December 11, 2013 | National Press Club | Washington, D.C.
8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m
If you are beginning in PR or are looking to quickly expand your skills for your burgeoning PR career, then you won't want to miss PR News' One-Day Boot Camp for Emerging PR Stars at the historic National Press Club in Washington, D.C. PR News has developed this one-day intensive workshop to provide emerging PR stars with the critical tools, strategies and insights needed to take their careers to the next level in today's communications environment.
This is a focused training: it starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. and includes a working lunch and meaningful interaction with trainers and peers. Participants are expected to be available for the entire day without interruption or leaving early. Those who complete the course will receive a PR News workshop certificate and a letter from the publishers of PR News confirming participation and completion of this course.
Speakers:
- Don Bates, Instructor in Writing and Clinical Assistant Professor, New York University
- Sandra Coyle, Founder, Coyle Communications
- Jake Finkelstein, Founder & CEO, Method Savvy
- Sabrina A. Kidwai, APR, Senior Manager, Public Relations, ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership
- Megan Maisel, Director, Integrated Media Communications, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Jayne O'Donnell, Consumer Reporter, USA Today
- Greg Otto, Assistant Managing Editor, Washington Business Journal
- Lawrence J. Parnell, Associate Professor and Program Director, Masters in Strategic PR, College of Professional Studies, The George Washington University
- Todd Ragusa, Consulting Principal, Ragusa Consulting
- Carrie Schum, Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning Analytics & Research, Porter Novelli
- Diane Schwartz, Senior Vice President & Group Publisher, PR News
- Season Solorio, Executive Director, Issues and Reputation Management, National Cattlemen's Beef Association
- Chris Wailes, VP, National Media Relations, Pierpont Communications
- Albe Zakes, Global Vice President, TerraCycle
- Mike Taylor, Co-Creator, Publicitymedia.com
Over the course of a single day, PR practitioners will be trained in an array of key PR skills that can be put to use right now and in the years ahead – from strategic planning to social media to writing more compelling PR content across multiple platforms. The attendees of this boot camp will walk away with a clear picture of PR and the tools and tactics to have a positive effect on organizational strategy.
Agenda:
| 8:15 – 9:00 a.m. | Registration and Networking Breakfast |
| 9:05 – 10:30 a.m. | Media Relations: Day-to-Day Tactics for Successfully Working with Reporters, Editors and Bloggers |
| 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Networking Break |
| 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Measurement and Metrics: The Keys to Managing PR Success |
| 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. |
Networking Luncheon |
| 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Crisis Management Workshop |
| 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. | Words, Phrases and Your Future in PR |
| 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Becoming a Much Better PR Writer |
| 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. | Networking Break |
| 3:15 – 3:45 p.m. | SEO Primer |
| 3:45 – 4:15 p.m. | Social Media: How to Build Brands, Find Followers and Attract Fans |
What We'll Cover
8:15 - 9:00 a.m. Registration and Networking Breakfast
9:05 - 10:30 a.m. Media Relations: Day-to-Day Tactics for Successfully Working with Reporters, Editors and Bloggers
You'll get both the PR professional's and the journalist's perspectives on media relations best practices. Our media relations trainers, along with a panel of journalists, will provide real-world examples and case studies of pitches and relationship-building tactics that result in positive and fair media coverage of your brand.
You'll learn:
- Key media relations principles, no matter who you are pitching (e.g., researching your targets, crafting the right pitch, developing relationships, becoming a trusted source)
- How to develop valuable long-term relationships with journalists
- How to think like a journalist to anticipate their needs
- What you need to know about pitching to bloggers
- How to get noticed by journalists you don't already know
- Interactive exercise: You'll work in groups to craft a pitch which you'll then present to session trainers
Moderator: Lawrence J. ParnellAssociate Professor and Program Director
Masters in Strategic PR
College of Professional Studies
The George Washington University
@GWPRmasters
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. Networking Break
10:45 - 11:45 a.m. -Measurement and Metrics: The Keys to Managing PR Success
To prove the value of your PR successes you must deliver metrics that speak to your organization's bottom line. This session will give you a grounding in practical, day-to-day approaches to metrics that you'll be able to build upon as you make data a part of all your PR programs.
You'll learn:
- How to set measurable PR objectives that are aligned with corporate objectives
- How to report data to senior leaders
- How to choose key performance indicators for your specific PR programs
- What you should look for in social media dashboards and measurement tools to be sure you have the information you need
Carrie SchumExecutive Vice President, Strategic Planning Analytics & Research
Porter Novelli
@porternovelli
Season SolorioExecutive Director
Issues and Reputation Management
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
@BeefUSA
11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Networking Luncheon
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. - Crisis Management Workshop
Work in small groups with your fellow Boot Camp attendees as you immerse yourself in a mock crisis that threatens the reputation of an organization. Our crisis management trainer will define the crisis and begin his stopwatch—then it will be your team's job to create a strategy that will measure the impact of the developing crisis in real time and point the way toward an appropriate response. Team leaders will share their strategies with all attendees, and our workshop leader will analyze the results to create a set of best practices.
You'll learn:
- How to prevent or deter issues from escalating into a crisis
- Cutting down cycle time: how to stay in touch with your online audience even as senior leaders scrutinize every message
- How to identify a crisis, how to evaluate emerging situations and what to do in the first 24 hours
- How to engage company employees as well as friends, fans and followers in the crisis communication effort
- Interactive exercise: Working tables will be handed a major PR crisis and will have to work quickly as a group to brainstorm solutions that they will then present to Boot Camp attendees
1:30 - 2:00 p.m. - Words, Phrases and Your Future in PR
Sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it. Poorly constructed sentences and ill-advised word-use—whether written or spoken—can alter your career path. Your perception of being a good communicator can easily be overtaken by sloppy turns of phrases and overused words. In this fast-paced session, you'll get the master list of words to avoid, phrases to stay away from and better ways to communicate. Culled from surveys of PR and marketing professionals worldwide and more than 25 years of writing and editing experience, session leader and PR News group publisher Diane Schwartz will reveal the "epic list" of overused words and show you how to improve your written and verbal communication.
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. - Becoming a Much Better PR Writer
If you're a PR pro then you probably pride yourself on being a good writer. But being a good writer is not the same thing as being a great PR writer who knows how to edge out the competition and connect with journalists, bloggers and consumers across all channels, including social media.
In this session you'll learn:
- How to train your eyes and ears to "think like a journalist" and discover stories within your organization or client
- Storytelling essentials: how to include dramatic elements in your PR writing
- Know your audience: organizing and writing your copy to inform and persuade, whether you are writing a white paper, press release or blog post
- How emerging PR stars can build better writing habits into their jobs and careers immediately
Sabrina Kidwai, APRSenior Manager, Public Relations
ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership
@packersgirl
3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Network Break
3:15 - 3:45 p.m. - SEO Primer
This primer in search engine optimization will provide essential tactics that will enable you to find and use the keywords and phrases used to search for news and information about your brand and industry on the Web.
You'll learn:
- How to research target keywords and implement them to gain better visibility and increase brand exposure on search engines
- How to blend persuasive writing with the right keywords to make your content visible in Web searches
- How to apply SEO tactics to your social media content
3:45 - 4:15 p.m. - Social Media: How to Build Brands, Find Followers and Attract Fans
Brands both big and small are expanding their audiences daily on social networks. You'll learn the do's and don'ts for communicating with and building your audiences across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more.
You'll learn:
- Best practices for listening and engagement and case studies: brand success on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and more
- How to integrate social media and traditional PR
- Specific strategies for posting content on social media channels
- Which tools are right for you? Recommendations on which dashboards and measurement tools will help you succeed
Megan MaiselDirector, Integrated Media Communications
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
@MDAndersonNews
Pricing
| Per Person Rate | Regular Rate: |
| Boot Camp Only | $895 |
| Boot Camp & PR People Awards Luncheon | $1320 |
| Boot Camp & Media Relations Conference | $1740 |
| Boot Camp, Media Relations Conference & PR People Awards Luncheon | $2015 |
| Group Rate | Regular Rate: |
| Boot Camp Only | $845 |
| Boot Camp & PR People Awards Luncheon | $1295 |
| Boot Camp & Media Relations Conference | $1690 |
| Boot Camp, Media Relations Conference & PR People Awards Luncheon | $1965 |
- A list of AP Stylebook priorities
- A list of 100 Troublesome Adjectives
- News Release Guidelines
- Notes on Ledes (a.k.a. Leads)
- Best Practices for Writing Success on the Job
- Guidelines for Writing Publishable Quotes
- Certificate of Completion
Earn 4 points toward your
PR News Certificate in Social Media
- Building your brand, finding followers and attracting fans on social media
- Identifying, managing and resolving a crisis as well as what to do in the first 24 hours
- Building relationships with reporters, editors and bloggers
- Revising, reviewing and editing: How to make sure your copy is as good as it can be
- PR writing for print and the Web
- Managing PR success through measurement and metrics
- Training your eyes and ears to "think like a journalist" and discover stories within your organization or client
- Setting measurable PR objectives that are aligned with corporate objectives
- Identifying the social media dashboards and measurement tools to effectively measure your communications campaigns
Time: 8:15 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Boot Camp Location:
National Press Club
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045
Hotel Rooms: Area hotels for you.
Questions?
If you'd like to register by phone or have questions regarding the program, please contact Saun Sayamongkhun at [email protected].
- Audience Development
- Brand Marketing
- Business Development
- Community Relations
- Corporate Communications
- Crisis Management
- Digital and Social Media
- Employee Communications
- Fundraising
- Human Resources
- Information Technology
- Lead Generation
- Marketing
- Marketing Communications
- Measurement
- Media Relations
- PR Budget Creation/Management
- Public Relations
- Public Affairs/Issues Management
- Publicity
- Research & Analysis
- SEM/SEO Management
- Social Media
- Video Production
- Web Marketing
- Word of Mouth Marketing
Justification Letter to AttendThe PR News One-Day Boot Camp for Emerging PR Stars will help you discover and implement ideas that deliver results. It will train you to search for innovative solutions. It will provide opportunities to make valuable connections with other PR and communications professionals who have solutions you need. And, it will prepare you for the road ahead.You probably already recognize the value of attending this conference, and we'd like to offer some assistance to help you convince your supervisor and organization to approve the costs. Download the "Justification to Attend" letter—everything you need to present your business case. The template is simple to fill out and drop off with your supervisor for approval.
Download Editable Word Doc
Proceeds
Some proceeds from this conference will go to The Future Project- whose mission is to turn high schools into Future Schools, where students develop the skills to pursue their dreams.
Emerging PR Boot Camp attendees are invited to help PR News put together gift bags for kids and adults at The National Center for Children and Families. This will be a great opportunity to help a great cause all while networking with other PR pros. This charity event is Dec. 11 from 5-6 p.m. in the Ballroom at the National Press Club.