Influencer marketing is no longer an add-on. It is how audiences discover products, shape opinions, and decide what deserves their attention. The global influencer industry hit roughly $24 billion in 2024, and in MENA, spending is expected to reach $900 million by 2029, fuelled by GCC markets where creators now drive retail, lifestyle, finance and even public-sector communication.
But with scale comes scrutiny: 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, but trust collapses when partnerships feel inauthentic or misaligned. One poorly judged post can undo months of brand-building.
This is where PR must step in: early, strategically, and decisively. Not as a “post-approval” function, but as the editorial layer that shapes influencer work from the first brief through to the final caption.
The MENA Reality: Growth With Higher Stakes
Across the GCC, influencers are now a core part of communications planning. Creator ecosystems in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have expanded rapidly, and regulators have responded with licensing, disclosure rules, and content standards. Saudi Arabia’s Mawthooq licence, for example, has formalised the space and introduced clear expectations for brands and creators alike.
For agencies working in Qatar, influencer marketing is not just creative execution, it is reputation management; with cultural awareness, regulatory understanding, and national context playing a bigger role than ever. When brands misstep, backlash is fast, regional, and often unforgiving.
This alone is reason enough for PR to lead. Influencer campaigns are now part of a brand’s earned narrative, and earned narratives require editorial discipline.
Where Influencer Work Actually Goes Wrong
Campaigns built around aesthetic fit or follower count often deliver content that looks impressive but says very little. Worse, it sometimes says the wrong thing. In MENA especially, a caption intended to be humorous can be read as insensitive or culturally tone-deaf.
A second issue is fragmentation. Too often, influencer content is planned separately from PR, social, and thought-leadership efforts, creating three versions of a brand voice that do not match. A press release says one thing, an influencer Reel another, and the brand’s own channels attempt to reconcile the difference.
That inconsistency is not a creative problem, it is a strategic problem, and PR is the discipline built to fix it.
What PR Brings That No Other Function Can
PR excels at context, coherence, and consequence: the three things influencer marketing struggles with most.
It starts with the brief. PR-led briefs begin with the story, not the deliverables. What message needs to land? What tension is the brand solving? What behaviour are we trying to shift? Creators are then selected for credibility within that narrative, not just audience size.
Next comes alignment. PR teams are used to orchestrating multiple voices: CEOs, spokespeople, media, internal teams. Bringing influencers into that structure ensures tone, claims and proof points stay consistent across every channel.
PR also brings risk management. In a region where regulations evolve and cultural lines matter, having a response plan for misinterpretation, backlash, or creator controversy is not optional. As Lexology’s analysis of MENA advertising regulations notes, brands are increasingly liable for influencer missteps and disclosure violations.
Finally, there is measurement. Instead of surface metrics, PR defines success through sentiment shifts, message pull-through, reputation impact, or conversion at key touchpoints. Influencer content becomes part of a measurable communications strategy, not isolated social noise.
Why Independent Agencies in the GCC Have an Edge
For independent agencies in markets like Qatar, this shift is an advantage, not a threat. Creator work rewards those who understand cultural nuance, regulatory detail, and the local audience mindset — the areas where independent agencies are strongest.
Local teams can adapt frameworks to cultural realities instead of relying on rigid global templates, build long-term creator relationships grounded in trust, not transaction, and understand when messages should be amplified and when restraint earns more credibility
In a landscape where visibility can trigger as much risk as reward, this combination of agility and contextual intelligence matters.
Handled well, influencers become extensions of a brand’s earned voice, not just paid distribution channels. They bring reach, but also relatability, and they tell stories in formats audiences actively choose to consume. That makes them powerful; but only if the message is clear, coherent, and culturally grounded.
Who is editing the story?
If PR is not shaping influencer narratives, the work is missing its most important layer of strategy, protection, and accountability.
At Pin&Notch, we treat influencer campaigns with the same discipline as front-page coverage: researched, aligned, editorially sound, and ready for real-world scrutiny. In 2025, a 30-second Reel can influence a reputation as much as a headline ever did.
