A One-Day, Industry-Led Conference & Networking Exhibition, Central London, 27th September 2023

08.30 Registration, Informal Networking & GIC Welcome

09.00 Morning Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Ben Moss, Head of External Digital Communications, Aviva

Proactive Reputation Management

09.10 Revitalised Reputation Management Strategies With Power & Influence: Strengthen, Promote & Reflect Your Brand’s Core Vision & Values Whilst Protecting Corporate Reputation

  • Increase adaptability and enhance brand reputation with watertight fundamental survival strategies tested to withstand internal and external pressures.
  • Capitalise on the power of reputation with engaging, positive comms which build strong audience and workforce communities.
  • Stand out from the crowd! Proactive reputation management strategies which increase trust and replenish brand confidence.
  • When the world is so busy, how can you keep your eyes on the horizon to prepare for emerging threats and grasp upcoming opportunities?
  • How can organisations demonstrate accountability by mobilizing communication teams to work proactively rather than reactively?

Rebecca Northridge, Head of Corporate Communications for Europe & Canada, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Optimise Digital & Social Media

Panel

09.30 Proactively Adapt Social Strategies To Create An Authentic & Positive Brand Image On The Hottest Platforms, Channels & Digital Media To Stay Relevant, Responsive To Crisis & Achieve Optimal Audience Reach

  • Mitigating digital crisis escalation… how can brands, traditional communications and social media teams come together and tactfully unite to mitigate reputational issues and combat negativity in the media?
  • Understand the opportunities and pitfalls of video content and influencing to weather social media storms and increase external confidence in your brand.
  • Emit authenticity by controlling the tone of digital communications to rebuild trust in your brands vision and values and meaningfully engage audiences.
  • Get to grips with how to control and monitor brand reputation through social media in the heat of digital scrutiny to engage with the public and relevant stakeholders and prevent further damage when there is a reputational issue.

Andrew Neilson, Media Relations Manager, Natwest

Sean Cook, Global Senior Social Media Manager, Deliveroo

Rhianne Pope, Head of Media Relations, British Transport Police

Siobhan Hancock, Social Media Manager, The Co-operative Bank

10.00 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner

10.30 Morning Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

Critical Stakeholder Engagement

11.00 Identify & Engage With Critical Stakeholders Through Authentic Communication Strategies To Develop Long-Lasting Partnerships That Can Diffuse Crisis Quickly & Effectively For Organisational Success

  • Involve stakeholders early to manage and preserve your organisational reputation by championing your partners to positively influence public opinion, boost advocacy and attain commercial success.
  • Strategically map out stakeholder influence to mobilise crisis communication strategies and encourage seamless and proactive responses in the event of a crisis.
  • Effectively navigate partnerships and their impact on protecting brand reputation to mutually benefit, increase visibility and maximise collaboration on reputation management!

11.00 Guy Mason, Head of Public Affairs & Responsibility, HEINEKEN UK

11.20 Laura Ruiz de Galarreta, Spain Country Communications & Institutional Relations Manager, Ikea Spain

Crisis Communications Strategies

Panel

11.40 Prove Resilience & Take Control Of Crisis Situations By Establishing Reliable & Robust Strategies To Safeguard Your Corporate Reputation

  • Weather a reputational storm! Business-critical steps to handle the flood of public attention when a crisis emerges to protect organisational profits and brand image.
  • Distinguish long term crises from short term crises to inform future action points and equip employees with the relevant tools to harmoniously prioritise, respond and resolve pressing issues quickly and effectively.
  • What is your business continuity plan post-crisis? How do you go back to ‘business as usual’? Minimise the risk and implications of a crisis on your reputation and workforce with robust comms that will help you recover and rebuild.

Coralie Frost, Corporate Communications & News Lead, OVO Energy

Adam Davison, Group Corporate Affairs Director, Holland & Barrett

Daniel McMillan, Head of Media Relations, AXA UK & Ireland        

Paul Wheeler, Corporate Communications Director, Kellogg Company

Sally Bell, Head of External Communications (South) & Social Media, Openreach

Mona Patel, Head of External Communication, Metro Bank

Environmental Challenges & Accountability

12.10 Bringing ESG strategies to life through transparent, authentic and engaging communications, while avoiding greenwashing and greenhush to protect and drive reputation

  • The importance of clear and transparent comms around ESG goals and activity to avoid greenwashing or greenhush.
  • The power of partnerships to add credibility and authenticity.
  • How human-led storytelling drives behavioural change.

Simon Feldman, ESG and DE&I Communications Lead, Virgin Media O2

Brand Trust & Authenticity

Case Study

12.30 Deliver Transparent, Honest & Clear Communications To Power Your Workforce & Build Public Confidence As A Strong Foundation Of A Positive Reputation

  • How is trust broken and how can you fix it? What are the best methods of recovery when your reputation is on the line?
  • Explore the most effective platforms for your brand that authentically channel your core values to create an authentic reputation that resonates with your audience and protects the bottom line.
  • Be purposeful with stakeholders and your comms to discredit fake news and distorted perceptions of your brand to radiate legitimate brand reviews which build confidence and customer loyalty.

Lesley Woods, Chief Communications Officer, Ministry of Defence

13.05 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners

13.35 Informal Networking Opportunity

  1. Pop-up Activism
  2. Cost-of-living Crisis
  3. D&I
  4. Purpose & Values
  5. Proactive Comms

14.05 Afternoon Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Nicola Green, Chief Communications & Corporate Affairs Officer, Virgin Media 02

Measuring Successful Reputation Management

14.15 Review & Analyse The Success Of Your Reputation Management Through Measurement Tools To Identify Gaps & Inform Future Communications & Responses

  • Evidence the impact of your reputation strategies to showcase brand image, improve internal engagement and prove ROI.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of your crisis response strategy to inform future communication solutions. 
  • Shout about success! Share your reputational achievements with a focused evaluation of your analytics – build colleague trust by demonstrating your competence in implementing new, successful strategies with tangible metric15

Internal Communication & Engagement Through Uncertainty

14.35 Create A Healthy Internal Culture By Providing Ongoing Support Through Multiple Channels Of Internal Communication That Reassure Workforces & Mitigate Internal Disruption During Crisis

  • In the event of a crisis, how are you supporting your workforce? What internal strategies are implemented to successfully navigate unsettled situations?
  • Reassure your personnel by providing both financial and non-financial protection mechanisms in response to the current economic uncertainty.
  • How do you prioritise and distribute expenses during an economic crisis? Stay commercially successful whilst giving your employees the support they need to exceed expectations and boost brand image.

Lisa Thomson, Director of Communication & Charity, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust

 

Effective Corporate & Social Responsibility

14.55 Align Your Brand’s Visons & Values With Contemporary CSR Goals To Boost Internal Motivation & External Reputational Management

  • Refresh CSR strategies so they feel relevant to your business, how does it fit into your corporate structure, what visions and values are important to your brand and internal team?
  • Widen your scope and consider global issues and the implications it carries on your reputational impact both internally and externally.
  • Inspire the leaders of tomorrow! How can you collaborate with younger audiences to drive real reputational change within your business for long-term success?

Roberto Olivi, Head of Communications, BMW Italy

15.15 Afternoon Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

15.45 How Predictive Media Intelligence Can Help Protect Your Brand From Threats And Identify New Opportunities

Protecting your brand from threats and identifying new opportunities has never been more challenging. With today’s speed and volume of content, there’s limited benefit in using media monitoring tools that tell you what already happened. 

 

You need a forward looking, prediction empowering tool that will tell you what stories, narratives and events will matter the most, before it’s too late.

In this session, Paul Quigley, CEO and Co-founder of NewsWhip will demonstrate:
• What prediction means for PR and communications
• How to turn your team into super-predictors
• How prediction is your efficiency driver 

Paul Quigley, CEO and Co-Founder, NewsWhip

Rewarding Employee Advocacy

Panel

16.15 Invest Time In Your Reputation Management Assets – Your Employees! Bring Your Workforce On Board When Building Brand Values To Ensure Cohesion, Trust & A Seamless Reputational System

  • Which internal support strategies are in place to truly empower and motivate employees to deliver campaigns they truly believe in?
  • Maximise your reputational impact by building closer relationships with your internal workforce to promote authentic employee advocacy.
  • How do you navigate internal disruptions? What are the strategies that work effectively to mitigate and resolve employee censure to protect internal relationships, employee satisfaction and ultimately business reputation?
  • Are your communication strategies considering all employees? Embrace and respond to employee feedback to refresh reputational strategies and ensure core values are embraced by all to promote engagement.
  • Does your brand represent diversified and inclusive audiences? Connect with your employees to gain perspective and dive into D&I discourse, to strengthen internal relationships and advocate brand reputation.

Charlotte Lander, Director, Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Standard Chartered  

Nicole Bearne, Former Head of Internal Communications, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   

Kerry Reid, Director, Director of Communications & Learning, Sky

Jessica Tompkinson, Global Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs, Unilever

Navigating Disruption

Fireside Chat

16.45 Proactively Respond To Unpredictable & Uncontrollable Internal & External Disruptions To Demonstrate Adaptability & Agility During Transformation & Protecting Brand Reputation

  • Acquire long-term strategies in combatting the cost-of-living crisis, including supporting your workforce whilst maintaining commercial success, to build on a positive internal reputation.
  • Sensitively and authentically address current affairs and global issues to exhibit social and economic awareness, resulting in a stronger brand image and continued support.
  • Encourage hopeful and optimistic cultures to engage your workforce and target market with your corporate comms to strengthen your reputation when external disruptions are causing hardships.

Anita Adam, Regional Director of Legal & Corporate Affairs, Molson Coors

Neil Fleming, Head of Media Relations, HSBC UK

Spotlight Session: Campaigns, Credibility & Coherence

17.25 Lessons From 20 Years Leading Communication Teams

Alex Aiken, Executive Director, Government Communication, UK Government

17.45 Afternoon Chairs’ Closing Remarks

Nicola Green, Chief Communications & Corporate Affairs Officer, Virgin Media 02

17.50 Official Close Of Conference