Iprex Annual Meeting In New York
Multinational Issues in a Multimedia World was the theme of this years annual meeting of IPREX
, the international corporation of independent public relations firms, and was attended by 55 representatives of the organization. The event, held May 14th 16th, was hosted by Makovsky + Company, a New York-based global public relations and investor relations firm.
As one of the worlds most important media centers, New York provided the perfect backdrop for this years IPREX annual meeting. The programs and events provided IPREX members with invaluable insights into the issues confronting our clients today, namely the recession, climate change, international news reporting, and the reputation crisis of 2009, said Ken Makovsky, president of Makovsky + Company and a cofounder of IPREX.
In addition to IPREX business sessions, the jammed packed meeting included networking receptions and dinners at top restaurants, at which guest speaker Michael Lee, Immediate Past World Chairman and President of the International Advertising Association, delivered a talk entitled, The Green Challenge: Where are the Opportunities, which focused on how imminent government regulations and increased investment in environmental technologies will impel corporations to increase their communications around this growing issue.
The second day began with a tour of Bloomberg News, which featured a question and answer session with a number of the news agencys top editors including Karen Toulon, New York Bureau Chief; John McCorry, Executive Editor Americas; Marty Schenker, Executive Editor, Top News; and Ted Merz, News Content Manager. They discussed trends in global news reporting, social media and noted how technology has empowered audiences with more comprehensive and detailed information on the news topics they choose to follow.
Attendees then moved to the historic University Club which was the site of a panel discussion entitled, The Great Reputation Crisis And How to Respond, moderated by John A. Byrne, Executive Editor / Editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com. The panel featured Stephen K. Dishart, Managing Director, Communications and Human Resources, Swiss Re; Carl D. Folta, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Viacom; Harvey W. Greisman, Senior Vice President and Group Executive, Worldwide Communications, MasterCard; Raymond F. Kerins Jr., Vice President / Worldwide Communications, Pfizer; Michael McDougall, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Bausch & Lomb; Barbara Pierce, Public Relations Director, Worldwide Brand Marketing & Communications, Kodak; and Gary Sheffer, Executive Director, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, General Electric. Corporate governance, ethics, corporate reputation as well as the use of social media were among the key topics discussed.
A tour of Google, the iconic search engine, was next on the schedule. It featured two speakers: Ellen West, Googles Director of Global Communications and Public Affairs, who spoke about Trends from the Digital Edge and Lisa Green, Googles Senior Manager, Agency Relations., who spoke on the topic, The Future of Rapid Response.
The second day ended with dinner at the legendary Four Seasons restaurant, which was attended by a special guest, Kathy Cripps, President of the Council of PR Firms, who addressed the group.
Makovsky concluded, In addition to being quite gratified by the turnout for this years meeting, I was pleased by the comments about the program from various attendees, who felt that the discussions and events provided insights and knowledge that will help advance their practices individually and collectively under the umbrella of IPREX.
Makovsky + Companys Social Media S.W.A.T. Team was deployed to socialize the entire conference, covering the events, speeches and panel discussion like journalists, but using the social aspects of the web to enable real-time feedback and audience participation. A conference blog (iprex09.wordpress.com), Twitter feed (Twitter.com/iprex09), YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/IPREX09) and Flickr stream (www.flickr.com/photos/iprex09) were all created by Makovskys team. For every one person who attended the event, 4.3 visited the conferences blog, 9.7 watched an IPREX video, and 100.25 people received a message about it through Twitter. After the event, a conference-branded online group was set up to enable attendees and followers to continue the conversation.
About IPREX
IPREX (www.iprex.com) is one of the worlds major corporations of independent public relations firms. Founded in 1983, its 63 partners have 85 offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, with annual revenues of $117m. Its 1,100 professionals provide a comprehensive range of services for some of the worlds most successful companies.
For more information visit to http://www.makovsky.com
by: Kevin Waddel
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