Effective Public Relation Planning And Development Process In United Arab Emirates

The importance of Public Relation Campaigns

In last few years, the field of public management has changed drastically. Business marketers often face the challenges while managing people and strengthening the organisational position in a competitive landscape (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). Public relation campaigns help in gathering the attention of the potential customers and influence their purchase behaviour. The public relation campaign is a series of activities that are formulated for achieving any specific goal. This has the contrasting characteristic with the PR, such as paid advertising, ongoing publicity, and reacting to the events. Prior to develop the public relation campaigns, it is essential to develop the specific objectives to perform the responsibilities. It is suggested that the public relation campaigns need to deliver the messages carefully to the audiences for determining the accomplishment of the objectives (Theaker, Alison 27).

The study is concentrating on the planning and management of the public relations campaigns that attract the consumers in a larger amount. The development of the research aims and objectives would provide the insights regarding the subject area. The development of the literature study would be provided to concentrate on the contextual analysis. The application of the appropriate methodologies will prepare the systematic and information research study.

Advertisement is conceptualized as a process that attracts public for purchasing any product or service. The public relation campaigns are one form of advertisement that needs to comply with the appropriate advertisement standards and regulations. In addition to this, it is even necessary to develop the consumer protection legislations prior to develop the planning process of the public relation campaigns (Gregory, Anne 20). It is noticeable that United Arab Emirates maintain their own set of principles and regulations for the advertisement procedures. According to the research study, a single regulation cannot regulate the advertisement and it needs to comply with numerous laws (Miller, Gerald 45). The public relation campaigns are generally arranged for conveying the appropriate messages regarding the products or services. In last two years, there is the huge expansion of the public relations in diverse domains, such as political, social, cultural, and economic sector of United Arab Emirates. In the year of 2011, public relation campaigns in United Arab Emirates faced much challenging scenario due to the accusations, misconceptions, and stereotypes. It is explained that the modern organisations cannot survive if they do not follow the appropriate public relation campaign. Over 50% of the students are even enrolled in the public relation courses (Doorley, John, and Garcia 35). Many of the malfunctions and flaws are even identified in the public relation campaigns of today’s world. Some of the probable reasons for all such flaws are the poor management style, lack of professionalism, lack of market research, and lack of planning. It is thus essential for the business management to identify the appropriate solutions for the betterment of the public relation campaign planning (Allagui, Ilhem, and Breslow 25). The research will be formulated to recognize the suitable approaches for PR campaigns in United Arab Emirates.

Research Aim

Development Process of Public Relation Campaigns

The aim of the research is to develop the understanding of the effective public relation planning and development process in United Arab Emirates.

Research Objectives

• To identify the necessity of the public relation campaign undertaken by the organisations
• To critically assess the planning process of the public relation campaign in United Arab Emirates
• To recognize the challenges faced by the business management during the development of the PR campaigns in UAE
• To present the suitable recommendations to mitigate the observable challenges

Research Questions

• Why public relation campaign is necessary for the organisations?
• How the public relation campaigns are planned and developed in United Arab Emirates?
• What major challenges business management have been facing while arranging the public relations campaign?
• How these challenges can be resolved?

Literature Review

Developing the public relation is crucial to business success. A public relation campaign is considered as the strategic design of a message series that is conveyed to one or more target population within a stipulated time. According to the research study, the strategic public relation campaign is formulated to convey the positive or negative situations faced by the organisation (Duhé, Sandra 20). In order to arrange the PR campaigns in a scientific way, it is necessary to adopt the suitable approach for this context. The literature study would explore the conceptual and theoretical ideas regarding the public relations. The identification of the probable challenges would be discussed in this literature review section. The obtained ideas from the study will be aligned with the secondary information to specify the relevance of the research.

2.1 Concept of Public Relation Campaign

Public relation is the process of managing the effective relationships with the associated stakeholders and influencing the opinions of others. The research study highlights that the public relation campaign is one of the most beneficial tools to convey the appropriate message to the public (Botan, Carl and Hazleton 15). Public relation is also conceptualized as the method of developing the reputation of the company. The set of disciplines associated with the PR campaigns help in protecting reputation of an organisation with the aim of supporting, understanding, and influencing the behaviour and opinion of the people. Business managements often strategize their workplace functionalities in a systematic way for accomplishing business goals. It is suggested that public relation procedures help in achieving a set of goals that include the appropriate maintenance and improvements of the reputation (Macnamara, Jim 128). The PR Campaigns are developed by considering the appropriate methods and regulations. It is noticeable that the traditional PR campaigns often involve the press releases that are to be sent out to the public with the aim of conveying the messages. However, it is important to prepare a well-crafted press release that can present the appropriate message. The professionals need to be well trained in communication, writing, and having good skill in opinion polls and market research. With the pace of changing notion of ‘media coverage’, the types of the PR campaigns are also changing drastically. In the year of 2016, the digital media replaced the sprinting media more significantly (Lee et al. 116). During the planning and development of the public relation campaign, it is important to write a well-versed campaign story.

Many organisations attempt to manage their public relation strategies in a unique way that can attract the attention of the global population in a significant way. PR is conceptualized as an ongoing process that includes the carefully crafted activity. An appropriate PR strategy looks after the positively managed brand perception that would create the opportunities for the clients. It is explained that the business clients seek reliability in a most specific way and effective PR strategy helps in building the trust (Macnamara 249). It is true that PR and advertising hold the similar characteristics that serve for the betterment of the relationships between the business and clients. Both of these maximize the exposure with the ultimate goal of developing the potential business success. The PR strategies even help in improving the marketing procedures of the firm (Mishra et al. 189). However, it is necessary to note that the PR campaign needs to comply with the appropriate regulations to maintain the ethical parameter.

Challenges faced by Organisations in United Arab Emirates

Types of Public Relation Campaigns

The organisations and companies perceive differently to retain their customers, shareholders, general public, and government. In order to deal with the diverse viewpoints of the public, the different types of Public Relation Campaigns are undertaken. These types and functioning are described below:

• Media Relations

According to the research study, media relation deals with the different types of the media based functionalities (Rose, Nikolas 33). For example, press conferences, scheduling interviews, or writing any press releases are some of the media relations that are undertaken to attract more amounts of populations. The major aim for arranging the media relations is to generate the positive coverage of any particular organisation. It is considered as the connection that binds the organisation with the associated public (Esser, Frank, and Strömbäck 28). However, it is essential to maintain the appropriate regulations, such as copyrights prior to publish any media release.

• Community Relations

The community engagement officer is always associated with the community relation process, which is one type of the PR activities undertaken by the business management. The community relations are a form of PR that is formulated for receiving the support from the local community, such as development of the new manufacturing plant (Stiglitz, Joseph, and Rosengard 65). The establishment of the community relation process helps in building the reputation of the company in a significant manner. The effective PR strategies attract a number of customers and people towards the product or service (Grunig and James 44). In fact, it aims to transform the perceptions of the people regarding any particular issue.

• Corporate Social Responsibility

Another form of PR is corporate and social responsibility which helps in developing the reputation of the company by maintaining ethical parameter, community and environmental development. It is noticeable that this particular area of PR creates the considerable effects on the business practices of any organisation (Pamment and James 50). In time of need, the PR officer sometimes you coming to the company to transform some of the policies for changing the business direction and developing better corporate and social responsibility. It will be better for the company to develop the appropriate customer base for the longer run.

• Public Affair

Public affair is another type of PR, which is also conceptualized as lobbying. This process is formulated for attracting the government for the future business dealings. Once the government becomes supportive enough for the company, it will be helpful for the legislative purposes associated with the generation of money (Berry and Jeffrey 65). The effective public affair helps in making contact with them minister to convince them the scenario Street a detailed information. If they take care of these issues, it will clarify obstructions for the further business development.

• Crisis Management

While conducting the business, the business marketers often face the crisis scenario. For example, a faulty product can be recalled, reputational damage may emerge, or an oil tanker spill may affect the company. Establishment of the effective crisis management depends on high level of communication with the public (Newman, Todd 815). In most of the cases, the CEO is the crisis managers need to confront to convey the message regarding the issue. A quick thinker, who can interpret the issues in an impressive way, would be helpful enough to communicate during this prizes scenario. They have the ability to maintain the team cohesiveness and delegate the tasks appropriately (Kiousis et al. 363). In fact, they have the capability to understand to the relevant media channel through which they can convey the messages or discuss the problems. Arranging a Press Conference or receiving supports of the social media is also quite beneficial during such moment.

• Social Media

Suitable Approaches for PR campaigns in UAE

Many organisations use social media as the most used platform for PR activities. It is observed that it has huge PR potential that can help the company to recover from the crisis scenario. It is a widely used platform where a single customer is visible to the entire world. The review posted on the social media provides the fruitful insights regarding the areas of improvement and necessary implications (Birkland and Thomas 42). However, on the other hand, the negative remarks received from the people can affect the brand image in a significant way. It can also be stated that social media is the most useful place for providing the public apology.

• Employee Relations

Employee relations are also conceptualized as the internal PR process that provides the associated employees a motivation and positive views regarding the company. The aim of developing the effective employee relations is to keep the employees motivated, loyal, and satisfied. The employee relations work includes a set of activities. Organizing an employee event or creating the communication as well as the newsletter is quite effective procedure for motivating the employees (James and Melanie 265). An effective employee relation can be formulated by resolving disputes and liaising with the unions. In addition to this, collaborating with the line managers for developing the effective relationships with the team also falls under the employee relation activity. This form of PR is generally based on the action more than the visualization (Ekman, Mattias, and Widholm 78). For instance, the management can provide the employees a limited amount of money in time of disputes since it will be sanctioned from the company itself. In fact, it becomes much difficult for the managers spin the word ‘no’ that might affect the employees’ perception towards the company. The professionals associated with the employee relation process are needed to be perceptive, excellent negotiators, tenacious, and understanding (Rizk 45).

• Integrated Marketing Communication

IMC or the integrated marketing communication is not the particular form of PR, but it connects the activities altogether to ensure the accomplishment of the purpose. Without the appropriate communication, it can be difficult for the management to convey the message and gain the reliability of the public. The IMC professionals need to acquire the skills of dealing with various people with appropriate communicational efficiency (Edwards, Michael, and Hulme 35). The effective communication will be beneficial for establishing the systematic PR and becoming competitive in a challenging business scenario.

The above types of PR activities are arranged by the organisations for developing the reputation in a competitive landscape. Attracting a larger number of populations by conveying the message creates the sense of reliability that drives the organisations towards long term sustainability (Mayne, John Winston 87). The effective communication is essential for achieving this purpose.

Elements of Public Relation Campaign

Public relation campaign needs to be plant in a systematic way. It is not only the essential part of the management; rather it creates the opportunistic scenario for achieving the business goals. In many of the cases it has been observed that the PR practitioners or the managers perceive that they have to face limitations while planning for a campaign. Especially, the time constraint is the most observable limitation that the managers face during the public relation campaign (LÊgreid 20). However, the structured and effective planning can help in preventing the loss of time and minimize the errors that may appear during the operational process of a campaign. Prior to develop a schedule and structure planning for the campaign, it is essential for the PR practitioners to take some relevant elements into consideration. These elements create the clarified understanding and overall picture of the campaign more vividly. The following section of the study will discuss these specific elements.

• Situational Analysis

Concept of Public Relation Campaign

The first element of public relation campaign is situation analysis. It starts with a stabilized form of basic research. PR practitioners need to understand the market demands and scenario prior to develop a proper campaign for the public relation activities (Kelman and Herbert 205). The situation analysis process is an effective tool for the PR practitioners in terms of conducting and extensive market research regenerate ideas. The obtained idea from the market research leads the PR practitioners to the conclusion as per the requirements. This market research can be conducted both primary or secondarily (Russell, Miller, and Lamme 241). In addition to this, it can be stated that the market research can be formal or informal, qualitative, and quantitative. The application of the appropriate style of market research as well as the suitable methodology will help the PR practitioners together necessary information and the situation of the market.

• Setting Objectives

The second element of the public relation campaign is to develop the clear objectives that signify the statement for presenting the realistic views. Based on these views, the organisations set their desire to accomplish the business goals. The development of the objectives reflects the campaign outcomes more than the inputs (Arcos and Rubén 264). There are different types of objectives that can be set for the public relation campaign. Overcoming the misunderstanding, promoting understanding, informing people, creating awareness, developing knowledge, encouraging beliefs, and confirming perceptions are some of these objectives that are needed to be accomplished (Waters, Richard 80). It is stated that writing down the objectives is essential for developing a public relation campaign. The PR practitioners need to list of the objectives by maintaining the appropriate format.

• Audience/Public

The most significant element of public relation campaign is the audience for the public.  It is quite necessary to know that the PR practitioners need to set the target audience at the initial stage prior to develop a public relation campaign (Birkland and Thomas 42). It is even essential for the PR practitioners to recognize that reaching the non-public can turn out to be a waste of time and money. After the identification of the public, the PR practitioners need to select the appropriate media channel that is suitable to each of the public (Plowman and Kenneth 82). The selection of the public also guides the practitioners to select the relevant tactics and strategies and apply them to convey the proper messages to the public.

The selection of the public is based on four major types, such as non-public, latent public, aware public, and active public. People who do not experience the situation or a problem has no impact on the organisation are known as the non public. The latent publics are those who failed to recognize the problem in spite of facing these much frequently. The aware public ar those who involved in a situation or a problem, but do not discuss or communicate cheat with other people. Finally, the active publics are the ones who manage and communicate the problem or situation with other people (Cardwell et al. 162). Apart from this segregation, the PR practitioners also are the public based on their demographic, psychographic and Geographic parameter. Understanding the age, marital status, income rate, education, and social status falls under the group of demographic segmentation. On the other hand, identification of the location along with the telephone area codes, zip code, and country lines is the Geographic segmentation of public selection (Yang et al. 175). The PR practitioners need to understand the value, life lifestyle, attitude, and belief of the target public that will lead to the achievement of an effective public relation campaign. These aspects fall under the category of psychographic features. Targeting customers based on these criteria would be helpful for the PR practitioners to develop the knowledge regarding the public for the PR activities.

• Messages

Types of PR Campaigns

Messages are also divided segments of public relation campaigns since these are the part of the formulation of public attitude. It has been observed that messages demonstrate the efficiency level of communication. It is important for the PR practitioners to develop the appropriate an interesting message that can encourage public to expose messages of these campaigns to others. The major motif of creating the messages is to attract maximum number of people towards the campaign (Harrison, George and Noelle Bak 79). Understanding the needs and demands of the public is necessary in such context. The message should include attractive words and vocabulary that would strike on the minds of the public and they would take interest in knowing the purpose. The theme or the central idea of the messages needs to be concise, clear, and understandable (Birkland and Thomas 42). Moreover, the PR practitioners need to ensure that these specific messages are deliverable and credible. It can be suggested that the PR practitioners need to recognize the themes and key messages throughout the campaign that will be reiterated in different media channels, such as television, radio, brochure, poster, direct mail, or banner (Schlichting 402). The consistency of the messages in media creates the sense of Reliability among the public. As a result, the public is being able to understand the significance and credibility of the message for any specific purpose. Organisation can concentrate on these aspects in order to improve behaviour, attitude and knowledge of the public through the contents developed for the messages (Luo, Hua and Kulemeka 167).

• Timetable

The next important element of public relation campaign is scheduling the time table. Timetable is a complete schedule of set of activities that are needed to be formulated during the development of public relation campaign. It is noticeable that public relation activities are often associated with many people that require coordination of different departments. It is thus important to identify the appropriate deadline, which enable the practitioners to manage time for accomplishing the tasks that are needed to be completed. In order to accomplish the public relation camping within the stipulated time, some of the aspects are needed to be pointed out. First, that time of the campaign should be decided. It is important to know when a campaign should be developed (Werder and Kelly 214). The seasonal impact and intention of the public are needed to be taken into consideration prior to schedule the time for public relation campaign. Second, it is important to formulate the appropriate sequence of the activities. The PR practitioners list down the set of activities that are needed to be performed in a public relation campaign (Birkland and Thomas 42). Accordingly, these activities are needed to be scheduled one by one and communicated through the integrated communication process. It will be helpful enough to create the Awareness of a new product or service (Men, Linjuan and Sunny Tsai 395). The use of the advertising and direct mail campaigns can also be beneficial in search context. Third is to compile a list of steps that are needed to be achieved. While scheduling the list of tasks, the PR practitioners need to complete the dates that can help them to complete the entire activity before the given deadline. The formulation of the effective timetable wood design more various activities in the appropriate sequence and help the campaign to be operated much efficiently.

• Budget

Ongoing Process of PR

Another most necessary element of public relation campaign is the budget. After the completion of the activity definition, the PR practitioners need to understand the purpose of this campaign and adequate resources required to complete this. It is important for the organisation to allocate the adequate budget in an appropriate way that will help the PR practitioners to conduct the operational activities with more efficiency. It is to be stated that without a realistic budget, no organisation can survive or succeed. Especially, the public relation activities need to be disciplined by the appropriate budgetary realities (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). There are mainly three steps for managing budgets for the PR activities. First is to define resources, which are quite necessary to implement the public relation campaign, such as human capital, material, time, and equipment. Second is to determine the adequate quantity of these resources associated with the campaign. Finally, the formulation of an estimation of the total cost of using these resources is necessary for a public relation campaign. The obtained idea from these steps is quite useful for planning the complete budget associated with the PR activity. In fact, the practitioners need to be knowledgeable enough to understand the requirement (Birkland and Thomas 42). The budget is also associated with the media channels that are to be used for the campaign purpose. Allocating the budget in these different categories which provide the idea about the expenditure in a public relation campaign is necessary to determine the campaign success.

• Evaluation

The final element of public relation campaign is evaluation which is quite essential for the entire campaign activities. Evaluation is generally conceptualized as the systematic measurement of the effectiveness that can leave the organisation towards success. After the implementation of the campaign, the PR practitioners need to evaluate the overall result and compare with the describe objectives that were determined at the initial level. The appropriate evaluation would generate the knowledge about the campaign success. PR practitioners can provide this information to the clients accordingly (Birkland and Thomas 42). The complete information regarding the set of activities undertaken in a public relation campaign provides insights regarding the possibility of arranging the next public relation campaign. The appropriate evaluation technique will generate the necessary information and create the skills for the future prospects. The advanced level of evaluation process deals with the measurement of changing observed in opinions, attitude, and behaviour (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). In the public relation campaign can sometimes used the evaluation technique for obtaining more complete information. However, maintaining the systematic and sequential process would be helpful in developing the effective evaluation process to measure success of the campaign.

These elements of public relation campaigns are quite necessary to ensure the success. Mismanagement on these practices can lead to the failure as well. Hence, it is the major responsibility for the PR practitioners to maintain these sequential steps for ensuring the success.

Gap in the Literature

The literature study provides insightful idea about the elements and the process of public relation campaigns. It also describes the role of the PR practitioners while scheduling the entire PR campaign for achieving any purpose. However, the literature does not inform about the constraints that the PR practitioners might face while conducting a public relation campaign in a particular area. The rules and regulations associated with the PR campaigning are needed to be highlighted in this literature. The limitation in the time and budget prevented the researcher to conduct the extensive research on these areas. Therefore, it can be stated that the literature review has some of the considerable limitations.

Summary

The literature review provides the enriched information about the public relation campaigns and the elements that are needed to be taken into consideration. The PR Campaigns are developed by considering the appropriate methods and regulations. It is noticeable that the traditional PR campaigns often involve the press releases that are to be sent out to the public with the aim of conveying the messages. The information obtained from this literature review section will be aligned with the secondary research process. The alignment of the information would provide the insightful knowledge regarding the subject area and ensure whether the objectives of the study are accomplished.

Neuman Lawrence stated that research methodology is important for a research study as it illustrates the procedure for conducting the study based on the research topic. This chapter contains the details of the selected research philosophy, approach and purpose followed by the detailed discussion of the data collection method and data analysis technique. This chapter also demonstrates the sampling technique used and research imitation and ethics followed to conduct this research study. Lastly, the time frame for the study is also included.

Research Philosophy

Bns and Rgn stated that research philosophy is used to gather the knowledge and concept of the research topic based on the data collection. There are two different ways of research philosophy through which the in-depth knowledge regarding the research topic can be obtained.  There two ways are- positivism, interpretivism and realism (Mary Converse). Novikov, Alexander and Dmitry depicted that when a large sample size is collected for attaining knowledge based on the research topic, positivism research philosophy is considered. On the other hand, when small sample size has been taken into consideration or secondary data that fit the subject matter which is the research topic is considered, this procedure is known as intpretivism research approach. Lastly, the realism research approach is the combination of both the research approaches- positivism and intpretivism.

In this research study, intpretivism philosophy is considered.

Justification for selected research philosophy

The interpretivism research approach considered smaller yet the most appropriate data samples for addressing the research questions. Mary Converse also portrays that intpretivism approach is usually applicable for qualitative research in which investigations need to be dine for finding the answers to the research questions. Thus, it can be said that, intpretivism approach is the most suitable approach for this research study as the research aims for finding the most effective procedure for the planning and development of the public relation campaign in UAE.

Research Approach

Research approach is utilized to find out the relevance of the formulated research hypothesis (Bryman). However, research approach is also used for tests the validity of assumptions. Sometimes this aspect is also considered in order to find whether or not the theories and concept selected for writing the literature review addressed the research question or give a new direction based on the topic. Deductive and inductive research approaches are two forms of research approaches (Creswell and Creswell). Creswell and Vicki portrays that when data selected theories and concepts is used to analyze the data and then answer the research questions, the procedure is known as deductive approach, On the other hand, emergence of new theories and generalizations from the obtained data collection refers to the inductive research procedures.

In this research study, deductive research approach has been considered.

Justification for chosen research approach

This main objective of this research is find appropriate ways for planning and development of the public relation campaign in UAE. The literature review comprised of the practices for planning and developing campaigns for improving public relations and thus, no new theories and concepts are developed to plan public relation campaign in UAE. The data gathered is also secondary and illustrates the public campaigns occurred in UAE and the planning made to conduct these campaigns. Thus, deductive approach is appropriate for this research.

Research purpose

Sekaran and Bougie depict that research purpose is used to answer the formulated research question. There are two different ways to answer the develop research question for a research- descriptive and exploratory. Zikmund et al. illustrates that descriptive research purpose is to provide conclusive answer to the research question through the finding of the literature review and data analysis. However, Anderson and Shattuck stated that exploratory research does not provide any conclusive answer to the research question but aims to explore specific aspects based on the research topic.

In this study, descriptive research purpose is utilized. 

Justification for selected research purpose

This research study aims for finding the precise answer for effective approach of planning and development of the public relation campaign in UAE, which in this research study is answered through the analysis made in the literature review and data analysis section. Thus, a conclusive insight about the planning and development of the public relation campaign is attained with well defined data collection forms and clear data taken from authentic sources.

Data collection process

According to Palinkas et al. data for a research can be obtained through two different ways- primary data and secondary data collection. Hair Jr et al. portrays that when data for the research are collected through research participants and perception on the research question has been gathered directly, this procedure is known as primary data collection. Primary data can be gathered through survey, questionnaire and interviews. Anderson and Shattuck on the other hand stated that when research data is gathered from newspaper articles, peer reviewed journals and other authentic websites, this process sis known as secondary data collection approach.

In this research, secondary data collection is considered as this research study aims for finding the planning and development approach for the public relation campaign in UAE. Since, the entire nation has been considered, collection data personally ad directly from the research participants would be time consuming and not all respondent might know the exact answer to the research questions. Thus, the published data based on the planning and development approach for the public relation campaign in UAE is considered. 

Data Analysis techniques

There are two different types of data analysis technique- qualitative and quantitative techniques (Bernard). Bernard and Bernard stated that when numerical data are analyzed using statistical tools, it refers to quantitative analysis technique but when gathered data are analyzed theoretically and there are no numerical data to be evaluated, the data analysis technique is qualitative in nature.

In this research study, the data are analyzed qualitatively as only the theory and concept used and followed in the UAE for developing and planning public relation campaign is considered. Thus, qualitative analysis technique is the most appropriate analysis technique for this research study.

Sampling Technique

Fowler Jr. highlighted that there are two different forms of sampling technique and it is used to select the samples or the participants of the research study. These two form of technique through which the selection of the research participants is done are probability and non- probability sampling technique. In probability sampling technique all the participants are provided with the equal chase to share their response for the research questions (Levy, Paul and Lemeshow). Baltar, Fabiola, and Brunet depict that in non- probability sampling technique, participants for the research are selected in a biased way.

In this research, non-probability sampling technique has been applied as only the selected research papers and published excerpts have been stated which demonstrates the effective procedure for the planning and development of the public relation campaign in UAE. Selecting individual through random sampling might not give accurate answers based on the activities and procedures used in panning and developing public relation campaign in UAE and thus only the secondary sources using non- probability sampling has been utilized for this research study.

Ethical consideration

Miller et al. depict that research ethics is important as it illustrates the authentic procedure of the research. Moreover, research ethics also refer to the trust and accountability for attaining the data and analyze the data in order to obtain proper research outcome. In this research study, the ethics which is followed is that only authentic sources like appropriate articles, newspaper content, research journals and published data is considered. In addition to that, all the research scholars are credited by proper citations in the places, where their stated concepts in their research have been taken to develop the content of this research study. Moreover, all data from the published newspapers, research articles and websites are recently published so that the outcome of the research can demonstrates the scenario of the current planning and development procedures for the public relation campaign in UAE.

Research limitation

This topic aims for finding the effective procedure for the planning and development of the public relation campaign in UAE. Thus, this research study is based on the secondary data collection and did not consider any primary data collection procedure. Thus, the limitation of this research is that no updated data compared to the recent time have been found as only the previously published newspaper articles and research papers have been considered. Another limitation is that the research only focused on one nation that is UAE and thus is not applicable for the planning and development of the public relation campaign in other region or country.

Research Timeframe

Main activities/ stages	1st-2nd Week	3rd– 4th Week	5th– 6th Week	7th-8th Week	9th– 10th Week	11th– 12th Week
Topic Selection
Data collection from secondary sources
Framing layout of the research
Literature review
Formation of the research Plan
Selection of the Appropriate Research Techniques
Secondary data collection
Analysis & Interpretation of Data Collection
Conclusion of the Study
Submission of Final Work

Table: Research Timeframe

(Source: Created by Author)

Data Collection and Analysis

In this section of the study, the discussion of the secondary data will be presented. The study is widely concentrating on the planning and development process of public relation campaigns. The study is developed by conducting the secondary research process. The information obtained from the literature review section determines the elements and the types of the public relation campaigns. The secondary research is narrowed down to the context of United Arab Emirates where the rules and regulations are much strict. This section of the study would develop the themes for discussing the campaign scenario with the special reference of United Arab Emirates. The gathered information will be aligned with the literature study to understand the fulfillment of the research objectives.

Thematic Analysis of the Research

In last few decades, the prominence of public relation campaign in United Arab Emirates has become much greater. With the advent of globalization, the changes in the digital society and information technology are giving more importance to the public opinion and demands. Democratization is a method which requires the communicational transparency and two way communication process (Birkland and Thomas 42). It has been observed that the organisations are adopting new environment which is much strong and effective for the departments of public relations. In the year of 2000, the Middle East public relation Association was established in United Arab Emirates (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). It is noticeable that the public relation activities have become much prominent among the politicians, various organisations, and businesses of Arab. In fact, the demands of the public have increased much prominently in current time. They seek adequate information to make decisions in their daily lives. A different type of living standards and behavioral attributes of the public are generating the new interaction procedure between the organisation and the people (Pamment and James 50). The different aspects of life in Arab, the chairs economy, politics, education, and environment, are concentrating on the sustainable development. It is noticed that the development needs effectiveness, changes and information to develop a complete public relation. The nonprofit organisation in United Arab Emirates needs to set the objectives clear to the public for accomplishing their business goals. The effective planning procedure is necessary for the business management in such context.

The PR practices are not much easier for the business management since it requires a lot of specifications and skillfulness. Therefore, it has been observed that the PR practitioners often face the considerable challenges while planning and developing the public relation campaign. In United Arab Emirates, such challenges become much prominent (Pamment and James 50). Diverse factors have been influencing the practice of PR in United Arab Emirates. The short span of time of the public relation department as well as the agencies is considered as the determinant of establishing the PR campaign. It has been observed that the time period of these departments are not exceeding 30 years, which is quite short for having a well established culture of responsible, effective, and public relations in United Arab Emirates (Birkland and Thomas 42). The most important context is the development of social, socio-economic political, organisational, and legal aspects that are associated with the public relation operations in the country (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). The public relation practices are highly tied to the government institutes that are often perceived as manipulation, publicity, and protocol. The individual place in the society is also an important factor in such regards. The lesser amount of freedom and communication are also creating obstruction while developing the PR campaign in United Arab Emirates. It is noticed that the public relation is associated with the public opinion due to which the democratic behaviour of the country is necessary. However, the legal constraints are the major obstacle in establishing the public relation campaign. The development of the democratic behaviour and political participation as well as the stronger civil society is the major requirements to overcome the challenges faced by the PR practitioners in United Arab Emirates.

Theme 3: Nature of the PR Crisis

It is already mentioned that the public relation campaigns in United Arab Emirates have been facing the considerable challenges due to the lack of appropriate democracy within the country. It is quite difficult for the practitioners to understand the public opinion when the public do not have the authority to present their concerns (Pamment and James 50). The PR crisis in United Arab Emirates emphasizes on the issues of poor professionalism and lack of ethical Manner. There are three main factors that play the fundamental role in developing the nature of crisis associated with the public relation campaign in the country. First is the nature of political system in which democracy is conceptualized as the cornerstone of healthy public relation. It simply defines that the political party needs to participate more actively in this public relation campaign to ensure the importance of public opinion (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). In fact, the political parties need to encourage the people to present their opinion as per their demands. Selection of the appropriate media channel is also necessary in such context. The political parties need to allow these media channels to create the strong network between the people and the organisation. Second is the nature of the individual rights and freedom. The individual in the society needs to express their concerns, avail the opportunities of human rights, and they have the right to know about certain information (Birkland and Thomas 42). Third is the nature of the economic system. It the public relation required free liberal market economies that develop the effective public relation campaigns. Most of the countries in Arab are still lacking the freedom of expression, the government, effective civil societies, individual freedoms, strong economics, and active public opinion. These factors are affecting the public relation campaigns in United Arab Emirates. The crisis scenario can become huge if the appropriate steps are not being taken.

It is to be indicated that the PR process is a complete reflection of the society within which it operates. It is also considered as a subsystem that highlights the method of working and thinking by the individuals in the society (Pamment and James 50). The development of the effective PR campaign required respect of the individual and proper democratic behaviour to present the opinions. The political participation is also necessary to create the high level of communication transparency and encouragement. Public are generally based, and respect towards individual in a society. However, the malpractices of the PR professionals are also responsible for PR campaign failure. One of the main reasons of the poor performance in the PR campaign development team is the misconceptions (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). It has been observed that majority of the managers and the PR practitioners are unaware of the appropriate meaning of public relation. The lack of understanding and knowledge can lead to the in effective segmentation of the PR activities. The professionals need to be well trained in communication, writing, and having good skill in opinion polls and market research.  The lack of understanding can lead to the poor management (Birkland and Thomas 42). The PR practitioners need to concentrate on the appropriate planning procedure prior to establish any PR campaign. The qualified practitioners with a good understanding of the public relation can help in mitigating the challenges and developing the cohesiveness among the members in the organisation. The lack of extensive research is also another determinant that leads to the poor public relation campaign process. the lack of time, resources, and proper management skills create the malpractices that generally leads to the failure of appropriate public relation campaign in United Arab Emirates (Pamment and James 50). In addition to this, it is also noticed that the PR practitioners are unaware of the appropriate rules and regulations associated with the media channels in United Arab Emirates (Austin, Weintraub, and Pinkleton 25). When they fail to comply with the regulations, it will lead to the malfunctioning of the public relation campaign.

Summary

The secondary thematic analysis provides an insightful idea about the crisis and the challenges faced in the public relation campaigns organized in United Arab Emirates. The overall information highlight set the lack of appropriate professionalism and proper planning process can be the major determinants of establishing the public relation campaign. Moreover, the lack of Democratic behaviour and the extremeness of the rules and regulations to use media channels in UAE are also preventing the PR practitioners from developing the effective PR campaign. The father section of the study will interpret the findings and based on this interpretation, the preferable recommendations would be provided.

Interpretation and Recommendations

The obtained ideas from the literature study and the secondary research process highlight that the public relation campaigns are based on the appropriate planning and development process. The public relation campaign is a series of activities that are formulated for achieving any specific goal. The public relation campaigns are one form of advertisement that needs to comply with the appropriate advertisement standards and regulations. The professionalism maintained by the PR practitioners can lead towards the successful PR campaigns. However, the regulations on the public democratization and the media channels in United Arab Emirates are preventing the successful development of the PR campaign. This section of the study will interpret the data by aligning with the secondary and literature information. Accordingly, the suitable recommendations would also be provided.

Alignment of Secondary Research and Literature Review

The study is widely concentrating on the planning and management of the public relations campaigns that attract the consumers in a larger amount. It is noticeable that United Arab Emirates maintain their own set of principles and regulations for the advertisement procedures. The first objective of the study focuses on the necessity of the public relation campaign undertaken by the organisation. The literature study provides the clear description of the significance of developing the public relation campaigns. The literature study highlights that PR campaigns often involve the press releases that are to be sent out to the public with the aim of conveying the messages. Many organisations attempt to manage their public relation strategies in a unique way that can attract the attention of the global population in a significant way. The PR strategies even help in improving the marketing procedures of the firm. Therefore, it is essential to structure the diverse types of the PR process that are needed to be developed. The literature study provides the ideas regarding the elements and thee types of the PR practices. It generally suggests the procedures that are needed to be followed by the PR practitioners. However, on the other hand, the idea gathered from the secondary research suggests that the demands of the public have increased much prominently in current time. They seek adequate information to make decisions in their daily lives. A different type of living standards and behavioral attributes of the public are generating the new interaction procedure between the organisation and the people. Therefore, it is essential to develop the communicational transparency in a more significant way. Moreover, it is also necessary to comply with the rules and regulations. It is noticed that the development needs effectiveness, changes and information to develop a complete public relation. The most important context is the development of social, socio-economic political, organisational, and legal aspects that are associated with the public relation operations in the country. The lesser amount of freedom and communication are also creating obstruction while developing the PR campaign in United Arab Emirates.

The next objective of the study concentrates on the planning process of the public relation campaign in United Arab Emirates. PR practitioners need to understand the market demands and scenario prior to develop a proper campaign for the public relation activities. The literature study highlights some of the specific elements that are necessary for structuring a complete planning of the public relation campaigns. The development of the objectives reflects the campaign outcomes more than the inputs. There are different types of objectives that can be set for the public relation campaign. It is quite necessary to know that the PR practitioners need to set the target audience at the initial stage prior to develop a public relation campaign. The selection of the public also guides the practitioners to select the relevant tactics and strategies and apply them to convey the proper messages to the public. Targeting customers based on these criteria would be helpful for the PR practitioners to develop the knowledge regarding the public for the PR activities. The major motif of creating the messages is to attract maximum number of people towards the campaign. Understanding the needs and demands of the public is necessary in such context. In fact, it is also important to identify the appropriate managing timetable helps in scheduling the process in a coordinated way. It is to be stated that without a realistic budget, no organisation can survive or succeed. Especially, the public relation activities need to be disciplined by the appropriate budgetary realities. The appropriate evaluation would generate the knowledge about the campaign success. PR practitioners can provide this information to the clients accordingly.

Concentrating on the challenges in United Arab Emirates, it is noticeable that the lack of democratization and limitation in the political participation in encouraging public opinion are the major obstacles. On the other hand, the secondary research also defines that the PR crisis in United Arab Emirates emphasizes on the issues of poor professionalism and lack of ethical Manner. Selection of the appropriate media channel is also necessary in such context. The political parties need to allow these media channels to create the strong network between the people and the organisation. Therefore, the malpractices of the PR professionals are also responsible for PR campaign failure. The poor professionalism and the inadequate supports from the political parties are also creating the obstruction in the PR field. Concentrating on the underlying issues, the following recommendations will be presented.

The above challenges are quite prominent in United Arab Emirates. Especially, when the public relations are based on the public opinions, the constraints from the political participations create the barrier to establish the structured PR planning. The lack of understanding and knowledge can lead to the in effective segmentation of the PR activities. The professionals need to be well trained in communication, writing, and having good skill in opinion polls and market research. Therefore, the PR practitioners require adequate training session for developing the better PR campaigns. On the other hand, spreading awareness among the political party in United Arab Emirates would be essential to promote democratization. Encouraging the public to present their concerns would be much beneficial. The political participation is also necessary to create the high level of communication transparency and encouragement. The professionals need to be well trained in communication, writing, and having good skill in opinion polls and market research. In addition to this, the appropriate selection of the media and investing adequate resources would be helpful for establishing a successful PR campaign.

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