About Alexandra Dewar, Partner, The Romans

Ally Dewar is a Partner at The Romans – an award-winning global creative PR agency in London, New York and Dubai. She launched the office in Dubai last year and is passionate about bringing The Romans’ trademark bold approach to public relations and purpose-led creative campaigning in the UAE.

She has worked with international clients in the public and private sectors, including ESG, FMCG, financial services, technology and health and wellness. Her career has spanned Australasia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, and she has called the Middle East home for almost two decades.   

About her thoughts for the industry

When we first opened the doors of The Romans’ UAE office, I said that the energy of the creative community was electric. I stand by that statement months later – and then some.

But it’s not just the creative community that’s buzzing – it’s every industry in every sector. We are lucky to work in a region led by innovative thinking and a ferocious growth mindset. As communicators, you really can’t ask for a better landscape – in-house and agency side.

But we have to match the innovation we’re talking about when it comes to servicing the clients and the businesses we represent. And this is where a hotbed of opportunity exists, particularly for those with an entrepreneurial mindset.  

We, communicators, need to take our professional hats off and consider how we, as members of society, would like to hear about new developments that affect our every day and our future. We must step away from business-as-usual approaches that aren’t cutting through the noise and think of creative ways to ensure we communicate meaningfully and effectively. Building emotional bonds between brands and consumers is paramount, but it’s much easier said than done. It takes work, an insatiable thirst for knowledge about where and how people consume news, a collective vision, and above all else, a passion for storytelling.

It’s how our industry will continue to attract incredible talent too. Younger generations, in particular, are hyper-conscious of their and others’ impact on people and our planet, so they will want to work in an industry committed to doing the right thing.

My advice to anyone who feels like a cog in a machine that isn’t invested in thinking differently and driving positive change despite your advocacy is to get out of there – fast. This region is positively bursting with untapped opportunities in the communications industry and elsewhere – take time to think about how and where you want to have an impact, be bold and trust the process.