Middle East spends $100m on public relations

The role played by the public relations industry has been of vital importance in terms of marketing and media aspects alike.

Over the past few years, the 90 public relations agencies operating in the UAE have managed to prove their efficiency and worth for the diverse economic sectors, first during the boom, and then during the recent global economic crisis, when they highlighted the markets' resilience.

The public relations industry has been a major player in introducing the attractive GCC markets, particularly the UAE market, to the world by adopting international marketing strategies that include organizing international forums and workshops, and participating in international fairs and exhibitions.

Commenting on the performance of the public relations sector in the region, Dr Ahmed Mufeed Al Samerai, President of Sahara Group, said, "Spending on public relations activities in the Middle East is still relatively modest, with an estimated $100m spent on PR in 2008, compared to the $7bn spent on advertising. This industry is projected to grow considerably over the coming years, as marketing campaigns are essential for all economic sectors, and public relations have proven an outstanding ability to communicate the required message to the target audience in a fast and cost-effective manner."

The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) presented Sahara Group with the 'Award for continuous support in 2008' at its recent 'Success Partners Award' ceremony, held at the Sharjah Classic Car Museum, in recognition of Sahara's outstanding contribution to the success of the SCTDA's strategy of promoting Sharjah as a world class family tourism destination and introducing the emirate's tourist product to the domestic and overseas markets.

Al Samerai added, "It is not easy to use public relations as a means to communicate with a broad audience with diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds. Our goal, in collaboration with the SCTDA's media department, has been to promote Sharjah's tourist image and product to the domestic and overseas markets, including the emirate's natural offerings, tradition and culture, which we have highlighted in a bid to increase Sharjah's appeal to both tourists and investors."

"We also provided the tourism promotion strategy with practical steps to identify and cope with potential changes in global trends. An important part of this strategy was to increase promotional campaigns and communication activities and to expand the public relations channels in order to maximize the benefits from each of these channels, as well as to target new markets, as tourism promotion is crucial to lure tourists," he added.

Al Samerai expressed his optimism about the future potential of the public relations industry in the region, and underlined the necessity of providing training for public relations staff and seeking young talent who have excellent communication and writing skills to develop the public relations services in the region to the highest international standards.