Iran Marketing Summit Organizers Exclusive Interview
Iranian PR Industry Expects Major Growth
The Islamic Republic of Iran held their first ever “Global Marketing Summit” this week in Tehran, at Shahid Beheshti University Hall on November 21 & 22nd. 500 marketers from worldwide corporations attended, including representatives of holding conglomerates, global CMO’s and PR executives. Participants universally agreed that international conglomerates are increasingly seen in Iran as a major growth market.
The conference discussed all aspects of marketing, public relations, social media, CRM and more. Trends of interest to Iranians were discussed, and marketers learned that much as in the rest of the world, growth is coming in digital.
Everything-PR conducted an exclusive interview with Aida Aboutorabi, Head of Media Relations for the organizer of the conference, Mana Payam, one of the largest PR firms in Iran, whose clients include Samsung & Castrol.
Q: How has the lifting of embargoes affected PR & Marketing in Iran?
A: “We are still in the early days of the post-sanctions era and the effect has mostly been a psychological one so far. We have felt a real boost in the mood of almost all industries in Iran. The number of foreigners, delegates, tourists, businesses visiting Iran for potential collaborations and exchange has risen in this short span of time. There is a real sense of eagerness and hope for great things to happen for almost all businesses. This has affected the Communications industry and PR and will continue to do so to a greater extent, as more and more businesses now aim to enter Iran’s market and as collaboration between Iran and the world is increasing, PR and Communication stands at the heart of facilitating connections and helping different industries to maintain effective relationships.”
Q: Are there major differences in communicating between Iran and other countries in the region? What are they?
A: “Compared with other countries in the region, Iran has a very young population, vast human and natural resources and an untouched market of 80 million savvy consumers. Iran has a unique and complex culture that matches its long history and communication with Iranian consumers requires knowledge of the intricacies of Iranian culture and habits.”
Q: Are there PR firms which are particularly hot in the region? Marketing companies?
A: “There are many important advertising and PR agencies active in the region, especially in countries like the Emirates and Turkey where trade and economy have been lively in recent years. There have also been keen interests shown by major world class PR and marketing agencies to enter Iran, especially in recent months after the sanctions. While we have had many Advertising and Marketing Agencies in Iran in the past few decades, there has been a notable absence of PR firms in the industry. Many marketing agencies in Iran have been providing some basic PR services but we have never really had a full-service PR company.”
Q: What are the most popular social media networks?
A: “Iranians are among some of the most active bloggers in the world. Despite the filtration of some social networks in Iran such as Facebook and Twitter, Iranians have remained highly active in almost all well-known social media platforms. Iran might also be a unique example in using mobile and (applications) facilities to all sorts of social activities and even marketing and sales.”
Q: Anything more you’d like to share with the readers of our leading public relations news site?
A: “Media Relations and Marketing Communications remain on top of the most important services we give in Iran. Recently and with the boom in the digital world, social marketing and digital marketing is also on high demand. Iran will be a major growth market.”
