• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Information Links
  • Skip to Site Search
  • Skip to Footer
  • Skip to Accessibility Information
  • Home Page

Information Links

Haymarket Marketing Communications:

  • PRWeek
  • Campaign US
  • MM+M
  • 30-Day Trial
  • Register
  • Sign in
  • Search
  • Menu
  • US|
  • UK|
  • Middle East|
  • Asia

PR Week Global

  • Menu
  • Search

Main Navigation

Menu

Main Navigation

  • US|
  • UK|
  • Middle East|
  • Asia
  • News
      News
    • Breakfast Briefing
    • Agency
    • Consumer
    • Corporate
    • Public Affairs
    • Technology
    • Healthcare
    • Case Studies
    • Media
    • Videos
    • Events and Awards
    Show
  • In-depth
      In-depth
    • Cannes 2021
    • Women of Distinction
    • Bellwether Survey 2021
    • Hall of Fame
    • Agency Business Report
    • 40 Under 40
    • Salary Survey
    • Health Influencer 30
    • Power List
    • Best Places to Work
    • Places to Be 2022
    • Newsmakers
    • Custom Events
    • Career Guide
    Show
  • People in PR
      People in PR
    • Pets in PR
    • CEO Focus
    • CMO Focus
    • Opinion
    • Around the office
    • Coffee Break
    • Lockdown Life
    • Don Spetner
    • Steve Barrett on PR
    • Femme Forward
    • Pride in PR
    Show
  • Resources
      Resources
    • Ebooks
    • Digital Editions
    • Cannes 2021
    • Campaign Case Studies
    • Dashboard
    • Podcasts
    • Bellwether Survey 2022
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Agency Business Report
    • Places to Be 2022
    • Contact Directory
    • Jobs
    • Renew
    • Salary Survey
    • Subscribe
    Show
  • Events
      Events
    • PRWeek Global Awards
    • Brand Film Awards
    • PRWeek US Awards
    • Women of Distinction
    • PRWeek Connect
    • PRDecoded
    • PRWeek 40 Under 40
    • PRWeek Purpose Awards
    • Healthcare & Pharma Comms Awards
    • Webcasts
    • Hall of Fame
    • Custom Events
    Show
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • Breakfast Briefing
  • Agency
  • Consumer
  • Corporate
  • Public Affairs
  • Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Case Studies
  • Media
  • Videos
  • Events and Awards

  • Trending :
  • PRWeek Global Awards
  • Agency Business Report
  • Healthcare & Pharma Comms Awards
  • 40 Under 40
  • Women of Distinction

Partner content

In partnership with

ASDA'A BCW

What next for comms in a post-pandemic Middle East?

Four communications leaders convened to discuss the essential role of PR in a post-pandemic world.

by Jennifer Jackson / June 30, 2021

Tweet
Share

Watch now: A discussion on the essential role of PR in a post-pandemic world, in partnership with ASDA’A BCW

PARTICIPANTS

  • Sunil John, president - Middle East of BCW and founder, ASDA’A BCW
  • Brian Lott, chief communications officer, Mubadala
  • Ramiro Prudencio, partner & global director of communications, McKinsey & Co
  • Simeon Kerr, Gulf correspondent, Financial Times

It's been a chaotic 18 months. But comms leaders in the Middle East are optimistic the region is on the up, powered by a newly-revitalised comms sector.

As the world starts its pandemic recovery process, there is an urgent need for high quality communications.

In the Middle East, there is a sense that the region is on the edge of transformative change as government and business navigate sweeping adaptations in politics, economics and the environment.

So, with the publication of PRWeek's third annual Power Book for the region, PRWeek brought together four leaders to chew over 2020’s seismic changes and debate PR’s future in the region and beyond.

Sunil John, president – Middle East of BCW and founder of ASDA’A BCW (the Power Book partner) chaired the discussion, alongside Brian Lott, chief communications officer, Mubadala; Ramiro Prudencio, partner & global director of communications, McKinsey & Co; Simeon Kerr, Gulf correspondent at Financial Times, Dubai.

John set the context: “The pandemic has permanently transformed the business of communications and media across the world”. Internal comms and links with governments have come under a particular spotlight and PR people have had to scramble to adapt to an extremely fast-moving news environment.

Most comms teams will have regarded themselves as reasonably well-schooled in crisis PR preparations, but the pandemic took them into a territory few could have prepared for.

Prudencio added: “There was no playbook for this crisis”.

Embodying trust

What most organisations realised quickly was that stakeholders, particularly staff, were looking to business leaders to provide some sense of stability.

“When everything was changing so fast, our employees were looking to us to be that source of guidance,” said Lott. “On a practical level this meant being able to update them about regulations, particularly in terms of travel, but also on vaccines and whether to come into the office. On a more emotional level it settles the nerves to hear reassurance from a trusted employer that we're going to get through this. We could give them that sense of optimism that was needed.”

Giving clarity over restrictions was particularly helpful in the region as each government’s rules differed greatly. For businesses like Mubadala, which has a healthcare division, the role became even more complex; they were feeding through test data back to government.

Comms teams swiftly adopted whatever technology worked to get the job done, video-conferencing being the obvious primary method. Prudencio describes this as “15 years of digitalisation happening in 15 months”, with the pandemic serving to accelerate changes that were only just on the rise at the beginning of 2020.

Similarly, Prudencio sees the large-scale focus on internal comms as a key area for comms teams now planning: “It's an important opportunity to build trust, both within and outside the organisation.”

Business leaders have had to become ever-more flexible as they support staff under new and particular pressures: working remotely, home-schooling and more. He also sees a focus on mental health as employers and employees continue to “rebalance” their relationship.

Both Lott and John see this change to a more flexibly-managed, partially home-based, workforce as one that is here to stay. “This has big implications for how we communicate with our employees,” John said.

Empowered media

The general craving for effective leadership has also had an impact on the media. Lott believes that the heightened need for reliable information meant a renewed premium on quality news sources and so people may be more willing to subscribe: “Social media has served to amplify credible news outlets, as people have tried to share what they have heard about restrictions changing or vaccine news.”

The panellists believe that earned media will continue, however, to be a central weapon in the PR armoury – in fact the potential extra investment in content may require a parallel expansion in comms teams.

At McKinsey, Prudencio's team now includes data analysts and creatives as well as the more traditional ex-journalist staffers. “The environment is richer, the conversations are more interesting – and the challenges are greater.”

One area where the media-comms conversations are more interesting is the sense that the Middle East is on the cusp of serious growth. John said this is partly due to big events such as the World Cup, Expo and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE. But these will happen against a backdrop of developing peace in the region.

Lott also believes that the UAE has done a good job of embracing its role in a world that makes less use of hydrocarbons: “There will be an economic shift towards those countries that are aware of their role in climate change.”

However, the process of integrating a more ethical element into commercial decision-making continues to challenge governments and businesses in the region, believes Kerr. A clear example of this was when Qatar finally introduced a minimum wage - but only after sustained international pressure, as preparations for the World Cup had put working conditions under the spotlight.

“These big events in the region will help define development and economic diversification in the Gulf," said Kerr. "At the same time, communicators will have to be careful to deal with ESG issues that have global resonance”.

So as the region's comms teams look ahead to a brighter horizon, it is with the acknowledgement that their more central role will bring a more complex workload.

Thank you to ASDA’A BCW for sponsoring the PRWeek Power Book Middle East and this panel discussion.

  • Agency
  • Talent & careers
  • Power List
  • Spotlight
  • Middle East
  • Content Labs
  • BCW
  • Europe
  • United Kingdom
  • Middle East
Tweet
Share

More...

  • Annual Arab Youth Survey reveals optimism for the future

Have you registered with us yet?

Register now to enjoy more articles and free email bulletins

Register
Already registered?
Sign in

Resources

  • Healthcare & Pharma Communications Awards

  • Agency Business Report

  • Bellwether Survey

  • Women of Distinction

  • PRWeek US Awards

  • Salary Survey

  • Dashboard 25

  • Brand Film Awards

  • Best Places to Work

  • Hall of Fame

  • Health Influencer 30

  • Purpose Awards

  • PRDecoded

  • 40 Under 40

  • The Power List

  • Webinars

  • Find a Job

  • Podcasts

  • Subscribe to PRWeek

Resources

Up next:

Photo credit: Getty Images

WeWork US members get month of free therapy through BetterHelp

Dogstudio built virtual festival Tomorrowland Around The World.

Dept acquires Dogstudio, the shop behind Tomorrowland’s virtual festival

In 2020, Mattel launched Barbie Fashionistas with the goal of expanding its collection to include more skin tones, body types, and even Barbies with wheelchairs.

First Barbie doll with hearing aids aims to boost diversity, inclusion

On Saturday, a gunman killed 10 people in Buffalo. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

In Buffalo’s wake, marketers look at gun violence through a public health lens

Breakfast Briefing: 5 things for PR pros to know on Friday morning

Breakfast Briefing: 5 things for PR pros to know on Friday morning

Hawkins said that she intends to bring a 'modern, fresh approach' to Finn's travel practice.

Finn Partners names Jennifer Hawkins NY travel managing partner

Next 15 CEO Tim Dyson (left) and M&C Saatchi CEO Moray MacLennan

Next 15 swoops in to agree surprise £310m takeover deal for M&C Saatchi

Actor Johnny Deep says ex-wife Amber Heard's op-ed has cost him film roles. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Social media managers urge understanding for one of their own after Duolingo deletes Amber Heard joke on TikTok

5 takeaways from the PRWeek Global Awards

5 takeaways from the PRWeek Global Awards

Martin replaces longtime IPG veteran Heide Gardner.

Interpublic Group names Channing Martin global chief diversity, social impact officer


JOIN, SHARE, LIKE, FOLLOW US ON:

  • f
  • t
  • I
  • l
  • yt
About PRWeek
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Advertise
Subscribe
  • Subscribe to PRWeek
  • Newsletters
  • FAQ
Global
  • PRWeek UK
  • Campaign Asia
Haymarket © Haymarket Media Group Ltd. | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Notice | Privacy Notice
IPSO