Dubai Buys Image With $3 Million

Stung by the World Ports PR catastrophe, the government of Dubai is spending $3 million in the next year on PR to polish its image.

PRWeek reports $1 million will go to politically well-connected (and occasionally tarnished) PR powerhouse Hill & Knowlton, and another $2 mil will be spent by H&K on services of undisclosed third parties.

The three-fold goal of the PR blitz, according to PR Week, which got a copy of Dubai's Request for Proposals, is to promote the country as a welcoming, tax-free place to do business, a reliable global training partner, and (oh, yeah) a tourist destination.

Here's a PR tip free to H&K: Win some goodwill by having Dubai prosecute and jail citizens who have financially supported terrorist organizations. That would do more than any slick campaign.

Related Tags: Dubai, Hill & Knowlton, World Ports, PR