Schedule At-A-Glance
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Accreditation Exam

8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Conference Registration - Hotel Lobby

8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Heritage Region Board Meeting

12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Chapter Leaders Forum

4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. – Pre-Conference Workshop
The ABCs of Accreditation - Ballroom III
 Nancy Harrity
  • Looking for a professional challenge? Perhaps you are assessing your career or planning the next step in your professional growth? Then come and learn the ABCs of becoming an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC). Accreditation is IABC’s premier professional development program. Those who have earned the ABC designation have demonstrated their abilities to think and plan strategically, and to manage the skills essential to effective organizational communication. In this session, you will gain insight on:
    • The reason to become an ABC
    • The steps required to complete the program – application, work portfolio, and written and oral exam
    • The education and experience needed to apply for accreditation

6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. – Welcoming Session and Silver Quill at Newport Aquarium
The busses will leave from the hotel at 5:15 p.m. Upon arriving at the aquarium, guests will have the opportunity to partake in canapés, cocktails, and networking.
Communications Leadership in a “Let Go” World
 Charlotte Otto, Global External Relations Officer, The Procter & Gamble Company
  • In today’s world, the consumer has taken control of the medium and the message. This creates big challenges – and big opportunities – for communicators in this new “let go” world. This keynote address will share strategies to help build and protect your business, and lead your organization, in a rapidly changing communications environment. Participants can expect to learn:
    • How changing values are impacting consumer expectations and behavior
    • New communication strategies to win in the “let go” world
    • New capabilities communicators need to effectively lead their organizations in the changing environment

Monday, October 15, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Conference Registration - Hotel Lobby

8 a.m. to 9 a.m. – General Sessions
The Crisis in Crisis Communications - Ballrooms I, II, III
 Gerard Braud, President, Braud Communications
  • Leaders are often the biggest impediment to effective crisis communications, often resulting in death or injury of stakeholders. Gerard Braud explores the characteristics of leaders who will succeed and those who will fail in a crisis. In this session:
    • Discover why bottom up leadership is required
    • Explore the crisis in defining what is and what isn’t a crisis plan
    • Unlock the secret to knowing if your leadership is destine for failure

9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Conference Sessions
M1 – Managing Reputation Online - Ballroom I
 Rick Miller, Northlich
Sarah Fuhrman, v-Fluence
  • Recently, media giant Gannett announced a radical change in how it gathers news – with big implications for business. Gannett’s reporters are now using “citizen journalists” and looking to blogs, online discussion boards and chat rooms for story ideas and news sources. Now, anyone with a keyboard can be credentialed and handed a megaphone, regardless of their biases or motives. A brilliant move for the media, but with scary implications for business. Rick Miller will break this trend down and show business communicators:
    • How they can easily monitor the Web.
    • How to address negative and incorrect information.
    • How to get their side of the story out.
M2 – Leveraging “Moving Images” for Today’s Digital Communications Demands - Ballroom II
 Stan and Teresa Mendoza, Mendoza Media, LLC
  • As technology evolves and increased bandwidth proliferates, “moving images”, i.e., videos, are becoming increasingly important tools for internal and external communications. Communicators who typically work with text and print based communications will need to know how to leverage the powerful elements of the video medium for “moving images” initiatives. Are you prepared to transform communications objectives into “moving images” with impact? In this session, through several case studies, you will learn:
    • How creative approach and filming technique can facilitate and strengthen message communication.
    • How graphics, graphic animation and sound design can reinforce communication objectives.
    • How integrating creative elements can assure a finished piece that captures the spirit and culture of the organization, reinforces key messages and resonates with the intended audience.
M3 – How to Write a Crisis Communications Plan that Works - Ballroom III
 Gerard Braud, Braud Communications
  • Are you destined for failure in a crisis because your crisis communication plan has flaws you didn’t know existed? Do you need to tackle the monster of writing your own crisis communications plan? Gerard Braud (Jared Bro) guides you through the maze and unlocks the mystery. In this session, you will learn:
    • Secrets to keeping it thorough, yet simple.
    • Why most plans are a crisis waiting to happen.
    • The single most important aspect of crisis communications.

9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Student/Practitioner Session
ST1 – “Active Agendas” Student Event - Captain's View Room
    • Session 1: Student-Practitioner Initial Meeting and Student Teams Plan Response (9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.)
    • Session 2: Student Teams Present Solution; Follow-up Question and Answer Session with Professional Panel (11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M4 – Correlations, ROI and other Strategic Stuff! - Ballroom I
 Angela Jeffrey, VMS and Institute for PR Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation
David Kistle, Padilla Speer Beardsley
  • So you’ve heard plenty of measurement talks, but you still don’t know how to answer the big “so what?” This action-packed, interactive session summarizes two new IPR Commission white papers on the striking relationship between media coverage and business outcomes that’ll knock your socks off! It then provides a clear “Five Step Measurement Process” – fully illustrated with the “Saga of the Purple Bowler.” In this session, you will learn:
    • How to hone your measurement strategy to a science.
    • How to link your “outputs, outtakes and outcomes” once and for all!
    • How to do “magic tricks with math” – calculate ROI, Pearson correlations, Share of Discussion and proof-of-performance measures.
    • Put your measurement program to work to improve performance and productivity.
    • Allocate your resources for better results.
M5 – Why Writing Still Matters - Ballroom II
 Wilma Mathews, Arizona State University
  • Regardless of the medium, words still rule when it comes to communication. We have allowed the expansion of medium options to override the need for clear, concise text. As a result, we aren’t communicating and our audiences aren’t getting our intended messages. In this session, we will learn:
    • How to stay focused on the message rather than the medium.
    • Writing for different media.
    • Writing guidelines that apply across the spectrum.
M6 – Managing Change: Critical Lessons for Communication Professionals - Ballroom III
 Kathryn Yates, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
  • What if you were asked to lead a change effort for your company? Would you know what to do first and how communication fits into the larger change effort? This session, lead by Watson Wyatt's Global Practice Director, Kathryn Yates, focuses on a practical, disciplined and proven approach. The essential challenge is how to change the behavior of people -- explore not only what's required for success but your personal readiness for change. In this session, you will learn:
    • The three essential components for successful change management.
    • The steps for launching a successful change effort.
    • Their personal readiness for change.

12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. – Lunch (included)
Avoiding Communications Overload - The Employee Perspective - Ballrooms I, II, III
James K. Greathouse, Director of Internal Communications, The Starbucks Coffee Company
  • Every day we communicate across a wide variety of vehicles with a wide variety of audiences. How do we choose which vehicle is right for what type of messaging? Should everything be posted to an intranet site? In this session, you will hear some best practices on using a multimedia approach to communications delivery; ensuring the right information gets to the right audience, with the most effective delivery vehicle. In this session you will learn:
    • Why planning the process backwards - from how the end user utilizes the content - fosters a good communications strategy
    • How to avoid the cardinal sin of thinking that everything should be on the intranet
    • Ways to filter your communications content using a "gatekeeper" approach

2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M7 – Independent Contractor Shop Talk: How To Run Your Business More Smoothly - Ballroom I
Pamela Gilchrist, PR~Link Public Relations, LLC
  • If you are an independent contractor or are thinking about making the leap, come join the discussion! Shop Talk lifts the hood and looks at the greasy engine of running your own business. If you want your business to purr like a kitten, Gilchrist, who has worked as an independent contractor since 1999, will share best practices and moderate an exciting idea sharing session. Learn how to:
    • Work “on your business” as well as “in your business.”
    • Move from “freelancer” status to building a small firm.
    • Get and keep clients.
    • Develop and stick with a business model.
    • Know why it’s OK to just say no.
    • Manage scope creep.
    • Cry for help with office tasks.
M8 – Leveraging Search and Social Networking for Satisfaction - Ballroom II
 Dawn Marie Yankeelov, ASPectx
  • We will look at the latest trends and upcoming hot spots in social media and search. We will make sense of Google’s move to a programmable search engine and its relevance. Then we will examine growth companies having an impact on how we move through information extending reach from Linked In, Jigsaw and Collective Intellect to the latest mobile media providers. Lastly, we will delve into the commoditization of tradition services with a look at upstarts like SendoutCards, Spotrunner and related services. In this session, you will learn:
    • What is Google doing and its impact on the marketplace.
    • The latest hot spots in social networking twists.
    • Tech tool choices for simple immediate promotion.
    • Implications of all the above on Public Relations.

2:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. – In-Depth Session
ID1 – Getting to the Table: How to Become a Trusted Strategic Advisor - Ballroom III
 James Lukaszewski, The Lukaszewski Group Inc.
  • Jim Lukaszewski’s engaging and interactive presentation will help you look inside yourself to see how you can become an effective strategist and trusted advisor. You will learn the seven attributes of a strategist and the behaviors and attitudes that attract management attention. This program will help you focus on the powerful, motivational and personal value of being a strategic player and get you invited into the decision-making process earlier, more frequently, when it really matters. In this session, you will learn:
    • How to gain the personal trust of managers and leaders.
    • How to develop a strategic mindset.
    • What CEOs and leaders need and expect from their advisors every day.
    • The seven disciplines of the trusted strategic advisor.

4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M9 – Beauties and Beasties: Web-based Surveys - Ballroom I
 Alice Irvan, AIRvan Consulting LLC
Terri Lynn Johnson, Eastern Illinois University
  • This session explores web-based survey options for communicators. It examines “beauties” of web-based surveys and “beasties” that can result from improper sampling, survey design, or data analysis in the project. We will introduce some basic research terms and techniques such as selecting sample, survey scales and statistical testing—all in easy-to-understand terms. We will build an online survey “live” in the session and will discuss how to analyze the data. In this session, you will learn:
    • How to find resources for web-based surveys.
    • How to increase response rates.
    • How to plan a web-based survey from concept to analysis and reporting.
M10 – Winning Isn’t Everything: Advice on Entering, Winning and Not Winning Quill Awards - Ballroom II
Deb Rieselman, University of Cincinnati
  • Learn how to approach time-consuming Quill entries in a way that not only wins awards, but also gives you a better product. None of us takes the time to properly review our work regularly, so let's consider a Call for Entries incentive for careful analysis and documentation. Learn how to benefit from your entry whether you win or not, then discover that you will actually start winning more often. In this session, you will:
    • Find out how to document your work all year long.
    • Discover tips on entering IABC Quill competitions.
    • Learn how to use entries to improve communication projects.

5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Networking Reception

6:45 p.m.
Dine-Around

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
8a.m. to 9:15 a.m. – Conference Sessions
T1 – Measuring Naked Conversations - Ballroom I
 Katie Delahaye Paine, KDPaine & Partners
  • Now that blogging and social media activities are getting their own budgets and resources, it's time to figure out if it’s all working. This session will review the latest tools and techniques to measure blogs, social media and whatever they throw at us next. Is their ROI in blogging? Is a second life worth it? Which is better to "twitter" or to "flickr"? In this session, you will learn:
    • Tools and techniques available to measure social media.
    • How to evaluate the impact of social media.
    • Compare its effectiveness to other marketing activities.
T2 – Influencing Your Audience: Crafting Messages that Motivate People to Accept Your Ideas - Ballroom II
 Ken O'Quinn, Writing With Clarity
  • Social psychologists have found that numerous principles guide our behavior, whether it is in the workplace or in a social setting. Using these principles is important for any communicator who needs to convince an audience that something is true or who needs to move people to take action. In this session, you will learn how to construct messages and speeches in a way that influences the audience’s thinking:
    • How to structure the message depending on the audience.
    • How to open a message when the audience is resistant or skeptical.
    • How to hold an audience’s attention.
    • How to strengthen your credibility when the audience does not view you that way.
    • How to use principles of human behavior change to influence your audience.

8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. – In-Depth Sessions
ID2 – Podcasting 101: How to Get Started Creating Outstanding Podcasts for Internal or External Audiences - Ballroom III
 Dan York, Mitel Corporation
  • Are you struggling to understand how to start a podcast? Are you unsure of whether you and your organization have the time and/or skills to create podcasts? Or have you started but run into roadblocks? In this very interactive session, participants will go through the process of creating a podcast, having some fun along the way. In this session, you will learn:
    • Key steps to planning and launching a podcast.
    • The equipment and software you may or may not need.
    • Tips and tricks about how to build a community around your show.

8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Student/Practitioner Session
ST2 – Student Paper Presentations - Captain's View Room
    • Session 1: Student Paper Presentations and Professional Evaluations (7:45 a.m. -- 9:00 a.m.)
    • Session 2: Student Paper Presentations and Professional Evaluations (9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.)
    • Session 3: Student Paper Presentations and Professional Evaluations (10:45 a.m. – 12 Noon)

9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. – Conference Sessions
T3 – Capital One's Milestones Approach: Internal Communications Driver of Business Results (Major Company Change and Crisis Collide; Communications Rock) - Ballroom II
 Marc Cooper and Chris Palumbo, Capital One Services
  • Instead of supporting business strategy, Capital One believes communication should be front and center. That philosophy was put to the test when Capital One, known as a credit card company, announced intent to acquire Hibernia National Bank, a New Orleans-based institution. Hurricane Katrina provided another series of challenges to overcome. In this session, through a case study of how they worked to bring together two diverse companies, you will learn:
    • How internal communications should be viewed not as the support system but rather as a key driver of change.
    • How communicators can be true change management consultants by structuring information processes that are in sync with business strategy and financial targets.
T4 – Behavior in the Workplace: Why People Click Or Conflict – And What You Can Do About It - Ballroom I
Pamela Gilchrist, PR~Link Public Relations, LLC
  • From presidents to rock stars – learn what makes people tick. Ever wonder why you can’t get along with the lemming in the next cubicle or how to gain greater respect from the C-Suite? A Certified Personality Trainer, Gilchrist will share nine universal personality types and explain why they click or conflict in the workplace. By understanding underlying needs that drive behavior, communicators can more quickly reduce conflict and gain buy-in. In this session, you will learn to:
    • Identify why some C-level execs want a 20 page proposal and why others will only read two.
    • Learn to spot correctors, pleasers, competitors, bullies and more.
    • Take home strategies you can immediately employ to improve your communication effectiveness in the workplace.

11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Conference Sessions
T5 – Tap Your Born Innovators to Power Your Organization - Ballroom I
 Rick Miller and John Bloomstrom, Northlich
  • Innovation is a hot topic, but not everyone is an innovator, and it’s not something that can be easily taught. However, new methods are being developed to help organizations identify their own internal innovators – those staff members at all levels of the organization who are natural creative thinkers and most likely to contribute to breakthrough thinking. Rick Miller will present a case study of organizations that have identified their own innovators and helped drive big results. Through hands-on demonstration, attendees will learn:
    • How to identify natural innovators in your organization.
    • How they can contribute to your organization.
    • How to leverage natural innovators to drive business results.
T6 – Getting What You're Worth: The Possibilities and Promises of Value-based Billing - Ballroom III
 Gregory G. De Blasio, Northern Kentucky University
  • For too long, public relations and marketing communications counselors and creative practitioners have accepted time-based billing as the dominate business model. The time-base model is often questioned by clients and sells communication services far short of their real value. Attendees will learn about building and maintaining client relationships and the role of billing practices and be encouraged to consider and apply value-based and other incentive-driven methods to manage accounts. In this session, you will learn:
    • The kinds of communication initiatives most suited for incentive billing.
    • How to attach value to the services you provide.
    • How one-off projects are more likely to lead to longer and better relations with clients.
T7 – How Corporate PR Can Win You a Seat in the Executive Suite - Ballroom II
 Hugh Burnham, Gutenberg Communications
John Pratt, Convergys Corporation
  • Executives tend to think of the corporate communications and national media relations team as “the folks that write press releases,” and no role could be less strategic than that description. Effective national media placements in top tier business and national media not only generate leads for the company’s business, they also shape the perception of the company. By carefully seeding story ideas and executive expertise with long-developed relationships, a company CAN differentiate itself from the competition. In this session, you will learn:
    • How corporate communications and national relations program can help elevate the profile of their business and turn into real bottom line sales for their company.
    • Agency professionals will learn how a corporate communications and national media relations campaign can create relevant expertise to a company’s business that will help drive sales in the long term.

12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Lunch (included)
Web 3.0 & the Global "Read/Write" Intranet: The next generation of technology driving employee engagement (hint:your employees are in the driver's seat) - Ballrooms I, II, III
 Michael Rudnick, Global Portal & eCommunications Practice Leader, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
  • Blogs, Wiki's are Web 2.0, so last week. Social Media is now, and Web 3.0 is on the horizon. From Silicon Valley to Europe and China, new technology is revolutionizing how organizations communicate. See what's next for employee and corporate communications technology, and what you can put to work for your organization today. You'll hear about:
    • Harnessing user-generated content before it harnesses you.
    • Why data and identity management are really a communicator's best friend.
    • Integrating new technology into a multi-channel content strategy.