Fuelled by the fast boom of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions National champion companies, the Public Relations (PR) industry in MENA is set to leapfrog in value to double its current dimension of $1billion by 2030, was the key take out from the PRovoke MENA Summit 2020, held in Dubai on February 6, 2020.

PRovoke MENA Summit, organised by PRovoke Media (formerly The Holmes Report), is part of a global series of events that discover the innovation, disruption and evolution of the PR industry that is redefining impact and engagement throughout the globe.

The Summit opened with an insightful session From National Heroes to Global Brands: Why the Middle East has emerged as a PR Powerhouse, moderated by Sunil John, Founder of ASDAA BCW and President, Middle East of BCW. The panel hosted some of the regions most respected and influential communicators: Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand, Emirates Airline and Group; Umayma Abubakar, Director of Internal Corporate Relations, Mubadala; Omar Zaafrani, Senior Vice President, Group Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility, ADNOC; and Huda Buhumaid, Chief Marketing Officer, Dubai Holding. The panelists explored how the regional PR landscape has grown, mirroring the transformation of National Champion companies such as Emirates, Mubadala, ADNOC and Dubai Holding into international brands.

Introducing the panel, Sunil John mentioned that the dramatic economic, social and political changes witnessed in MENA place the region as a strategic market for all global industries. The vicinity will be at the centre of the world this year, with Expo 2020 Dubai, the G20 Summit meetings in Saudi Arabia, the upcoming World Bank IMF annual meetings in Morocco in 2021, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and other international events set to make contributions to the regional PR industrys persisted growth.

From US$500 million a decade ago, the industry has upped its value to more than double that figure nowadays and will further achieve traction to double again by 2030. This will be driven by the growth of global brands that emerge from our region, particularly from the two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, stated Sunil John.

Highlighting the boom of Emirates, which has a total communications budget of US$800 million, a crew of 250 communications professionals, and working globally with 85 PR agencies, 100 advertising firms, and 30 digital and events management companies, Boutros Boutros stated Public Relations continues to be the most valuable, advantageous and inexpensive communications medium, which will proceed to grow in the coming years. Boutros stated the Dubai office of Emirates plays the role of a, global inhouse hub to manage all the different agencies, with the approach and policies originating here.

Umayma Abubakar stated effectively communicating the Mubadala story is additionally a reflection of the vision of the UAEs leadership. Our governments aim of economic diversification has located the UAE as more than an oil and gas economy. There is a compelling need to tell our story to the world, to exhibit that we have a lot to make contributions and add value. In this, it was essential to be transparent, and to be perceived as a responsible international investor.

Omar Zaafrani stated the duty of national brands goes beyond their organization and ought to signify a national point of view reflecting the UAEs national branding and soft power. With a directional focus on making ADNOC, an oil and gas company, cool, Zaafrani stated the challenge is to tackle the stereotypical stigma that is attributed to oil and gas sector players. That takes courage, and a deliberate focus on humanising the story to make oil and gas relevant to the community.

Dubai Holdings Huda Buhumaid stated there are fascinating tales from this region and people are fascinated in knowing how, why and when. We are here For the good of tomorrow and we change the landscape of Dubai via our distinctive ventures. With over 400,000 people dwelling in our real estate communities, more than three million people staying in our hotels, and with eleven business parks employing 95,000 people, we are promoting Dubai to the world to the investors, tourists and residents throughout various touch points.

Concluding the session, Sunil John stated communicating to a global audience is different from talking to a local audience. The approach needs to be genuinely global, cultural nuances understood with creativity playing a key role, supported by advanced statistics analysis. But modern content and story-telling will proceed to be at its heart.