THE DON’T PANIC GUIDE TO CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
THE BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER
FRIDAY 18 MAY 2007
Nothing focuses the mind and calls on our communication skills more than a crisis.
A product recall or tampering; major fraud; IT collapse; mystery explosion; scandal; pressure group onslaught; a media report claiming your product harms children… these are make-or-break moments when brands, reputations – and even our careers – hang in the balance.
The Don’t Panic Guide to Crisis Communications is a one day conference which will explore the skills needed to successfully respond, manage and survive a crisis and protect the reputation of your company or organisation. The event takes place at the prestigious Bridgewater Hall in Manchester city centre and brings together an unmissable line up of communications professionals including –
Michael Bland, Michael Bland Communication Consultancy Our keynote speaker is internationally renowned as a crisis and reputation management expert and will be delivering his brand new presentation on the subject.
Kevin Bocquet, former BBC journalist Kevin is an experienced and respected broadcast journalist who will provide an insight into the media requirements of a developing story with a perspective on some of the major incidents, events and tragedies he has reported on.
Stephen Davies, PRblogger.com Stephen is one of the UK’s most influential PR bloggers and his presentation will examine a number of crises or ‘blog storms’ which have broken or escalated online and the varying degrees of success or otherwise of the chosen response strategies.
Heather Edwards, Head of Communications, Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust After a career in journalism Heather joined the NHS ten years ago and was formerly on the national committee of the Association of Healthcare Communicators. Heather will give a case study presentation of a hospital crisis that required wide ranging and sensitive handling.
Sarah Dean Forrester, Unique Creative Communications Sarah was previously Head of Press for Greater Manchester Police and now uses her vast experience of major incident handling to provide media training and strategic communications advice on behalf of Unique Creative Communications to a portfolio of emergency service clients.
Andy Green, Green Communications In a crisis the need for creative, flexible thinking is paramount. Andy Green will highlight how a crisis can also offer opportunities not just to minimise the negative but also to transform the situation into your best possible opportunities.
Paul Kelly, CEO, Trimedia Harrison Cowley Heading up one of the UK’s largest PR agency’s, Paul is a specialist in communications strategy and has particular expertise in crisis and issues management. He will be delivering a presentation on managing client crisis situations.
Lucy Laville, Leeds Metropolitan University Lucy was Head of Communications at Leeds Metropolitan University following the London Bombings of 7 July and will provide an insight into the challenges she faced as the university was thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Rob Skinner, Chief Press Officer, first direct Rob has been Head of PR for first direct and Marks & Spencer Money since May 2005 and has managed his fair share of crises over the years including terrorism (the IRA once blew up his office), mass murder, the fire walk that went wrong… and the strange case of the shrinking duck pond.
Sally Sykes, Head of UK Communications, AstraZeneca Sally leads a 28-strong team responsible for the effective delivery of AstraZeneca’s communications and corporate responsibility within the UK and was formerly Head of Press and Public Relations at Manchester Airport. No stranger to a crisis, delegates will benefit from case studies of her experiences.
Daniel Zammit, Chief Executive, Dacorum Borough Council The Buncefield Oil Terminal explosion created the largest fire in Europe since World War Two. How did Dacorum Borough Council respond to not only Europe's largest peacetime fire but also, to the sudden arrival of the international media? Chief Executive, Daniel Zammit talks about the media and communication pressures on his authority both during and after the incident.
Tickets for the conference are priced at £250 + VAT or £195 + VAT for CIPR members or charities. For event booking and further information please contact Nicky or Andrew at Don’t Panic on 01706 828855 or alternatively places can be securely booked online at www.dontpanicprojects.com/booking.htm
The event is sponsored by VMA Group, the UK's leading specialist search and selection company in PR and Corporate Communications and Media Measurement, leaders in the provision of media analysis and PR evaluation. The event is being supported by both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations North West and the Chartered Institute of Marketing North West.
Looks like a really great line-up! Best of luck with the event and my best to Stephen Davies... And to you all, of course :-).