Egyptology and PR
By: Hameed Halwani

As I always say, PR in the Middle East varies in application according to the alley, neighborhood, street, city, family, tribe and other social configurations that shape our society. Of course, there exists a generic practice along the Arab world, but one market I found very special to discover and practice PR in is EGYPT. My first business trip to this 5000 year old land left me with many questions and plenty of amazements on how commercial institutes do manage to get their name out and shine between this cluttered market. To begin with, I’ll first list the common features of the market along with that in the GCC and then I’ll mention the differences and what makes the Egyptian market a unique practice.
Common features:
· Local companies gain their credibility based on the reputation/size and influence of the owner. In the GCC case, it is the Sheikh of a royal family or the man very close to him. This factor is a result of the emotional nature that our public (Arabs) are characterized with. In other words, our inherited leaders are good because their father, grand father… were also good. Knowing that, it is not really important how much PR you’re planning to do to promote the Sh.s work, as long as he is involved, it is good and it is the best for the people. Egyptians have identified their sh.s, they are a handful and they are starring by the day. For the public, these figures are idols and they are to be followed. In other words, they are the example all people should follow.

· The more the better: As both publics in both markets (GCC and Egypt) don’t tend to really read the newspapers (apart from politics and soccer), they consider a company to be reputable and trustworthy if the papers carry more headlines of this org, in other words, it is not the content that matters. All agencies in both markets show off their success stories by showing the monetary value of the clippings of their coverage. So, quality is never the issue, it is always the quantity. This factor is derived from the fact that all Arabian markets have only witnessed quantity based transactions in the last 4 centuries by being traders and farmers for the Ottoman Empire. The quality days has long gone and with it the sense for it. A reputable university proves it’s success not by the quality of it’s graduates, but by their quantity…








· PR is a media relations exercise only: Both markets present PR as a sheet similar with its content to that of media booking where only the names change to PR items such as press releases, interviews, photo captions… while that of a media booking contains sizes of ads. This shows the lack of understanding among the PRists in regards to the real influence and value of a holistic PR practice that will include services beyond media relations such as stunt activities, spins, strategic communication campaigning, sponsorship, events and others… The worst part of all, is that top executives who lead known businesses in the region, always requests to present PR the same way media is. The solution to this is simple, begin our own research and development and become producers and not only consumers. When this is achieved, our corporates will not only perceive communication as another mathematical formula because of frequency, advertising value or the size of the clipping but that of quality.

Egyptian PR features:

· The Egyptian market can relatively practice more freedom of speech than that of the GCC. This can develop the PR practice especially that the target audience is emotional and can be influenced by a solid campaign. Yet, “PR GIFTS” has spoiled the practice and most of the Journalists will not attend or publish unless a “GIFT” has been offered. This doesn’t stop here unfortunately (this part is also a common feature), if your campaign is not parallel to an advertising campaign (where you spend the big dollars with the publication/TV/Radio..) then your glamour won’t last long. Your gift will not serve your long term objectives.

· The Egyptians are natural born speakers: In other words, they do qualify to represent a case, company, firm or a cause. They sound credible, and act it too. This skill is not available in the GCC though. As we all know, it is a big effort PRists have to put in the GCC to prepare the local clients (spokespeople…) to be able to address the media with confidence.

· Egyptian media relations market is smaller than that of GCC. If you don’t agree, then you better go and visit the 70 mil nation. Statistics say that less than 5% of those fall in the middle to high income segment, in other words, all commercial PR practiced in the region to promote consumption and create images and brands only reaches a handful in Egypt. This uniqueness can be a positive aspect as you can always reach all your audience in a more interactive way if they were of such percentage.

I am sure that other PR profs have realized many other dynamics and methodologies for PR in the most populated Arabic nation, and I do wish that they share it with us in this blog.

Again, sorry to taking so long to upload new write-ups, but this is a reflection of my slow career development, something am working on.