So IABC has renamed their annual international conference. It’s now going to be called the “world conference,” to “better reflect the organization’s global reach and mission.”
Um, sounds like pretty much the same thing to me.
Splitting hairs
Aug 10, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog | 6 comments
…and people wonder why public relations professionals “don’t get no respect”…
Sue, to the best of my knowledge, since its inception the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (i.e., the international association of national PR associations) has always called its annual event “The World Public Relations Festival.” (This year host national association, CIPR, seemed to add “conference” into the mix.) Ergo, you’d think IABC would want to retain the “international” distinction when it came to branding its own conference.
(Mind you, IABC doesn’t pay much mind to other conferences, as evidenced by its recent “rescheduling” faux pas.)
Note to Sue R: most people I know see IABC primarily as an association that focuses on the internal comms and marcomm skill set, less so on PR. Perhaps that’s why the respect factor is lower. 🙂
Hey Judy, where have you been? 🙂 And Sue, welcome!
“Festival” sounds way more fun than “conference,” don’t you think? But whether it’s a festival, conference or whatever, it seems someone is overthinking this.
P.S. to Judy re: the scheduling conflict. Perhaps CPRS and IABC need to keep each other notified of each other’s key dates as a courtesy!
Hey again, Sue. I’ve been spending a lot more time F2F with people lately, rather than in the bloggy-sphere (thanks for asking). But I’ve started to roam around a bit more of late. (And, ahem. Haven’t seen you commenting on too many other blogs….)
Agreed that the courtesy thing should be an automatic requisite. As most conferences are booked (location and dates) at least several years in advance, I suspect that this is generally the case. Remember, the problem arose because IABC *rescheduled* its dates. If they had been left as originally booked, the conference weekends would have been sequential. Just like this year.
Note that the sole Canadian on IABC’s executive board is a current (and accredited) member of *both* associations. So, in effect she should have already been in that courtesy role.
And what do you think, will those “20 per cent food-and-beverage-costs savings” be passed on to IABC’s 2009 conference attendees through lower registration rates? (Note that the CPRS conference is all-inclusive in terms of PD, meals and evening social events. I found it to be more cost-effective than past IABC conferences, which charges a premium for the all-inclusive packages, and prices the special luncheons, etc., quite high if bought a la carte.)
Finally, let’s hope the 2010 conference dates are already different weeks (and neither rescheduled down the raod).
The problem may have arisen because IABC rescheduled, but only because it appears the hotel had problems; maybe it was like the airlines and double-booked! But true our seated Canadian could/should have noticed the conflict. And true the conference does have pricey extras. Those I tend not to buy. I will indeed look for a 20 per cent discount!