PRN Member Meeting 2011 in Berlin
In February New Concept took part in the Annual Meeting of the global PR network Public Relations Network (PRN). It was very useful for all participants to have a dialogue with colleagues at all levels within the profession, sharing experiences and knowledge. In this blog we want to share our impressions with our foreign colleagues who did not have the opportunity to join us in Berlin, Germany, and those who want to know more about the PRN.
New Concept joined the Public Relations Network (PRN) in 2009. PRN is a global collective of like minded Public Relations specialists dedicated to providing high level consultancy and quality local support for worldwide PR campaigns.
Every year PRN organizes meetings and seminars for its members to discuss new ideas for social networking and international collaborations. In February a PRN Network Member Meeting took place in Berlin, Germany, a political and cultural Germany’s capital with a turbulent history. This meeting was hosted by Sympra GmbH, Germany. The representatives of the PR agencies from Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and some other countries took part in a discussion about furthering developments of the network as well as lessons learned by the PRN partners during the last year. The meeting took place in betahaus Berlin alternative facilities where a group of PR professionals was guided by the founder of betahaus. This idea refers to open design city: “High quality value is no longer created in classic offices. Added value is created in different locations, at different times, in changing team constellations and without permanent employment.”
The major topic of discussion, which was touched by Sympra GmbH, was the growing role of social media and social networking for business communication. It doesn’t matter whether a company is present on social networking platforms or not, its stakeholders could discuss the company’s products and services. It is getting very difficult to build and manage an online reputation. The communication between the company and its stakeholders is becoming more transparent. In times of Web 1.0, companies were pushing their news, and information was presented by professional journalists. Today, this power has shifted from the company itself to its stakeholders, who could discuss, comment or criticize the company’s products and services. And this information could be spread very quickly online via viral effects. Besides, any user created content on social networking platforms is available only to the logged-in users, which make it difficult or even impossible to control social networking channels. Once the company is engaged in social networking, it is very important to create a consistent strategy on all social networking platforms in which the company is present. A strong online reputation will allow the company to minimize negative criticism of its stakeholders in the channels, which cannot be controlled.
On another level, an issue discussed was international monitoring techniques. PMG Presse-Monitor GmbH, Germany, held a presentation in terms of media analysis and taking an active role in the public opinion building process.
The next part of the program was a sightseeing guided tour through Berlin (“Berlin walk”), which included Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and the “Death strip”, Hitler’s Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial), TV tower etc. The city could be understood only through its turbulent history. Berlin was completely destroyed during the Second World War. It was surrounded by the Berlin Wall, which was a symbol of the Cold War, in eastern and western part, and it was divided into four sectors. The history can not be changed but its lessons should be learned. There is an underground “Bibliothek” memorial on Bebelplatz square in Berlin. In the middle of the square there is a window in the ground, under which empty bookshelves are visible. There is a bronze plaque on the other side of the square bearing a quote by Heinrich Heine which was written in 1820, long before Hitler’s rise to power: “Where books are burned in the end people will burn.” In 1933 the Nazi book burnings, which did not correspond with the Nazi ideology, began in this square. It was later followed with death camps for mass burnings of people.
Sympra GmbH wanted herewith not only to host the PRN Networking Member Meeting 2011 but also to show the PRN agencies a few of the highlights, Berlin has to offer!
