Owning High Business Season: Strategic Comms Tactics To Stand Out Amid Year-End Clutter
The biggest pitfall for brands is leaving communications planning until the last minute, by which point the most valuable media opportunities are already gone.
For many businesses, communication remains overlooked during quarterly planning. It is often seen as a support function instead of a key driver, but in markets like the UAE, where residents spend an average of 8-10 hours online each day, visibility is essential. Discovery, lead generation, and, ultimately, sales all depend on how consistently the brand communicates with the market given the right information to its stakeholders. As the year draws to a close, the companies that have a communications plan carrying them through to the fourth quarter (Q4) will not only navigate the noise, but also outpace competitors who scramble for attention at the last minute.
September to December is the busiest communications period in the region. Between budget announcements, retail promotions, and mega-events such as GITEX Global, ADIPEC, Big 5, KSA and UAE National Day celebrations, and holiday campaigns, the media landscape becomes highly saturated. Everyone from SMEs to multinationals is competing for visibility at the same time. This means two things: landing tier-one coverage becomes harder as newsrooms are overwhelmed, and brands that plan early, understand market nuances, and know how to pitch will ultimately dominate.
Srategic Pillars For Communication Success
In this region, where reputation is a key driver influencing business decisions, brands should prioritize establishing thought leadership for their senior management. Positioning executives as credible voices in business, tech, and industry media not only strengthens corporate reputation, but also builds trust with stakeholders and decision-makers.
Brand focus on digital presence is also key. With over 90 percent of online journeys starting with a search engine, content that is search engine optimized can extend far beyond its initial publication. The UAE is also a location where LinkedIn penetration is around 80 percent among working professionals. This ensures that social thought-leadership becomes a force multiplier, elevating both personal and corporate profiles in Google search results and engaging professional networks at scale. Another powerful lever is data-driven storytelling. Journalists and audiences alike respond to numbers, whether it’s a quick survey of industry sentiment, or a forward-looking projection for 2026.Proprietary data gives brands an authority that simple promotional content cannot match. At the same time, customer success stories act as third-party validation. A case study co-presented with a client at GITEX or ADIPEC gives the media a complete angle, which is far more compelling than a standalone announcement.
Finally, the most effective strategies weave together multiple channels. Recent surveys show that on average, B2B buyers consume 13 pieces of content during their purchasing journey. This includes eight pieces created by vendors and five from third parties. This means that press coverage alone is insufficient. Combining traditional public relations (PR) with digital-first formats such as podcasts, LinkedIn articles, short-form video, and webinars, while reinforcing presence on stage at key events, ensures that audiences encounter consistent messages across platforms.
Tactical B2B Focus Areas Until Year-End
Here is a quick month-based checklist of things for brands to consider:
September Lay the groundwork with thought-leadership and preview features in business and tech titles gearing up for GITEX and other major events.
October Drive visibility through daily interactions at exhibitions and conferences. This can be in the form of interviews, expert commentary, and video snippets anchored around flagship gatherings such as GITEX, ADIPEC, and Big 5.
November Shift gears towards year-inreview storytelling, offering reflections on market resilience and lessons learned in 2025.
December Close strong with forward-looking predictions for 2026 while preparing January campaigns to avoid a post-holiday dip.
The biggest pitfall for brands is leaving communications planning until the last minute, by which point the most valuable media opportunities are already gone. Another common misstep is to expect a single announcement to break through when competitors are stretching every piece of content into multi-layered campaigns.
Many also fall into the trap of self-promotion, focusing on their own products and achievements rather than offering market insights and thought leadership that the media and professional community are looking for. The easy question to ask is: “If you are not an employee of this firm, what stories would you click on to read?”
Finally, too many brands still overlook Arabic-language media, despite the fact that Arabic remains the language of government and many institutional partners in the region, making it essential for visibility and credibility.
Brands that enter Q4 without a plan risk fading into the background. Those that integrate communications into strategy, back their narratives with data, bring customers into the story, and amplify across multiple touchpoints don’t just survive the seasonal clutter, they navigate it in style.
About The Author
Anastasiya Galovatenko, PR Director at UAE-based Sherpa Communications. Courtesy of Sherpa Communications.
This article first appeared in the September 2025 issue of Inc. Arabia. To read the full issue online, click here.
