In a fast-moving, AI-driven environment, companies must communicate quickly, clearly and consistently across audiences. This demands stronger collaboration between public relations and investor relations, whose traditionally separate roles now overlap as stakeholders consume the same content.
Disjointed messaging creates costly confusion, making unified capital narratives - linking a company’s actions, values and performance - essential. The most effective stories are shaped jointly by PR and IR, early and intentionally.
That’s why we teamed up with PRWeek to survey leading communicators to uncover where they’re in sync, where they still face challenges and what it all means.
The result? Our brand-new report: The Comms-IR Relationship: High Stakes, Higher Expectations.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
One of the biggest myths in communications is that PR and IR only connect during earnings season. Not true.
Our research discovered that 55% of PR and IR leaders connect weekly - sometimes several times a month - even outside of earnings and investor days. For many, this is simply the new normal.
When PR and IR do come together, the result is smarter strategy and more confident storytelling.
As Scott Stanzel, Chief Communications Officer at Truist, told us: “The IR team’s awareness of investor and analyst sentiment helps shape and strengthen messaging that the communications team uses with the media.”
And from the IR side: “Quarterly earnings events each are like successive chapters in a book and comms helps us write every chapter,” said Bobby Grau, Director of Investor Relations at Kyndryl.
But here’s the catch: despite frequent touchpoints, gaps remain that can lead to mixed messages, missed media opportunities and market confusion.
Our research found that while nearly 70% of PR and IR leaders say collaboration has improved, many admit there are still gaps in messaging. That’s a red flag, because even small inconsistencies can create big problems.
“Misaligned messaging can create volatility in brand perception, eroding trust among key stakeholders - confusing the market, shaking investor confidence, straining partnerships and undermining employee morale,” said Dani Dudeck, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Instacart.
One way to close this gap is through unified technology.
While IR pros ranked market intelligence platforms highest and communications teams prioritized media monitoring, both functions essentially track stakeholder sentiment and market perception – suggesting missed opportunities for integrated platforms and data that serve both audiences while driving further collaboration.
And the danger isn’t just confusion. When investors, media and employees hear different versions of the story, it can hit reputation - and even valuation. And in today’s world, where one headline can spread in seconds, alignment is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s mission critical.
The good news is that staying aligned doesn’t require layers and layers of complexity.
It’s not rocket science, but it does take discipline.
“Meet weekly, stay in tune on all upcoming news releases, ensure comms is familiar with IR messages. Continue collaborating so both teams are on the same page,” said Lori Chaitman, Global Head of IR at Kyndryl.
This kind of ongoing dialogue creates a workflow that’s proactive instead of reactive - and that’s when collaboration really starts paying off.
This post just scratches the surface. The full report includes more exclusive leadership perspectives and practical recommendations you can apply right away.
➡️ Download the full report here!
Whether you sit in PR, IR, or somewhere in between, this report is packed with insights to help you strengthen alignment, build trust and ensure your company’s story is told with clarity and confidence.
We are Notified, and your story goes here. As the only technology partner dedicated to both investor relations and public relations professionals, we help you control and amplify your corporate narrative. Our fully integrated PR and IR platforms streamline every step—whether it's reaching the right media, press release distribution, and measurement or designing new IR websites, managing investor days, earnings releases, and regulatory filings. Connecting both worlds, GlobeNewswire is one of the world's largest and most trusted newswire distribution networks, serving leading organizations for over 30 years. Together, we empower communicators to inform a better world.
Notified is an affiliate of Equiniti Group Limited (EQ)