Dubai Media 'plays a very important role to unite everyone towards clarity, healing and recovery’

Angel Tesorero | Senior Reporter

When the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world, media rose to the challenge by delivering key messages quickly and accurately. That clarity helped in healing and recovery, Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), said.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Al Marri, who dwelt on the performance of the UAE media and the GDMO communications team, said at the onset of the pandemic, there were no reliable strategies, no planned messaging and very little information at every level.

“But as always, here in the UAE, our leadership was ready. It all started with one important phrase: ‘We are all responsible’. When those words were spoken by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, everyone knew what they had to do,” Al Marri said.

She pointed out that the fight against COVID was the responsibility of everyone in the country, and each one at every level — federal and local — had to contribute.

Unified voices

Al Marri said: “Keywords to us were teamwork, messaging alignment, joint efforts through committees and task forces. Our entities complemented each other to reflect how to set our strategy, change our approach to echo the stable and unified voices that the UAE needed.”

The challenges were many, but GDMO was ready for them. “We knew that the government communication and the media teams had to write the story from scratch. And on top of that, we had to make sure that the story reached everyone. And when I say everyone, I’m referring to more than 200 nationalities that live here in the UAE,” Al Marri said.

“When you have such diversity, you need to think outside the box. Yes, the official and traditional communication channels remain the backbone, but this was a human problem. It affected lives drastically. We had to reach families, homes, businesses, labour communities, schools, and beyond,” Al Marri added.

Communication tools

Given the nature of the task at hand, GDMO had to employ a range of communication tools. “The world as we knew it is rapidly changing, and our teams worked harder than ever to tell the right story. We tapped into every channel possible — social media, billboards, creative fence, funny videos, virtual activations — you name it. Throughout this long process, we had engaged multiple communities — the media, government, business industry, influencers and anyone who wished to join us during this important time,” Al Marri explained.

“Our crew went out while people stayed home. Our communications team wrote answers for questions yet to be asked — questions that tackled health, life, social work, family and more. The team had to go out to ask questions, film interviews with experts, engage with communities, speak to officials, draft messages, find answers and then communicate to everyone — and they had to do it in different languages,” Al Marri said, detailing the work that went into the messages.

Agile communication

It was always important to keep in mind the audience and deliver the right messages at the right time, the GDMO communications chief said.

“Our campaigns were agile and tailored to the occasion, keeping in mind who we are reaching out to and when — Ramadan, Eid, back-to-school, New Year, etc. Every message required a new set of communication strategies for a new set of measures and protocols to be followed and millions of people to reach out,” she explained.

Humanity at the core

The true essence of communication was to put people at the core. “I still remember, and I’m sure many do — one of the most viral videos was the drone shots of an empty Dubai during the disinfection drive. How did people feel? Heartbroken, bittersweet — we shared them still, knowing they will make our committee feel emotional yet very proud of their shared commitment,” Al Marri said.

“In this pandemic, we need to remember that humanity was at its core. It is those feelings, the reality of it all, that reflects the true essence behind the communication teams. This was the spirit of commitment passed on to us by our leadership, and together with the community and the great efforts of the workforce, we showed the true spirit of the UAE,” she added.

“We unite our efforts as one family and as wisely spoken by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the best is yet to come,” Al Marri said.