Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in PR: Assessing the Present, Planning the Future
The racial reckoning taking place in America has ignited new urgency around one of the most important issues facing the PR industry and the stakeholders we serve: diversity, equity and inclusion. Unlike every other aspect of public relations, diverse representation is changing at a glacial pace. Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. population was more than 80% white. The PR industry still is. Meanwhile, the U.S. BIPOC population has increased to 40% and is poised to become the majority as early as 2041. The demographic disconnect between the industry and the population we serve has never been as stark, nor the need for significant progress as critical.
In this session, Judith Harrison will share with you the steps the industry is taking to become more representative of the world around us, along with some steps your organization can take to create a more equitable, inclusive culture in which people from all backgrounds can thrive.
Judith Harrison, Executive Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Weber Shandwick
Creating a Realistic and in touch "With What's Going on in the World Right Now" Communications Strategy
Drawing from her work experience with the British Royal Family, the World Health Organization and the Elton John Aids Foundation, Colleen will share with you the importance of altering or reframing your organizations's messaging in the midst of pandemic, how to create the right communications strategy for a post-COVID world and understand the importance of communicating with empathy and leading with mission.
Colleen Harris, Former Press Secretary to Prince Charles, Princes William and Harry, and Former Adviser at World Health Organization and Elton John Aids Foundation, United Kingdom
COVID Communications: It’s a Long Way from Crisis to Business as Usual
Navigating COVID communications has absorbed teams everywhere. No matter the size of your organization, one thing has remained constant: your colleagues have needed answers to all their work-related issues. The Accenture corporate communications team had to quickly figure out how to respond to – and anticipate – questions about everything from whether the company’s more than 120 offices around the world were open to whether its 537,000 people will enter the future of work. You’ll hear about how this global communications team navigated these uncharted waters, creating a 24/7 operation across 50+ countries that has generated 5,000-plus individual communications.
Stacey Jones, Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Corporate Communications at Accenture
Cliff Angelo, Managing Director, Corporate Communications at Accenture
Lunch Break
Session TBC
Matt Nord, Seniot Director, Track Communications, NASCAR
Chris Tropeano – Sr. Director, Commercial Communications, NASCAR
Jennifer Knoeppel – Sr. Director, Team & Driver Communications, NASCAR
How to Power Your Crisis Communications Plan For a Post-Covid Age
Massachusetts General Hospital is the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, the third oldest general hospital in the United States and has a capacity of 999 beds.
In this session Colleen will share with you how Mass General adapted it crisis communications strategy in the face of COVID-19 and how the organization optimized its communications program in preparation for what lies ahead.
Colleen Marashal Delaney, Director of Internal Communication, Publications and Operations, Massachusetts General Hospital
Lessons Learned from Crisis Communications in Tourism and Aviation: Good Intentions Don’t Make For Good Crisis Comms, Necessarily – What It Takes to Run a Crisis Comm Team
Drawing from his experience with 9/11, the SARS crisis of 2004, the ash cloud crisis in 2009, Lufthansa’s pilot strikes of 2014, the Germanwings 4U9525 accident in Germany, Spain and France and now the COVID-19 crisis, in this session Martin will share with you how to turn every crisis into opportunity by owning the situation and by doing so to gain control.
Martin Riecken, Head of Crisis Communications, Group Corporate and External Affairs, TUI Group
End of Day One
Virtual Media Briefings: The Press Conference is Reborn
Besieged with media requests regarding COVID-19, the surge, and vaccines, the Mayo Clinic media relations team began offering virtual media briefings several times per week starting in September. These briefings quickly became an effective and efficient way of using experts’ time and satisfying numerous media requests simultaneously. In the age of COVID-19, the press conference was reborn.
In this session, Mayo Clinic will share their learnings and tips to make virtual media briefings successful as well as metrics and results.
Ginger Buxa Plumbo, Communications Manager for Issues & Crisis Communications, Mayo Clinic
Communications and Sustainability In a Post-COVID World
This session will explore how corporate communications and PR can support your organizations SDGs initiatives, how to communicate on sustainability with stakeholders and lessons learned from some of the most successful sustainability campaigns globally.
Alex Malouf, Corporate Communications Director MEA, Schneider Electric
When it Comes to Measurement, Context is a King
For analytics professionals, there are few things more discouraging than the widespread addiction to quick, shallow metrics in the place of meaningful analysis. Whether it’s due to budget, limited understanding or limited space in a larger report, numbers like share of voice, impressions and percent increase in mentions have become the key performance indicators (KPIs) most in demand. Unfortunately, these stats aren’t actually KPIs—their value is a myth. Without context and meaning, they’re simply meaningless vanity metrics embedded in pretty charts.
In this session, Nicole will help you understand how to provide context and meaning when measuring the impact of a communications campaign- a combination of three things: audience, category and—now more than ever—culture.
Nicole Moreo, Senior Vice President, Ketchum Analytics
Lunch Break
How AI is Changing the World of Public Relations: Where We Are and Where Are We Headed
The number of AI tools available for PR professionals is growing rapidly. In this interactive session, Katie and Ben will share with you how you can use AI to manage your organization’s reputation, enhance your organization’s online presence and strengthen media and community relations.
Katie Creaser, Vice President, ICR
Ben Chodor, President, Intrado Digital Media
Real Time PR: What Works, What Doesn’t
Drawing from his experience at Heineken and Facebook, in this interactive session, Bjorn will share with you how to have your ear to the ground and catch trends as they happen, use creative resources to act on current trends, choose the right timing and activate your brand ambassadors and create the right multichannel approach for a maximum impact of your real-time PR efforts.
Bjown Trowery, Consumer Communications & Brand PR, Facebook
Speaker TBC
End of Summit