Join PR News at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on December 6-7 for the Media Relations Next Practices Conference, where communications professionals will learn how to increase awareness of their brand and drive business results. You and your team will come away with specific real-world case study examples of successful visual storytelling in media pitching, best practices in establishing and maintaining influencer relations, live broadcasting by brands and unified messaging during a crisis. All-Access Pass members also get admission to the Day 1 Video Boot Camp taking place on December 6.
Learn more about the Media Relations Working Group!
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Why attend PR News' annual Media Relations Conference on December 7 in Washington, D.C.? You want real insights on media pitching, influencer relations and crisis management as well as proven video tips from our top-notch speakers at brands like Hilton Worldwide, Washington Post, C-SPAN, IBM, Ogilvy Public Relations, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Airbnb and SAP.
Join us at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on December 6, 2017, for PR News’ Video Boot Camp. At this event, brand communicators will share how they’ve used video on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and beyond to engage their audiences and deliver their brand’s messages more effectively than ever before.
Your brand may not be able to score an appearance on Good Morning America (or at least, not as often as you’d like), but online video is quickly becoming the next-best thing—and in some ways, better. In this PR News boot camp, our expert trainers will discuss the kind of content that earns engagement, the tools and techniques to get that content looking its best and even how you can come out from behind the scenes to take your place in front of the camera as a host and brand ambassador. Then, they’ll discuss how all of this is integrated via real-world case studies.
Media training was once only for executives and official spokespeople, but the prevalence of video is bringing more members of the communications team in front of the camera. It’s important to learn how to be comfortable and at ease in the moment. In this interactive session, we invite audience members up to participate in a practice live stream and improve their presence with the help of our expert trainer.
We’ll discuss how to:
Video on social media can be as simple as setting up an iPhone and talking into it—but your results could be so much better. There is equipment for every budget to enhance your video, and anybody can learn the basics of filming to make your subject look good and your stream look (and sound) more professional.
You’ll learn how to:
Editing has been called the language of film. If we compare a single shot to a word, then a well-edited sequence is like a carefully written sentence, with each word serving a purpose. In this session our trainers will help you embark upon your journey toward gaining fluency in the art of cutting together an expressive, attractive and engaging video.
We’ll discuss:
Maybe your boss just asked you to create a “video strategy,” or you’ve been putting off testing video for months—either way, it can be overwhelming adding video to your PR/marketing plan. Luckily, Sukhi Sahni and Chris White of Capital One have been there before and have learned how to skip all the confusing parts. In this session, Sukhi and Chris will show you how Capital One leverages audience research to plan a creative strategy that’s thought-out, data-driven and tested against other projects—and they'll show you how to do the same at your organization. It’s all the work that should happen before your hit “record.”
Sukhi and Chris will cover:
Count ‘em off: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, Livestream, Periscope, Live.ly, the list of video platforms goes on (and it’s not getting shorter). Which of them is best for targeting the audience you want? Which has the features that are best suited to the kind of videos you want to create? We’ll discuss the relative pros and cons of each and what kind of content succeeds on which platforms, as well as explore opportunities on platforms you may not have considered.
Topics on the agenda:
We’ve invited professional communicators to share how they put video to work for them and found success. They will discuss how their broadcasts have worked to build excitement around announcements and events, brought viewers from around the world into one place for a glimpse at something amazing and much more, as well as the objectives they set and the metrics used to measure the results.
Types of videos we’ll discuss:
In this conference kick-off, we’ll look at how journalism is evolving, where it’s headed and what it means for PR pros.
Media relations has morphed into a vastly different world: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat rule the day, the traditional press release is now a digital mix of words and images and influencers are where it’s at. Savvy communicators know they must use a combination of social, digital and traditional media tactics—a mix of Paid, Earned, Social/Shared and Owned (PESO) media—to compete for coverage. This session will include strategies to maximize results in each of the PESO pillars as well as case studies from each area designed to boost coverage of your brand’s story.
During this session, you’ll learn how to:
This interactive session will probe attendees’ pain points, frustrations and storytelling opportunities in today’s media relations landscape. During the afternoon’s Bull by the Horns Session, attendees will be asked to work in teams to suggest ways to tackle challenges mentioned during this morning Bull session. As a team, you’ll share the top idea/solution with the group.
With the preponderance of fake news in today’s market, several large brands—Coca-Cola, MillerCoors, Starbucks and Walmart, for example—are augmenting or even bypassing traditional media outreach by creating in-house news staffs that craft content marketing pieces for media and public use. But newsrooms aren’t exclusive to the nation’s biggest brands—smaller companies are taking storytelling into their own hands too by mixing traditional journalism with social media platforms and content marketing tactics. During this session, our panel will provide an editorial blueprint for creating a definitive, engaging hub for company news and information.
During this session, you’ll learn how to:
Before you craft a press release, send an email pitch or retweet a story from a leading journalist, you need to make a business case for your media relations effort. This session will show you how to use measurement tactics to connect the dots between the coverage you earn in traditional media outlets as well as on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and the goals your senior leaders hold dear.
You’ll learn how to:
How can professional communicators survive in an era of fake news and data-driven journalism that sometimes prioritizes clicks over accuracy? What are the best strategies for PR pros to use with a press corps that seems to lose prestige daily to social media influencers, the #metoo sexual misconduct scandal or a steady barrage of insults from the White House?
Experience is a great teacher and our lunch session will have plenty of experience. Eleven-time Emmy-winning broadcaster Marvin Scott has covered more than 15,000 stories here and abroad in a career closing in on 50 years. Jeff Ballou is president of the National Press Club and an award-winning journalist whose career spans more than 25 years. Ogilvy CCO Jen Risi is an expert on global media relations, reputation, earned media and fake news. Scott, Ballou and Risi will offer their years of media relations experience as well as entertain questions from you.
Bonus: 10 Things That Are Sure to Anger a Journalist and How to Avoid Doing Them
We’ve heard it often but it bears repeating: It’s not a question of if your brand will experience a crisis, but when. Digital communications have greatly sped up the news cycle, spreading word of a crisis around the globe in minutes if not seconds. As such, crisis communication might be the most important part of a PR pro’s duties, especially as it relates to social media. Veteran crisis communicators Rob Doolittle of CSX and Andy Gilman of CommCore are planning a unique, interactive session that will be loaded with important lessons and best practices.
During this session, we’ll cover how to:
Journalists and other influential voices in media are driven to chase clicks with breaking, exclusive and analytical news. As a result, media relations pros can no longer succeed with pitches that are merely smart and sharp—they have to be electrifying as well. In this session, our panel of digital media execs will show you how to frame your brand’s stories as potentially viral, trending content that will ensure more traffic to any media site that runs them.
You’ll learn how to:
Bonus tip sheet: The Do’s and Don’ts of Connecting With Journalists on Social
In this interactive session, media relations issues gathered during the morning’s Bull Session will be tackled by attendees organized to examine specific problems. You’ll brainstorm with your peers about a specific challenge or opportunity and report the best idea or takeaway as a team to the full group.
This interactive session will give you the chance to test your expertise in crafting great email pitches. Our pitch-writing trainers will lead you in an exercise where you’ll work in groups and develop a winning subject line and pitch and present it to our panel of journalists, who will give you their real-time, (and frank, but good-natured) on-site feedback.
A few of the topics we’ll discuss:
BONUS TIP SHEET: 5 Can’t-miss tactics that will guarantee your story is covered.
As an attendee of the PR News Media Relations Conference, you will automatically be a part of the Media Relations Working Group, a new initiative to redefine media relations in the age of fragmentation, fake news, influencer marketing and integrated communications. As a Working Group member, you will have the opportunity to engage with your media relations peers during and after the conference to help set new benchmarks and best practices for the PR community so that communicators can advance within their organization and better tie their efforts to organizational goals. Participation is optional and will include conference calls, a special LinkedIn Group, meetups and much more! Our goal is to produce meaningful media relations guidance over the course of eight months that you are a part of the Working Group.
Benefits of Being a Working Group Member:
>>Opportunity to contribute to industry body of knowledge on media relations
>>Co-authorship of the final report that will be distributed to more than 200,000 communicators
>>Networking and learning opportunities with peers/group members
>>Provision of final report
>>Formal recognition of Media Relations Working Group Member
While you're in D.C., make time to explore the beautiful attractions with fellow conference participants like the monuments, restaurants. shops and museums. Here's a list of our top recommendations:
>>Lincoln Memorial
>>National Gallery of Art
>>Washington Monument
>>Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
>>International Spy Museum
>>Jefferson Memorial
>>National Air and Space Museum
>>Newseum
>>United States Botanic Garden
>>Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
>>Georgetown for restaurants, cafes and shopping
>>Smithsonian American Art Museum
>>Dupont Circle for cafes and bars
>>The National Zoo
>>Adams Morgan for dining
>>The Portrait Gallery
The Media Relations Conference and Video Boot Camp will provide excellent networking opportunities. Beyond the sessions on every facet of media relations and video, you’ll also make long-lasting connections with other like-minded professionals during the several scheduled networking breaks throughout the two days.
As a PR or communications professional, you know that you and your team need to step outside of your workplace, connect with peers and learn from the best to keep growing your skills—for your brand, and for your career. The Media Relations Conference and Video Boot Camp will allow you to do just that.
Job Title | Company |
Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communications | 1st Global |
Communications Director | AARP |
President | Affect |
Communications Director | AHC Inc. |
Senior Communications Specialist | Allegheny Conference on Community Development and Affiliates |
Vice President | Allianz Global Investors |
Media Relations Manager | American Dental Association |
Manager of National Media & Public Relations | American Heart Association |
Head of Digital Team | American Petroleum Institute |
Vice President, Public Relations | AMGA |
Public Relations Coordinator | AMGA |
Director of media relations, business communications | Amtrak |
Founder & CEO | ARPR |
Director of U.S. Media Relations | Bayer |
Team Leader | BEP |
AIV Specialist | BEP |
Lead Public Affairs Specialist | BEP |
Director/Project Manager | Best Communications Strategies |
Associate Communications Writer | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan |
Corporate Communications | Boeing |
Manager, Media and Strategic Communications | Bridge Communications |
Vice President of Business Development | Bulletin Intelligence |
Director, Technology Practice | Burson-Marsteller |
Digital & Social Media Specialist | C-SPAN |
Media Relations Specialist | C-SPAN |
Media Relations Specialist | C-SPAN |
Director, Communications and Marketing PR | Capital One |
Data Scientist | Capital One |
Deputy Communicators Director | Center for Audit Quality |
Graphic Designer | Center for Audit Quality |
Global Director of Field & Event Marketing | Cision |
Outreach and Digital PR Manager | Clearlink |
Outreach Specialist | Clearlink |
Manager | Clyde Group |
Assistant Vice President - Media & Communications | CSX |
Senior Director of Digital Communications | Cystic Fibrosis Foundation |
Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications | DC Public Library |
SVP, Corporate Communications | Discovery Communications |
SR COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST - MEDIA RELATIONS | Dominion Energy |
Public Affairs Manager / Chief Communications Officer | Energy Northwest |
Senior Communications Specialist | Entergy |
Sr. Communications Specialist | Entergy |
Consumer Communications Associate | Facebook Inc. |
Managing Partner, Global Health | Finn Partners |
Communications | Focused Ultrasound Foundation |
External Relations | Focused Ultrasound Foundation |
Senior Account Supervisor | Garden Media Group |
Executive Producer: Broadcast + Branded Video | Green Buzz Agency |
Senior Editor & Creative | Green Buzz Agency |
Chief Marketing Officer | Grunt Style |
VP Events & Strategic Partnerships | Grunt Style |
Communications Manager | H&R Block |
Marketing Communications | Half Price Books |
Associate Brand Manager | Herc Rentals |
Senior Media Relations Coordinator | Houston Methodist |
Senior Director, Communications | Instructure |
Marketing Manager | Klein Tools |
Vice President of Marketing | Klein Tools |
Video Producer | Klein Tools |
Video Producer | Klein Tools |
Account Executive | Kohnstamm Communications |
Account Executive | Kohnstamm Communications |
Media Intelligence Specialist | LexisNexis |
Supervisor of media | Love's Travel Stops |
External Communications Manager | Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores |
Media Relations Director | Lumina Foundation |
Vice President - Corporate Communications | M&T Bank |
Communications Director, Hollings Cancer Center, MUSC | Medical University of South Carolina |
Web Content Producer | Medical University of South Carolina |
VP, Marketing & Communications | MHA |
VP Corporate Communications | MMM Holdings, LLC |
Associate Director, Video Services | NAFSA: Association of International Educators |
Director, Marketing & Communications | NAIMA |
VP, Marketing & Communications | NAIMA |
Vice President, Communications | NCTA |
Communications Manager | Nestlé USA |
Communication Specialist | NiSource |
Director of Communications | North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church |
Public Affairs Specialist | PBGC |
Press Secretary | PBGC |
PA Specialist | PBGC |
Account Executive | Peppercomm |
Public Relations Manager | Physicians Committee |
Deputy Technology Editor | Politico |
PR&Communications Associate Director | Pratt & Whitney |
Emergency Management Communications Analyst | Public Affairs Science & Technology (PAST) Fusion Cell @Argonne |
VP Marketing | RCN |
Marketing Director | RCN |
Director of Marketing | RCN Telecom |
President | Robinson Public Affairs LLC |
Media Manager | RS Energy Group |
U.S. Communications Manager | Saft |
Senior Public Relations Representative | SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) |
Director, Media &Communications | Society for Neuroscience |
Media & Communications Manager | Society for Neuroscience |
Manager, Marketing and Communications | Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates |
‎Social Business Advisor | Southwest |
Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Engagement | SupplyCore |
Public Relations Specialist | T. Rowe Price |
Public Relations | T. Rowe Price |
Public Relations | T. Rowe Price |
Sr. Corporate Communications & PR Specialist | T. Rowe Price |
Chief Content Officer | The Content Farm |
Public Relations Manager | The Humane Society of the United States |
Public Relations Assistant | The Humane Society of the United States |
Director | Travelers |
Video Skills Instructor | U.S. Army |
Manager of Public Relations | University of Alabama at Birmingham |
Visual Information Specialist | US Department of Veterans Affairs |
Communications Analyst | USPS OIG |
Senior Director, Public Relations | Walmart |
Journalist | WaPo, Slate.com |
Reporter | Washington Post Express |
Manager, Media Relations | WGL |
Outreach Director and Consultant | Wichita State University, Elliott School of Communication |
AVP, Industry Relations & Communications | Women in Cable Telecommunications |
Director, Communications and Member Relations | World Trade Centers Association |
Communications Manager | World Trade Centers Association |
Public Relations Manager | Young Voices |
If you spend at least a quarter of your time in any of these areas, you should attend PR News' Media Relations Conference and Video Boot Camp:
529 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20045
You can book your stay at one of these nearby hotels.
* The Media Relations Pass does not include access to the Video Boot Camp. The Video Pass does not include access to the Media Relations Conference.
Group Rates
Make this a collective experience and bring your team! Save $100 per person when you bring a group of two or more people from your organization. (Select the "Group Rate" when you register.) All team members can be registered and paid for at the same time.
Nonprofit/Government Rates
Professionals at nonprofit/government organizations can take an additional $100 off each pass.
PR News Subscriber Rates
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At PR News' Media Relations Conference and Video Boot Camp, sponsors will reach hundreds of PR and communications professionals looking to improve their social media strategies and SEO. Join us as a thought leader at this dynamic industry event by becoming a sponsor today.
SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE:
Have other sponsorship needs? You can customize a sponsorship package. Hurry, only a limited number of sponsorships are available! For information about sponsorship packages, please contact Rich Hauptner at [email protected] or 203-899-8460.
For questions related to event registrations, please contact:
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact: