What began as a year of managing noise ended as a test of credibility, capability, and consequence. In 2025, India’s PR and communications industry moved decisively beyond media outreach and message amplification, into the harder terrain of reputation economics, regulatory scrutiny, AI-led transformation, and real-time crisis accountability. From deepfake threats and influencer compliance to ESG scepticism and the convergence of earned, owned and creator-led narratives, the year exposed both structural gaps and strategic maturity across the profession. This rewind is not about campaigns that trended—but about trust that endured, systems that scaled, and the recalibration of PR’s role in a fractured, hyper-audited public discourse. The year 2025 didn’t hand the communications industry a pause button. It handed it a stress test. For Weber Shandwick, it was a year marked by structural change, sharper expectations, and a market that stopped rewarding noise for its own sake. In the middle of that churn, Karan Bhandari, Managing Director – Integrated Media Strategy, Weber Shandwick, watched momentum replace uncertainty as teams converted transition into traction, strengthening client relationships, embedding AI into everyday communications, and closing the year with Agency of the Year recognition. As part of Adgully’s annual re-look at the year – REWIND 2025 – Karan Bhandari reflects on why resilience has become a built capability rather than a crisis response, how trust has emerged as the industry’s most valuable creative currency, and why PR is no longer an add-on, but a decision-shaping function at the core of modern brand strategy. His perspective captures a defining truth of 2025: relevance now belongs to organisations that create stability, credibility, and impact even as the ground keeps shifting. How would you describe the year 2025 for your organization, and were there any standout moments that defined it? 2025 was a year of momentum. It began with significant global shifts and a sense of transformation across the business, but what stands out to me is how quickly we found our footing. Even with leadership changes and an evolving global structure, the teams moved with clarity, ownership and ambition. The moment that defined the year was seeing everyone convert change into progress. Instead of slowing down, the teams renewed key client relationships, won new ones, strengthened internal culture and closed the year with Agency of the Year recognition. For me, it proved something important: resilience is not a reaction, it is a capability. Resilience is not what you show in a crisis. It is what you build quietly when no one is watching yet - and year reminded us that the strongest organisations do not wait for stability to arrive. They create it. When you look at the broader PR and communications industry, what defines this year for the industry? The industry reached an inflection point. The Omnicom IPG development did more than reshape holding company structures. It signalled to every agency that modern relevance requires sharper positioning, deeper capability and a more honest understanding of what clients truly value. This year was shaped by three forces: AI being used meaningfully across crisis response, analysis, planning and baseline operations A renewed understanding that talent is the real differentiator Clients becoming more open to work that is bolder, clearer and more culturally awareThe industry did not evolve because of new tools. It evolved because clients stopped rewarding work that did not move the needle. Which new big clients did you onboard this year, and what made those wins special? Without naming specific clients, this was a year of meaningful and future-focused partnerships. What made the wins special was the nature of the work. We were brought in to shape integrated influence programs, build credibility frameworks, and apply intelligence and insight to how communications operate daily. We also embedded AI as part of everyday communications. This included predictive insight work, stress testing for issues, and streamlining operations that would have otherwise slowed teams down. What made the year even more significant was that we achieved this while maintaining exceptional client retention. Winning is important, but keeping trust through change is even more telling. How has the role of PR evolved? Trust is becoming the new creative currency. You cannot decorate your way into it. You have to earn it. Trust at scale is now the true outcome. We are operating in a landscape where smart use of AI adds depth and intelligence to work, but instinct and judgement still carry the final word. Authentic storytelling has shifted from being a differentiator to being the minimum expectation. And clients today are more open to challenging their own conventions, which is a positive and needed shift. PR is no longer the final layer on top of a brand strategy. It is often the place where decisions are shaped, debated and pressure-tested long before anything becomes public.