A few numbers: in marketing, PR increases brand visibility by at least 35-50%. Indeed, media work makes a team a full-fledged market player. To learn how to really build a strong brand, Affbox Media spoke with Head of PR One Media x One Partners — Anastasiia Mandryk.
We talked about how to stay relevant in the era of growing competition in the media, Anastasiia’s own and One Media’s experience, the last months of 2025 and forecasts for 2026. What style do webmasters want to see in the feed? Is it possible to integrate AI into PR in a non-cringe way? How to get to the TOP despite everything? The answers are below.
How have the last six months been in PR? Do you have any insider info?
Over the past six months, the One Media team and I have tried many new things in PR, and here are 4 insider tips I can share:
- Visual boldness always beats caution. Our One Partners stand in Warsaw proved this 100%. Kinetic LED screen is a technology from Asia that has only just begun to be integrated in Europe. It had that exact “wow” effect that everyone was talking about.
- Street-style content is a format we started testing in both photos and videos, and it has been much better than classic production. People are drawn to naturalness, movement, and a lively vibe.
- Communities have become more important than any media. Chats, mini-events, columns, and storytelling from the team are what really build a brand. That is why we are developing One Media Chat as a space where everyone can get insider info firsthand, directly from the affiliate TOPs, where real communication from the team lives.
- AI is not a production replacement, but a new genre of content. Surreal scenes, movement, and scale are what immediately distinguish a brand in a feed.
Competition in the media industry is growing. What, in your opinion, helps one stay ahead?
Nowadays, competition in the media industry is growing faster than before, and I can divide teams in the market into two types: those who work just like they always do and those who are constantly looking for new approaches. My team and I belong to the second type.
Tips that really help maintain leadership:
- Constantly test new formats and approaches. The media industry is changing rapidly, so you need to react accordingly. Quickly catch new approaches in creatives, new formats in social networks, and also be involved in general global trends, and adapt them to the affiliate niche.
- Be more creative than the rest of the market. Non-standard ideas give you a head start even with great competition. Therefore, you should be inspired by everything that, it would seem, is not even close to the affiliate sphere. Such ideas are most memorable — you were able to adapt something that no one could ever have thought of.
- Work on your speed. In the media industry, the winner is often not the one who knows more, but the one who does it faster. This refers us to the previous point. It is important to train agility, respond quickly to changes and not be afraid to act immediately when you see an opportunity.
- Be in a strong environment. When you have a team around you that is moving forward, you automatically grow with them. The right community and atmosphere have a big impact on results, even in the media, so I highlight that as half the success.
What approaches do you think will be most effective in PR campaigns in the new year?
In 2026, PR in affiliate will work everywhere EGC is present, when the content is created by the team itself. Live insights, backstage, buyers’ opinions — this is what inspires trust and builds a brand image better than any advertising. The second important point is the integration of AI into content, but in a non-trivial format, in a way that cannot be reproduced in real life. This is about videos where the rules of physics are broken, about scenes and visuals that could only exist in fantasy. Such videos are memorable, stand out in the feed and create a unique brand style.
All this is based on two factors: technology + human presentation, and a focus on the result. That’s the whole secret of a strong media presence in 2026.
In your opinion, what factors of good media representation are the most important today?
There are many factors to consider to be visible in the market, but these 3 are key:
- Live content. Today, what works is what looks natural: real people, real emotions, minimum staging. Such content inspires trust and is noticed by users in the feed.
- Stable posting and constant presence. Algorithms love regularity. When a brand does not disappear but is steadily present on social networks, trust in the team increases, and others respond better to communication.
- Being up to date and having a clear understanding of the audience. It is important to speak to people in their language, at their pace, and in formats they actually consume.
What should one focus on in the media to get the best results?
In media, you need to focus on:
- Emotions and sincerity: don’t “do advertising,” but tell your own cases and stories, create a connection between the team and the audience, thus building loyalty.
- Regularity and consistency: be close to the audience, and don’t come only when you need to show or announce something.
- Be on the same wavelength as the audience — trends, language, context, platforms.
What tools help promote a brand at conferences?
One simple rule always works at conferences: the visual component of the team is memorable. This is a fact, because we are still remembered for the kinetic stand in Warsaw, and some people cannot forget AW in Barcelona 2023, when One Media’s merch was in the style of female tennis players 🙂
Therefore, I believe that a non-standard stand and merch are mandatory tools if you want the brand to be associated, recognized, and remembered. And, of course, all this works only when there is a proactive team behind the brand — lively, open, driving. People at the conference feel the team’s energy as well as see the visual. It is this combination that gives the maximum effect.
To summarize: the PR of the future is not about old schemes, but about experiments, being the first to implement unique approaches, and exceptional attentiveness to the audience’s needs. It is worth feeling connected not only to the community built, but also to your own team — to know it well and not be afraid to show your peculiarities, discoveries, vibe. Honesty and authenticity are worth their weight in gold today, and this will not change in the coming years.
Your prediction for 2026 from Anastasiia: attention to the media will pay off fully. Don’t ignore it 🙂
