Middle East PR Agency

The need for effective and exclusive PR delivery is growing along with the UAE’s, and Dubai in particular, expanding business market.

"The past year (2007) has been a significant one for the PR industry in the Middle East," said MEPRA (Middle East Public Relations Association) chairman Sadri Barrage who is also Managing Director of Headline PR. "Mepra have seen a healthy overall increase in business and standards of practice among members.  There has been a continuation of setting new benchmarks for the region’s fast growing PR industry."

MEPRA estimates that effective PR fee billings across the region could approach US$ 100 million for 2007 and predicts a best annual growth of 20-25 percent.  Fast growing sectors in the region include finance, real estate, health, IT and tourism.

"Public relations management is today considered as business critical by a large and growing number of organisations in the Middle Easts public and private sectors," said Jack Pearce, Managing Director of Matrix PR and MEPRA chairman. "The future is very bright, although as an emerging market the region still has significant challenges to meet such as growing the pool of available PR talent, understanding the full PR tool-set and poor standards set by some companies unwilling to invest in best practices and the right skills."

So with the Public Relations market booming in Dubai, how do PR companies choose their clients or is there any choosing involved?  Is it just a “take anyone on” approach in Dubai or are PR companies becoming more sophisticated and exclusive – targeting specific sub markets in Dubai and sticking with it?

The folks down at Strawberry PR , a Dubai based PR company , say they like to talk ideas over with their clients and analyse their needs and goals.  Strawberry PR says they need to ensure synergy between themselves and the client.  They will only take on clients who they know they can deliver the best service.  As a consequence, they do not have a long list of clients, nor do they aspire to in the near future.  Expansion must be thorough and steady.  In the Middle East where reputation is imperative, racing ahead of the game and forgetting your existing clients’ needs is a recipe for disaster.