Wednesday, December 1, 2010

8:00 - 8:40a.m. Registration and Networking Breakfast

8:40 - 8:45a.m. Opening Remarks

	Diane Schwartz Senior Vice President and Group Publisher, PR News
	Regina D'Alesio Events and Special Projects Manager

8:45 - 9:00a.m.

Wake-Up Call: How to Build Community and Keep the Momentum

Mary Telesco, who heads of sponsorships with Meetup, will share the innovative ideas and secrets that propelled Meetup to become the world's largest network of local groups, with more than 7 million members. In this opening keynote, you'll learn how to muster your stakeholders to meet up offline — and use social media and other PR tactics to build strong community engagement.

Mary Telesco VP, Sponsorships Meetup

9:00 - 9:30a.m.

How to Conduct a Communications Audit

Conducting a communications audit can be one of the best ways to evaluate the effectiveness of your messaging in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Reviewing your communications program — from Web site copy to press releases to social media messages to overall branding initiatives — can lay bare its strengths and weaknesses, identify missed opportunities and provide the guidance you need to advance your program. Learn about the methodologies involved in conducting an audit and how to execute one for your PR department or client.

You'll learn how to:

• Interview senior management to align communications with business goals
• Evaluate your past communications — both internal and external
• Survey your audience and community to provide feedback on your messaging
• Track media coverage to assess the reach of coverage
• Create an audit report to plan future communications strategies

Trainer: Sydney Ayers, APR Principal, Ayers Public Relations

9:30 - 10:00a.m.

How to Identify and Engage Online Influencers

Engaging bloggers, customers, the media and other stakeholders is both a challenge and an opportunity as social media becomes an integral tool for a successful PR strategy. Mapping technologies have simplified the process, but finding and connecting with key influencers still remains a challenge with new social media platforms and communities popping up every day. From "listening online" to monitoring conversations, this session, led by Idil Cakim—a recent PR News Digital PR Award winner in the Digital Communicators  category—will show you how to find the influencers that are vital to your campaigns.

You'll learn how to:

• Identify influencers through keyword searches
• Build and maintain relationships with bloggers, media and other prominent influencers
• Search social media platforms to find followers actively engaged with your brand
• Monitor your competition online and gain an edge
• Create a map to identify and organize influencers
• Communicate effectively with "badvocates"
• Measure the impact of your social media efforts

Trainer: Idil Cakim Senior Vice President GolinHarris

10:00a.m. - 10:30a.m.

How to Measure Your Social Media Efforts

Measuring social media efforts is essential to proving PR's contribution to business and organizational objectives. But linking tweets or blog posts to increased sales, brand awareness or an improved company reputation is no easy task. This session addresses all of your key questions including: What are the best new measurement models that integrate social media outcomes? What tools and resources are needed to tie social media efforts to tangible business results?

You'll learn how to:

• Track sentiment on Twitter, Facebook and other influencer communities
• Integrate social media measurement with traditional techniques
• Build a measurement program on a limited budget
• Measure the influence of blogs, tweets and Facebook "likes" on your brand
• Link media coverage to business objectives
• Connect Web site traffic and online interaction to business outcomes
• Translate measurement into the language of senior management

Trainer: Rich Pesce Senior Manager, Social Media & Digital Communications Sprint

10:45 - 11:15a.m.

How to Communicate During a Crisis

Developing a well-thought-out crisis communications plan is vital to your organization's survival. And built into this plan must be the knowledge that all crisis responses will exist in perpetuity on the Internet. This session offers tactics for how to respond quickly and transparently to your target audience and how to regain control of messaging during a crisis.

You'll learn how to:

• Develop strategies for immediate crisis response
• Identify the best mix of traditional and digital media outreach
• Know when to respond — and when not to — after a crisis hits
• Determine which media and key influencers to reach out to during a crisis
• Craft consistent messaging for your spokespeople
• Rebuild confidence and trust with employees and key stakeholders

Trainer: Karen Hinton President, Hinton Communications

11:15 - 11:45a.m.

How to Tie PR to Sales

Measuring PR's outcomes and role in driving the bottom line for your organization is the key to obtaining buy-in from your C-suite and stakeholders. But proper measurement is not done through tracking increased brand awareness and lead generation alone. Instead, you have to go one level deeper, to understand how PR can impact the sales process at every touch point.

This session provides the tools and tactics for successful measurement, including how to:

• Integrate PR with marketing, advertising and sales efforts
• Set goals and establish key performance indicators
• Understand the underlying business objective to successfully link PR with business outcomes
• Distinguish the impact of your PR efforts on ROI
• Translate ROI results into the language of your management

Trainer: Don Bartholomew Vice President, Fleishman-Hillard

12:00 - 1:15p.m.

Luncheon & Keynote Panel

Network with your peers and make new connections during this luncheon, which will also feature a thought-provoking keynote panel discussion on media relations.

Keynote:
In this interactive panel discussion, top journalists share insights on how PR practitioners can better serve their needs. Learn the most effective ways to engage the media, what information is most useful to them and how best to get coverage. Led by Bill Schneider, Senior Political Analyst for CNN, this panel of top reporters provides no-holds-barred perspectives on:

• How the role of the journalist is changing
• The most effective ways to engage (and how not to engage) with the media
• How to best assist them in putting together stories

	Discussion Led By: Bill Schneider Distinguished Senior Fellow, Third Way; Hirst Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University; Contributor, CNN International
	Panelists: Sandra Block Finance Reporter USA TODAY
	Liz Farmer Staff Writer Washington Examiner
	Eliza Newlin Carney Columnist National Journal

1:30 - 2:00p.m.

How to Media Train Top Executives (and Yourself) for Multiple Platforms

Recent corporate crises have highlighted the importance of training company spokespeople and top executives. One poorly crafted statement can spell disaster when managing your company's reputation. Learn the best crisis-diffusing techniques for any media format — from prepared statements to impromptu interviews to online platforms.

You'll learn how to:

• Provide transparent and authentic information

• Manage sensitive issues during an interview

• Deliver consistent messages across all media

• Field difficult questions and bridge to positive answers

• Develop clear and concise messages

• Be a reliable source for journalists

• Train executives for any interview format

2:00 - 2:30p.m.

How to Enhance and Measure Employee Engagement

In this age of company downsizing and mergers, employee communications has become a top priority for PR and communications professionals. Learn how to create a well-developed communications program that not only motivates employees, but also generates stronger employee retention rates, increased productivity and higher bottom-line returns.

You'll learn how to:

• Build a strong foundation for internal communications
• Manage and monitor what employees are saying about a company online
• Conduct a needs analysis to identify areas of improvement
• Conduct employee surveys and use feedback effectively
• Communicate to employees during a downturn
• Increase and leverage employee engagement with transparency and two-way communication
• Measure employee satisfaction and engagement

Trainer: Catherine Hernandez Vice President, National Corporate Communications, Kaiser Permanente

2:30 - 3:00p.m.

How to Leverage Twitter and Facebook to Advance Your PR

You have a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a high number of followers. You "listen" to your stakeholders and share valuable information with your community. But are ready to take these social media platforms to the next level — to really use Twitter and Facebook to target your audience, monitor industry trends or increase sales?

Learn advanced techniques to boost your social media PR efforts, including how to:

• Increase your network of influential Twitter followers and Facebook likes
• Incorporate images, video and surveys into your tweets
• Conduct keyword searches to monitor industry trends
• Use Facebook Connect to engage fans
• Leverage Twitter to increase traffic to your Web site
• Link Twitter and Facebook to business goals

Trainer: Shauna Causey Communications Director/Social Business Strategies Ant's Eye View

3:15 - 3:45p.m.

How to Effectively Communicate Your CSR and Green Initiatives

CSR and green initiatives have become an essential counterbalance to the erosion of the public's trust in business. CSR has moved to the top of the priority list for PR practitioners who recognize that an organization can reap reputational and financial gains from a strong responsibility program. Learn the best techniques to develop a CSR strategy, incorporate social responsibility into your overall business plan and build partnerships with nonprofits and the community.

Our trainer will show you how to:

• Create authentic communication messages around your CSR efforts
• Determine which issues and causes are the best fit for your organization
• Increase employee engagement in CSR initiatives
• Measure the ROI for your CSR campaigns
• Tie your CSR and green PR efforts to reputation and sales

Trainer: Frank Mantero Director, Corporate Citizenship Programs, GE Corporation

3:45 - 4:15p.m.

How to Launch a New Product or Service With Savvy PR

The successful launch of a new product or service requires more than just a good product — it requires an effective PR strategy. This session provides a roadmap for integrating PR and marketing tactics to raise awareness, position the product and obtain buy-in from potential customers.

You'll learn how to:

• Manage the communications stages of a product launch
• Generate buzz and word of mouth around your launch
• Integrate PR efforts with marketing and advertising
• Leverage digital communications to launch your product
• Hold effective events for your new product or service
• Identify and leverage ongoing post-launch PR opportunities
• Measure PR's success in a product or service launch

Trainer: Lindsey Brown Director of Marketing and Public Relaitons Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

4:15 - 4:30p.m.

Closing Keynote: Proving the Value of PR
Discovery Communications' Michelle Russo will talk about how PR practitioners can align PR initiatives with their organization’s goals and objectives. Russo will share details about some of her successful campaigns, including Discovery’s 25th anniversary celebration. She shows how her team's efforts build a community, strengthen the brand – and explains why it all matters.

Michelle Russo Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Communications Discovery Communications

4:30 - 5:00p.m.

Networking Reception