Opinion: The Future Of PR Is Shockingly Simple

(MENAFN- PRovoke) There's a collectivistic culture in the Arab world that runs deep. Trust, loyalty, and lasting social bonds are paramount to the way the region operates, both today and historically. That historical context provides an ideal framework for good, lucrative public relations. But as a sector, I'd argue we've forgotten that.

Marketing as an industry is obsessed with talking about the future. And the future is so often some iteration of a current trend or something so vague that it's impossible to argue while simultaneously being completely pointless.

But let me tell you, the future of PR is shockingly simple. It's relationships. That's it. Just like its past, so too is its future. Like the future of basketball will be putting balls in hoops. We've either forgotten or stopped believing this. And today, we're increasingly focused on erratic, tactical, short-termism. It's everything PR shouldn't be.

And this critter wears many masks. From a global standpoint, the region isn't being given the care and commitment it deserves. International brands in the Gulf so often treat the region as nothing more than a sales outpost. With sub-par spokespeople and unoriginal creativity. Usually, the key people are out of market (and know little of it) and the brand voice is dictated and passed down.

This is folly.

In a region with such a young, diverse, unique population (second youngest in the world), with some money to spend, social issues to change, governments to address, and misinformation and preconceptions to tackle, it needs-wait, deserves-its own direct set of relationships with brands. Not another set of price + product ads or influencer-for-the-sake-of-influencer driven, one-off campaigns.

Great PR does this. But it requires strategy and follow-through. And this leads to the second mask - trends and tactics that can be done in a jiffy.

The top three things that PR agencies are prioritising right now, according to Prowly's research , are, predictably, AI for content generation (36%), use of data (17.9%), and AI for conducting research (12.5%).

If you ask any client or top brand what their PR priority is they'll tell you it's their relationships. PR is a simple, simple game. It takes common sense, originality, and a commitment to the long-term. And in a time of instantaneous tactics, remembering the latter can take us a long way.

Content doesn't take time. Data analysis no longer takes time. Relationships take time. They take commitment. They require nurturing. Consistency. A steady hand. An ability to pivot. Foresight. Principles. And most of all, trust in a process.

Our sector should feel like a Michelin-starred, seven-course set menu, not a buffet at an all-inclusive in Benidorm. Yet, we pick things up quickly and we put them down quicker. We love a new format, we discard it the following week. We talk new trends, we play dumb when they amount to nothing.

Experimentation is the cornerstone of creativity and few people will advocate for its importance more than myself. But it lives side-by-side with process.

I recently read an interview with an African farmer named Thione Niang. A set of reflections on lessons learned from a lifetime in the fields. The author could have been talking about PR. Here are three excerpts that stuck:

“Farming is a journey, a sequence of steps each playing its crucial role. From the moment the plow breaks the soil to the last days of harvest, there's a rhythm, a natural order that must be respected. This process mirrors life...
Like the seeds I plant, the endeavors we undertake in life take time to grow and flourish.

“In our fast-paced world, we often seek immediate results, instant gratification. But on the farm, nature sets the pace... Rushing the process can lead to disappointment, whereas embracing patience allows for organic and fulfilling growth.

“Farming is not a one-time act but a daily commitment. Each day, I water, weed, and nurture my crops, attending to their needs, protecting them from the elements. This daily ritual is a reminder that consistent effort is key to success.”

The final example sums up the unique value of public relations - it's a commitment to“consistent effort” that creates lasting and trusting relationships with myriad audience and stakeholder groups. Be that the highest levels of government or your most loyal customers.

If we can better utilize data tools, AI tools, storytelling frameworks, and the like to further progress these relationships-great. Stunning. But the overwhelming obsession with the Emperor's new clothes coupled with an often total lack of respect for the fundamentals of public relations doesn't make us more relevant, it makes us less so.

Embrace advancements, trends, tools, and the natural evolution of our sector, but do so in the context of what we're here to ultimately achieve, not in spite of it.

In the MENA region, we've built a reputation on embracing tools and technologies at speed. And in many spaces, leadership positions have been well-earned. From a comms perspective, I constantly worry that we use brands and their audiences as labs for experimentation rather than as the actual destination for our efforts. Those relationships are and will always be what keeps the lights on.

We have to commit to them, nurture them, and trust in the process.

Joe Lipscombe joined The Romans in February this year to grow its operation in the Middle East. He previously spent nine years at Ogilvy MENA.

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