8:00 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m.

Chairperson’s Welcome & Opening Remarks

Preston Lewis, Co-Founder & Director
BONFIRE COMMUNICATIONS
@bonfirepreston

Preston is an expert in branding, employee engagement and strategic internal communications, Preston is an energetic and creative leader intimately involved with all aspects of the Bonfire business. As an active participant in current projects and responsible for nurturing new relationships, Preston consistently demonstrates the core values that steer each Bonfire project to success. His current and past clients are some of the most reputable companies in the world including Starbucks, Roche/Genentech, General Electric, Harrah’s Entertainment, salesforce.com and HP.

8:45 a.m.

Enabling Employees To Effectively Converse And Collaborate In The Digital Age - And Reap The Benefits For Your Organization

There’s a digital conversation going on right now. All over the globe, individuals are sharing information, expertise, making decisions, building relationships, and more, without even leaving their seats. Sentiment and knowledge are being created around topics that could have a direct impact on your business. Are you out there? Are you part of the conversation? Are your employees? Are your competitors’ employees?!

In today’s digital world, the employee and the relationships and conversations that employee has in the digital space is defining the brand. Because of this, we need to ensure that our employees have the tools they need to reach out so that they can effectively participate in it: from conversing about topics they are experts in, to relationship building, to globally collaborating on projects with other employees, partners, clients, peers, and the general public. The more digitally active your employees are both inside and outside your company, the more current, credible and responsive your company will be viewed.
Using examples from IBM, you will learn lessons on how to:

• Enable employees to build and share their expertise inside and outside the company
• Generate, aggregate and promote social conversations of interest to your company
• Create a globally collaborative employee culture both internally and externally

Kevin Winterfield, Social Systems and Digital Influence
IBM
@kmwinterfield

9:30 a.m.

Surefire Strategies That Motivate Executive Leadership To Participate In Your Electronic Internal Communications Initiatives

Company leaders are integral to internal communications. And so is digital media. However, internal communications professionals need proper tactics, tools, training, timing, and insight into the mind of the boss to successfully bring together company leaders and digital media -- and help executives skillfully and enthusiastically enter the electronic age.
Digital media has made the jump from frivolous, fleeting, social media for the Millennial Facebook Generation to an accountable, lasting, business platform that’s required for every executive’s communications arsenal. In this session, Philips will share strategies and tools that will help you to show busy executives what’s in it for them, i.e., efficient, hard-hitting, and even some free-of-cost platforms for imparting strategy and vision, for reaching employees globally, and even for high-touch employee recognition.
In this session, you will learn simple, compelling, and measurable tactics for converting doubters, the time-pressed, and the hesitant with effective tailored programs that enable them get the word out more pervasively, timely, and clearly than via traditional channels alone -- and enjoy the experience to boot.
In addition, you will be able to adopt universally applicable experiences from Philips’ robust and successful executive digital internal communications campaigns, and incorporate them into your own efforts, including:

• Demonstrating return on investment: How digital media is worth executives’ time and energy
• Efficiency tools: Determining the right software for the job depending on your own digital-media fluency, your budget, your audience (and the digital media silver bullet)
• Employee engagement, motivation, and addressing inherent human need for status, recognition, prestige, and attention:  Social media + a professional setting = ideal venue for employees to gain respect of the boss (and for the boss to gain respect of employees)
• Why employees (truly) “like” the boss: Establishing a brand that employees want to “follow”; maintaining a consistent, authentic executive voice; encouraging employee and executive two-way dialogue via electronic media
• Continuous improvement: Monitor, measure, and refine the effectiveness of your digital communications

Deborah Matthews, Director, Internal Communications
PHILIPS HEALTHCARE
@deborah_m89

Nicole Rutledge,Internal Communications Specialist,
Patient Care and Clinical Informatics
PHILIPS HEALTHCARE
@N_Rutledge87

10:15 a.m.

Break-Out Blitz! Network And Discuss Strategic Internal Communication Challenges With Your Fellow Conference Attendees

This session will open the conversation by connecting you with other conference participants and gain greater understanding into many similar issues, concerns, and challenges that your peers are also facing. Become acquainted with your fellow conference attendees in this fun and fast-paced forum!

11:15 a.m.

How To Incorporate Video Into Your Existing Communications Plans To Deliver Consistent Messaging And Maximize Results

The birth of Youtube changed the corporate video business overnight.

All over the globe, individuals were downloading and sharing home videos, on all sorts of topics, some slick and sophisticated, but most downright amateurish, and quirky. This, along with the popularity of reality TV and the availability of reasonably-priced HD digital video recorders created a revolution in the video industry.

Video is used across BP in a whole host of ways. It is seen as a cost-effective way of ensuring consistent messages and information are received by employees, removing the need to always rely on the cascade of messages through managers. Animated video has been used frequently to communicate complex information in more entertaining and inspirational ways. This has enabled communication to stand out and cut through the sheer amount of information that some employees receive.

In this rapidly-changing world, your audience no longer responds in the same way to top down “state of the union” style videos -- they are looking for truth. And productions that are believable, real, and down-to-earth, that involve them, inspire them to believe and to take action.

During this session, you will gain insight on:

• How to be more inspiring in your video communications
• How to get the best out of your ever-shrinking communication budgets
• Ten top tips for better video productions

Chris Day, Internal Communications Manager
BP

Carol Whitworth, Founder, Inspiration and Innovation Director
HOME

12:00 p.m.
Lunch On Your Own -- But Not Alone!

Join a group of your colleagues for a themed lunch with an informal discussion surrounding a specific topic. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing internal communications concerns.

1:30 p.m.

How To Use Digital Signage To Inform, Brand And Energize Your Employees

Bloomberg employees are likely to have more computers and computer screens per employee than anyone, yet the company has decided to run three very ambitious and very different digital signage initiatives in their workplace. 

Many organizations are using, or are considering using, digital signage* as a communication channel to reach employees. This technology is and has been effective for many applications, but is most often used to communicate with a workforce who do does not have regular access to computers. 

During this session, you will hear the lessons learned from over 10 years of building, designing for, developing and sunning each of these systems, including:

• The different types of digital signage and how they can help inform your employees
• The different ways that digital signage was successful for workplace communication
• The value and impact digital signage has to inform and energize employees

Lisa Cohen, Communications Designer/Strategist
BLOOMBERG L.P.
@lisacohenlisa

James Fine, President
TELECINE MULTIMEDIA INC.
@jamesTMI

2:30 p.m.

How To Strategically Use Music To Create A Branded Experience For Your Employees And Capture Their Hearts And Minds

In 2007, healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente (KP) realized music was being used inappropriately throughout its organization and decided to take a more strategic approach in how music was used internally.  KP began by determining their "sonic brand identity" and how their brand (Total Health) and its attributes translate into sound; what music should be played within the organization, including when, how and where music is to be used.

KP is now using its sonic brand identity platform to create a branded experience for its employees, customers and patients. Deemed "KP MusicWell", internal sonic branding tools and resources including an on-line digital library containing over 300 branded, pre-cleared songs available for licensing and downloading are now available to all employees. KP’s branded music program is also being used for its telephony on-hold music and overhead in its facilities to further build a branded experience. In addition, KP physicians are using music to help their patients as music is used to create healing environments in patient rooms.

During this session, you will hear more about the benefits of using music to brand both internally and externally as well as other exciting initiatives KP is currently running.

Scott Power, Senior Brand Strategist
KAISER PERMANENTE

3:15 p.m.

Using Leadership Communication To Build Employee Trust

Learning lessons from the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for® communication has always been important in building trust, but transparency is even more critical now in the age of social media. If you have a high trust workplace and strong communication practices, employees can present themselves to the masses as brand ambassadors with the organization serving as the beneficiary to this behavior. Every time a leader interacts with their employees, no matter how big or small, it is considered an opportunity to build or break trust. Trust cannot be accomplished without intentional and meaningful communication to create a great place to work which drives business results. When people are communicating more and more internally and virtually, employees are craving a sense of team and community.

• Communicate during the good and the bad times
• Understand successful and best communication practices of the Best Companies to Work For® (authentic, transparent, listening techniques, etc.)
• Communicate practices as a trust-building opportunities
• Sustain relationships through two-way communication

Drew Goldstein, Director of Partnerships
GREAT PLACE TO WORK

4:00 p.m.

How To Use Social Media To Connect Employees To Your Organization's Strategic Vision

Aviat Networks is a leader in wireless transmission solutions. Over the last two years, the company has undergone a significant restructuring program. With 1,000 employees residing in over 30 countries, keeping the team aligned with the strategic vision of the company was a big challenge.

Leveraging the power of social networks can make your communications more engaging and develop the brand ambassador that lives inside every employee. There are almost 1 billion people on Facebook, over 500 million on Twitter, and chances are, your employees are already active users. Social media can be a powerful vehicle for change in your organization. The communications you create connect your teams with the vision and strategy of your organization. It’s a big job and you shouldn't go it alone.

In this session, you will learn to:

• Choose your destination, and recognize that getting there is half the story
• Build connections and partnerships across organizations and around the world
• Select the right vehicles for the journey
• Leverage the content all around you
• Listen, measure, analyze, adjust, repeat

4:45 p.m.

More "How To's" To Help You Get The Work Done:
An Interactive Discussion With Today’s Participants!

Need to dive deeper into specific topics? Want more details? Here’s your chance! Interact and ask questions amongst the group to help you brainstorm and innovate your own internal communications plan. Digest what you’ve learned and apply it to your own initiatives to get feedback and ideas for improvement from your colleagues.

5:15 p.m.

End Of Day One

5:20 p.m.

Networking Reception: Please Join Us!

We invite you to join us for a drink as you relax with your peers. All conference attendees and speakers are welcome to join us for this special opportunity to continue networking. Don't miss this chance to benchmark new ideas over complimentary drinks!

Sign up during the day for dinner with a group. Take advantage of New York's fine dining while you continue to network with your colleagues.