Innovation is taking place in almost every area of the public relations agency business

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Public relations industry leaders explore future of agencies in #FuturePRoof project backed by ICCO and the PRCA

 

Progressive public relations agencies are rapidly modernising. They are embracing new skills in data, research and paid media, and are investing in creative teams. Profits are healthy in well-managed businesses, and the market overall is growing according to both the PRCA and ICCO. Innovation is everywhere in practice from freelancers through to the largest agencies.

However one area in which there remains surprisingly little innovation is around billing models. The dominant structure continues to be fees charged by the hour, albeit on retainer or project basis.

These are the headline findings of this #FuturePRoof project on the future of the public relations agency, backed by ICCO and the PRCA.

Seventeen agency leaders contributed to the #FuturePRoof project sharing insights into how they are innovating in response to client demand and media change. The three-month project led by Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer, Ketchum and Sarah Hall, Editor of #FuturePRoof and Managing Director of Sarah Hall Consulting, reached its conclusion today with the publication of a white paper.  The white paper called Exploring the Public Relations Agency is available free as a download. It consists of 15 essays exploring different areas of agency innovation.

“The project set out with a bold and simple ambition: to characterise a cross section of agencies that make up the modern public relations business. The result is a must read for anyone working in the public relations agency business,” said Stephen Waddington MPRCA, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer, Ketchum.

“Every manager of a public relations business should be continually looking to innovate and this paper showcases some true pioneers who are looking to break with tradition and find new ways of working that are better suited to the industry today,” said Sarah Hall MPRCA, Managing Director, SHC, and Editor of #FuturePRoof. “Many have shared fairly commercially sensitive data in the spirit of collaboration and I’m grateful for this, their time and expertise.”

Francis Ingham MPRCA, Director General, PRCA, said: “While it is gratifying to see that the PR consultancy world is making huge leaps forward in embracing new skills, we clearly have a lot of work to do to find appropriate business models to sell our impressive offering to clients. That is why it is so important that all consultancy owners and directors pay close attention to the FuturePRoof white paper, which gives a clear indication of how we need to evolve.”

 

The project identified eight significant areas of change in the agency business.

Value

1. Public relations is outsmarting rival disciplines through innovation. It is helping clients build better organisations. Therein lies its future, and huge value.

Drivers of innovation

2. Clients, shareholders and staff are the three drivers pushing agency-owners to build better businesses. That can only be a good thing.

Opportunity

3. There’s a chasm emerging between the business model of traditional agencies, and the demands of modern clients. Smart agencies are building businesses in this space.

4. Agencies are limited only by their skills and ambition. Small agencies are able to compete with large thanks to communications and travel.

Billing models

5. Agencies are simple businesses that are well understood by clients. Innovative business models threaten clarity and risk confusion.

6. Better measurement systems are fundamental to business model innovation. It remains a work in progress for agencies.

Service innovation

7. Core services within a modern agency include storytelling, creative and content, as well as paid, earned and shared media, as they shift from traditional media and publicity based services.

Threats

8. A shift to 24/7 working and the cost of infrastructure are two big issues that need to be tackled by public relations agencies.

The agency leaders that contributed to the project are: Ruth Allchurch, Cirkle; George Blizzard, The PR Network; Colin Cather, Bottle; Alison Clarke, Alison Clarke Communications; Julius Duncan, Remarkable Content; David Gallagher, Ketchum; Jim Hawker, Threepipe; Sarah Hall, Sarah Hall Consulting; Nicky Imrie, The PR Network; Francis Ingham, PRCA and ICCO; Dieter Lloyd, PamLloyd PR; Pam Lloyd, PamLloyd PR; Ella Minty, Reputation Management Consultant; Alex Myers, Manifest; Laura Richards, Northstar Ventures; Stephen Waddington, Ketchum; and Renee Wilson, PR Council.

 

About #FuturePRoof

#FuturePRoof is a crowdsourced book and community curated by Sarah Hall with the bold ambition of asserting the value of public relations.

The aim of the book is to kick start the biggest conversation ever about the future of public relations and underline its role as a management discipline driving business success.

Featuring a foreword from Ketchum’s chief engagement officer Stephen Waddington, the 33 chapter book covers a wide range of topics affecting the managers of communications teams and agencies.

Chapters describe emerging areas of practice such as PR’s move towards paid, workflow mapping and freelance business models, as well as more traditional topics such as measurement and evaluation, ethics and stakeholder management.

Since publication, the PRCA and ICCO are now working with Sarah, Stephen and the #FuturePRoof community on policy development.

If you’d like to know more or get involved, visit futureproofingcomms.co.uk.

follow  @WeArePRoofed on Twitter and join the #FuturePRoof Facebook group.

#FuturePRoof is available to purchase as a hard copy or as a free download HERE.

About PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is a UK-based PR membership body, operating in 45 countries around the world. We represent in excess of 20,000 people across the whole range of the PR industry. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry’s behalf e.g. fighting the NLA’s digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA currently has more than 350 agency members; over 250 in-house communications teams from multinationals, charities and leading public sector organisations; and thousands of individual members

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 33 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

http://www.iccopr.com/

@ICCOpr

 

 

Young PR Stars Compete for Chance to Represent their Country at Cannes Lions

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The hottest competition for PR’s young talent has kick-started across the globe, with teams competing for the chance to represent their country at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Over 22 local Young Lions PR Competitions are underway in countries including Brazil, China, Russia, Italy, Turkey and the USA.

Last week the UK competition was won by Matt Watson and Paul Stollery of Hotwire, who were up against 40 teams around the UK. The French Young Lions place was won by the Havas Worldwide Paris team of Daniel Saltsman and Fabien Aufrechter. The winners of other local competitions will be announced over the next two months.

The winning pairs will be sent to Cannes, France in June to compete at the international PR competition, which is part of the world’s largest advertising and communications event Cannes Lions.

To take part in the challenge, entrants must be 30 years of age or younger, and be working in the PR industry. Teams of two respond to a charity brief in 24 hours, and shortlisted candidates will have their PR strategy judged by an expert jury.

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the proud sponsor of the Young Lions PR Competition for the third consecutive year. ICCO has also sponsored ‘The House of PR’ cabana for the Festival week. If you are interested in sub-sponsoring ICCO’s participation at Cannes Lions in 2016 please contact ICCO General Manager Charlene Corrin.

The 63rd International Festival of Creativity takes place on 18th – 25th June 2016.

 

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 33 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

About The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France. As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, over 40,000 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals. More than 12,000 delegates from 95 countries attend a week-long programme of exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. As the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communications.

www.canneslions.com

 

 

 

ICCO Welcomes Hungarian PR Association as New Member

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The Hungarian Public Relations Association – Magyar Public Relations Szövetség (HuPRA / MPRSZ) has joined the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) as its 34th national member.

This announcement comes as ICCO prepares for its first Board Meeting of the year, taking place in Athens, Greece next month.

Collectively ICCO now represents over 2,500 agencies globally, as well as nine direct consultancy and network members with an international agenda.

Zsófia Lakatos, President of the Hungarian PR Association and Managing Director of Emerald Public Relations said: “We are extremely delighted to join ICCO. In the last few years the Hungarian PR Association turned in a more professional direction. We organise more events, provide market insights to our members and we focus more on international relations. Three ambassadors have been appointed to liaise with our international partners. Joining ICCO is a great step towards our aim to provide global approach, standards, best practices and hopefully business leads too.”

ICCO President Maxim Behar said: “We all welcome our Hungarian friends to the global family of ICCO and are sure that it is a great step ahead in the development of the PR business in the country. The Hungarian PR market is very well developed and we hope to see them playing a significant role both in the ICCO Global Summit later this year, and also many Hungarian companies competing to win some of the ICCO Global Awards.”

ICCO offers its members market insights and ethical standards, as well as professional training to allow local PR consultancies to develop within their region and also internationally.

ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham said: “HuPRA is the seventh national association to join ICCO in the last three years – a record of growth which reflects ICCO’s increasing strength. ICCO is now indisputably the largest and most dynamic international PR membership body in the world, set for even further growth in the years ahead.”

Andras Sztaniszlav, the Hungarian PR Association ambassador to the international market, will represent Hungary on the ICCO Board of Management.

 

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 33 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

 

 

ICCO appoints Charlene Corrin as General Manager

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has appointed Charlene Corrin to the role of General Manager, who joins from a key role at Lions Festivals, organiser of the Cannes Lions.

Corrin will be responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day running of ICCO, assisting the Chief Executive, President and Board of Management to set the overall strategy for the organisation, communicating key trends of interest to the worldwide PR industry, and organising the annual ICCO Global Summit and ICCO Global PR Awards.

She was formerly the PR Lions Awards Manager for Lions Festivals, responsible for management of the PR awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Spikes Asia, Eurobest and Dubai Lynx events.

Corrin began the role on 14th March 2016, replacing Binta Hammerich, who steps down after successfully running the organisation since January 2015. ICCO was recently named Best International Association at the Association Excellence Awards 2016.

Corrin will report directly to Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, and Maxim Behar, ICCO President.

Prior to working for Lions Festivals, Charlene worked in the United Arab Emirates, Australia and New Zealand producing conferences, business summits and incentive events. Originally from New Zealand, Corrin has a background in communications and a keen interest in the creative industries.

Corrin said: “I am thrilled to be joining this world leading organisation at such an exciting time for the PR industry. I will be focusing my attention on refining the organisation’s current programmes and events, and continuing to drive engagement initiatives and recognition for our members on a global platform. I’m looking forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead.”

Ingham said: “I’m very pleased to be welcoming Charlene to the role of General Manager at ICCO. With her background in world class marketing events such as Cannes Lions, she is the perfect person to take our award-winning international association from strength to strength.”

Behar said: “We all are excited to welcome Charlene Corrin to ICCO and having in mind her experience, personal qualities and ambition we are more than sure that day-to-day management of the organisation will be in good and reliable hands. ICCO has grown tremendously over the past three years from the point of view of global coverage, quality of training and high level events. Both the ICCO Global Summit and the ICCO Global Awards are real trend setters in the world of modern PR. Charlene will have the important task of continuing this growth in the same speed and even faster.”

ENDS

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

ICCO President and Chief Executive at Communications Directors Forum in Davos

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Maxim Behar, ICCO President and Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, were today leading participants at the annual World Communications Forum in Davos.
ICCO is an official partner of World Communications Forum, which this year gathered more than 250 representatives from 35 countries at the Congress Centre in the Swiss mountain resort.
Behar and Ingham met with representatives from the Ukraine, Armenia, China, Turkey, Russia, Malaysia, Morocco, Jordan, South Africa, Egypt, and other countries, to discuss future cooperation with ICCO.
Speaking within a panel discussion, ICCO President Maxim Behar said:”The world is changing fast, our business even faster, and as we unite 32 countries within ICCO, we must be the leaders of these changes. We must make the case for the necessity of honest and transparent businesses. Soon the three main areas of modern communications – public relations, advertising, and digital will merge, and PR must be the leader of this new world.”
ICCO was recently recognised as Best International Association at the Association Excellence Awards at a Gala ceremony in London, and both ICCO representatives in Davos received congratulations on that occasion.

ICCO named Best International Association at Association Excellence Awards

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has been named Best International Association at the Association Excellence Awards. ICCO won the award on Friday at London’s Hilton Bankside hotel, beating four other shortlisted associations including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). 
 
The Best International Association award was presented as a recognition of ICCO’s impressive achievement of its goals in 2015.
 
Francis Ingham MPRCA, ICCO Chief Executive said: “ICCO is in rude health – in fact, we’re in a stronger position than ever. We represent more consultancies and more associations than at any time in our history. Our services are better and more numerous than they’ve ever been. Our relations with other leading organisations such as AMEC have never been deeper. 
 
“So I am delighted that this strength has been recognised by the Association Excellence Awards. I’m proud to agree that yes, ICCO is indeed the best international association in the world. And I’m honoured to be its Chief Executive.” 
 
The judges said that “ICCO has worked hard to position itself at the centre of the industry and has a fantastic set of services and benefits. They launched a really exciting set of recent activities.”
The award recognised the fact that ICCO achieved the following goals during 2015:
 
To grow ICCO’s membership, and increase turnover by 20%
Three associations joined in 2014-2015: Canada, Nigeria and Kazakhstan. ICCO also launched its Direct Membership proposition and welcomed eight new consultancies and networks to the organisation. ICCO membership grew to 33 national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe, collectively representing 2,500 PR firms. ICCO turnover increased by 46%. 
 
To increase engagement and influence with our existing national trade associations worldwide 
ICCO set up committees where each country member is invited to contribute to set the agenda for the organisation. ICCO also built a new user-friendly website, and launched Global Women in PR, a new global networking organisation for senior women working in public relations. 
 
To increase perception of ICCO as being central to the global PR industry
ICCO became a sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, to increase the awareness of young talent at the festival. ICCO also formed partnerships with Haymarket, publisher of PRWeek, and AMEC.
 
To bring more content, research and events to members 
ICCO launched the World PR Report, in which it polls its member trade associations and gathers their opinions on a wide range of topics. ICCO also launched its PulseCheck, providing a quarterly update for members on global markets, and a revised and enlarged PR Professional’s Guide to Evaluation.
 
On the events side, ICCO launched the inaugural ICCO Global Awards in London at the Riverbank Plaza Hotel on Thursday 26th November 2015. Over 28 countries entered the Awards, which was attended by PR professionals from around the world. 
 
ICCO also held the ICCO Global Summit in Milan, bringing together senior practitioners from public relations consultancies around the world, in conjunction with the Milan EXPO 2015. 
 
About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe: from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms. ICCO provides a forum for senior management of the world’s best PR consultancies to meet and address issues of mutual interest and concern.
 

Conversis announces partnership with PRCA and ICCO

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Oxford, 15 February 2016: Leading language service provider, Conversis, has today signed an agreement with the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), as their official Translation and Localisation Partner.

The collaboration aims to streamline exchanges between the Communications and Language industries in areas such as Crisis Communications, international creative campaigns, Digital PR and Social Medial and Internal Communications. Understanding the need for localised content, PRCA and ICCO in collaboration with Conversis will raise awareness on the importance of cultural context in PR over the next twelve months by running a series of workshops and producing exclusive content for members of both organisations.

Gary Muddyman, CEO and Founder of Conversis said: ‘Whilst we now work in a global market, it is just as important as ever to understand how to deliver your message to a local audience in a way that is culturally correct. I strongly believe that our partnership with ICCO and PRCA will enhance our position in the world of public relations.’

Francis Ingham MPRCA, Director General of the PRCA and Executive Director of ICCO said: ‘I am delighted to be announcing this partnership with Conversis. As globally coordinated PR activities become an increasingly normal state of affairs, there is a real need for content which recognises the importance of cultural context. Conversis helps communicators to achieve that.’

For further information visit www.conversis.com

About Conversis
Founded in 2003, Conversis is a leading supplier of translation and localisation services and in 2015, was shortlisted for a Lloyds Bank National Business Award for Customer Focus. In the past decade, Conversis has become world renowned for supplying accurate and timely translated and localised copy to clients in the UK and abroad, providing not just specialist information and expertise but also peace of mind. With a strong reputation for building solid client relationships and offering support through regulatory and compliance challenges, Conversis’ specialisms cover website translations, desktop publishing, international marketing, medical translations, international research, transcreation, audio dubbing and subtitling.

About PRCA
The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations. The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe: from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms. ICCO provides a forum for senior management of the world’s best PR consultancies to meet and address issues of mutual interest and concern.

 

PRCA to launch new professional association in Middle East and North Africa

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The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), the biggest PR association in Europe representing and controling over 18,000 Public Relations people has actually revealed the launch of PRCA MENA (PRCA Middle East and North Africa). PRCA MENA will be the expert subscription association to represent PR consultancies, in-house interactions groups, and individuals in the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Egypt.

PRCA MENA will be co-chaired by MENA PR market leaders Loretta Ahmed, CEO Middle East, Grayling, and Mohamed Al Ayed, CEO, TRACCS. Establishing members consist of leading MENA consultancies Golin MENA, Memac Ogilvy, Fleishman Europe, Q Communications, MCS Action – the UAE branch and Middle East center of the Action Global Communications network, Sept Public Relations, Active (Digital.

The association will enable members to share best practices, participate in world class training, network with like-minded professionals, and assist to raise requirements in the industry. Working together with ICCO (International Communications Consultancy Organisation), PRCA MENA will offer a global structure within which its members can develop global networks and links to London.

Loretta Ahmed stated: “I am delighted to be given the chance to co-chair this excellent brand-new resource for the Public Relations industry in MENA. As a Fellow of the PRCA I am completely knowledgeable about its successes in the UK, and believe that this move will help the market here to grow, to enhance its professionalism, and to enhance its profitability.”.

Mohamed Al Ayed included, “PRCA and TRACCS discovered comparable synergies, passions and a vision for the development and advancement of the PR market in MENA in 2013 and have been working together carefully given that then. There is plenty for us to discover and plenty to impart to our international PR counterparts, and PRCA MENA will intend to facilitate this exchange of knowledge and know-how.”.

Francis Ingham, PRCA Director General & ICCO Chief Executive said: “I’m really happy to be announcing the latest PRCA leap forward– this time into the Middle East and North Africa under the leadership of Loretta Ahmed and Mohamed Al Ayed.

“By developing a new, lively association throughout the entire area, we will bring PR experts even better together, and raise standards even higher. The link with the PRCA in the UK, and its management of ICCO in 32 countries, will make the area fantastically well connected with the international Public Relations neighborhood.”.

The launch event will happen on March 8th in Dubai and PRCA Partner YouGov will remain in attendance, providing essential understandings into the interactions landscape of the MENA area.

Boilerplate

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is a UK-based PR membership body, operating in 45 countries around the world. We represent in excess of 20,000 people across the whole range of the PR industry. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations. www.prca.org.uk

 

 

ICCO announces Young Lions PR competition in partnership with Cannes Lions

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has, for the third year in a row, announced its support for the Young Lions PR competition at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2016.The Young Lions PR competition seeks to discover the leading young creative PR team globally, and will see teams of two competing for the coveted prize. All teams competing in Cannes will have been through a pre-selection process in their own country set up the by their local Cannes Lions representatives.The PRCA is handling the UK competition to find a team to represent the UK in Cannes.

The UK competition will see teams respond to a brief created by a PRCA Charity in-house member over the course of 24 hours. The submitted presentations and written submissions will then be judged by a UK jury and a shortlist of eight campaigns will be invited to London to deliver a five minute presentation to the jury, explaining the PR campaign and the written submission. Last year, the UK Young PR Lions contest saw 30 national teams competing for the title of best young creative talent in the world.

For the first time, UK consultancies will be able to enter more than one team for the competition.

PRCA consultancy members can now enter the competition here: http://prca.org.uk/UKYoungLions. Competitors must now be aged 30 and under and born after 25th June 1985 to be eligible to register – previously the competition was open to those aged 28 and under.

Once in Cannes, the competing national teams will be set a brief by a charity or non-profit organisation that will act as the ‘client’. The aim of the 24-hour competition is to show how PR is effectively used to engage audiences with an organisation or a specific topic that the ‘client’ is dealing with. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be presented to the winners, with the Gold winners being honoured during the PR Awards on Tuesday 21st June 2016.

Francis Ingham MPRCA, ICCO Chief Executive and PRCA Director General, said: “We are incredibly proud to once again be launching this search for the most talented young PR professionals in the world. Cannes Lions, ICCO and the PRCA have a shared goal to recognise and reward the creative leaders of tomorrow and this competition continues to demonstrate the rude health of our industry.”

KEY DATES:

10th February: Registration Opens
1st March: Registration Closes 5pm
2nd March: PRCA Charity member revealed
3rd March: Creative Brief Issued 10am
4th March: Entries Due by 10am
17th March: Shortlist Announced
22nd March: Finalists pitch to UK Jury in London
23rd March: UK winners announced
18th-22nd June: UK winners travel to Cannes Festival of Creativity for the Young Lions PR Competition

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will take place 18-17 June 2016, in Cannes, France. A comprehensive learning programme designed to accelerate essential training across all career levels and disciplines is available during the event as well as Young Lions Competitions for Print, Media, Cyber, Film, Design and Marketers. For further information or to register to attend, please visit www.canneslions.com

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

ICCO joins WCF-Davos for a diversified Communication World

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ICCO will contribute to the content of the World Communication Forum as an official partner!

Davos, Switzerland, February 5 – The forum’s 7th edition will be held on 8-9 March, at the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland. Communication professionals from all over the world will again get together to discuss the key trends in today’s global communications. ICCO will be among the official partners to fortify the key ideas of the WCF initiative as well as facilitate and spread the conclusions of the summit.

Maxim Behar, ICCO President, WCFDavos co-Chair and Board Chairman and CEO of M3 Communications Group in Bulgaria:
“For us it is important to be present at such an important event. I have been following very carefully the Davos Forum from its very first edition held 7 years ago, and I am delighted to see such a significant progress. As the largest Global PR community, ICCO will contribute with presentations, moderation of panels, and we shall also advise our members to join as participants.”

Yanina Dubeykovskaya, WCFDavos Founder and General Director, President of the WCFA:

“We appreciate ICCO as the most influential professional association within the industry on an international scale and see great prospects for partnerships that will allow the best PR agencies worldwide to expand their business and professional expertise via the platforms of the Forum and its regional editions, thus fostering new, fruitful relations with media representatives, corporate directors, state administrations, and non-profit organizations around the world!”

The agenda offers a diversified content and insight by global experts with out-of-the-box vision for the future of the industry: how to add meaning, integrate interests and reach a growing influence in multinational/cross-cultural businesses and brands, how to engage the globe, how to manage crisis periods on the social media, and much more.

WCFDavos will again give the floor for a discussion on more or less controversial topics:

  • Talent VS Experience.
  • Communications in the Arab world.
  • From digital evolution to robot revolution – humanity, communications, ethics.
  • Quantity or Quality? What is your social media top priority?
  • Communications revolutionized – seen as a mission, rather than as a service!
  • Tourism: a global industry in the age of Communications.
  • Media Reality – Influence and Responsibility

… and more!

Among the speakers and moderators of the plenary panels are leading experts, such as:
ICCO PresidentMAxim Behar, Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of ICCO and Director General of the PRCA in UK, Mustapha Khalfi, Minister of Communications and Spokesperson of the Government of Morocco, Faith Muthambi, Minister of Communications of South Africa, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, National Vice President of the ruling BJP political party in India, Dmytro Kuleba, Ambassador-at-Large for Strategic Communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Roman Vassilenko, Chairman – Committee for International Information at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Kazakhstan, Paul Holmes, Founder and CEO of The Holmes Report and SABRE awards, Scott Fahlman, Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, also known as “Father” of the smiley emoticon, Tanuja Kehar, Vice President Corporate Communications at Unitech in India, Solly Moeng, Managing Director of Don Valley in South Africa, Sean Gardner, co-Founder of the pioneering Huffington Post “Twitter Powerhouses Series”, Saurabh Uboweja, Founder, CEO & Director Brand Strategy at Brands of Desire, Prof. Dr. Ali Murat Vural, Executive Board Member and Coordinator at Bersay Communications in Turkey, Franky Saegerman, Head of Social Media & Communications and Public Diplomacy at NATO HQ in Belgium, Bayan Tal, broadcast journalist and Senior Advisor at the Jordan Media Institute as well as former director general of the Jordan Radio & TV and foreign press secretary to His Majesty King Abdullah, Dr. Phil Osagie, Global Strategist at JSP Communications in Nigeria, and more!

Traditionally, WCFDavos holds the Communications for Future (C4F) Davos Award. However, this time it offers up to 23 categories for recognition of remarkable creativity and unique vision of the future of communications, in two major groups of awards: Personal (individual communicators with a strong influence on global communications) and Corporate (companies setting the standards for effectiveness & professionalism).

The other two professional associations supporting the event are APRA (Armenia), CIPRA (China). WCFDavos 2016 is also supported by exclusive partner agencies from all over the world: M3 Communications (Bulgaria), Kaiser Communication (Germany), Capital Communications (Hungary), CROS (Russia), Grou-AGAMA (Ukraine), Don Valley (South Africa), Cyber Gear (UAE), RADA Research & PR (Egypt), First House (Norway), Competence (Italy), The Story (Poland), JSP Communications (Nigeria), Dept WPF (Russia).

WCF is an annual global event held at the Davos Congress Centre in Switzerland. Initiated by an International Coordinating Committee in 2010, it has united a great number of acknowledged professionals from 55 countries worldwide. Since its third annual edition in Davos, WCF has started expanding its global professional community with regional sessions held in some of the largest cultural centers and business capitals across Europe and Asia. The two-day conference covers the latest trendy areas and issues and outlines future tendencies in the global communications industry.

For more information: www.forumdavos.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WorldCommForumDavos

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WorldCommForum

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/forumdavoscom

Contact:

Valentina Atanasova, Project Manager of the World Communication Forum in Davos

Comms with Speakers & Committee, Partnerships, Website content, SM, PR

Mobile: (+359) 884435044, Skype: ataval.bg