Multaqa Media Group has the pleasure to welcome you to Kuwait Conference on Public Relations 2008 in association with IPRA – GC; International Public Relations Association – Gulf Chapter.

Building on the huge success of last year’s event – December 2006, that witnessed valuable approaches from world-class experts, and an apparent number of delegates who attended the conference two days; we've spent researching, learning, growing and gaining more information to pass on to you. We have gathered a lot of information, built some great relationships with industry experts and kept logs and logs of research on what works in PR and what doesn't. This year's conference is the compilation of that knowledge.

Kuwait Conference on Public Relations offers you a group of leading regional and international PR experts and practitioners that will put within your hands the latest thinking approaches to best practice professional public relations.

At this conference, we have got you covered with more content than ever you expect. We have designed an agenda that will keep you engaged with a variety of 90-minute hands-on workshops that put you to work. With more than 10 distinctive PR experts and professionals from leading organizations, you have got to sharpen the skills you can't do without in the field of PR and get the best value possible in this comprehensive event.

Maximize your conference experience and train your entire team at Kuwait Conference on Public Relations 2008. Seize your opportunity and share with us in this highly informative conference to position your organization and your people as expert source of PR. 

 

Organizing Committee

Multaqa Media Group
Tel:  5752519
        5745619
Fax: 5728905
Email: info@multaqagroup.com
www.multaqagroup.com

The conference sessions and workshops offer something for everyone. You have got to put what you've learned into practice with the help and guidance of experts in the field of PR. Valuable sessions and workshops will be addressed that enhance your PR skills and avail you the chance to gain the expertise and meet the challenges of PR.

 

>> The New World of PR: Identify and Engage the New Influencers

New communications tools, technologies, and certain emerging forms of media have created a new group of influencers. As communicators, you can develop relationships you never thought possible and carry on genuine conversations with many audiences. In this session, you will explore the evolving role of social media in the practice of public relations, and how to successfully identify and engage this new group of influencers. You will also learn how to:

1. Educate your organization or clients about the new role of PR
2. Empower colleagues across your organization to be ambassadors for your company
3. Identify and engage the “new influencers”
4. Discover new ways of thinking about measuring the ROI of your PR initiatives

 
>> How Media Measurement can Drive your PR Strategy Worldwide

The PR landscape is rapidly changing because of technology advancements, shifting geopolitical systems, media upheaval and the increasing velocity of global business. Today, instantaneous communication and growing geographic reach have forced companies to develop and use a comprehensive measurement system that will drive global PR strategy. Discover how CEOs and PR professionals can use measurement to prepare for these changes. In this session, you will learn how to:

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive measurement system linked to global business strategy
2. Refocus and reposition the PR function to prepare for global changes and risk

>> How to Add Value to your Company through Responsible Business Practice
Pundits say that CSR is the new PR because it is based on action, not words. It now stands as a leading indicator of a company's public reputation. Are you ready to communicate your organization’s CSR strategy? In this interactive session, the following points will be discussed:

1. CSR as a business tool of your company
2. Looking beyond your CSR department: Do not look at CSR as a department but try to implement it directly in the company
3. CSR and Human Resources: How you can use your CSR policy to recruit new and fresh talent?
4. CSR as a risk management tool: By doing the right things, your chances of risks will be lower
5. CSR as a building brand awareness tool: People link your brand to your CSR initiatives and they put your brand above your competitor’s

>> The Role of Social Media in the Practice of Public Relations
Momentous change is upon us, but most public relations practitioners remain blissfully unaware of its nature or its impact. That ignorance will result in lost credibility, lost clients and lost billings as organizations seek help from anyone who knows how to navigate this sea of change. What, exactly, is going on? Audiences have moved their trust from traditional sources of information to communities of people like them. If they are to have any hope of influencing business outcomes, organizations must cede message control to their audiences and participate in the conversation. In this session, you will learn how to:

1. Improve relations with various publics by embracing the tools of social media
2. Develop and implement a strategy for the application of social media that will win clients’ hearts, minds and money

>> How to Manage your Reputation: Do you know what they are saying about you?

Reputation and brand are the most important assets of an organization – yet they are very difficult to value monetarily. An organization's brand and reputation exist only in the minds of those who encounter it; they are what the public perceives them to be. It takes a long time to build favorable perceptions and only a moment to destroy them. In this session, the below issues will be illustrated:

1. How to enhance Your Corporate Brand And Reputation By Telling The Truth About What You Do
2. How the communication functions are used to build and to restore an organization's brand and reputation
3. How to avoid elephant traps which will undermine the credibility and integrity of your campaigns
4. Develop powerful radar to inoculate and influence reputation

>> Integrate Old Media with the New – and vice versa – to Build Awareness Among your Audiences

It is one thing to talk about using new-media tools. It is a whole other thing to actually use them. In this dynamic session, you will find out how to use the new media to build awareness of specific programs among traditional media outlets. You will learn how to:

1. Create new-media solutions out of old-media tools
2. Use innovative tools to create opportunities among more traditional media
3. Integrate traditional and online media communications into your outreach efforts

>> How to Become an Executive Counselor in Public Relations
Everyone in public relations wants a “seat at the management table.” But the difference between “wanting” a seat and “deserving” one is the difference between a trusted communications adviser and a second-class citizen. Unfortunately too many in the field qualify as the latter. So how does one become a communications counselor? In this session, you have got to know how to flourish as a top adviser to your executives. You will learn how to:

1. Abide by a personal beliefs that cut to five simple but significant values
2. Cultivate a multidimensional internal and external network that CEOs find indispensable— and rare—among their top advisers
3. Develop the one communications tactical skill that most in the field scrupulously avoid, only to cement their status as “second-class citizens”

>>Blogs Change the Way Businesses talk with Customers: How Blogs are Transforming your Public Relations – and your Business

Blogs can dramatically change the way the public views your organization. They can make your company look more like a group of caring individuals and less like a monolith. They also can allow
you to get your side of the story out on controversial issues. But for blogs to perform these minor miracles they need to be done right, and that means they need to be interactive, informal and real.
In this hands-on session, you will come to see lots of examples of executive blogs, both good and bad. You’ll learn how to:

1. Identify the growing influence of blogs, which is related to your organization
2. How blogs can accomplish what PR can fail to do—change perceptions in meaningful ways
3. Use blogs and other social media tools to form rich relationships with many audiences for both internal and external communication
4. Develop a blog that engages readers and highlights your messages
5. Start a corporate blogging program—and maintain it

>> Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Relations
Globalization is a multifaceted phenomenon and with its onset, public relations has become a management function, and practicing PR is now global rather than confined to the borders of only one company. Because globalization has largely been a failure of communications, there are no people better suited in the world to tackle this problem than the people in the PR profession. In this intensive session, you will find out that PR practitioners have the expertise to help unravel the tangled web of messages and build mutual confidence among groups so that globalization can reach its full potential. You will also learn how to:

1. Overcome the various challenges that public relations face today
2. Discover & know more about the new and wide range of opportunities & how to make use of them
3. Understand more about PR as the fastest growing & most rewarding profession in today's information based global economy

>> Public Relations on the Third Screen – The Mobile Device --- The "Third Screen"

As mobile phone utility continues to increase, marketers are calling it The Third Screen, which represents a promised land of opportunity for marketers. Now, as text messaging becomes the preferred mode of communication, even e-mail is losing ground and perceived as dated. While the Internet made PR campaigns more interactive, the mobile phone is an excellent tool to make PR campaigns more direct.  In this packed session, you will get to know how mobile communications will be a vital resource for PR campaigns in the near future. You will also learn about:

1. Global best practices and explore motivations of mobile audiences, pitfalls and responsibilities and opportunities for effective communication
2. Giving your PR campaigns an advantage to target 1.8 billion consumers through "mobile communications”

>> Public Relations in the YouTube Era: Leveraging Technology to Maximize Results

New internet -based technologies have revolutionized the field of communications. Today virtually all of us have at our fingertips the capability to distribute information on a global scale. This has made yesterday's public relations obsolete and created great demand for cutting-edge new trends.
It is now very possible to carry out your PR program 24/7. The YouTube era has become mainstream and YouTube's combination of easy video uploading and social networking features has made it the platform of choice for all those hoping to get their efforts in front of some eyeballs. In this engaging session, you will discover how to leverage technology to maximize results and how YouTube publicizes PR. You will also learn how to:

1. Use YouTube to promote the public relations aspect of your company
2. Use the different ways and processes through which YouTube technology can be used to promote PR campaigns

>> The Business of Communication Recovery: How to Handle a Crisis – Is your Organization really Ready for what happens next?

Electricity, technology and a dispersed work force all can present unanticipated roadblocks to business continuity. The impact upon labor, finance and other critical business processes cannot be underestimated. Are you really as well prepared as you think you are? In this packed session, you will hear how to build the ultimate communications safety net. Crisis experts analyze best practices gleaned from top communicators and bring you the ultimate list of dos and don’ts. You will learn how to:

1. Overcome the toughest obstacles to preparedness
2. Build in redundancy to help your crisis plan withstand disasters
3. Mount a third line of defense using multiple, alternative channels
4. Gain management support for communications continuity

>> Extreme Pitch Makeover: Improve your Approach to Media Relations

You want to write brilliant media pitches, but you do not have hours to spend crafting every e-mail and scripting phone calls. On the other hand, your pitches need to steer clear of spam filters and voice-mail jail while standing out from the others competing for editorial space. In this hands-on interactive workshop on writing pitches that win placements, you will come ready to get your hands dirty and your work done. You will learn how to:

1. Avoid common goofs of the miserable pitch
2. Craft strong leads that give your pitches a fighting chance
3. Model your efforts after the most successful media relations campaigns

>> Measurement on a Budget: How to Measure your PR Efforts on a Limited Budget?

Directors and board members are demanding hard numbers that prove the value of your public relations. You are wondering how to give executives data they can understand, using measurement methods that do not break the bank/budget. This session uncovers the secrets to measuring media results with tools you already have. Do not miss this hands-on workshop of best practices that will show you how others have made their PR efforts effective – even on a limited budget. You will learn how to:

1. Define goals and metrics you can afford to measure
2. Make sense of the tools and techniques and how to pick the right ones for the job
3. Get research done for free or almost free

>> Innovative PR Campaign Strategies: How to Construct and Execute an effective PR Campaign Strategy?

Effective and professional PR Campaign Strategies have never been more important than they are today. It is vital that public relations professionals gain their expertise and skills to create, implement and execute innovative campaign strategies in order to work successfully and achieve the determined goals. This highly interactive workshop explores the key areas and challenges when planning, designing, implementing and executing effective campaign PR strategies. You will learn how to:

1. Come up with an innovative campaign strategy where the usual media relations is not an option

• Seek strategic advice on how to build on the success of an established marketing event in a previously untapped market segment
• Demonstrate careful planning and strategic thinking that can successfully merge marketing and PR activities into a cost-effective program in a sometimes difficult environment
  

 

Kuwait Conference on Public Relations was held for the first of its kind in Kuwait in the field of public relations on December 2 & 3, 2006 at JW Marriott Hotel. It was organized by Multaqa Media Group in cooperation with IPRA – GC, International Public Relations Association – Gulf Chapter.

The conference attendees surpassed the expectations; there were around 300 delegates who attended the conference two days consisting of: 23 CEOs, 45 General Managers, 78 PR Managers, 36 Marketing Managers, 19 Media Managers, 15 PR Students, and 84 Others.

The sponsors of the conference played a significant role in making this event a great success. They were big companies in Kuwait & Regional markets; Investment Dar Co. – Mobile Telecommunications (MTC) – Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) – Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) - Future Communications Company (FCC) – Nokia – Traccs – Fleishman Hillard – Echo Research – TMA Communications – The Stable House Partnership - Kuwait Times Newspaper – Al Anbaa Newspaper -  Kuwait Airways.

An excellent group (12) of International and Arab PR expert speaker faculty who assume long expertise in this field enriched every attendee's experience and knowledge. The key topics, workshops and case studies that were addressed during the conference were of a great importance and value to a large sector of people engaging PR.