When career communicators around the globe come together the possibilities that emerge are limitless. The Public Relations Society of America’s 2019 International Conference, also known as PRSA ICON, was much more than three days of professional development. I left San Diego inspired and motivated to put what I had learned into action, reconnect with fellow practitioners and continue making an impact in my organization, community and profession. As I reflect on my experience, I’m happy to share my favorite sessions, resources, words of wisdom and more.

Session resources and recaps you should download

With more than 100 workshops and less than 30 sessions, it was surely impossible to attend hear all the presentations that could be beneficial to the work participants are doing, but the good news is through the MyPRSA portal and the conference app participants could download notes and handouts made available. Of all the workshops I attended, my top three are listed below.

1. Accidental Karma: Advice from Trusted Advisors

2. Connecting the PR Dots: Effective Storytelling with Purpose

3. Emotional Intelligence: Five Leadership Skills Comms Pros Must Know

Bonus: Take charge of your career: 82,560 Hours to Make a Difference

Recommended reads from presenters

According to Dr. Katerina Tsetsura, “the source is what really delivers the message,” no matter what channel or social media platform you get it from. The following books were recommended by presenters and many used tips and words of wisdom from these books in their presentations.

• Getting to yes - Roger Fisher and William Ury

• Stand Out 2.0 - Marcus Buckingham

• Radical Candor: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean - Kim Scott

• Mans search for meaning - Viktor Frankl

• Dare to Lead - Brené Brown

Brands to remember and what they did to stay top of mind at ICON

• Branding at its Best: Cision

  Strategy: Spread awareness of Cision as “the future of comms”, its support for professionals and its ability to meet business needs of those in attendance.

  From the pre-entrance to the print and digital programs to huge banner ads and a booth exhibition with warmth, it would certainly be hard to leave not knowing that Cision was a huge supporter of PRSA and the 2019 ICON. In addition to bold, relevant branding, Cision also had several speaking engagements and sponsored an opening night reception complete with tacos and adult beverages.

• Most Likely to be Remembered: Meltwater

  Strategy: Spread awareness through engagement, activity and branding at the event. With free customized t-shirts pizza, mini golf and engaging staff, Meltwater was successful at gaining exposure among communicators in attendance. Outside of the booth activity during the conference, the company also hosted an appreciation dinner for their current clients attending ICON, provided special client gifts at their booth and had branding in male urinals. The brand was very creative in its awareness efforts, which were all successful in generating buzz and brand awareness.

• Connecting beyond the brand: Coca-Cola

  Strategy: In alignment with company priorities of diversity and inclusion, Coca-Cola sponsored a celebration for the cause. In addition to networking opportunities and awards presentations, attendees of the social left with a book by Ofield Dukes, highlighting diverse voices in the field and a custom bottle from the signature “Share a Coke” campaign to commemorate the celebration.

Below are scenes from Booth 10 hosted by Meltwater.

Conference freebies are an expectation across most industries, the companies below thought beyond candy and used freebies to connect with attendees and stand out beyond the many booths offering candy and increasing chances of seeing the brand vs. free treats or common products such as ink pens.

• Promotional Products Work: Beach towel and wet/dry bag

• Burrelles: Coffee

• Signal: Ben & Jerries Ice Cream

• Puesto: Tacos

• Brandt Beef: Beef Jerky Samples

Quotes to remember

There were so many of what Oprah Winfrey refers to as “quotable moments” during the conference keynotes and sessions I attended. It was hard to narrow them down so I listed my top ten below.

1. “Every seat matters when you’re building mutually beneficial relationships.”

Captain Brook DeWalt, U.S. Navy, APR+M, Fellow PRSA

2. “There are real people at the end of the story.”

Fiona Cassidy, Chair Public Relations Institute of New Zealand

3. “There’s no human action that doesn’t start with a purpose.”

Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico (2000-2006)

4. “Change isn’t gonna stop and speed isn’t going to slow down.”

Jennifer Gottlieb, President, W20 Group

5. “No matter who has a seat at the table. The collaboration that emerges is what’s most important.”

Ivy Grant, VP & Chief of Staff, Customer Care, Walmart eCommerce

6. “We owe it to ourselves to give our careers more attention.”

Amy Calvin, Brightways Consulting

7. “Knowing what to say no to and having the discipline to do it is more important than saying yes.”

Amy Calvin, Brightways Consulting
8. ”Short term incentives equal short term impact.”

Rashanda Webber, US Food & Drug Administration

9. “Human nature doesn’t have to run the show.”

Heathere Evans, APR
10. ”Trust is essential for us to be successful together.”

Heathere Evans, APR

Did you attend PRSA ICON? What was your favorite session or social event? Share below.
Are you interested in learning more about the conference or a specific session I attended? Contact me!

Hugs & Handshakes,

Jasmine C. Tate