As the CEO of APR since February 2002, Zohare Ali Shariff is responsible for all business operations of Asiatic Public Relations Network (Private) Limited and personally counsels high profile clients of the agency on communications and PR strategy, issue and crisis management, stakeholder engagement and corporate social responsibility.

He is also the co-founder of TBL – Triple Bottom-Line, a CSR and sustainability advocacy platform established by APR in 2007 and has remained a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals.

Zohare is an experienced trainer in media management, crisis management and CSR and is also a published author of award-winning books. He holds a B.Sc. (Honors) degree from the London School of Economics & Political Science, U.K. and has over 40 years’ experience at senior management level.

Following are the edited transcripts of a recent conversation BR Research had with Mr. Zohare Ali Shariff:

BR Research: Given your experience in the industry, how would you describe the evolution of corporate communications in Pakistan over the years and especially during the pandemic?

Zohare Ali Shariff: Corporate communications is a function under public relations and its core objective is reputation management. Historically, that it served to keep a company’s key stakeholders informed about the company’s principal activities and the developments taking place. Over the years, it has evolved into a much more complex outreach, as stakeholders’ today demand that companies are much more transparent and accountable about all aspects of the business, whether it is workers’ rights and treatment, the sourcing of raw materials, environmental policy and so on. As such corporate communications today has to be an integral and ongoing business function that must seek to constantly reach out to all stakeholders, not only to keep them informed, but also to seek their buy-in, understanding and empathy as required.

During the pandemic the work of corporate communications acquired even more significance owing to the great uncertainty and apprehension the pandemic caused. Stakeholders’ needed reassurance and needed to know how the company intended to respond to the totally new challenges spawned by the pandemic. Employees for instance needed to know if their jobs were going to be secure or not, whether there will be any pay cuts and how will the company support if they got infected and had to be hospitalized.

BRR: What are you doing differently that sets you apart from the clutter and mushrooming agencies?

ZAS: This year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary and as such we are one of the pioneers of public relations in Pakistan. And although we were established 30 years ago in 1992, our history goes back nearly 70 years, as at the time of our founding we were a part of the Asiatic Group, the flagship company of which, Asiatic Advertising was established in 1963. So in a sense, our long legacy sets us apart from others to start with, as it gives us great depth of experience and expertise, besides deeply entrenching a culture based on strong ethics, principled values and best practices. Add to this our focus on evolving continuously to not only respond to changing needs of our clients, but also thinking ahead to continue pioneering new ideas and strategies for the future. In our business, like in most other businesses, if you wish to stay ahead, you need to be innovative and you need to develop your people.

BRR: What kind of clients do you focus on, and what are the areas of interest for you?

ZAS: We do not limit ourselves to a certain type of client or a particular sector. As such our clients come from diverse sectors like technology, food & beverages, financial services, aviation & transportation, retail, e-commerce, chemicals & fertilizers, education, and the development sector. This diverse sectoral exposure has obviously given us rich and wide experience. If there is one consideration for us to take on a client, it is that we must believe in the client and its business; that whatever the sector the client is in, it’s business is ethical and it contributes to the socio-economic growth of our country and to the well-being of the society, and the business is not just making profits for the shareholders.

BRR: Who are some of your major clients and what sort of projects have you worked on recently?

ZAS: Right now we have about 20 retainer clients, which I daresay is the largest number of retainer clients of any PR agency in Pakistan. Most of our clients have been with us for several years, which is testament of the trust they have in us and our capabilities. In alphabetical order our current retainer clients are Archroma, Carrefour, CCI-Pakistan, edotco, Emirates, Fatima Fertilizer, foodpanda, Jubilee Life, LUMS, Meta (Facebook and including Instagram & WhatsApp), Mobilink Microfinance Bank, Mondelez, Norinco, PTCL, realme, RDS & Ufone.

As you will note each of our clients is an industry leader nationally or globally in its respective field.

BRR: What planning tactics do you use when developing a PR strategy? And what is your revenue model?

ZAS: PR strategies for clients have to be customized for each client, taking into account several factors like the sector / nature of the client’s business, the business and corporate objectives, the target audiences, the main issues PR needs to address, the client’s market share and competition and still others. Some general rules apply to all clients, like carrying out a SWOT analysis, deciding the optimum channels of communication to be used and developing key messaging.

As far as revenue is concerned, we work on a retainer fee model, whereby a monthly retainer fee is calculated based on the scope of work and the resources we will need to execute the agreed scope of work. The scope of work can vary widely from one client to another, and invariably our experience, and I am sure of most other PR agencies is that the agency ends up doing a lot more than the scope of work given in the contract! But this is the nature of our business and we take this in good spirit.

Any work or services not included in the retainer scope of work are then charged an agreed separate fee. Such other services, which are once in a while and not regular, include such things as event management, audio-visual productions, trainings and others. We do a fair amount of trainings, including media training and crisis management training.

BRR: What are you seeing at your company with agency demand? What are your plans for the next couple of years?

ZAS: The demand for PR services has been steadily growing over the years. Initially, let’s say 30 years ago, it was mainly the multinationals who were guided by their parent companies overseas to enact public relations strategies. Then large national companies followed and eventually middle-sized companies too began seeking PR services. Interest in PR also began to emanate from the NGOs and the development sector and even from government and semi-government organizations. So I would say that today the demand for PR services is fairly widespread across different sectors and still growing.

At the same time, the understanding about what PR really is and the awareness of what it can do and what it cannot or should not attempt to so, is unfortunately still quite low. For instance many people even equate PR with just taking out press releases, while some others think that the main job of PR agencies is to stop any negative news about them being published or aired. So educating clients remains an ongoing challenge for PR agencies.

As far as our plans for the next couple of years and beyond are concerned, holistically our guiding philosophy is to keep on evolving. We are already heavy into digital PR, as is evidenced by the high number of technology clients we have. Beyond this, our plans are to explore establishing new verticals within the broader communications and public relations field, to support our growth beyond the standard PR services offered under the retainer fee model.

BRR: What trends will dominate the communications landscape in Pakistan? Do international trends drive the agencies and their strategies at home?

ZAS: The use of digital channels of communications, which include social media platforms, is a trend which is already there and growing. I expect that future growth will also see a shift to newer digital communications ideas from some present tools like influencer marketing, which frankly is losing its credibility for many applications, as the public out there are now quite aware that promotion using influencers is paid for.

Other trends that will be at the forefront of the communications landscape in the days to come will include emphasis on communicating the Purpose of the company – the reason for which it exists, emphasis on greater transparency, responsibility and accountability, and emphasis on creating a differentiation.

And yes, international trends do help agencies shape the thinking of PR agencies in Pakistan, allowing evaluation of how new ideas that have worked in other markets can be customized or adopted for use in Pakistan. In this regard, agencies like APR which are affiliated with global PR agencies have obviously an advantage in terms of acquiring new learning.