Conferences are a good way to network with a large number of professionals in your industry in a short time. Given PR is a lot about who you know, attending top industry conferences can be a career booster. 

Unlike other professional development activities like taking online courses, listening to industry podcasts and reading books, conferences bring together people from diverse fields like practitioners, suppliers and academics on one platform giving you a 360-degree view. 

Read more: 10 books every communications professional should read

Attending conferences also helps you be in the know of the latest challenges and developments in the industry, what experts are concerned and excited about, how to pivot if needed and where the opportunities lie. They help you scan the horizon and expand your view of your role.

Niche conferences that discuss specific topics like crisis communications or social media make you aware of the latest trends and help you level up your skillset in the fast-evolving industry. 

While there are several conferences held every year, here are our top picks.

General conferences

1. CIPR National Conference

A yearly national conference organised by a trade body Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is a go-to for PR professionals. Held usually in November, 2020’s conference took place virtually for the first time. Its fee in 2020 was £150+VAT for non-members and £100+VAT for members. They have had high profile speakers in the past including Rory Sutherland, vice chairman at Ogilvy UK; Chris Wilkins, former chief speechwriter for Prime Minister Theresa May; and Joanna Blackburn, communications and engagement lead, Government Digital Services. The topics in 2020 and 2019 have been communications leadership in the new world and preparing for the digital future respectively.

Attending the conference is worth some credit in the CIPR CPD programme for members. The dates and topic for 2021 are yet to be announced. 

🥁#CIPRConf20 delegates: the platform is now 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛.🥁

Log in using the link sent by Fusion, build your profile, visit the Network area to see who you’d like to meet or reconnect with and get ready for 𝐓𝐇𝐄 PR event of the year. pic.twitter.com/PsQ5pxybfW

— CIPR (@CIPR_Global) November 10, 2020

2. PRCA National Conference

It is organised every year by Public Relations and Communications Associations (PRCA), a trade organisation in the UK, in the latter half of the year. The conference for 2020 was held online with a ticket price of £175+VAT and a reduced price for members of the association. It’s speakers include a combination of government, corporate and agency professionals. Previous speakers include MP Paul Scully, minister for London and minister for small business, consumers and labour markets; Mandy Rico, global director of The Inclusion Index at Kantar; and Mark Hutcheon, director in reputation, crisis and resilience practice at Deloitte. Last year’s topic was PR as a force for positive change. 

If you are a member of PRCA, attending the conference is worth 20 to 30 points in the PRCA Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme. The dates for 2021 are not yet announced. 

3. PRWeek PR360

Organised by PRWeek, a leading trade publication, PR360 is PRWeek’s biggest annual conference amongst its many events organised across the year. It brings together senior PR leaders from brands and agencies to debate and discuss the challenges and opportunities for the marcomms ecosystem. 

Usually held in Brighton, PR360 went virtual in 2020 and had top-notch speakers like communications directors at the UK government, the British Olympic Association and Dove. Its cost for last year ranged from £697.50 to £1,075, depending on whether you are a subscriber or not for PRWeek and at what time you are purchasing the tickets. 

4. PRovoke Global PR Summit

Global PR Summit is a yearly 4-day conference organised by PRovoke media, a trade publication. It is designed for senior PR professionals to discuss critical issues facing the profession. 

Organised virtually for the first time in nine years in October 2020, it is a paid high-level forum that has speakers from PR, journalism and businesses that are shaping the world. 2020 speakers included Dr Nirit Weiss-Blatt from USC centre for public relations, personal finance and digital expert Lauren Young from Reuters, unit head at World Health Organisation (WHO) Tim Nguyen and Sally Susman from Pfizer. The 2020 conference revolved around the corporate transformation and communication turbulence caused due to the pandemic. 

5. India Communication Summit

One-day free virtual conference to be held on 31 April 2021 would discuss the politics of communications, communicating in the age of Alt Truth and corporate comms in the new normal. It s organised by Economic Times Brand Equity. 

Speakers for 2021 include head of global strategic and international communications at Nissan Motor Corporation Lavanya Wadgaonkar, country communications manager at IKEA India Sarah Jane King, head of corporate communications at OnePlus India Ishita Grover, director of communications at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia Arpan Basu, among others.

6. ICCO Global Summit

The yearly global summit organised by the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is held in November. Usually an in-person conference, the summit went virtual in 2020. It features agency and in-house communicators from across the world. 

It has an entry fee and some of the past speakers include communications director at World Bank Jeremy Hillman, president at Hill+Knowlton Asia HS Chung and executive director at UK government Communications Alex Aiken. The theme for the summit in 2020 was the new abnormal. The dates for 2021 are not yet announced.

7. Davos Online Communications Summit

Organised by the World Communications Forum Association, a global think tank to new approaches and ideas for PR, the Davos Communications Summit has been held annually in Davos, Switzerland for the last 10 years. In 2021, it is organised over Zoom from February 25 to 26.

The theme in 2021 is leadership during turbulent times and speakers from across 20 countries include CEO of Edelman Africa Jordan Rittenberry, president at Global Alliance for PR in Ireland Justin Green and Hotwire Global CEO Barbara Bates. It is free to register for the event. 

8. Inbound by HubSpot

Inbound is a yearly conference organised by HubSpot, a company that provides Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) to companies. This is not a PR conference but one that provides education, inspiration and networking opportunities on general business and marketing topics. Attending conferences focussed on general communication and business helps you become a whole-rounded PR professional. 

Held around October every year, the conference went online since 2020 like every other conference. It has a free starter pass with limited access while the all-access pass for 2021 is available at $49 for early birds. It has had some of the highest-profile speakers in the past including Michelle Obama, Brene Brown and executive chairman at The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger.

9. PRSA ICON

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) organises a yearly International Conference (ICON). The conference brings together professionals from across the US to discuss the industry and the best practices.

The conference for 2021 is planned to be held in Orlando, Florida from October 17-19. Past speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, Bob Woodward from The Washington Post and corporate VP of comms at Microsoft. 

10. IPR Bridge Conference

Organised by the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), a non-profit foundation to foster research on public relations and corporate communications, IPR Bridge Conference acts as a bridge between academicians and practitioners.  At this yearly conference, academics learn from executives and present their papers for peer review. It also allows practitioners to learn about the latest research.  

The 2021 conference is in September in Washington at an entry fee of $495. The theme of the conference is yet to be announced. 

Niche conferences

Conferences about a specific sector or service are great to level up your skills and build strong relationships amongst the narrower group of attendees. It also offers information on the niche that you won’t find in general PR conferences.

1. Measurement and analytics 

Conferences that focus on data, analytics and measurement of PR campaigns in the age of big data. These are good to attend for all PR professionals as brands now ask for more accurate data and metrics since the integration of marketing and PR with the advent of social media.

Read more: How AI is transforming PR and marketing

• The PRWeek Measurement Conference

Organised by PRWeek in partnership with the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), Measurement Conference was first held in 2019. It guides how to measure your PR campaigns with case studies, practical training and workshops. 

Its past speakers included AMEC employees and agency professionals. It was held online in 2020 and the entry fee was £195. 

• PR Analytics by PRMoment

Organised by trade media PRMoment, PR Analytics discusses how data is being used by both agency and in-house communication professionals. Attending the event is worth some credit points for the CPD programme for members of the PRCA. 

It is usually held in February. Past speakers include account executive at Meltwater, global communications director at Financial Times and director at the department for international trade. It had an early bird and normal pricing starting at £150 in 2019. 

2. Crisis communications

These are great for those specialising in crisis communications. 

• PRWeek’s Crisis Communications Conference

Organised by PR Week, this one-day conference was held online in June 2020 to discuss how to respond to a breaking story, how to manage customer-facing issues and responding to shifting priorities of your audience. It was held online and cost £95 and £195 for early-bird and standard fee respectively in 2020. Speakers included communication leaders at agencies, in-house, government and news media. 

2021 dates are yet to be announced. 

Read more: 4 lessons Covid-19 taught on adapting your strategy during a crisis

• PRCA Crisis Comms Conference

This half-day conference by the association discusses how brands prepare for crises.

It would be held online on 16 March 2021, with an entry fee of £50.00 with a discount for members of PRCA. Speakers include director of PR and comms at Hearst UK, director of comms at The Football Association and chartered PR practitioners, among others. Attending the event counts towards the CPD points for members. 

2. Financial PR

Attending sector-specific conferences are a great way to meet people in your sector, know the best practices for your sector, listen to what the trends are and what to expect in the near future. For example, challenges in finance PR are different from challenges in lifestyle PR because the former is usually B2B and the latter is B2C.

• PRCA City and Financial Conference – The Future of Financial Communications

Organised online by PRCA, speakers discuss insights on the finance sector’s most current topics. 

It is a one-day event to be held on 2 March 2021. Priced at £50 for non-members and £40.00 for members, attending the conferences counts as credit points towards the PRCA CPD programme. Topics like the uncomfortable link between crisis and valuation, cybersecurity game changers and the future of The City would be discussed. Speakers include heads of comms at banks and insurance advisors.

Read more: Elon Musk’s reputation as a future-looking CEO is the secret behind Tesla’s high share price

3. Social media

Social media is an integral part of PR as this is where the public interacts with your brand. It can be used effectively to build and enhance your reputation. On the other hand, if done ineffectively, social platforms can also lead to crisis via one single insensitive tweet.

Social media managers should attend the conferences in this niche because everything evolves so quickly in this space.

• The Social Shakeup

Focussed on corporate America, the 2020 conference was held online and is available to view on-demand at the rates of $499-799. Speakers included experts IBM, American Red Cross and Sephora. 

Conclusion

Barring a few, all the conferences in the above list are remote. It allows you to save time and money on travel and lodging. Reduced travel also reduces the greenhouse gas emissions. When it comes to networking, the technology has upped its game since COVID. These days, multi-day long virtual conferences have many of the features of an in-person event like breakout rooms, conference rooms, off-topic space for playful interactions, small chat rooms, at the same time adapting it for the screen by making eyes optional and adding lots of breaks to prevent screen fatigue. 

Talking about hosting and attending virtual events such as conferences, Bahareh Khezr, senior consultant at Curzon PR said, “The challenge is finding a balance that serves our fundamental human need for face-to-face meetings while also accommodating our new reality as a society.” 

You owe it to yourself for your professional development to attend the PR conferences, albeit remote, to see for yourself if you are able to create those spontaneous connections as well as you can in an in-person event.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]