The Gulf’s spin doctors

TOP SPIN, reverse spin or no spin at all? Spin-doctors in the Gulf, otherwise known as public relations practitioners bear little resemblance to their counterparts in, say, South-East Asia or the Eurozone.

Before they begin to bristle at this outrageous suggestion, let me relate to you what one gentleman in Dubai, an advertising professional, had to say about the industry:
“It has a long way to go,” he said. It is indisciplined, it thrives on things like raffles and discounts and suffers from short-term thinking.”
Public relations in the Gulf has also, alas, been associated more with form than substance, colour rather than depth, neon instead of insight.
“The future lies with independent and private media institutions, ones which are driven by competition in the market place, seeking to perform the role of informing and entertaining their audience...the public will no longer accept media that are controlled by government, that seeks to provide them with a limited and partial view of events.” Who said that? None other than Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Now here is a direction and a draft road map for the media coming from the highest corridors of power in the UAE. The question is, is the industry listening, or is it satisfied with gas station store promotions and often tacky loyalty schemes (as if we weren’t up to our necks with them!).
It may be puzzling because the GCC certainly doesn’t lack solid demographic data. A clutch of hard-boiled market-analysis professionals across the region produce numbers and trend reports that would delight the PR pro. But when you ask the PR pro to stand up and be counted however, more often than not, that worthy is on the golf links instead.
But let’s be fair. Press-release-based news, in today’s Gulf, is still commonplace. Only a few weeks ago the Press here got taken for a royal ride when a cooked-up Press release about a cooked up factory that plans to start a non-melting ice factory was carried word for word without even bothering to check the facts. That’s how dependent the media here is on PR! Take away PR and the media — electronic and print — would be at a loss on how to fill their “home” pages!
What then does public relations have to do, apart from writing a release that stands a good chance of being noticed, and apart from making a couple of phone calls with a promise of a good meal?  Times change, and PR must play close attention to a better-informed, quality-conscious customer who insists on value for money.
And PR must very closely watch the Internet. There is little editorial control in that medium. It moves faster than the eye can see (well almost), and especially so when a company suffers an image crisis. It mobilises people immediately. And multinationals still haven’t a clue how to deal with it effectively.
Remember Seattle and WTO? Then you will also remember Quebec and the Free Trade Area of the Americas shenanigans, and that’s just the beginning.
But we are talking about Public Relations in the Gulf. Which, despite the criticisms, is growing far faster than any other service industries, most of which are happy if they just beat inflation. According to the Middle East PR Association (MEPRA), the “PR sector is growing at a phenomenal rate” with PR billing fee across the region hitting the $60 million mark last year. It’s the fastest growing sector with an annual growth of 20-25 per cent. Unfortunately, of the 80 PR firms in operation, only 32-40 are “organised players” and according to Sadri Barrage, chairman of MEPRA, “there is no industry standard.”
Couldn’t agree more!