PRHub.ae, a Dubai-based PR agency specialising in tech, B2B and consumer brands, released its new industry survey charting the forces behind the shift in PR. The survey drew responses from companies across SaaS, fintech, retail, healthcare, logistics and real estate, with more than a quarter of respondents coming from IT and SaaS (27.3%), followed by fintech, banking and insurance (9.1%).
Across sectors, social media ranked as the most important channel for 78.8% of companies, followed by owned media platforms such as websites, blogs and newsletters (63.6%). More than half (51.5%) still value traditional media, while 42.4% continue to invest in events. AI is reshaping the mix: 54.5% identified increased AI adoption as a major market shift, while 51.5% pointed to the rise of digital PR and creator-led communications.
Executive visibility is emerging as a defining priority, with 27.3% saying executive social media now plays a key role in their communications approach, while 21.2% identified executive communications as one of the industry's most in-demand capabilities.
“The data points to a clear shift toward resilience-focused messaging”, says PRHub CEO Vlada Lomova (pictured). “More than 72% of companies changed their PR strategy over the past year, and over 63% are now placing greater emphasis on resilience and stability. At the same time, 51% have reported adopting more cautious brand messaging, and a smaller percentage (36.4%) is increasing investment in thought leadership. We’re also seeing companies tighten their budgets and become more selective about partnerships, with 28.1% taking a more cautious approach to agency relationships and 25% relying entirely on in-house communications teams.”
Communications teams continue to prioritise media visibility and reputation-building. Around 20.6% identified brand awareness as a top priority, while 14.7% focused on strengthening authenticity and reputation and another 14.7% prioritised business stability and stakeholder communications. Nearly half (48.5%) reported declining PR activity and media coverage over the past year, while 18.2% have adopted a more neutral and measured tone.
Demand for reputation-focused skills is rising sharply in response. Companies identified media relations as the most in-demand capability (63.6%), followed by AI and automation expertise (48.5%), analytics and measurement (45.5%) and crisis communications (42.4%).
“Firstly, I would like to thank PRHub.ae for this valuable initiative,” says Rami Joudi, Head of Corporate Communications of BMW Group Middle East. “The findings are both insightful and positively surprising. To me, the report validates the strength of our PR strategy during a period marked by geopolitical events, where not every moment was a brand moment. In that context, keeping our focus on our people and protecting the brand remained the right priority. Equally, evolving our communications approach to strike the right balance between social, traditional, and AI-driven communications proved to be the right direction.”
Looking ahead, companies expect UAE brands to accelerate toward more localised and AI-driven strategies, with growing emphasis on Arabic-first storytelling, founder-led content and short-form video.
That said, the month of May has shown a shift - PRHub.ae has seen a clear uptick in client requests and activity across sectors, suggesting budgets and confidence are coming back.
