuts

These are the only ones you really need this month:

Find journalists writing next-year predictions:

intitle:"2026" "predictions"

See what was covered this exact week last year:

site:mirror.co.uk "Dec" "New Year" 

Identify rising Google searches in your niche:
Google Trends → “Rising” → United Kingdom → 7 days.

This will guide half of your reactive ideas.

Looking Ahead to 2026

  • use data as standard

  • prepare expert commentary before news breaks

  • track real-time search interest

  • pitch fewer, more useful ideas

  • stay close to behaviour, not opinion

Most importantly, switch off, eat that chocolate, and relax - Merry Christmas To You All!

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