Jenny and Sophie recently attended the Chartered Institute of Public Relations 2019 National Conference, held at the British Library in London. With over 150 PR pros attending, the event covered a wide range of interesting topics relating to this year’s theme of preparing for the digital future.
There was an impressive line-up of speakers including Joanna Blackburn from the Government Digital Service, Peter Cheese from the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, Tony Langham from Lansons, researcher and broadcaster Stephanie Hare, Lawrence Ampofo of the Digital Mindfulness podcast and Adrian Ma from Fanclub PR.
Despite the speakers coming from a variety of backgrounds, disciplines and industries, there were some core themes threaded throughout the event:
- The pace of change and rapid adoption of new technologies have changed everything – across all aspects of how we live and how we work.
- We are living in increasingly uncertain times, which is fuelling the breakdown of trust.
- Trust is declining everywhere – whether that is with governments, brands, media or institutions.
- In this time of misinformation – reputation has never been more important.
- Democracy and what it means, is being questioned from all sides.
- Ethics, particularly in terms of technology and data, are an increasingly hot topic and is something that brands must take a firm stance on.
As well covering these big, important topics, the conference also covered a range of practical, hands-on tips for PRs. These included:
- How to harness the valuable data from google searches – the modern day “confessional box” (top tip – check out free tool Ask the Public!)
- Plenty of award-winning inspo from successful campaign case studies
- Tips on how to make the most of opportunities presented by voice speakers, organic search, paid search and shoppable content!
We left the conference with a clear understanding of some changes we can make to our work now, to give our clients a real digital advantage.
For further information of us at ADPR and our campaigns, visit ADPR’s guide to maximising your lifestyle brand’s PR campaign.
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