Last Friday saw the PRCA’s national conference take place at the BAFTA building in London, with an agenda of speakers including Kamal Ahmed the business editor for the BBC, and Harris Diamond, CEO at McCann Worldgroup. It was set to be one of the conference’s best panel of speakers yet and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend.
As an apprentice starting out in the world of PR it was a great opportunity to get a lesson with the experts, from the economics of reputation to how to communicate at speed in an ever evolving, always-on media landscape.
Two speakers who really stood out to me were Tony Harrison from adam&eveDDB who spoke about the art and science of fame. He explained how fame can take a campaign to another level through three key elements: science, art and measurement. It was interesting to see some of our most loved and watched adverts such as the John Lewis Christmas adverts and the comedic Foster’s advert, being broken down and explained in detail why these adverts work so well and why their popularity has enabled them to take on a life of their own.
Another speaker who I found highly engaging was Shane O’Riordain the MD at Royal Mail. Shane previously worked as group communications director at HBOS during the economic decline. Speaking about crisis PR he explained the crisis lexicon and what to do before, during and after a crisis when the countries eyes are on your company. He referred to business people like politicians; anything they say can become a story and importantly at the end of this how to maintain a strong brand image.
As a Manchester B2B agency we’re always intrigued to learn what other PR agencies across the country are accomplishing as well as the chance to learn something new. After conquering the Tube and London for the first time I can safely say I had a very interesting day.
Katherine Wilding is Skout’s newest recruit and a PR apprentice.
