The Middle East Media Guide book compiled by Ben Smalley lists 100 PR shops based in the UAE alone for 2009! This ofcourse excludes a few advertising agencies who are more and more intruding into the PR business!

There are more "bad people" in PR than good and they are hindering the progress of the profession and diffusing its power.

Sadly, this makes the sailing really rocky to raise the bar of the PR industry in the region and it harms all efforts made in this aspect.

The question that arises here is how many of these agencies are practicing an effective PR exercise as an integral discipline to other marketing communications vehicles?

Also, another key point here, I think advertising agencies should admit it that they can’t deliver PR as a minor activity in their marketing campaigns.

I don't recommend marketing budgets which horrifyingly buy all sorts of bells and whistles. Our major marketing successes as PR agencies should merely come from engaging public relations to drive desired business outcomes.

Agencies should shape up or ship out. The key success factors to lead in the PR industry are transparency, credibility, responsibility, measurability and most significantly quality and professionalism. While there is a huge demand for strategic corporate communications counsel, the majority of the PR agencies are still offering shallow PR tactics.

This is hindering the industry's growth. PR should no longer act as the poor cousin of advertising. Majority of agencies in the mean time are executors of creative ideas ready-made by advertising counterparts. PR consultancies should walk in tandem with advertising peers and they should take a front seat at the table of strategic planning, brainstorming, developing and conceptualizing creative ideas.