‘Saudis avid consumers of information’

25/11/2014 06:31 AST

The private sector should do more to keep pace with the changing face of communications, says a senior marketing executive of Riyad Bank.

Speaking at the fifth Forum for Public Relations, Mohamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeah, executive vice president of marketing at Riyad Bank, said communications, both internal and external, are a well-established operation among most of the business sectors in Saudi Arabia. BAE Systems organized the event.

“There is an acute awareness among the country’s business leaders that communications and public relations play a vital role in building and maintaining a company’s reputation and a brand’s equity among the various types of audiences,” he added.

He said: “Saudis are avid consumers of information, and their media consumption habits are changing. It is up to us as communicators to ensure that our senior management understands how communication is changing, and to make the changes internally to facilitate our own work.”

With social media and digital channels assuming a greater role in today’s world, communicators need to be as transparent as possible, said Al-Rabeah referring to the changing nature of communications.

“We must adapt to and adopt openness and dialogue to earn the trust of our consumers. Today’s communication function is changing faster than any other time since the profession was founded,” he said.

“We have to keep up by using new technologies and by changing how we communicate,” he added.

Arab News