Assistant Professor of PR at Hofstra University and Author of "Pitch, Tweet, Or Engage On The Street: How To Practice Global Public Relations And Strategic Communication."
As an event dedicated to advancing ones skills and experience in the field of public relations and marketing, we ask that all attendees respect the integrity of speakers, participants and other attendees; while social interaction via online channels is encouraged, this is not a media event and therefore we ask all those in attendance to refrain from publicly posting editorial content, unless otherwise discussed with a conference organizer.
Presentation by Kara Alaimo, Ph.D., author of "Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication."
These days, PR isn’t just about media relations; it’s about the relationships you have with the people who influence your customers. Why buy your product or service when a popular and trusted blogger is telling their followers to use your competition’s - and on Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, no less! So, how does one go about creating these relationships? What should you expect from working with influencers? How do you develop authentic influencer relationships? All these questions and more will be addressed in this panel. Moderated by Shorty Awards co-founder Greg Galant, panelists include:
• Claudia Oshry, founder of Girl With No Job
• Frankie Greek, snapchat journalist
• Carolina Valencia, Univision
Key takeaways from this presentation include:
• How to develop an influencer relations program, and when is the right time to use an influencer?
• What are some of the basics you need to know about influencer relations?
• How do you budget appropriately for influencer endorsement and what can you expect?
• How do you measure ROI from influencer programs
• The influencer’s perspective
As a PR professional, there is nothing more frustrating than getting silence from a pitch, especially when it was the perfect pitch that you sent to the ideal media targets. But was it? And did you? Pitching is a beautiful artform that can result in some of the best press hits imaginable, but it can also lead to your downfall. Join PR pros and journalists as they dissect the art of pitching, touching on the key elements of a “perfect” pitch, the best times to send out a pitch, and some of the biggest mistakes PR pros make. Moderated by communications pro Randy Zane, this panel will include:
• Nikki Mendell, Refinery29
• Lisa Kovitz, Edelman NYC
• Leigh Scheps, InsideEdition.com
• Kerry Flynn, Mashable
Key takeaways from this presentation include:
• The pains felt on both ends of pitching
• What you should NEVER do when pitching a story to the media
• Best practices - when to pitch, where to pitch, and when to just walk away
• Pitching horror stories
An interactive session with Sandra Fathi, President of Affect and Crisis Communications Expert
There is no time to find that tired old crisis communications binder, call down the phone tree or wait for a thorough investigation. Your crisis has a trending hashtag on Twitter, the number of Facebook shares is rising and citizen journalists are contacting your former employees for comments. Basically, the house is on fire and you need a rapid response to prevent it all from turning into ash. The one eternal truth in crisis communications is not "if it happens" but "when it happens" - will you be prepared? In this session we'll examine what has changed in crisis communications and what PR professionals and executives need to know before the disaster strikes and how to act quickly to put out the fire.
Key takeaways from this presentation will include:
• What are the current threats to your organization and how to identify new ones
• Which tools and resources you need to have in place before a crisis emerges
• Effective tactics to 'stop the bleeding' and suspend a crisis
• How to effectively sway the court of public opinion and deal with Internet lynch mobs
• Training spokespeople and executives to communicate with empathy and apologize when necessary
• Getting the legal team on your side and working in unison to prevent both monetary and reputational damage
We will also examine some of the latest crises and how they were handled well or mishandled, from the Ryan Lochte Rio 'robbery' debacle to the Delta world-wide system outage.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was any brand, ever. Building a brand is a highly calculated maneuver that takes time, meticulous planning, and one helluva PR strategy. Take it from the PR pros who have helped make a name for some of the biggest brands out there, both well established and quickly emerging. This session will touch on how to launch a brand as well as how to keep a storied brand relevant and fresh, and all the PR work that happens behind the scenes to make it happen. This panel will be moderated by Jeremy Goldman, founder of Firebrand Group, and will include:
• Lindsay Kaplan, Casper
• Marco Greenberg, Thunder11
• Joe Cohen, AXIS Capital
Key takeaways from this presentation include:
• Laying the foundation: what are the crucial steps one must take in building a brand
• How to identify - and connect with - your intended audience
• Making a brand stick, and how to pivot when your original concept doesn’t
Platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Live and more have revolutionized the way brands can connect with their audiences, and PR professionals must be more technically savvy than ever to remain on the cutting edge. Communicating with consumers is no longer a one-way conversation. It’s a Twitter exchange, a live broadcast streaming online with comments posting in real time, an image or video transmitted to the whole wide world, only to disappear forever after just 24 hours. The content itself may be fleeting, but its impact is not.
The incredible variety of methods of communications have enabled PR professionals to amplify their brands’ or clients’ message, providing multiple outlets for super targeted content. But it also forces PR pros to be smarter than ever when it comes to creating content, so as not to have those key messages fall on deaf ears. Learn from the best how to develop a stellar content strategy that will resonate with the right audience, no matter what new social platform is “all the rage” at the time. Moderated by global manager of social media at McKinsey & Company, Devin Brown, this panel will feature:
• Alyssa Bernstein, ABC News
• Brandi Boatner, IBM
• Al Chen, Cooperatize
Key takeaways from this presentation include:
• Has the press release died, and other content questions that keep the PR traditionalist up at night
• How do you determine which platforms / voice / etc. to use?
• The most successful and innovative uses of new platforms
• Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Periscope / Snapchat … what’s on the rise? What’s dead or dying? What is working perfectly right now?
• And most importantly - how do you measure it all
Meet Brian Anthony Hernandez — a multi-dimensional music journalist, the artist relations specialist at Genius, former senior music reporter at Mashable and 2016 contributor to Billboard and Forbes. He's the man music publicists go to when their celebrity clients need to be more than just seen and heard. As someone who holds the keys to the top echelon of music media, hear how covering the biggest artists in the world has changed over the last decade. In this session, Brian (a.k.a. @BAHjournalist on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat) will sit down with industry peer Hugh McIntyre (Forbes contributor and music writer) to discuss what goes into conceptualizing and executing creative projects with artists, songwriters, managers, publicists and record labels for social media, live interviews, viral videos and editorial content.
Megan Linebarger is a managing partner overseeing events and communications at Zazil Media Group, a boutique PR agency specializing in broadcast and media entertainment technology. Based in Boston with an office in New York City, Zazil offers tailored PR services combining media relations, event management and marketing communications. Megan is a member of PRSA New York, Brooklyn resident, Northeastern University Alumni, and New Jersey native. Contact Megan
Priyanki Brahma is an account executive at Aspectus, a global public relations agency leading enagement for top-notch financial institutions, energy and technology firms, oil and gas companies. She is a former journalist having worked for global news broadcasting stations including ESPN and NDTV. Priyanki co-chairs events and programming at PRSA Tri-State District and was the VP of Programming at NYU PRSSA while getting her master’s degree there. Born and raised in India, Priyanki now resides in New Jersey. Contact Priyanki
The 2016 PRSA Tri-State Conference, part of the official Communications Week programming, is set to be a full day of back-to-back panels and presentations from today's top PR professionals from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Attendees will glean insights from PR and marketing experts covering the issues, topics and trends on every PR practitioner's mind today and thinking into the future. Panel sessions will cover influencer relations, the evolving landscape of content creation and distribution, crisis communications, the art of the pitch, measurement and analytics, and so much more!
Who should attend? Just getting into the world of public relations? Veteran of the industry? Still in school learning the ropes? This event is perfect for PR professionals at every stage of the game. Join us for intriguing conversations and to network with your peers!
Over 150 PR and communications professionals attended the 2015 PRSA Tri-State Conference, “Thinking Differently About PR,” to network and learn from leaders in our industry. Although the conference took place in New York, attendees showed up from New Jersey and various parts of Connecticut. Check out our recap of the event if you missed it!
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the nation’s largest community of public relations and communications professionals. PRSA is organized into 10 regions, called districts. The Tri-State District covers New York, New Jersey, and Greater Connecticut.
PRSA’s Tri-State district is a unified voice for the interests of members throughout the region to the national office, addressing issues of common interest. These regional groupings of chapters provide support, shared resources, and leadership cultivation for the next generation of professionals to lead the association and serve as advocates for the profession.