A POWERFUL FORCE FOR DRIVING MARKETING

It was said a few moons ago that in the not too distant future, the brick and mortar banks would be totally replaced by ATM machines and computer points for banking transactions. Today we are well on the way to using more of net banking than standing in snaky queues to complete our banking needs. The deeply ingrained habit of physically being there in front of government counters to renew visas or trade licenses is now slowly, albeit surely, changing. For now, with the e-governance measures, the government has taken the tedium off and tells us to turn more contemporary and save time and energy for other activities. Such concepts that cannot be adequately brought out by advertisements on mammoth billboards or 6-feet cut-outs are best achieved by Public Relations or PR, by constantly bringing the merits of such practices closer to the end-user.

Today Dubai is an acclaimed gateway to the world, the hub of every major commercial activity. The property market is booming like never before, with global investors looking longingly at Dubai. And for promoting Dubai to the rest of the world as a tourist, trade and financial destination, the most effective tool is PR.

Multinational companies are falling over themselves to find a place here for their operations. All have products to sell, impeccable images to project, reputations to guard fiercely. Again PR is the answer to promoting corporations - alongside perceptions about such organizations - among the people.

The answer to all loudly and clearly is PR. A long and difficult road to take, yet the best path to pursue, explains and elaborates Nidal Abou Zaki, Managing Director, Orient Planet PR and Marketing Communications - Dubai, in an exclusive interview to Panorama:

What is PR or Public Relations?

PR is the most vibrant and dynamic marketing stream that works towards establishing the desired perceptions of a company or even a country in the minds of the public. For a long time, PR was a poor cousin of advertising, used only as a supplement, if budgets permitted. Over the past few years, PR has come into its own, walking hand in hand with advertising, and sometimes overshadowing advertising, in the case of some brands. The evolving modern theory is that advertising is effective mainly in building brands, while PR is critical to sustaining brands, building image over the long-term and handling crisis management. Globally, this theory is being increasingly accepted and adopted.

In the Arab world and the Middle East, PR as a successful tool for marketing products and creating perceptions is still at a nascent stage. PR helps create sustained long-term image building strategies, and forges impressions that stay deep rooted and firm in the minds of the public. For the PR professionals in the region the challenge was to first enlighten the corporate houses and sell them the concept of PR, before they could make any headway. Soon the MNCs and progressive government departments that propagate contemporary methods such as e-governance accepted the idea of PR as a powerful tool to reach mass audiences. And now they have started reaping the fruits.

PR versus advertising..

The two are like the two legs of a person. You can walk or run only when both work in tandem. However, banking on advertising alone to build brands and promote sales is a fallacy, according to modern marketing pundits. Though advertising takes away huge chunks of marketing budgets even today, the perception is dawning in the right quarters that PR needs to be given more importance and bigger budgets. Any prudent marketing campaign should have at least 20%, if not more, of the budgets allocated for PR. The rest could be spread out over advertising, direct marketing, events and on-line marketing. Increasingly, companies today are beginning to realize that PR is more strategic than advertising. The basic difference is that while advertising creates the demand, PR enhances the credibility of a product or company, leading to strong, long-term perception in the minds of people.

What level of awareness about PR exists in this region?

Still low, I would think. In some parts of North Africa and Egypt, for example, the seeds of growth are being sown now and will take another decade to blossom. The UAE is among the countries that have understood and benefited from PR. The first time I understood the impact of PR was during a PR workshop I attended more than 12 years ago. The American PR company conducting the programme showed a 10-minute video it did for the government of Armenia at the time of a major political confrontation with Azerbaijan. The video served as a powerful visual tool to communicate a strong message to the world. This is political PR at its effective best. Senior politicians and lobbies that saw the video could empathise with Armenia, because the impact of the video was dramatic. All because of a brilliant idea from a PR agency.

It is important to keep in mind that PR varies from region to region. PR could be different in the Middle East as against Japan, or Brazil or India. This is because each country has its own peculiar social and cultural elements that need to be considered before a PR strategy is devised. But what remains a constant for successful PR is the transparency of information in the working of the company or the country, and a proactive rather than a reactive strategy. Only this approach can lead to long-term, effective and visionary PR campaigns.

When will PR be at its best performance level?

Whenever the private sector is very strong and is able to operate without too many restrictions from the government, in such sanguine scenarios the PR industry will flourish. Managers or top-level officials ought to be available to the PR industry to help them promote their companies. PR manages the single most important asset of every company – its reputation. For instance – Microsoft was built over years using the legendary Bill Gates as one of their main PR tools. He is highly visible at events and at the launch of new Microsoft products. The corporation has grown into one of the most recognised brands over the past few years, with high visibility in the press, television, radio and every other conceivable medium. Thus, firstly the image, secondly the reputation and thirdly the desired perception have been successfully created in the minds of the people. The foundation for a long-term strategy has been laid and a continuous community outreach programme has been set in motion. Much of this was achieved purely through PR, and not advertising.

As far as governments are concerned, they should shake off bureaucracy, act with complete transparency, should provide 24-hour access to their services, even after office hours, for instance to pay a fine or to settle a bill or make enquiries. PR can then be deployed to promote the services and the high standards adopted by the governments.

How does PR promote and propagate a concept?

Let me explain this with the example of Dubai eGovernment. When a concept like e-governance is introduced, an advertisement can communicate the message that such a service is available. Having said that, the job of highlighting the various services, their benefits, advantages, success and response can be conveyed powerfully and cost-effectively only through a consistent PR strategy aimed at drumming in the concept in the minds of the people. For people accustomed to queuing up in front of counters, filling in application forms laboriously, it is hard to comprehend that the same can be done by punching in a few keys on their computer keyboard. And PR is the most effective tool to repeatedly drive home such revolutionary messages to the public.

And so old perceptions can be replaced by new mindsets. No doubt, this is bound to take time. It is important to be realistic. And once acceptance from the public becomes a reality, more government departments will join the eGovernment platform and more people will adopt the practice of conducting their transactions over the Internet and soon electronic transactions will become a lifestyle, thanks largely to the efficacy of PR to reach mass audiences.

Can PR today bring about radical changes in the industry and the people?

It would be unrealistic to expect dramatic changes to happen overnight. The market cannot be changed in one day. It has been proved that PR certainly has the power to promote a product, a company or even a personality. For example the US presidential candidates have been deploying PR with startling results over the years, whether they are talking about war versus peace, abortion rights, green country and such topical issues dear to the hearts of American people. But the people have to be conditioned to accept changes. And this needs sustained, dedicated effort. PR is not driven by hype. PR complements advertising and the two can be cleverly combined to market a concept, product, personality or a nation.