Dana Tahir, CEO, HAVAS Red.Title: CEO, HAVAS Red
Years in the role: 6 months
Years in the industry: 18 years
Years in the middle east region: 19 years
Power Essay: Beyond the hashtag – the shift from messaging to meaning
You can’t build trust with tone of voice. Or earn relevance with a hashtag. That era is over.
Today, people want evidence, not intentions. They don’t care what your brand says about sustainability, inclusion, or purpose. They want to see what you’re doing to shift the systems that matter.
Purpose without proof isn’t strategy. It’s performance.
Yet too many brands are still investing more in the optics of change than the operations behind it. A bold statement is shared on LinkedIn while employees are still in the dark. A crisis plan is polished, but the root issue remains untouched. An impact report is designed before impact is even delivered. Company initiatives promise transformation but offer little transparency after the launch. PR becomes a shield, and awareness becomes a way to avoid accountability.
It’s not that audiences are cynical. They’re just paying attention. And they’ve seen enough brands overpromise and underdeliver. Now, trust is reserved for the ones willing to do the hard things first, not just tell a better story.
That sequence matters. Action first. Words later.
Take YSL Beauty’s ‘Abuse Is Not Love’ initiative. It didn’t begin with a glossy brand film. It began with NGO partnerships, internal training and multi-market infrastructure to support survivors of intimate partner violence. The brand only started talking once the work was underway, and the results were real. That’s not just a smart communications strategy. That’s leadership, because real change takes time. It’s unglamorous. It can’t be briefed into a campaign cycle. It demands resource shifts, uncomfortable conversations, boardroom buy-in and the kind of commitment that can’t be delegated.
But brands that are willing to go there? They’re the ones people will believe.
“Real change takes time. It’s unglamorous. It can’t be briefed into a campaign cycle.”
Here’s the truth: if your social impact work still sits in a silo, disconnected from commercial decisions, product strategy, or sourcing, it’s not purpose. It’s PR. If your brand platform doesn’t influence how you treat people, spend money, or use your power, it’s just another narrative.
In this moment, neutrality is no longer neutral. Silence is no longer safe. And purpose without evidence is no longer acceptable. The next generation of brand power won’t come from what companies say. It will come from what they’re willing to change.
So, the question isn’t whether your brand has a voice. It’s whether you’ve earned the right to use it.
Because now, relevance has new rules:
- You don’t campaign your way into trust.
- You don’t trend your way into credibility.
- You earn both through action.
So, change first.
Highlight of the last year
Ignited HAVAS Red ME into a regional thought leader in integrated comms, positioned us as a strategic hub for global mandates, won key blue-chip clients, expanded our portfolio across new sectors and markets, and celebrated the team’s growth by fostering a culture of collaboration.
Rapid fire
What the industry needs to talk more about:
We need to talk less and do more.
What the industry needs to talk less about:
Overhyped trends and superficial storytelling.
If you could change one thing in the blink of an eye, you would …
Eradicate all political injustice.
What’s one thing about you that would surprise your team?
If I’m seen eating carbs during the week.
What mobile application can you not live without?
WhatsApp.
What word / phrase do people remember you for using the most?
“Bravo.”
What’s one local / regional tradition that you love the most?
Ramadan.
If you could choose any two people, currently alive, in the world to share a meal with you, who would it be?
Oprah Winfrey and Samih Sawiris.
What’s your top word of advice for Gen Z and Gen Alpha?
Question everything, especially yourself.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Pasta, when I’m allowed carbs.
What’s your favourite ad from the past 12 months?
‘Don’t Call It Love’ by Yves Saint Laurent Beauté.
