I recently attended the NEXT PR Week Conference held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The predominantly senior executive audience spanned at least three generations of experience and opinions and addressed future trends.
If content is king this conference deserves a place in the PR royal court! Aside from the ironic twist of a conference about what’s “NEXT” not having decent Wi-Fi access (whoops Waldorf, but we forgive you because you are an icon), this was one of the best conferences I’ve attended in years.
The day kicked off with early roundtable sessions on a variety of topics. My group discussed “Green: Gone or Going Strong?” Jon Coifman, VP, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide facilitated a lively conversation about whether this Green movement can endure given the current economic climate. The good news for agencies and business in the “Green” arena is that a couple of agency attendees said they are still seeing new business opportunities.
Lord Michael Heseltine, Chairman, Haymarket Media Group, eloquently spoke about issues facing print publications. Under his “glass half-full” approach, he rejects the notion that one form of communication obliterates another. And he sees the web as a means to stimulate the thirst for knowledge.
All of the sessions were compelling, but one in particular resonated with me personally: Next PR Leaders, which featured Bonin Bough, PepsiCo director of global social media; Christine Cea Unilever director of brand PR; David Demarest, Stanford University VP for public affairs; and Kaitlyn R. Wilkins, senior strategist ,360° Digital Influence, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide . John Bell, executive creative director of 360° Digital Influence Team, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, moderated the session.
This panel defined the key qualities and skills of future PR leaders:
- Producers of “killer content”
- Strategists
- Diplomats
- “Techno geeks”
- Advocates
- Experimental mindset
- Conversation architects
- Integrated players
- Walking networks
- 2.0 readers
- Active learners
Reflecting on their list, I started to think: Do the future leaders I’ve identified possess these skills? If not, how can I or someone in my network mentor them to acquire these skills to take PR and communications to the next level? If the future leaders I’ve identified excel in the “techno geek” area, how can I most effectively have them mentor me?
For more information on the conference, you can review my tweets (gojohnab) and other attendees by referencing #nextprweek on twitter.
