2023 Agenda

DAY 1 – 17TH MAY 2023


09:00

Registration & refreshments

09:30

Welcome from PRWeek + Chair’s opening remarks

09:35

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Leadership in PR: how success in comms campaigns starts with strong leaders

09:35 - 10:00

  • How to inspire teams and mould consensus by understanding the audience you’re leading
  • What good leadership looks like in PR: being brave, disruptive, apologetic and distinctive
  • How can the best comms leaders react to constant change?
  • Building diverse teams and living by strong values


10:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: Maximising your metrics: how can we become more data literate in comms?

10:00 - 10:40

  • Setting yourself up for success: how to establish an effective measurement plan ahead of your campaigns
  • Storytelling through data: translating data for your C-suite to prove the value of PR
  • Driving development – what are the essential skills to equip your comms team with to maximise results for the present and the future?

10:40

PRESENTATION: Analytics in the times of tight budgets

10:40 - 11:00

  • Why is brand performance particularly important in today’s market?
  • How to optimise brand and PR strategies for maximum impact?
  • Which metrics should you pay attention to while creating strategy and budget?
  • How to evaluate and boost high-value PR outputs?

11:00

NETWORKING BREAK

11:40

FIRESIDE CHAT: Building pride and trust with colleagues and customers post crisis: the power of putting your people at the heart of an aligned communication strategy

11:40 - 12:00

  • Creating one authentic story across all comms disciplines, both internal and external, with people at its heart
  • Showcasing the originality of your colleagues to tell your story and humanise your brand
  • Understanding that internal is external and external is internal

12:00

PRESENTATION: What you need to know about newsrooms in 2023

12:00 - 12:30

  • Adapting to the changes in newsroom operations, particularly live video, with a focus on multi-media content
  • How to engage with journalists
  • The latest trends in ESG, AI and ChatGPT
  • The importance of data insights and fact-checking in effective communication.

12:30

Breakout to HUB sessions

12:40

(HUB A) PANEL DISCUSSION: Making DE&I more than just a checkbox – creating real change and inclusivity in your comms

12:40 - 13:10

  • Ensuring a diverse comms team as the first step to creating campaigns that resonate with different audiences
  • Hear from brands on the journey: sharing  learnings to do DE&I well
  • Walking the walk before talking the talk: what is needed to move the industry forward?

12:40

(HUB B) PRESENTATION: What How ASICS put brand-led storytelling at the heart of its internal and external communications to drive consumer preference and increase employee engagement.

12:40 - 13:10

  • Focusing on internal and external communications on one story for clarity and impact
  • Empowering your employees as your brand storytellers
  • Being prepared to stand against something, not just for something.

13:10

NETWORKING LUNCH

14:10

FIRESIDE CHAT: Constructing a value-led corporate affairs function that speaks to the c-suite

14:20 - 14:40

  • Setting up for success: what is the optimal structure for a corporate affairs function?
  • Why the best corporate affairs leaders have a good understanding of public affairs
  • Thinking about corporate social responsibility: how to demonstrate you are giving back to the community in a way that makes sense for your brand

14:40

PRESENTATION: Transparency: the clear choice, but not the easy one (and what the comms industry can do about it)

14:40 - 15:00

  • Why transparency is about more than scrutiny 
  • The barriers for brands in an environment where perfection is expected 
  • Creating an effective approach to transparency for your brand

15:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: How can PRs keep up strong comms in a constantly changing and uncertain environment?

15:00 - 15:40

  • Managing comms in a cost of living crisis and recession
  • Balancing proactivity and reactivity- how can you ensure your comms are always relevant and engaging in times of rapid change?
  • Navigating and retaining audience attention and engagement: creating comms campaigns that deliver consistent results
  • Managing multi-media campaigns in a crisis: knowing when to speak and what to say

15:40

PRESENTATION: The power of sport – connecting and building trust

15:40 - 16:00

  • Why sport is the perfect vehicle for building trust and connecting with audiences
  • How the crossover between sport, entertainment and lifestyle can engage beyond the typical fan
  • Why athletes are a voice for change and the importance of brands trusting their talent ambassadors

16:00

NETWORKING BREAK

16:20

FIRESIDE CHAT: Has PR become too serious? Inspiring creativity in PR in 2023

16:20 - 16:50

  • Has cancel culture taken the fun out of PR? What can brands do to navigate the grey areas with good nature?
  • Looking at the best and most fun creative campaigns from the last year – what made them stand out?
  • Addressing tough topics with humour or humanity: what is best practice to gain positive sentiment from your campaigns?

16:50

Chair’s closing comments & close of conference

16:55

Networking drinks

17:40

Close of day (all)

DAY 2 - 18TH MAY 2023


09:00

Registration & refreshments

09:30

Welcome from PRWeek & chair’s opening remarks

Communicating on climate, society and people: breaking down the E, S and G

09:35

OVERVIEW PANEL DISCUSSION: Becoming a better brand through your sustainability & ESG comms – the 2023 update and figuring out what you want to focus on

09:35 - 10:15

  • What is the purpose of ESG comms today?
  • Taking a stance: knowing when and how to speak up and make statements on social issues in an authentic manner
  • How can you future proof your brand in ESG whilst dealing with geopolitical changes and the cost of living crisis?

10:15

PRESENTATION: Adapting to the Next Generation of Misinformation: How Can We Protect Reputation in an AI-Enhanced Age?

10:15 - 10:45

  • Actionable lessons from the counter-health misinformation operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Unanswered questions: future risks to reputation management and how to mitigate them.
  • Building a toolkit to respond to new reputational challenges, regardless of the size of your team.

10:45

NETWORKING BREAK

11:30

CASE STUDY PRESENTATION: Talking purpose without purpose washing – gaining consumer trust through comms that come second to action

11:30 - 11:55

  • Why it matters: the importance of highlighting ESG actions to maximise trust
  • Sharing purpose driven stories in the right way: curating authentic comms to support your actions
  • Maximising consumer impact by avoiding performative PR

11:55

BREAKOUT TO HUB SESSIONS

12:10

(HUB A) PANEL DISCUSSION: Why comms should care about working towards being B-Corp certified

12:10 - 12:40

  • Building a B-Corp brand: what does a B-corp certification mean for comms?
  • Authentically approaching sustainability in PR to promote audience trust
  • Ensuring your ESG comms resonate: what does sustainable PR look like in practice?


12:10

(HUB B) PRESENTATION: Why the future of PR is trust and how you can leverage it to build stronger relationships authentically with consumers AND Google

12:10 - 12:40

Trust and PR aren’t words that traditionally go hand-in-hand, and with brands needing to be much more transparent and communicate their values and policies with transparency, how do you build trust with journalists and audiences in an authentic way?

  • The value of using stakeholders as experts
  • The impact of recent Google algorithm updates
  • How to create content to support brand PR
  • How authenticity and trust drives revenue for brands
  • Pitfalls to avoid when trying to build trust

12:40

NETWORKING LUNCH BREAK

13:55

BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN CASE STUDY PRESENTATION: invaluable insights from an award-winning comms campaign

13:55 - 14:25

Creating maximum impact through award-winning campaigns – hear the process, inspiration and results of curating compelling PR:

  • Designing everything for maximum reach and impact – insights into CALM’s ‘The Last Photo’ campaign

14:25

PRESENTATION: Learning and “UNLearning” – An approach to embedding D&EI in comms

14:25 - 14:55

  • Empowering and motivating comms teams on D&EI
  • Practical considerations for content creation and co-design
  • Challenging “traditional”comms norms and best practice

14:55

NETWORKING BREAK

15:30

PRESENTATION: Telling the internal PR story: proving value by sharing the story behind the metrics

15:30 - 15:55

  • How PRs should stop being their own worst PRs
  • Communicating what you do as a comms professional: helping others understand your work
  • Communicating the comms process to your peers to showcase merit

15:55

FIRESIDE CHAT: Looking to the future: how can PR prepare?

15:55 - 16:25

  • Friend or Foe: how can PR and Comms successfully utilise new tools and technologies like AI in comms for the future?
  • What should your priorities be for comms in 2023 and beyond?
  • Planning ahead: what might the comms landscape look like in the next five years?

16:25

Chair’s closing comments

16:30

End of Day 2 and Close of Conference