ThinkTank Live in Prague

The event is free for attendees of the SABRE Awards EMEA dinner, taking place on the evening of 18 May at Prague Castle. Please contact Celeste Picco to reserve a seat at the dinner.

Agency leaders Harris Diamond, Richard Edelman and Miles Young  will be among the headline speakers at The Holmes Report’s first ThinkTank Live conference, which will take place on the day of the 2011 EMEA SABRE Awards dinner in Prague, May 18.

The conference will focus on The Changing Relationship Between Public Relations and Marketing as a result of the growing influence of social media. Participants from the advertising and public relations business, and from in-house marketing and corporate communications roles, will discuss whether PR has the potential and the people to take a more central role in marketing, and whether blurring of the lines between corporate reputation and brand image will lead to a restructuring of communications roles inside organizations.

Among the confirmed speakers:

Harris Diamond is CEO of the Constituency Management Group of the Interpublic Group of Companies, which includes firms specialized in public relations, public affairs, sports and entertainment marketing, corporate/brand identity and experiential marketing. He is also chief executive officer of global public relations firm Weber Shandwick.

Richard Edelman is the president and CEO of Edelman, world's largest independent public relations firm with more than 3,700 employees in 53 cities worldwide.

Miles Young was named global CEO of The Ogilvy Group in 2008, after previously serving as chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in the Asia Pacific region. Young previously held positions at Lintas and Allen Brady & Marsh before joining Ogilvy & Mather in 1983.

Andre Manning is VP and global head of external communications at Royal Phillips Electronics, and is also acting global head of marketing. Since joining the company in 1994, he has held various senior management positions in Amsterdam, the US and Prague.

Michael Mendenhall is president and COO at LIPMAN. He is also a director of the private equity firm which led the March 2011 buyout of the Lipman family and of their storied advertising agency to create LIPMAN, a new company that challenges the traditional approach to marketing and truly is in the business of building brands. Prior to joining LIPMAN, Mendenhall was senior vice president and CMO at HP, where he directed all aspects of corporate marketing operations globally. Before HP, Mendenhall spent 17 years at the Walt Disney Company, culminating in his position as executive vice president in charge of all marketing and communications for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a $10 billion business spanning North America, Europe and Asia. 

Anne Villemoes is director of corporate communications at international food producer Danish Crown. vVillemoes previously served as head of press at FDB, the Association of Danish Consumer Cooperatives, and head of press at the Danish Consumer Council. Earlier, she was a press secretary for the Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, and a journalist with Jyllands Posten.

Agenda

8.30am             Registration

9.00-9.30          Paul Holmes, Editor of The Holmes Report

Welcome and Introduction

“The Changing Relationship Between Marketing and Public Relations”

At a time when consumers are increasingly skeptical about advertising and other traditional forms of mass communication, there is a hunger for greater authenticity, transparency, dialogue and engagement—a hunger that public relations is well-placed to satisfy.

9.30-10.30        Miles Young

“Silo or Prairie?”

Miles discusses the macro-opportunities of public relations in a world where change is forcing convergence between so-called "disciplines".

10.30-10.45        Break
 
10.45-11.35      Anne Villemoes

“Can You Be Friends with a Sausage?”

Who owns the platform – PR or marketing? What happens when it is divided so that PR owns Corporate Branding and marketing brands the products? Can you build a brand on campaigns – or do you have to be consistent in everything you do? 

11.35-12.30      Andre Manning

“It Takes Two to Tango”

How PR and marketing can maximize their impact by operating in a coordinated way with PR-based dialogue as the future proof communications model.

12.30-2.00          Lunch break
 
2.00-3.00          Michael Mendenhall

TBC

3.00-4.15          Harris Diamond and Richard Edelman panel discussion

“Preparing PR Agencies to Meet the Marketing Challenges of the Future”

moderated by Paul Holmes

CMOs say they are increasingly willing to accept big branding ideas from all sources and disciplines. How do PR agencies need to change in order to generate those ideas? What new skills must they learn to implement them? This panel discussion will examine the challenges PR firms will face as they seek a more central role in marketing and brand-buidling.

The Twitter hashtag for this event is #thinktanklive . You can follow us at @holmesreport