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05-Feb-2007

FROM FP'S DESK

Women today are extremely enterprising, vocal, hard working, honest and dedicated professionals to be found in every field and profession. They are contributing to the society and exchequer of our country in large numbers. This is not to say that women in our mother's generation or after them were in any form inefficient or laid back. In fact, to the contrary we have always been effective contributors to our society. The only difference being that in yesteryears women were not either allowed by families to leave the home and enter the job market, or they were not readily accepted by would-be employers as many could not meet the forced, irrelevant or biased conditionalities placed on them. The very few who managed to get into senior positions with either the government or in the private sector, in the banking industry and the financial market were unable to carry on for lack of promotion, pay-package, gender harassment and several such reasons.
We have today through hard work and sheer determination managed to create a place for women in all sectors of the job market.
Our woman achiever is a person who entered a difficult and "not woman oriented" field way back in 1975. She is Zainab Ansari, who started her career in the field of public relations, and as Zainab points out as compared to the "PRO" concept of catering only to the CEO's and their families personal services, P.R. today is much broader and entails a totally professional corporate image building concept. Zainab Ansari set up Xenith PR company in 1999. Today, she has worked to provide public relation consultancy to a wide sector such as IT, Banking, Education, Aviation etc. Her company boasts of high profiled clients, who receive not only PR support but also image building along with event planning projects for the corporate sector.
Zainab Ansari is a multi-faceted lady who writes poetry and has performed in many television serials including playing the part of Fatima Jinnah in the famous T.V. serial Jinnah. This talented lady is the mother of two grown up sons, and seeing Zainab it is difficult to imagine that she is also a grandmother. Talking to her one can see the pride in her eyes as she speaks about her sons and I feel it pertinent to mention here that working women although are often criticized for not giving enough time to their home and children, have more than often been seen to be extremely attentive parents, they are mothers who keep their children as top priority and ensure that whenever their children need them, they are available and responsive to their needs.
Today, the fast growing PR industry is a sector which can provide a competitive pay package, a healthy and safe working environment and a great deal of positive exposure and contact to our young and talented girls wanting to make a career choice. It is indeed women-like Zainab Ansari who ventured to enter the PR market and worked with commitment and integrity to make public relationing an acceptable, disciplined and professional field which is result oriented, for the present and future generations of women in the country.
Qudsia Kadri

There are three basic principles all should follow in every field and more so in PR because of its high visibility and these are : Integrity; honesty and commitment.--Zainab Ansari

FP: You started your career as a public relations executive back in 1975, what made you enter the field of P.R. at a time when women were not exposed to such fields?
ZA: My favorite subjects have always been psychology and philosophy and I have done an in-depth study of both subjects and not just academically. As you know, these subjects deal with people, how they think and behave in any given situation and what they aspire in life. Studying peoples' behavior and understanding their problems and idiosyncrasies has always been my forte making my interpersonal skills, with whoever I came into contact with, more than exceptional. Joining the corporate sector, I had two choices: human resource or public relations, first was an established discipline while the other highly misunderstood. I opted for PR for the challenge of creating proper awareness of public relations in our country.

FP: You must have had your parents' support, but I am sure you faced many hurdles as well as bias in the work field, tell us about your experience?
ZA: Yes, my parents have always been a great support in my choice of career and by the Grace of Allah I have not faced any hurdles or even bias in my field mainly because people in those days had very little or no knowledge about the field I had selected and felt less threatened than lets say if I had gone into mainstream departments like marketing, sales, finance etc. However, a working Muslim girl was a rarity in those days. One expected Muslim girls to either take up teaching jobs or get into medical profession, there were very few of us in the corporate sector and one question that kept arising was why I needed to take up a job when I have reasonably well to do parents. Also, I am a fighter with not a timid or meek bone in my body; it would take more than a mortal human being to break my will.

FP: Is it much better for a woman in the business of public relationing today or is she still made to feel conscious of her gender?
ZA: Times have changed; women today have made their mark in every possible field in the corporate sector including public relations. Acceptance level is high; people today encourage their wives, daughters and sisters to get into professional life. New subjects have emerged besides Business Administration of our time; the field of information technology has opened up avenues unheard of when we were students. For us hardware was what you got in the carpenter shop and software was not even a word in english language. Girls today are entering fields unheard of in mid seventies and thanks to technology; we are no longer isolated from the outside world. The young generation today is more exposed to the global trends than ever before. The world as a global village has not only expanded our horizon but has also opened up our limited vision. Today a woman is not made conscious of her gender at any work place rather she is viewed as a competitor that in turn has also improved the efficiency level of men in the corporate sector. The opportunities today are mind boggling and sometimes, I wish I was born a generation later.
FP: Tell us about your P.R. company, how and when was it was formed?
ZA: I established Xenith Public Relations in 1999. After 24 years of working and establishing PR and corporate communications departments for various organizations, I realized it was time when I venture out on my own. Like I said earlier, challenges keep me going and I had to take this challenge to keep the interest alive in my professional life. Prior to establishing Xenith PR, I was working with a PR company and felt that I had already accomplished what I had set out to do for that company and time has come for me to move on. I resigned thinking that I will do some consultancy work with one or two companies and see how it goes. I feel Allah had something else planned for me for a couple of days after I resigned there was a call from a gentleman called Ken Hickson, Managing Director Fleishman Hillard, Asia Pacific Division who was in Pakistan and wanted to meet me. To cut a long story short, I met with Ken, who by the way, knew a lot about me from various sources and was even aware that I had recently left my last job! He wanted me to establish a proper organization and said that his company, which is the fifth largest PR network in the world with headquarters based out of US, would be happy to be associated with us not as an affiliate but as partners. At that time, the US policy did not allow Ken to commit to any equity in the company that I would establish, but he promised to accord every support in the form of staff training and client sharing. This was an excellent opportunity and I am a strong believer that Allah has His ways of guiding people into doing something useful for humanity. Establishing an organization meant many people benefiting through new job opportunities either directly or indirectly. I immediately applied for company registration and the first name that came to my mind was "Zenith" - height; I substituted the "Z" with an "X" for phonetically it had the same sound. I did not have much financial resources, yet delved into whatever little savings I had, while asking my husband and brother to consider investing in the company as shareholders. They came forward readily because of their confidence in me and on 1st October 1999 Xenith P.R. came into being.
FP: What are the main areas of P.R. that Xenith is involved in, and are you dealing mainly with the corporate image of organizations?
ZA: We take great pride in our overall expertise in sectors such as IT, banking & finance, FMCG, healthcare, education and aviation. Our major clients include Intel Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Nokia, Reckitt Benckiser, Habib Bank, Khushhali Bank, Cupola Pakistan (KFC), Etihad Airways etc. We have recently given PR support in the GDRs of OGDC along with a UK based financial PR company. Our scope of services range from corporate and product image building, CSR activities for our clients, strategic execution of out of box ideas based on clients' business objectives. We have recently established Xenith Events division, a separate set-up for various projects that we have been awarded. We have two offices in Karachi - PR and Events Division and branch offices in Islamabad and Lahore.
FP: It is an accepted fact today that brand-power and image building is imperative to the growth and development of corporate organizations, are our local companies conscious of image building?
ZA: We have come a long way since 1975 in the field of public relations in Pakistan. From the perception of a "PRO" (better known as protocol officer) whose main job was to escort the "Saabs" to and from airports, arrange for shopping sprees for Begums of visiting dignitaries and performing any duty that other departments would throw in their direction to today's respectable discipline that plays a pivotal role in corporate image building and below the line marketing activities. Most multinational and local organizations have realized the value of PR to their respective concerns thanks to the influx of mainly IT and Telecom companies in the country and increased awareness of global trends. Another mistake in the past has been the confusion between socializing and public relations. People thought giving huge parties and "knowing everyone" was PR; thankfully that has also changed.
FP: What would be your initial advice to companies who approach Xenith for an image change?
ZA: Organizations need to determine their objectives - what do they want to achieve, what benefits do they have to offer to their target audience, what are they doing to raise the social structure in the country they are operating in. There are many such what, how and why involved in preparing a feasible PR plan for organizations. In the present environment of global competition, organizations world wide have realized that it is not enough to ensure high profitability but also to delve into community building and undertaking social responsibilities that would create an impact for their respective companies in the countries of their presence.
FP: How important do you think the name of a brand or corporate entity is as in the west today a lot of effort goes into naming a brand or perhaps even changing the name?
ZA: Corporate and brand identity requires an extensive thinking and planning process. In the US for example, companies spend millions of dollars in brand/product research. This entails brand placement, segmentation and acceptance. Brand name plays a major role in its placement in the target market segment. An example without naming the organization or the product was a multinational company introducing a household edible product a couple of years back, they hired us to do the initial health awareness campaign and to create the right atmosphere for new product acceptance. We very successfully created the desired hype followed by creating the "need" for the product. In the follow up stage when the product name was shared with us, we categorically told the people concerned in the organization that the name is most inappropriate for the target segment they are approaching for people in that segment will neither be able to pronounce it right but will also not understand what it meant. Worst still the fancy name will intimidate the target customer. They did not agree and we disassociated ourselves from the launch. The company went ahead and launched the product with fancy name and it bombed. It is absolutely imperative to spend time and resources in the research of a product placement and also ensure acceptability of the name according to each country's own trends.
FP: You have also contributed articles and poems to English, Urdu dailies, tell us what topics do you usually write about and how did your interest in composing poetry come about?
ZA: I have been writing articles since my college days and poetry while still in school. Initially I wrote poetry only in English and had my collection published with other three friends. The collection was called "Sometime Somewhere". Later I realized that Urdu is richer in expression so I ventured into Urdu poetry and was encouraged by various magazines who published my work. Unfortunately, I have not tried Urdu prose writing for that English remains the medium. Poetry composition has been my catharsis; I convey my innermost feelings, my dreams and some pain in my poetry. Topics are varied from social atrocities to conventional love.
FP: Have you ever contemplated compiling your poems for publication in the form of a book?
ZA: Yes, I have been planning on compiling my Urdu poetry into a book, have not got round to it yet but soon…..
FP: Your interest in acting, how did that develop? Many remember your role as Fatima Jinnah in the drama serial Jinnah on television.
ZA: Ah acting. I have always been an extra curricular activity person during my student days participating in sports, debates, mushairas, singing and stage plays. Fatima Surriya Bajia was our dramatics teacher and I was a permanent fixture in all her stage plays. This came to an end with the beginning of my professional life till one day in early eighties I was invited as a guest in a TV program. After the program, I was offered to compere a classical music live program. I was most interested as I have learnt classical music. So one thing led to another and soon I was offered the lead role in a drama serial Saharey in which I played the role of a disabled girl. I have not done much TV plays due to my professional commitment however whenever there was a challenging role once in a while I took up the offer until one day when (Late) Syed Mohsin Ali called me with an offer to do Ms Jinnah's role in the serial, I did not think twice. Have done a couple of more plays after that but the character of Ms Fatima Jinnah was so powerful that people still talk about it.
FP: Tell our readers how you have managed so well to be a mother to two sons, a wife and home maker and a successful career woman, all at the same time? And I am told that you are also a grandmother-how do you cope?
ZA: It is quite simple - time management. I have heard women who call themselves home makers complain about lack of time which I cannot relate to. I have always started my day very early, made sure my kids got dressed properly for school, had breakfast, and left home on time for school. In the afternoon I would make sure they have reached home safely. They were trained to complete their homework in the afternoon. I sat with them every evening for a couple of hours checking their homework, help them with problems if any and generally spend time with them. For me, my children have always been top priority, everything stops when they need me. Both my sons are grown up, the elder one graduated from US, came back home got married at age 22 to a wonderful girl and at present they are well settled in the US. They have a beautiful little three year old daughter. My younger son is in the second year at LUMS in Lahore. They have both done us very proud in their achievements and most important their religious and social values. They are fine God fearing young men and I cannot thank Allah enough for His Blessings.
FP: Would you advise women making a career choice to enter the field of public relations?
ZA: Most definitely; women are ideal for this field as they have more innate sensitivities then men. Not that men are unsuited for this field, they do a brilliant job. PR demands a lot of thinking and planning as well as discipline in action. Women by nature are more disciplined and are good planners.
FP: Give us your message for women and younger girls who want to join the P.R. industry. Is it all about glamour and meeting people, we are sure there is much more to it?
ZA: First I would like to tell all women young and old to be a useful member of society, to share the economic burden of their households and be more aware of what is happening in the world around them. Most women in our country have limited vision and consider college or even university education as a route to getting good marriage proposals and once married forget whatever they have learnt. Next I want to dispel the wrong perception about PR as a glamour field. PR is as strict a discipline as any other; there is no glamour, parties or socializing in PR. All contacts are purely professional and one has to be totally result oriented to excel in this field by providing value to the organizations that we serve. There are three basic principles all should follow in every field and more so in PR because of its high visibility and these are : Integrity; honesty and commitment.
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