Communicators are the rhetorical muscle behind the lobbyists who walk the halls of government. They create and shape the messages for the media, the public and stakeholders. There is also no pressure cooker quite like Capitol Hill. Communicators on the Hill are branded as political operatives but also branded that they can take the heat.
The last time that PRSA's International Conference came to Washington, D.C., it was 2010. The PR profession has changed significantly since then said Joe Cohen, APR, PRSA President and Senior Vice President at MWW in New York City speaking to PRSA-NCC leaders at the Springfield Golf and Country Club on Saturday, March 1.
Attendees at January’s PRSA-NCC Professional Development Workshop braved frigid temperatures and icy conditions to hear from industry veterans and their take on “The Future of PR in Washington.”
No doubt the rise of digital and social media have had huge impacts on the profession and radically changed how PR is practiced nowadays. There is the need for PR practitioners to keep current with new technology and embrace it as well as understand the role the various technology platforms play in furthering an organization’s business objectives.
The PRSA International Conference is returning back to Washington, DC from October 11-14, 2014. It will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park in Woodley Park. The theme will be "Leading the Way: A Fearless Future for PR."
Considering that digital video is reaching unprecedented levels of viewing globally, the Professional Development session with a panel of video experts on October 16th at the Navy Memorial could not have been better timed. The three video expert speakers proved to be adept at explaining the ins-and-outs of the use of video, and how it has been increasingly used to sell products, tell stories, and educate audiences.
IPRA’s October lunch program, “Media Training for Media Trainers,” provided participants a wealth of tips from expert media trainer Chryssa Zizos, president of Live Wire Media Relations. Zizos, who has coached U.S. presidents as well as corporate CEOs, offered an opportunity for the PR pros in the room to place themselves in the hot seat, complete with rapid-fire questions and bright studio lights.
September’s PRSA-NCC Professional Development workshop, “Social Media’s Impact on Crisis Communications,” was particularly timely and poignant. Held the day after the tragic shooting at the Navy Yard — at the chapter’s regular meeting venue, the U.S. Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue — the workshop began with a moment of silence for the victims and their families.
Publish or perish. In the new world of online communities and web marketing, this classic adage is not just for academics anymore, but for virtually all marketers and PR professionals. This month’s PRSA-NCC professional development breakfast panel focused on the growing trend of content marketing and how communicators can use interactive online platforms like blogging, Facebook and Twitter to tell their organization’s story.
The process of understanding, collecting and interpreting data rapidly has become one the most pressing topics impacting communications professionals. On April 29, the National Capital Chapter of PRSA hosted a panel of experts at the Navy Memorial to discuss a variety of issues related to “big data” in particular, also seeking to demystify its nebulous, buzzword-esque nature.