Monique and I headed to Norway for the IPREX Global Leaders Conference with great expectations – for starters we would be staying in the same hotel where a certain Barack Obama and his First Missus stayed when he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize at the end of last year. We were also looking forward to our first Scandinavian (and possibly most northern) experience. But, what we were most looking forward to was meeting and working with our international IPREX partners on a range of topics from social media and communications innovations to brand awareness and reputation management. It was also great to relax into dinner in the evenings, often continuing our discussions from the day – and of course raising a glass (skål!!) to our amazingly well organised and kind hosts, Consilio. We heard some very insightful presentations from Claus Sonberg (SASs’ Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations) and Peggy Brønn (Professor and author on the subject of reputation management) before breaking into groups to brainstorm 3 top ideas, their strategic importance in our industry and their potential impact on IPREX partner firms. Monique and I were happy to leave the well-run and thought provoking conference with our expectations fulfilled – Kathy Tunheim, IPREX President, summed up our progress in an email to the IPREX Executive Committee saying, “I can say without any hesitation that I was IMPRESSED by the caliber of the colleagues in Oslo, and I have every expectation that they can and will contribute to our collective success moving forward.”
Oh, and before the ink was dry on our mass brainstorming documents, we were off to the outskirts of Oslo for some tobogganing – and tobogganing in Norway is no joke. A 2km-long death defying run (ask Monique for the full details!) topped off a great weekend and even allowed us for a little more fresh air.
For those of you who don’t know we are a member of IPREX, one of the world’s largest public relations corporations, which is made up of leading, independent PR agencies in major markets worldwide. Its purpose is to offer public relations excellence to clients, wherever their businesses take them. IPREX represents 68 independent agencies, in 30 countries, with 90 offices. We have over 1,170 professional staff and annual billings of over $125 million. Founded in 1983, IPREX has expanded internationally to meet the needs of its clients and partners. Partners are carefully screened before their application to join is considered.
Nick
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