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Public Relations: The Most Misunderstood & Underutilized Marketing Function

An interview with Haroon Sugich, a leading Public Relations industry professional in the Middle East

Posted Jan 3, 2005

Think of a few global brands and consider their following marketing needs: a new product launch, mergers & acquisition communication, building executive buy-in, branding, protecting/managing image, building community good-will.

Now, which aspect of the marketing mix would global brands most likely utilize in all such cases? The answer most undoubtedly would have to be Public Relation programs that support an integrated strategy to achieve business and marketing objectives.

Yet, the effective practice of Public Relations as a key tool to manage reputations globally and locally, to achieve and maintain a competitive edge, to increase sales, and to retain clients, is least utilized by most OIC based companies. One could argue that this practice is even more critical for OIC based companies given the prevailing global image crisis and an increasingly competitive environment, vis-à-vis WTO agreements on open markets and other such challenges.

To help understand how organizations can best leverage the Public Relations function, this article summarizes a discussion on the topic with Mr. Haroon Sugich, a leading Public Relations professional in the Middle East. Mr. Sugich has 35 years of experience as a professional communicator and is the Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of a leading Public Relations agency in the Middle East; The Trans-Arabian Creative Communications Services (TRACCS).

Public Relations (PR) is the least understood business practice

For marketers in many countries of the OIC, Public Relations may seem to be a practice least understood and appreciated, at least in the form it is currently practiced globally.

Mr. Sugich says, '"Fifteen years ago, public relations was thought of as a kind of 'protocol' or meet and greet service. A public relations officer picked up VIPs at the airport and took them to their hotel. Even today in Dubai a public relations officer, or P.R.O. as they are known, is the one who handles your government affairs, like getting trade licenses, visas, etc."

"I would say that Arab businesses are discovering the importance of public relations but it is a very slow process. Today both clients and the media tend to treat public relations as advertising in another form. You have to understand that, whereas in the West public relations evolved out of journalism, in the Middle East the practice of public relations emerged from advertising. Advertising agencies would provide press releases and event management services as a kind of value-added activity for free to keep their clients happy, leveraging their ad spend to get coverage. Most releases at that time read like ad copy because in-house ad copywriters wrote them so there was very little credibility. Initially almost all press releases were promotional or a kind of vanity service for CEOs, to get their pictures in the newspaper. Arab business got used to this approach and old habits die-hard."

"We are constantly running up against this mindset and we have spent years trying to re-educate the businesses we serve. We have brought an entirely different, journalistic, approach to the practice. We look for genuine news within an organization - in fact, we demand it - and businesses do have important news."

So what does Public Relations (PR) entail?

Mr Sugich references The Institute of Public Relations, which defines the practice as "the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics."

PR Agencies such as TRACCS, create Public Relations/ Communication strategies to accomplish a variety of business/marketing objectives (listed below) utilizing a mix of PR tools (also listed in table below.) These strategies are carefully crafted into PR campaigns and a mix of PR/Communication tactics are planned to achieve the required business objectives. Many times these strategies complement and support other marketing tools such as advertising as part of achieving the overall business/marketing objective.

Mr. Sugich adds, "We firmly believe that, fundamentally, the communications business is a creative business. It goes without saying that every business we serve is successful or it wouldn't have the resources to retain us. They know their businesses but what they may not necessarily know is how to express their core values and articulate their messages clearly. What we bring to the client is a creative approach to communicating the reality and attributes of a company and what it's doing - how it contributes to or impacts on society. This means we have to analyze what an organization actually is and create programs that capture and communicate its essence and the messages it needs to send out to its various audiences, whether they are customers, media, employees, suppliers, or government officials."

An Example: TRAACS led Anti-trademark counterfeiting program for Procter & Gamble

When asked to give an example of PR campaign utilizing some of the tools mentioned above, Mr. Sugich referenced to a very successful campaign carefully crafted to help address some marketing challenges being faced by its client Procter & Gamble.

"We created and launched the first anti-trademark counterfeiting program in the Middle East on behalf of Procter and Gamble. This was an example of how a really productive professional relationship between client and agency can produce effective public relations. Our client gave us a clear brief, extensive background and then gave us plenty of time to build and launch the program. We really had the luxury of time and this helped us create a carefully researched and thought-out plan."

"In the course of our research we came to learn that many of the traders in Saudi Arabia trafficking in counterfeit goods were actually pious Muslims and that there was a fundamental misunderstanding of the economic, social and religious implications of counterfeited goods. After studying the issues carefully we determined that we needed to secure a religious edict, or fatwa, declaring trademark counterfeiting to be forbidden by Shariah, or Islamic law. This would discourage traders from trafficking in counterfeit goods and would neutralize any opposition to the aggressive anti-counterfeit program we planned to launch. We submitted a carefully worded letter in the form of a real-life situational scenario to the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia explaining what trademark counterfeiting was and posing the question, 'Is it halal (permissible) or haram (forbidden)?' We then followed the letter up with a series of telephone conversations and after a period of several weeks, we received the official reply from the Higher Council of 'Ulama that trademark counterfeiting was indeed haram. This was supported by verses from the Holy Qur'an and passages from the Prophetic Hadith literature."

"Simultaneously, we launched an aggressive media campaign calling trademark counterfeiting 'The Crime of the 21st Century', focusing on the detrimental impact on the economy, using dramatic statistics we'd gathered (over 1 billion Saudi riyals a year lost to the economy, over 1 trillion dollars lost internationally and between 25%-40% of all trademark goods in Saudi Arabia are counterfeit) and highlighting the dangers of counterfeit goods. Over a 9-month period, we managed to increase press coverage of trademark counterfeiting by 500% and made the subject one of the most popular issues in the press. At the same time we forged ties with religious leaders to discourage Muslims' involvement in the trade. We also formed alliances with law enforcement officials to support their efforts to stamp out the illicit trade and covered raids and seizures."

"The program was short-listed for an IABC Gold Quill Award. We could not have achieved these results without the patience, support and intelligence of P&G. It is, I believe, an example of how public relations works best: when client and agency work closely together with mutual understanding and respect and seeking out long-term results rather than instant media gratification."

What should you look for in a PR agency?

Mr. Sugich points to the critical importance of a PR agency's deep local knowledge. "What we find troubling is that international companies link up with transplanted Europeans or Indians who've set themselves up in Dubai because of the Western life-style, not because of any particular commitment to the region. Very often, the international company run out of London or New York, feels more comfortable with someone like them rather than a native, so they affiliate. Then, in true neo-colonial tradition, these affiliates roll out public relations programs with no understanding of the region or the people beyond what they pick up at parties or the local pub."

"It takes many, many years to understand the Middle East. First of all, it is not some monolithic regional culture but a wildly diverse agglomeration of cultures tenuously linked by Arabic and Islam. While Dubai is considered the hub of the PR industry for the region it is an anomaly - a cultural bubble that bears very little resemblance to the surrounding countries. Moreover, in reality the entire business world is focused on Saudi Arabia, which comprises 70% of the region's economy. I can't tell you how many times I've heard European PR professionals working out of Dubai express fear and loathing at the prospect of going to Saudi Arabia or Kuwait or Egypt."

"Don't get me wrong. I have no quarrel with international public relations companies operating in the region but they need to be led by local professionals. In fact, we are affiliated with Cohn & Wolfe, a terrific international practice that is part of the WPP Group. They are very supportive and know very well how important local knowledge is in our business."

"The TRACCS/SACCS network is living proof that Arab home-grown public relations companies can compete successfully in the market. We are today one of the top ranked companies in the region, possibly the fastest growing and we compete on equal footing with all the international players in the region."

"The day is past when an international PR firm can win and keep business simply on the basis of its global affiliation and presence. Performance is the benchmark. If a company performs consistently at a high level, word gets around. Companies that don't perform well will lose their clients sooner or later. To the extent that a public relations company invests in developing a deep understanding of the local environment - of the culture, language, religion and social mores - that is the extent it will ultimately succeed."

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TRACCS/SACCS, headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has offices in all the key Middle East markets. Although, it is affiliated with Cohn & Wolfe (a WPP Group company), TRACCS prides itself in being an agency built locally from scratch that promotes local talent. It has managed to combine world-class professional communication skills and efficiencies with a deep understanding of the cultural, religious, bureaucratic and commercial sensibilities of the region. Its impressive range of clients includes global brands such as Visa International, Electrolux AB, Procter and Gamble, American Express, and regional giants such as The Savola Group, and Saudia Airlines.

Key Learnings: Effective practice of Public Relations as a key tool to manage reputations globally and locally, to increase sales, and to retain clients, is least utilized by most OIC based companies. It is treated as another form of advertising PR is "the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics." Public relations companies with deep understanding of the local environment - of the culture, language, religion and social mores - succeed in delivering the most value

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