On May 29, 2014, Paul Holmes, Founder of the Holmes Group ran and moderated a roundtable at The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC, Dubai, discussing the transformation of the PR & Communications Industry in the MENA region today ,featuring experts from the public relations industry in the Middle East. Erwin Bamps, Chief Operating Officer of Gulf Craft, was one of the 5 roundtable members.
Other participants included Dr. Ahmed Bin Ali (Senior Vice President - Corporate Commmunications, Etisalat Group), Bassem Terkawi (Senior Director - Marketing and Communications, TDIC), Mohamed Al Ayed (President & CEO, TRACCS) and Paul Holmes (The Holmes Group).
The Holmes Group is dedicated to proving and improving the value of public relations, by providing insight, knowledge and recognition to public relations professionals. The Holmes Group was founded in 2000 by Paul Holmes (pholmes@holmesreport.com), publisher and CEO, who has more than two decades of experience writing about and evaluating the public relations business and consulting with both public relations firms and their clients. The Holmes Group delivers against its mission by providing the most sophisticated reporting and analysis on public relations trends and issues.
Subjects included:
From Fragmentation to Integration:
The communications effort in many companies in the Middle East continues to be fragmented among different agencies, resulting in a lack of coherence and focus in the message that ultimately reaches the consumer and other stakeholders. The roundtable discussed how integrating communications – both external and internal – is the key to success and how PR ultimately has the best tools to answer this challenge.
Striking the Balance:
The regional communications industry needs to respect and reflect local cultures and sensitivities while working in line with internationally accepted norms and tools. The discussion addressed how well Western-developed communications frameworks function in the MENA region.
From Service to Strategy:
Media relations and crisis communications continue to be seen as the mainstays of the PR function in the Middle East. There is a need to shift from a reactive, tactic-driven formula to a proactive, strategy-driven approach.
Getting PR Into the Boardroom:
In the corporate world, PR has yet to break the glass ceiling in terms of being considered a legitimate and indispensable practice area. While communications teams and consultants are considered custodians of a brand, the execution of many of the tools they develop is entrusted to company spokespersons and front-line employees who aren’t completely sold on its value or importance. The roundtable focused on the need for top-level buy-in for company/ brand positioning and messaging, and how PR needs to flow from the top.
