Santa Monica, Calif. – July 9, 2019 – Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI) hosted its 12th Annual General Meeting and Conference at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., June 4-7. The event gathered some 25 member agency owners from North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Australia for a week of strategic planning, networking, best practice sharing and guest speakers who addressed issues impacting the communications industry.
“PRBI’s annual general meeting is a unique forum where experienced public relations agency principals from around the globe meet and engage in an energizing exchange of ideas, insights, and resources as well as deepen member agency relationships fostering collaborations that serve clients across multi-national cultures and five continents,” explains Amanda Foley, PRBI president and managing partner of Kiterocket, with offices in Seattle, San Francisco and Phoenix. “Our network of more than 40 boutique agencies is truly a constellation of agency stars that connects cultures and sectors, bringing clients unparalleled access to dozens of industries covered by decades of experience helping clients around the world achieve and exceed their objectives.”
PRBI members discussed key challenges and opportunities during sessions led by experts on the use of technology, rising communications trends, and public relations tactics.
Professor Robert Hernandez of USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism
Speakers included Professor Robert Hernandez of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, who delivered an interactive presentation on “New Communications Technology” spotlighting the use of drones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality.
University of California Irvine Professor and author Cailin O’Connor led a timely discussion on “The Misinformation Age: How false beliefs spread, and what to do about it as communicators.” Podcast host and producer Susan Finch of Susan Finch Solutions demonstrated the power and value of today’s podcasts for client communication. Serena Erlich, director of product marketing for BusinessWire encouraged practitioners to be aware of what and how image assets are best used across communication channels during a workshop on visual marketing.
Serena Erlich of Busineess Wire
During the meeting, the board of directors and officers for 2019-2020 were confirmed. Officers are Amanda Foley of Kiterocket, Seattle, Wash., USA as president; Lynnette Werning, Blue Water Communications of Bradenton, Fla. USA as vice president; Cheryl Bame, Bame Public Relations, Los Angeles, Calif. USA as secretary; Paul Furiga of WordWrite PR in Pittsburgh, Pa., USA as treasurer; Julia Labaton of RED PR, New York NY, USA as member at large. Lee Weinstein, Weinstein PR, Portland, Ore., USA was elected to serve as Ex Officio.
Elected to the board of directors: Viviane Roy, VROY Communications, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Tarunjeet Rattan, Nucleus PR, Bangalore, India; Ellyn Caruso, CarusoPR, Chicago, Ill., USA; Juris Petersons, Jazz Communications, Riga, Latvia; Durée Mellion Ross of Durée & Company, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Shalini Singh, Galvanise PR, India and Jeanette Darnauer, Darnauer Group Communications, Aspen, Colo., USA.
About PRBI
Public Relations Boutiques International™ (PRBI) is a global network of more than 40 independent public relations firms founded in 2008. The principals of each agency are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large public relations agencies and/or corporations and now provide hands-on service working directly with clients helping them to achieve their goals. PRBI members are known for providing personal attention, efficiency, and accountability to clients across the world as an independent agency or when partnering with PRBI network firms. Member agencies bring clients a custom-built approach that is nimble, flexible, and cost-effective working across a vast range of industries including: corporate, consumer products, health care, beauty/fashion, investor relations, crisis management, business-to-business, economic development, not-for-profit, academia, government, financial, technology, legal, multicultural and international PR. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. Visit here to learn more or follow @prboutiquesintl on Facebook and Instagram.
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