Why 72% of UAE Brands Are Rewriting PR Strategies

**Tim Elliott** (0:00)
This is the Morning Drive. It is Mira Business FM. UAE brands are rethinking the way they communicate. We have a new report from PRHub, which shows that more than 72% have changed their PR strategy in the last year.
So, AI, cautious messaging and crisis comms are now reshaping the industry. We'll be this morning from PRHub, is the PR manager, Kathrine Hamdan. First time we've met, good to meet you.

**Kathrine Hamdan** (0:30)
Thank you, nice to meet you as well.

**Tim Elliott** (0:31)
Good to have you here. So, look, let's start with the headline number. This is 72% isn't a minor optimization.
It's a pretty big deal, I think. I know you talked to 25 different companies in Dubai. So, what's triggered this kind of sudden reengineering of how UAE brands want to speak to the public?

**Kathrine Hamdan** (0:56)
I mean, of course, the tension is number one. With the economic tensions, the geopolitical shifts, we've seen a lot of changes in the PR industry. And that statistic, 72% of brands have overhauled their entire strategy. That's one of the biggest shifts that we found in our research. I would say that brands are now looking towards different communication. We always, as PRs, especially at PRHub, we have very specific scripts that we stick to.
And I would say that tone has become so important during these times.

**Tim Elliott** (1:35)
Okay.

**Kathrine Hamdan** (1:37)
I would even go so far as to say that we've started from scratch. And sometimes that's the best way to go forward with it. It's not always the same case. We take everything as a case-by-case basis, especially during what's going on.

**Tim Elliott** (1:53)
So in the last three months, lots of companies are turning around and saying, look, we have to completely rethink this, re-engineer this. That's what you're seeing people doing, going back to the drawing board.

**Kathrine Hamdan** (2:04)
Yes, exactly. And that's not a bad thing. To be honest, this is also part of our job as PRs. And this is just all about adapting.
Of course, we'd rather not be dealing with this, but at the end of the day, as PRs, we do know how to handle this. We've also seen that crisis communication has become one of the top necessities.

**Tim Elliott** (2:27)
I mean, as you'd expect. Yes.

**Kathrine Hamdan** (2:30)
Before, it was more of a niche that we've seen within the PR industry, but right now, it's a full on necessity. And not just talking about the tensions that are ongoing right now.
We're also thinking about these kind of necessities for the long term. And we can get more into the research about what else has popped up, what else is needed. But that is one of the biggest indicators.

**Tim Elliott** (2:57)
I mean, I've got lots of questions to ask you, Kathrine, to get to the bottom of this, because research like this, I think is fascinating when there is such a big change. And it's a huge change. There are obvious reasons if you think about geopolitical tension, the companies going back to the drawing board. We've got the introduction of AI, so much more, into so many more businesses. And I guess lots of the change we're seeing is maybe AI driven. Your report highlights it as a massive force reshaping the industry. No surprise there, it's reshaping every industry.
AI can generate a press release in seconds, far faster than you and I could write something.
It can automate media monitoring. It has so many benefits potentially. The thing is, though, you've got to weigh that up with trust and relationships and friendship and the human element, I suppose, in public relations. So how do or how are UAE brands deploying AI so they can get more done, but so that they're not robotic in their approach? Because that, I think, I think people can see through the AI noise.

**Kathrine Hamdan** (4:07)
It's so obvious when a press release has been written with Chad GPT or Claude. Even though, of course, there's more advancements with the tools that we've been using, but it's very obvious.
We do use it internally for research.
So, for example, if we need to find external sources, we definitely use that, but we never completely trust it ourselves. We always verify those external sources. And that way, we can also make sure that it's a trustworthy piece of information, whether it be lifestyle, tech, one of the many types of clients and industries that we handle. We always have our own editorial and human touch. That's why, actually, even though production is used with AI, we will never lose that editorial human touch. That can never be lost.