Survey: Region's Top Decision Makers Believe Public Relations is the Most Trusted Communications Partner in Times of Financial Downturn
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82% preferred PR over Advertising in times of crisis
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72% said no redundancies were made towards any of their corporate communications/PR team
Dubai, UAE, September 17, 2009 - Strategic corporate communications tactics have proved to be the preferred tools to manage critical situations in times of financial downturn, according to a perception audit conducted by Renno Communications Group Renno CG), one of the leading communications consulting agencies in the Middle East.
The research revealed that 82 per cent of the region's decision makers' surveyed believed public relations to be far more effective over advertising in times of crisis. The significance of the corporate communications field to the companies surveyed was evident in the fact that 72 per cent of the respondents disclosed that no redundancies were made toward any of their corporate communications/PR teams, especially given the current challenging economic period, even though 62 per cent revealed making redundancies in their teams across the board.
"This was a comprehensive survey where we successfully reached out to the key decisions makers and senior management across a wide spectrum of companies operating in various sectors in the region such as banking & finance, FMCG, automotive, real estate, Oil & Gas as well as the public sector," said Samer M. Renno, Chief Executive Officer of Renno Communications Group. "Our objective from the study was to analyze how companies were utilizing their communications strategies to combat today's tough economic environment. As a leading communications consultancy, this perception audit also helped us better understand how those surveyed utilized the strategic tools of communications. While communications in times of crisis entail the development of various strategic tactics; however, 43 per cent of those surveyed suggested media relations as a core tactic for the short term need of their company."
He added, "Today's market situation has forced many companies to face major challenges associated with their brand positioning, reputation and even continuity, following years of prosperity and growth across all sectors. As such, the research explored how decision makers from top corporations across the region considered Public Relations/Communications and whether they maintain it as a valuable tool to utilize during tough times as well as prosperous times. To answer this major query, 75 per cent of those surveyed said that even in tough times they would still retain the services of their existing PR/Corporate Communications Agency and 60 per cent revealed no decrease in the retainer of their PR agency."
This report was an effort by the Research and Analysis division of Renno CG to highlight different ways in which companies are trying to adopt themselves to emerge successfully out of this testing period. Started in 1999 as a boutique public relations agency, Renno Communications Group today handles clients from various economic sectors including banking & finance, property and FMGC.
Below are some graphical explanations from the study conducted by Renno Communications Group
DESIGNATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS FOR THE SURVEY
Others in the above graph include the following designations
- Senior Vice Presidents - Marketing Communications
- Senior Public Relations Managers
- Corporate Communications Director
- Senior Operations Managers
TYPE OF INDUSTRIES COVERED IN THE SURVEY
PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES WHO HAVE RETAINED THEIR PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS
Percentage of companies with Internal/External Communications Strategies.
Companies that have acquired any PR support during the past 6 months to assist with any crisis resulting from the global financial downturn?
PR/Communications tactic do you believe most addresses the short term needs of your company?
The discipline that decision makers believe is most effective in times of crisis?
Whether there were redundancies in the workforce over the past six months
If yes, where any of those redundancies made toward PR/Communications team
Whether the retainer fee of PR agency was decreased due to the crisis
About Renno Communications Group
Renno Communications Group (Renno CG) is a specialized corporate communications consulting agency, with offices in Dubai, Cairo, Amman and Beirut, as well as field coordinators in markets such as Bahrain, Qatar, KSA, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Renno CG is committed to delivering outstanding value and support to its clients by increasing their brand exposure throughout the Middle East.
As a boutique Agency, Renno CG offers 110% commitment to client servicing; great attention to fine details, as well as commitment towards advancing the communications discipline in the Arab World.