MANILA, AUGUST 23, 2013 – For this year’s National PR Congress, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) is looking at rediscovering the strategic role of PR in creating a meaningful brand impact in human lives.
The two-day annual conference will happen first time outside Manila at the Paradise Garden Resort in Boracay from September 27-28. The event will gather over 500 PR practitioners from business and industry, government, non-profit organizations, academe and professional services at the Congress. Participants will be actively involved in the LGU programs such as the Agbaoay watershed tree planting, reef-dome planting, and cleanup.
Congress committee chairperson Charmaine Canillas said, “Beyond image building and reputation management, PR can trigger and radiate new mindsets, and set in motion a wave of action toward sustainable change. We invite all PR practitioners to join us in what we expect to be a very stimulating learning experience in one of the world’s best island destinations.”
It will consist of six plenary sessions with the theme ‘Ripples to Waves: PR as Agent of Sustainable Change’. Speakers who have successfully influenced social change through brand values are the key persons in the congress. The program starts with the inspirational opening of Boracay Mayor John Yap to officially launch the event. The plenary speakers include DM9’s chairman and CCO Merlee Jayme, country manager Gail Tan of Global Communications and Public Affairs for Google, Jonathan Yabut, chief f of staff for AirAsia and winner of the 1st season of Apprentice Asia, Asia Pacific head of CBS Gary Chin, co-founder & chief technology officer of iSentia Brandtology Alvin Chan, TV 5 journalist Lourd de Veyra , Stephen Reilly, COO of Resorts World, COO of Solaire Resort & Casino Micheal French , external relations country manager of P&G Clint Navales , DepEd USEC Mario Deriquito, executive director of Petron Foundation Marilou Erni, and Weena Mendoza, executive director of Waterhope Foundation.

The opening plenary, titled ‘From Ripples to Waves’, is a refresher course on the strategic tasks of public relations – with spin doctoring, message manipulation and image window dressing, business can be less brand-centric and public-focused. The congress is also touching on ‘Creating Long-Term Value’, the top criterion for today’s brands. ‘The Big Shift’ is about utilizing today’s innovative tools and solutions, where will share online PR strategies in social media, where PR practitioners are also story-tellers.
The second day’s conference will be about ‘Program Monitoring and Evaluation’. For enabling stakeholders to influence business strategy, PR practitioners need to learn about consumer feedback, content generation, stakeholder immersions, and other buzzwords. The fifth plenary topic is called ‘360 Degrees-Forget Linear Thinking’ — a game-changing plan that affects the nature of business. The congress will close with ‘Beyond CSR’ – a look at the issue of truth in matching the message with the company’s behavior, and aligning CSR programs with communications and public affairs frameworks to add value to the business.
