September conference details announced; register today

“PR Survival: Online, on the Job and in the Future”

THIS CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT! DUE TO AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCEPT ANY MORE REGISTRATIONS AS OF 9/23. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.

HARO's Peter Shankman will keynote Baltimore PR Council's September Conference.

HARO's Peter Shankman will keynote Baltimore PR Council's September Conference.

With featured keynote guest public relations, social media and marketing guru Peter Shankman, founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO).

Join your fellow Baltimore PR practitioners for a conference that guides you through the vast maze of public relations today. Hear from the area’s top experts, credentialed authorities and key media, and learn new and useful tips, best strategies, and cutting-edge techniques for navigating any PR campaign from research to ROI.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

WHERE: Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Civiletti Conference Center, 6701 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD  21204

DIRECTIONS: www.gbmc.org/body.cfm?id=79

PARKING: Enter the GBMC campus via Charles Street, take a ticket at the booth, and bear right at the “Y” spilt.  Follow the road all the way to the end, and park in Iris Park.  Exit the garage to the Physician’s Pavilion East building, and the Civiletti Conference Center is in the lobby of  PPE (across from the elevators). Parking for the day will be $6.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

  • 8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. – Registration / Coffee / Pastries / Welcoming Remarks
  • 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – “The New Media: A Look Into The 24/7 News Cycle and How Social Networking Is Changing Media Relations”
  • 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – ““How the Press Uses and Values Public Relations and Other Media Resources: Facts and Figures from the 2008/2009 Cision/GWU National Survey of the U.S. Press”
  • 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Keynote Lunch Speaker Peter Shankman, Help A Reporter Out
  • 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. – “Twitter 201 – Using Twitter to Enhance Your Public and Media Relations” and “New Technologies: Back to the Future”
  • 2:30 p.m. – Closing Remarks

Sessions:

1. “How the Press Uses and Values Public Relations and Other Media Resources: Facts and Figures from the 2008/2009 Cision/GWU National Survey of the U.S. Press”

Don Bates, Instructor and Founding Director, Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations, The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, and veteran PR professional for more than 30 years, will present findings and interpretations with the goal of improving how public relations and public affairs professionals work strategically and effectively with the media. Lots of how-to and why-to.

2.  Twitter 201 – “Using Twitter to Enhance Your Public and Media Relations”

Debbie Friez, Vice President of Major Accounts, BurrellesLuce

You’ve signed up for Twitter, or intend to join. While it’s clear that Twitter is a powerful communications tool, you’re now trying to make it an integral and effective part of your public relations program.

A recent BurrellesLuce survey revealed that almost half of their PR clients have a Twitter account. Many struggle, however, to reap tangible benefits from their Twitter activity. Debbie Friez, Vice President at BurrellesLuce, aims to help PR professionals gain maximum mileage from Twitter and help you:

  • Recognize how Twitter fits into your PR, media and social media plans
  • Explore if you should tweet under your organization’s name or your own
  • Learn which metrics can be used to persuade your company to back Twitter participation
  • Become familiar with proper Twitter etiquette
  • Acquire new techniques to enhance your media relations

3. “New Technologies: Back to the Future”

David Warschawski, President, CEO of Warschawski

PR professionals should not be overwhelmed by the proliferation of Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and other social media communities.  The social media realm is simply a new tool in the overall bag of tricks for PR professionals to leverage in building strategic marketing communications initiatives.  Brand clarity must always come first.  David Warschawski will discuss the importance of brand clarity in building brand-centric campaigns and how to utilize these new tools.  David will explain why Twitter, Facebook and Blogs are new tricks to add to the PR pro’s bag of tricks and why they should not be stand alone campaigns.

4. “The New Media: A Look Into The 24/7 News Cycle and How Social Networking Is Changing Media Relations”

Hear from a panel of broadcast and print media experts discussing how technology is changing the world of media relations and news gathering and its impact on PR/media professionals.

Panelists include:

  • Dustin Wadsworth, Director of New Media, WMAR/TV2
  • Mark Vernarelli, Public Information Director,  Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services and a former TV reporter
  • Michael Pranikoff, Director, Emerging Media, PR Newswire.
  • Bryan Sears, reporter, Patuxent Publishing, http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/
  • Scott Wykoff, reporter, WBAL Radio

NOTE:  BPRC is not accepting any more registrations as of 9/23. Due to the overwhelming response, we are now at full capacity. Thank you for your interest in the conference and Baltimore PR Council.