In a policy environment defined by complexity, competing narratives and shrinking attention spans, one trend is becoming impossible to ignore: storytelling is emerging as the most powerful tool for shaping influence in 2026.
This insight sits at the heart of the 2026 Policy Comms Trends Report by the European Campaign Playbook, a crowdsourced project built from the real experiences of communicators working inside the EU bubble. Gareth Harding, CEO and founder of Clear Europe, contributed to the report, offering his perspective on why stories matter more than ever.





