Guest written by Shamim Kassibawi, Managing Director of Spread Communications, and MENA CEO of The SMC Group
Summer in the region brings in the holiday season and cultural observances, and as people travel abroad and change their spending habits, business operations might slow down. During this period businesses might want to perform cost cutting that impacts their communications, however there are merits to keeping your brand in the media.
Continuing working on your brand image, especially in the midst of a slow period will help keep up the momentum of your brand. The key to publicity is consistency, so staying in the consumer eye will help your brand stay top of mind, and help give you an edge over competitors who might be neglecting their publicity.
PR can also increase brand recognition which can impact and maintain customer retention. It is important to note that publicity is an ongoing process. Therefore what you might work on today, you might reap the results of tomorrow, next week or in the upcoming months.
Here are a few ways to embrace the slump:
- There are a number of opportunities you can focus on and utilize in this period to embody the season. For instance, the Ramadan period is always welcoming to charitable causes and CSR initiatives. Healthcare brands can work around issues of dehydration and fitness during summer months, F&B can focus on unique cultural offerings and fashion brands can work around trending summer styles.
- It might present the perfect opportunity to plan out a strategy moving forward, get creative with business solutions and improve your relations with media. As journalist’s schedules become less demanding you might want to use the occasion to make them familiar with your brand and develop lasting connections.
- To increase interaction and enhance the effects of your traditional media, step into the digital limelight and up your game in social media. This includes sharing and developing content, including blog posts, video content and informative imagery.
