The Communications Spotlight Podcast

Fireside chat: How HR and Communicators Must Work Together During the Current Health Crisis

With the COVID-19 outbreak dramatically impacting the day-to-day activities and livelihoods of employees, it’s crucial that HR professionals and communicators work closely together to keep employees informed, protected and engaged. Join Theresa Ludvigson for a discussion on how communicators can quickly break down silos and partner with their HR team during this uncertain and unprecedented time.

Be prepared': Addressing COVID-19 and stopping misinformation's spread

Unforeseen crises including the new coronavirus outbreak can quickly send you and your organization scrambling to address concerns and ensure both employees and external audiences have up-to-date information that increases trust. That becomes increasingly harder to accomplish as social media platforms speed up the news cycle and can quickly spread misinformation and fake news, further adding to sensationalized reporting along with viral images and videos. Join Rebeca Mueller, vice president of digital strategy for Porter Novelli, and Caitlin Angeloff, social strategy director for Providence St. Joseph Health, in a fireside discussion led by Mark Ragan, owner of Ragan Communications, as they discuss how to prepare and protect yourself in the social media age.

You’ll learn:

• Ways to prepare for crises ahead of time and help deploy key members of your organization to support your efforts
• How to effectively get information in front of your audience, dispelling myths and misinformation
• Steps for using social media effectively within your crisis response (along with pitfalls to avoid)
• Best practices for futureproofing your organization’s brand image

Fundamentals of outstanding branding and earned media buzz

Grabbing headlines, racking up news media mentions and boosting social media conversation about your organization is music to PR and marketing pros’ ears. As the print and digital media landscapes grow more crowded with branded content and messages, however, only savvy efforts will stand out and garner attention (and ROI). At the same time, you have to make sure your communications are in line with your brand voice and mission, lest you create confusion (or worse yet, a crisis). In this interactive panel, you can ask communications experts how best to grab the lion’s share of coverage as you make your mark for your organization.

Featuring: Katie Goldberg, SVP, West Coast Food and Beverage Lead, Edelman Seattle, Katie Curnutte, Former SVP of Communications and Public Affairs, Zillow, Kate Hudson, Aviation Communications Manager, Sea-Tac Airport, Scott Thomsen, Director of Communications, Seattly City Light and moderated by Jake  Jacobson, Former Director of Public Relations, Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Achieve storytelling success with smart digital content strategies

Outstanding content can effectively relay your organization’s most important stories, but that’s just the start: It can also effectively relay important information, change perceptions and provide customer care. David Johnston, social media manager for the TSA, and Rae Hoyt, manager of content production for technology courses at LinkedIn Learning, will discuss how combining savvy storytelling with innovative content marketing strategies can support business and communications strategies while boosting your organization’s brand and forging connections with audience members.

Irresistible social media content that reaches organizational goals

There is no lack of great content on social media. More organizations are producing more content and putting more of a budget behind their work. How can organizations find the audiences they want and persuade them to engage with, click and consume their content? How can social media professionals go from engagement to action in ways that promote business objectives? In this session, our esteemed panel of social media professionals addresses some of the biggest challenges in social media content creation and distribution.

Featuring:

Aida Ahmed, Lead Social and Paid Media Strategist,Deloitte, Michelle Lockett, Head of social media, Siemens Healthineers, Sarah Glaswand, Senior Digital and Social Media Specialist, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and John Frederick, Director of social media

Nickelodeon

The future of ROI: Proving PR’s worth and earning a seat at the table

As communicators continue struggling to measure and report on their business impact, they are also increasingly asked to take part in strategic decisions that drive sales, safeguard organizations from reputational disaster and boost brands in ways that also strengthen relationships and solidify trust—and do all of it with a fraction of the budget given to marketing and advertising. In this fireside discussion with Lee Gordon, director of marine communications and public relations for Brunswick Corporation, Amy Patti, communications director for the Museum of Science and Industry and Eric Benderoff, senior vice president of brand solutions at Burson Cohn & Wolfe, you’ll glean takeaways for how savvy communicators can turn traditional communications strategies on their heads and prove the value of what they do for organizations’ bottom lines.

Executive communications at the intersection of corporations and nonprofits

Although their organizations’ goals may differ, executive communicators at corporations and nonprofits can learn a lot from each other—and even create mutually beneficial relationships. In this can't miss podcast, discover how these experts are working across sectors to heighten their leaders’ influence.

Punch up your social media content with video and visuals

A picture can quickly say a thousand words, and GIFs and videos can relay even more messages in a short time. Visuals are a necessary addition to outstanding storytelling efforts, especially when you’re competing for attention with other social media users and content creators. In this interactive panel, you’ll have the opportunity to ask digital content experts your questions and glean insights on how you can get a jump on relaying your narratives with images and videos instead of walls of text.

Featuring:

Lauren Thomas, Senior manager of communications and social media, Intuit, Michael Delgado, Director of social media, Experian, Madison Kozacek-Hantho, Social media marketing manager, Vancouver Clinic, Michael Ramierez, Editorial content director, Disneyland and Bob Hitchcock, Editorial content director, Disney Parks.

Working together to overcome internal communications challenges

Effective employee communications and engagement efforts require support and insights from stakeholders across your organization, which means breaking down silos and working together to ensure that employees’ needs and behaviors are kept in mind, business goals are answered by communications efforts that make the most sense, and both campaigns and messages are regularly evaluated to ensure that results do more than clutter employees’ inboxes and annoy them instead of informing and inspiring them. In this panel of experts, you’ll get an opportunity to ask questions and find insights to answer the challenges you grapple with most.

Featuring:

Susie Kandzor, Director of hacking for The Garage, Microsoft, Kelly Hipchen, Program manager, enterprise business management, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Amy Kot, Senior director of employee communications and engagement, Expedia Group, Jessica Arnold, Senior manager of culture, change and communications, Deloitte and Jake Jacobson, Former director of PR, Children's Mercy Kansas City.