PRAGUE – October 16, 2013 – Communications professionals from 15 countries across Europe shared inspirational quotes and key insights at the the First European Session of the annual Davos World Communication Forum on October 4.
Topics included the less-is-more approach and how marketing is evolving into a form of PR, a press release from WCFDavos said.
Prague session’s Key Panel and focus of the event: “The Future Communicator 3.0” was led by Andre Manning, WCFDavos Committee Co-Chair and Global VP Corporate Communications at Philips.
Manning shared: “I agree that communications leaders should be highly engaged both with their internal and external stakeholders and they should be leading by example and speaking the truth to the company management power, which actually requires multiple skills and high emotional intelligence! We should not be so obsessed with the Board room, as more than two-thirds of the communications in organizations originates at other functions such as HR, businesses and marketing.”
PR trends
The Prague session’s opening keynote was rendered by Paul Holmes, the PR community guru worldwide, who marked several main trends of the industry:
Courage, Savvy approach to data and Empathy as key features of the future Communicator 3.0, Social media and CSR for audience engagement, Brands being more dependent on employees, and the inevitable Evolvement of marketing into a form of PR.
Meanwhile, Dr. Leandro Herrero delivered a remarkable keynote on the Reinvention of CCO’s Role and Company Changes provoked by new behavior models.
The author of two bestsellers (“Viral Change”, “Homo Imitans”), Dr. Herrero accentuated on some very interesting trends presented in a more analytical way.
These trends included the following:
brand seen as a behavioral DNA pull, communications viewed from "outside the tribe", observation of the new urban social anthropology, focus on social movements for better understanding on how to motivate people, communications focused on encouraging change.
According to Dr. Herrero, communications focused on encouraging change is driven by behavior management and good examples. He also discussed the "Less is More" approach: simple messages that push actual behavioral changes (example: stating that nine out of ten people in your community do not litter has a far stronger effect than putting a sign that bans pollution).
"The final TED-style real life-story-sharing talk by James Gillies, Head of Communications at CERN, cast a magic spell over the audience, rendering an excellent mixture of wit, wisdom and knowledge, the gripping clarity of which can only provoke and inspire!"
Inspirational quotes
WCFDavos compiled some of the inspirational quotes and key insights at the forum:
“Marketing mindset is still focused on how to fake data in the most authentic way possible, while public relations have already mastered the skill to be better storytellers.” Paul Holmes
“It doesn’t matter how much data you have at hand – it will not give you the right answer. It’s the approach to it that matters.” Nick Andrews
“Globalization or Glocalization? Key issue today is how to keep the consistency in the messages we need to deliver. We still have to find a solution for the smaller markets.” Ladislav Cervenka
“Creativity is as a combination of art and design applied to culture. It is a must for the future communicator: rather than a strictly individuals’ capacity, creativity is a team platform, where ideas spark up and conversations are provoked!” Richard Chinn
“Communications should not (and do not) happen only in the Board room nowadays.” A. Manning
“Each leader has to face the regular work staff and communicate, in order to secure the long-term well-being of the organization.” Terry O’Connor
"Less is More: the fewer people in a team, the easier we can manage them, the more we boss our employees, the less we are genuine leaders. While social media is about gaining vast audiences, true leadership is about achieving a grand goal with the help of your employees.” Valery Levchenko
“Trust today is like a Playground – each player knows and follows the rules. Know your clients’ touch-points, be agile, and lead.” Senta Cermakova
“Senior PR is often stuck between external and internal stakeholders, as well as between the roles of adviser and business leader.” Istvan Kutas
“Companies become truly global only by learning to communicate in local terms.” Gabor Hegyi
“Everything that happens online is knowledge.” Maxim Behar
“For us, as professional communicators, the Web is a main channel! We now call for a self-regulated market, self-regulated users, and a sufficient number of Internet and Communications experts who should monitor these processes and influence their legislation. Access to Internet is as much a human right as the right to clean water or food supplies.” Yanina Dubeykovskaya
WCFDavos’2014
The day before the session, there was a Board meeting of the WCFDavos Committee to outline the future development of the Davos Summit’s regional sessions and to consider the suggestions for its 5th main annual edition on March 11 to 12, 2014.
Board decisions were also taken regarding the due format and agenda content of WCFDavos’2014.
To see the presentations’ summary, visit the official WCFDavos website.
To get a full picture of the event, check the hashtag #WCFPrague
