How Can Companies Better Campaign For Trust and Support?
This essay is part of our New Year's series on what to expect in 2026 and can be downloaded as one compiled PDF via the download form. Thank you!
By Partner Sally Payne, Partner Robert Nisbet and Director of Digital Daniel Rice at 5654 & Company
For companies campaigning for trust and support in 2026, the same universal truth as ever applies: to craft an engaging story, which outlines your clear goal, in the right format for your audiences, and on the right channels to reach them. And at 5654, we believe your story should be focused on your winning territories which build confidence, trust, and unlock support in your organisation.
But today, the attention economy means storytelling is increasingly competitive, content formats are developing to most effectively compete for attention, and channels are constantly changing. While support remains fundamental to grow, innovate and be successful, growing cynicism and disillusionment means this is no easy ride.
Today, effective campaigning to build support is about shaping understanding, winning arguments, using a broader range of channels for one clear message, and meaningfully engaging with your audiences. To succeed in 2026, it might be time to rethink how you campaign.
Human storytelling
The strongest campaigns are built on narratives that feel authentic and are grounded in human experience. Abstract or jargon-heavy language that fails to reflect real life experiences and lacks in emotional resonance won’t cut through.
In most cases, stories should elevate people. Stories about employees driving innovation, apprentices starting their careers, local suppliers building their businesses, or communities who will benefit from the ‘prize’ when your campaign succeeds, help focus your story on outcomes.
Make no mistake - data and a strong evidence base remains important, in fact vital. In the AI age, companies that provide clear, reliable, evidence-based insight will be prioritised, as well valued by journalists navigating an environment filled with low-cost content.
But this data and insight becomes more persuasive when attached to lived experience. When companies speak plainly about their goal, with human stories told creatively, they build trust and support that survives political and economic cycles. In today’s fragmented political landscape, this has never been more important.
Modern formats
Strong stories need the right formats. Corporate affairs teams must think like creators, shaping content that works in a digital first environment where attention is scarce and desirable.
We continue to see the rise of the short form video, which for companies can be effective tools for distilling complex issues into accessible moments. Behind the scenes clips, employee interviews, and ‘day in the life’ content can bring to life how an organisation works and what it stands for in a way that formal statements cannot. With AI editing tools becoming more common, teams can scale this type of content without losing authenticity.
The audiences you’re trying to influence are doing this already, and may be ahead of you. Politicians like Nigel Farage, Zack Polanski, Zarah Sultana and Gordon McKee, from across the political spectrum, all act like creators, humanising themselves and joining fast moving cultural conversations. For planning your own engagement and approaches, if you can help a politician or stakeholder generate some new content they can use, this has never been more of a sell.
Longer formats continue to matter for investors, policymakers and specialist audiences, but they must be built for digital consumption - conveying depth while remaining engaging, creative and interactive.
Change the channel
Digital platforms have become the arena where trust and credibility are shaped. It’s no longer about adding social media to traditional campaigns. Digital channels influence narrative formation in real time.
TikTok demonstrates this shift most clearly. Once dominated by younger audiences, policy debates now start on the platform, reputations form there, and scrutiny spreads quickly. Corporate affairs teams need clarity, creativity and fluency in platform native communication.
Beyond TikTok, LinkedIn continues to grow as a hub for policy, corporate reputation and economic debate. YouTube and podcasts offer depth and explanation, while Instagram and Facebook provide reach across age groups. Stakeholders expect consistent messaging across these channels, delivered in formats suited to each.
Used well, digital channels allow organisations to explain complex issues simply and show who you are, and what you stand for, in a consistent way. In 2026, reputation will be defined less by set piece announcements and more by ongoing, transparent engagement and two-way conversation.
Traditional media remains essential, but its landscape is shifting rapidly. Consolidation will continue as larger groups absorb smaller outlets. Moves such as Sky’s interest in ITV or the Daily Mail’s pursuit of the Telegraph indicate the rise of new power blocs.
AI will increasingly influence news production. Cash constrained local titles will rely on virtual reporters and AI generated graphics. As such, concerns about misinformation will grow, strengthening the role of verification desks – think BBC Verify.
We also expect continued growth in smaller outlets on platforms like Substack, alongside news-driven podcasts and POLITICO-style email newsletters. This atomisation reinforces a core 5654 principle: media strategies must anchor themselves in tier-one brands (e.g. FT, BBC), which also shape AI-generated search overviews, while incorporating targeted ‘narrowcasting’ across expert-led, non-traditional channels that influence policymakers, investors and sector experts
Integrated campaigning
In summary, all your stakeholders now consume information in fragmented ways. The most effective campaigns in 2026 will align traditional media, digital platforms and specialist channels so that every audience receives a consistent, but tailored story, most relevant for them.
The Budget showed why this matters. ‘Winning’ sectors, from financial services to the soft drinks industry, found ways to build relevance with storytelling, not just economic arguments, and through innovative multi-channel digital campaigning paired with a modern media strategy.
Outside of the UK, Mamdani’s historic election win in New York showed the power of meeting people where they are, in the formats they use, with a story and substance they care about. And this is the recipe for success in 2026, to campaign for support in a way which feels relevant, creative, and authentic.