Dr. Ron Jabal
After a challenging 2025 and the peak of the “storytelling for the sake of storytelling” era, the PR industry enters 2026 with a new set of rules. Success is no longer measured by the volume of clippings, but by the weight of the message. According to global reputation management expert Dr. Ron Jabal, APR (CEO of PAGEONE Group and IPRA member), the new landscape of public relations rests on five key pillars: trust, transparency, PR as a corrective business force, algorithmic navigation, and humanity.
We live in an age of information overload. While you scroll through news between meetings, algorithms serve you exactly what they think you want to see. In this chaos, where everyone is loud and everyone claims to be “the best,” how does anyone earn your trust?
Drawing on the insights of Dr. Ron Jabal, a veteran of global trend analysis, we’ve identified five lessons that will distinguish the brands in Serbia that endure from those that vanish in a single scroll.
1. Billboards are useless if no one trusts you
Remember when success meant just “getting people talking”? Those days are over. Today, if you have massive awareness but no built-in trust, you’re just a target with a wider reach. In 2026, people aren’t asking who’s the loudest; they’re asking: “Do these people actually mean what they say?” Trust is no longer a “nice-to-have” for the annual report- it is the only currency you cannot afford to counterfeit.
2. Silence isn’t golden – It’s suspicious
There was a time when companies believed a problem would vanish if ignored, or that responding would only “fan the flames.” In 2026, the “no comment” strategy is dead. In our market, if you stay silent during a crisis, the public instinctively fills the void with the worst-case scenario. You don’t need all the answers immediately. It is perfectly human to say: “We are aware of the situation, we are working on it, and we will get back to you.” That is respect. Silence, on the other hand, is a surrender. In 2026, the vacuum left by silence is instantly filled by AI bots and speculation, making a rapid response more critical than ever.
3. Fix the company, not the press release
This is perhaps the most painful lesson highlighted by Dr. Jabal: No brilliant copy can save a bad decision. You cannot sell a story about employee care if salaries are below the national average. You cannot talk about sustainability while your factory filters are switched off. In 2026, a PR professional doesn’t sit in the corner waiting for a task; they sit at the main table, asking: “Wait, is it even smart for us to do this?” Reputation is no longer a cosmetic fix; it is the direct reflection of every business decision.
4. Algorithms know us better than we know ourselves
Algorithms feed on our fears and desires. So, how do you break through the noise? Not by screaming louder, but by understanding how stories travel. Today, information spreads laterally through recommendations and shares, not from the top down. You must be where the people are, speak their language, and be prepared for your message to be broken into a hundred pieces – while ensuring that in every piece, you still sound like you.
The real shift will come from how the industry applies AI and analytics to build accountability. The future of the industry lies at the intersection of data-driven insights and human intuition balancing smart algorithmic navigation with a core of ethics and humanity.
5. Being human is the ultimate strategy
In a world of AI-generated text, authentic, imperfect, and sharp human consistency has become a luxury. People will forgive a mistake, but they won’t forgive hypocrisy. If you claim to be ethical, back it up with action. If you say you stand by your customers, prove it when the going gets tough. In 2026, consistency is what separates us from the bots.
The reality chek
PR is no longer about smoke and mirrors; that era is over. Today, our job is to design trust. We aren’t “spin doctors” – that’s for the tabloids – we are the guardians of integrity.
The world has changed. Serbia has changed. People have become immune to ads, but they crave authenticity and something real more than ever.
Is your brand ready to stop “telling stories” and start living them? It’s time to align your actions with the values you promote. Don’t miss the chance to listen and relearn.
If you want to learn directly from Dr. Ron Jabal how and to what extent reputation has become one of the strongest indicators shaping the PR industry, be sure to read his insights in the articles: ‘From 2025 To 2026: The Top 5 Truths Shaping PR And Reputation Management’ and ‘Reputation as strategic capital: why trust, credibility, and resilience now define institutional value’ on the IPRA portal.
