How to run a luxury brand press day in Dubai

What a Dubai press day looks like

The format is consistent across watches, jewellery, fragrance and fashion: a suite, villa or private dining room at a resort, dressed by the brand the evening before; a run of twenty to thirty press and influencer slots across a day; a guest of honour or regional head who arrives for a set hour; and a PR agency that needs images for the press kit before the editors leave. Venues on the Jumeirah coast and the Palm are the usual choice because they offer a private approach, soft daylight and a terrace for portraits. The Madinat Jumeirah guide describes the light and the logistics there, and the luxury hub shows how finished sets look.

The week before: what we agree with the agency

1. The run of show with slot times, names, outlets and handles, so the crew knows who is in the room and who needs a portrait.
2. The hero product list: which pieces are shot clean for the press kit, in which order, and whether a hand model is available.
3. Light rules: whether the brand allows added light on the set, and where. Most allow a small continuous panel for product and none during slots.
4. Clearances: who approves guest images before publication, and the understanding that nothing goes to the crew's portfolio without written permission.
5. Delivery times: selects within the hour for the agency's own posts, the finished set the same evening, the highlights film the next morning.
6. The approver: one person from the agency reachable on WhatsApp all day.

See how we work with PR agencies for how this is handled across a season of launches.

The set and the product at soft light

Dubai light is soft before about 09:00 and after about 16:00 for most of the season and harsh in between, so the clean set is photographed first, as early as the venue allows. The room from the door, each dressed surface, the view from the terrace, the table setting before a glass is moved: fifteen to twenty frames. Then the product: each hero piece on set and with a macro lens, three to five angles, reflections controlled with a small panel and a flag rather than flash. For a watch or jewellery launch this runs 45 to 60 minutes for eight to ten pieces. These images are the press kit and the agency has them before the first slot ends. The product launch page covers the film side of a launch day.

Slots: the 25-minute cycle

Each press or influencer slot is twenty to thirty minutes and follows the same shape: arrival and greeting, the product in hand with the brand host, a short interview or a quote on camera where the outlet wants one, and a portrait with the product that the guest can use on their own channels. The crew works from the edge of the room with longer lenses, adds light only where agreed, and never asks a guest to repeat a moment. Portraits are taken at the agreed spot, usually the terrace or a dressed corner, in under three minutes. Between slots the stylist resets the set and the photographer checks the product is back in position before the next arrival. Over a day of twenty slots that produces roughly twenty portraits, forty to sixty candid frames and eight to twelve short interview clips.

The guest of honour and the group moment

The regional head, a brand ambassador or a guest of honour arrives for a fixed hour. The arrival is covered from two angles, one inside the room and one on the approach, then the greeting with the host, the product presentation and the group photograph with the press in attendance. Any statement to camera is recorded with a lavalier microphone and subtitled in English and Arabic for the agency's regional release. Selects from this hour go to the agency within the hour, because this is the picture the outlets publish first. The guide to press photos within the hour explains how the fast lane works without slowing the rest of the day.

What goes wrong, and the fix

• The set is dressed late. Styling finishes at 10:30 and the clean set is shot in midday light. Fix: dress the evening before and shoot at 08:00.
• Guests who did not expect a camera. Fix: the agency's invitation mentions photography; the crew asks before any close portrait and respects a no.
• Reflections in glass and polished metal. Fix: a flag and a small panel, and a stylist who wipes between slots.
• Images published before clearance. Fix: guest images go to the agency only; the agency distributes.
• Too much gear in a small suite. Fix: two people at most, no tripods during slots, one case out of sight.

Delivery: during the day, the same evening, the next morning

Three deliveries. During the day, selects for the agency's own posts and for outlets on deadline, usually ten to fifteen frames per batch. The same evening, the finished set by private download link: product, set, each slot in its own folder, the guest of honour hour, sorted and named so the agency can distribute per outlet. The next morning, a 45- to 60-second highlights film in 16:9 and 9:16 with the interview clips subtitled. Two revision rounds follow and usage rights for the brand's own channels are included. If the brand also holds a press conference, the press conference video page covers that format.