- Right mentors build up right talents
- Innovation and customer value commitment of Xenith PR
Interview with Mr. Raheel Nabi — Director and Chief Disruption Officer, Xenith PR
Profile
Raheel Nabi is a marketing and communications expert with over 13 years of local and international experience. He has been affiliated with Xenith PR since 2012, re-joining the agency in 2017 as Director and Chief Disruption Officer. He leads the organization today, looking after all communication verticals. Prior to his re-joining Xenith, he served as Head of Marketing in a Berlin-based block-chain marketing startup, after his 2-year tenure in the financial industry of Pakistan as a Digital Communications Manager. Raheel is a recognized trainer, having hosted numerous training sessions in association with the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) and the Pakistan Society for Training & Development (PSTD).
PAGE: Please tell us about your advancing, from doing your ACCA to leading a PR agency?
Raheel Nabi: I have been extremely lucky in finding the right mentors throughout my life. From my grandparents and my mother, who taught me the importance of hustle and versatility, to Sabeen Mahmud of T2F, who taught me to be a disruptor, to Zainab Ansari of Xenith PR, who brought me into the communications industry and then trusted me to run her organization, I have been blessed. Mentors hold the power of shaping talent and careers, which is why I am of the opinion that the current and coming generations need more people to provide them guidance in the real world versus more textbooks to read in classrooms. If I look back on my journey of 13 odd years, I have had the privilege of working in multiple regions, across multiple industries, honing the use of almost all mediums — from digital, to ATL/BTL, to traditional. My motto in life has always been simple: to learn, to innovate, to disrupt.
PAGE: How do you see the Public Relations landscape of Pakistan?
Raheel Nabi: If I had to summarize it in two words; the landscape is challenging and dynamic. It is challenging because the fundamentals of the industry are ever evolving and changing, often shifting overnight (or that’s how it feels in hindsight). However, it is also dynamic because of its constant evolution. There is always a new challenge, which brings with it a new opportunity to explore. It is definitely an industry that keeps all stakeholders on their toes and in constant search of solutions and innovation. The landscape is also extremely vibrant. We have traditional media houses, new-age digital organizations, independent experts, consultants, influencers, thought-leaders, digital marketers and so many other talented groups of people — the list is truly endless and ever evolving.
Raheel Nabi: Absolutely. I genuinely feel that the industry is extremely democratic in its nature — in a way that when someone does good work, they are almost instantly recognized by clients and/or potential clients alike. There is also a lot of choice available to those looking for agencies now as well, compared to 10 years ago. The communications industry has got a great balance between some tremendous legacy players, like us and some refreshing new entrants also — and, to be fair, every single one of them has their own strength and uniqueness to offer.
PAGE: How is Public Relations in Pakistan different from other countries?
Raheel Nabi: I have had the privilege of working in multiple markets, in and out of Pakistan, and I can safely say that Public Relations in Pakistan is a lot more challenging, than in other regions. The tricks, tools and real-estate we have access to here still have some years of learning to go through, and we need a better balance in resource allocation from all stakeholders involved. For example, in our line of work, we often find our client’s business news going head-to-head against news about political events for the same coveted print slot. Each deserves their own respective spaces and should never have to compete. The only solution out of this is to create more, newer real-estate, which people and organizations are now doing — slowly, but surely. That said, I also feel that with the ongoing transfusion of new blood into the workforce, we are set to see an evolution which will push and pull all of us to tackle some of the industry’s long-standing challenges sooner than later. And maybe, hopefully, get us all to work together as an industry also — instead of working in individual silos.
PAGE: How can provision of specialized education bring improvements in this field?
Raheel Nabi: This is an excellent question and deals with one of the biggest issues our industry faces today. I spoke about increasing spaces previously, and one major bottleneck there is tied to a shortage of human resources. At this time, I can safely say that more marketable PR talent is being honed and trained within agencies and organizations, like ours, than in universities. Fresh graduates have next to no real information about this industry, the divide between the real-world and text books is immense, which translates into a suite of issues later for corporates and agencies alike. Our industry needs to partner with all educational institutions around the country to make this happen — we need experts and professionals teaching PR, based on real-life experiences. See, this is not a skill only for those planning on joining the industry, but for everyone. It is as important for someone joining an agency, to those planning on joining the corporate world, or even setting up her/his own business.
PAGE: How did penetration of digital media impact the communications landscape in Pakistan?
Raheel Nabi: I think digital really changed the big game during the early periods of the Covid-19 lockdowns. This is not to say that digital media hadn’t been shaking things up in the time prior, I mean I started off from the digital spheres 11 odd years ago and led some truly remarkable business impacting campaigns and interventions. But I felt the dynamics shift dramatically during the year of 2020 — when all businesses, particularly the legacy ones, shifted a lot of their efforts towards it. Digital, as a medium, has offered some tremendous opportunities to companies in Pakistan — those which have potential to generate tangible business results, like sales or store visits and the likes. Post the Covid-19 dust-settling, I am genuinely relieved to see that this medium has cemented its place in most marketing and communications mixes. That said, I am not an absolutist. For me, the right mix is unique to everyone and should contain a varied mix of traditional and new-age. Going all in on one medium over the other, to me, does not seem like a prudent approach. This belief is what helped me transform Xenith PR into the multi-layered solutions provider that it is today. Most of our deliverables are a mix of mediums, created specifically for each client.
PAGE: What is next for Xenith PR and the industry in Pakistan?
Raheel Nabi: Our focus areas, at Xenith PR, for the coming years are simple: we need to continue innovating, and we need to continue providing value to our clients. This will require us to stay in the front rows of the industry’s evolutionary process, and to be honest this is what excites me the most about this sector. For the industry at large, looking at the economic difficulties that lie ahead for everyone alike, I feel it is time for everyone to relook at their processes and deliverables, and make some drastic changes in our collective offerings. The focus, like it was during the Covid-19 period, will solely be on return on financial investment, delivering the best results with a severely limited arsenal of resources. I also think it is imperative for all stakeholders to band together, and work together, to shape and grow the industry in these challenging times. It will require, perhaps, the best of all of us to get it to the place where we would all like it to be. It can no longer be done by actions of individuals or of a few.