Lack of data 'hinders communications'

Lack of adequate data and information from the government and the persistent need for transparency are compromising the success of communication in the local market, complained public relations specialists and private sector businesses.

While communication transparency has improved during the past 12 months according to 16.9 per cent of the survey sample of a study released by the Middle East Public Relations Association (Mepra) on Thursday, the results also show that only 8.2 per cent believed that government communicated best, and 3.2 per cent saw government-related entities doing a good job in that respect.

The survey also showed that 34.2 per cent of the respondents rated the communication by federal and local governments as ineffective and more than 50 per cent rating government communication as not credible.

At a panel discussion held by Mepra and moderated by Tim Sebastian, Chairman, Doha Debates, to analyse and discuss the results of its 2010 survey, panelists agreed that silence was a real enemy in times of crises.

The panel included Lord Chadlington, CEO of Huntsworth, Chairman of Grayling and Founder of Shandwick PR; Abdul Aziz Al Yaqout, Regional Managing Director, DLA Piper; Mishaal Al Gergawi, UAE Commentator and Blogger; Richard Dean, Journalist, MediaTalk; Francis Matthew, Editor at Large, Gulf News; Nick Maclean, Managing Director, CBRE; David Stevens, Partner (Government), PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Felix Welch, Director of Sales and Marketing, AW Rostamani Group.

Al Gergawi summarised the issue in terms of "the need to move on to build a civil society with criteria beyond financial and public relations equity which currently comprise Dubai's corporate outlook." To that, Stevens said: "Even corporations that are faced with challenges need to go through a restructuring phase to build a new system that would deal better with the future."

Some panelists including Abdulaziz Yaqoot blamed Arab society's cultural understanding of the need to hide problems, or "keep our voices down". Dean and Matthew pointed out the shortcomings of the media environment, with Matthew saying that journalists often bump into walls of silence which they are compelled to fill with analysis instead of solid facts.

Only 13.9 per cent of respondents saw media communications as 'extremely' or 'very credible' while a little less than 20 per cent rated it as 'not at all credible' and 'not credible'.

Lord Chadlington said: "I believe that the problem of the international perception of Dubai has a lot do with the management of bad news. If you are running a public company and your numbers are going to be off, you start talking to the market well in advance of those figures coming out so that the market is prepared. When the news comes out it is acceptable."

Citing the example of Dubai World's announcement last November about its debt payments, he said: "The error wasn't with the actual problem of default but in the presentation of the event, and the real issue directly after it, was silence. Silence creates rumours and an inevitable consequence of rumours is people thinking that the worst is going to happen!"

Welch said the market did not have any correct information that would help businesses understand where they stand in terms of market share and to plan accordingly. "There is at least a 20 per cent discrepancy between what is released in market figures based on individual initiatives and the reality."

"We encounter institutional blocks. The fact that we cannot get hold of statistics is one of the major holdbacks in making the industry view translucent. Those we are able to get hold of are a result of market players coming together on their own and sharing their information, but of course, no one wants to share all information including market share figures and volume figures."

Speaking from the media perspective, Matthew admitted that the way media worked has not seen any changes after the crisis, while the government was striving to make some change although it was not enough.

He said: "There is a much better level of business communication. However, if the source doesn't give any information, journalists will have to build their stories on the few facts available and then fill it up with analyses based on the little background information and facts available. At the international level, the media tend to go beyond that into speculation. The key ambition of communication here is the avoidance of surprise, and that is why I think the statistics on the credibility of government are so poor."

Dean said: "I think there is something of an over-respect in the local media. The media tend to be generally positive and people become cynical to the extent that when the media genuinely convey a positive message, audiences often tend not to dismiss it as congratulatory."

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.