2018 PR & Marketing Conference Agenda

Tracks for All Marketers

PR & Marketing Conference sessions are designed specifically for telco marketers to learn new strategies to reach current and new customers. With three concurrent tracks that explore the areas of strategy, sales and tactics, you'll be sure to find the right fit for your unique needs.


Strategy Map out a strategy to incorporate big data and analysis into your marketing plans for introducing new products to your customers.		Sales Develop a sales strategy and customer service center that helps you to track the buying practices of your customers and understand their needs.		Tactics Think outside the box of usual tactics to attract customers and increase your companies visibility in the community.

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Director Core Curriculum, Key Employee Certificate and the Telecom Executive Certificate Course codes: B108
Attending this event earns you one credit towards your Director Core Curriculum, Key Employee Certificate and the Telecom Executive Certificate.
Learn more about NTCA certificate programs.

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AGENDA

Sunday, April 29
9:00 a.m. – Noon	MARKETING COMMITTEE MEETING
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.	REGISTRATION
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.	DIGITAL MARKETING BOOTCAMP* Joe Johnson, President & CEO, The Johnson Group The shift to digital is well underway, and new technology brings opportunities to boost your bottom line. Join us for this high-impact preconference workshop and learn how to: Create an effective digital marketing strategy Make the most of Google rankings Drive traffic to your site through SEO Use Adwords and retarget case studies Make meaningful use of analytics Maximize marketing traction through social media sites Create appropriate and relevant content *Additional fee required to attend workshop
5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	FIRST-TIME ATTENDEE SESSION If you are a first-time attendee to the PR & Marketing Conference, this is the perfect opportunity for you to get acclimated and meet other first-timers. Seasoned attendees and NTCA staff are ready to welcome you and answer any questions you may have. We want to make sure your first time attending the conference is a positive experience. There’s plenty to learn, see and do over the next few days, so be sure to download the NTCA Events app to help you navigate your way around. Before you know it, you will be a conference pro.

Monday, April 30
7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.	REGISTRATION
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.	Continental Breakfast
8:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.	OPENING GENERAL SESSION Welcome Laura Withers, Director of Communications, NTCA Connect, Convince, & Convert– How to Create Marketing that Builds Awareness, Trust, and Lifelong Loyal Customers Adam Erhart, Digital Marketing Strategist, Siren Consulting Marketing has changed. And the way consumers interact with brands and businesses will never be the same. Tell, yell, and sell no longer work and the customers (and profits) are quickly moving towards companies committed to serving their audience where they are and how they want to be served. Connect, convince, and convert will help show you the way. How Are You Measuring What Matters the Most? Hugh Weber, Founder, OTA As a public relations professional, you regularly assess your community for potential opportunities, but are you measuring the right thing? A whimsical storyteller and rural documentarian tells how he takes the pulse of small town America. He’ll also chat with some of your peers to determine how they concentrate on their own economic indicators and move their companies and communities forward.
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.	Peer-to-Peer Roundtables Network with your peers who are facing similar opportunities and challenges through roundtable discussions broken out into three groups assigned by company size. Jump-start your ideas and conversations prior to diving into the event breakout sessions.
Noon – 1:15 p.m.	TELECHOICE AWARDS PRESENTATION + LUNCHEON Celebrate the creative prowess and innovative public relations and marketing campaigns of our industry. Join NTCA as we honor the 2018 TeleChoice Awards recipients.
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions A (do not repeat) STRATEGY Crafting a Compelling Story Your story is an important one and you need to create a compelling tale—why not add to it by obtaining a recognized designation to give you even more to talk about? Members will share their stories of how they are strategically messaging their Gig Certified or Smart Rural Community designations in their communications. We’ll especially focus on how to craft messaging and imagery that will engage potential customers. SALES Buy NOW: Upselling and Cross-Promotions Incremental revenues from a variety of sources provide a strong basis for future growth. Learn how your peers are upselling and cross-promoting products and services to diversify and increase revenue streams for the company. TACTICS PR and Marketing Considerations in Disaster Planning You can never be overly prepared for a disaster. Many rural carriers were hit hard again in 2017 and are ready to share lessons learned. Hear how others have kept their companies moving without missing a beat and the public relations wins they reaped as a result.
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions B STRATEGY Big Ideas for Big Data Rural telcos amass a great amount of data, but how are you putting it to use? This session provides an overview of data collected by one of your peers and a demonstration of how they effectively put it to practical use. SALES Customer Service 2020 It’s 2018. Do you know where your customers are? They are online, just like you. Across the industry, telcos should embrace their online presence with chat functionality, customer care sessions and other services to enhance productivity and user satisfaction. TACTICS Creating Successful Community Events What’s the magic formula for making a community event great? Uncover how others are getting their customers to show up in droves.
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions B (repeat)
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.	WELCOME RECEPTION + SOLUTION PROVIDERS SHOWCASE

Tuesday, May 1
7:00 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.	REGISTRATION
7:45 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.	Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.	Concurrent Sessions C STRATEGY Seven Strategies for Building a Winning Sales Team As a mature industry, we need to shed the dated belief that customers will continue to simply come to us. Today’s telcos need a dynamic, innovative and responsive sales force. Learn some strategies for effectively building a winning team. SALES Customer and Retail Space, Renovation and Design Done Right Your customer center needs an overhaul, but where do you start? Your peers share how they’ve pulled it off, with tips that can help your future project and concrete examples of how to save time and money while building a customer center that serves the community. TACTICS Choosing Wisely—A Guide to Effective Promotional Products Ordering promotional products that give the best bang for the buck is part science and part art. Learn how to choose items wisely, work with vendors and decode the secret language behind promotional items. A promotional products expert guides you through all you need to know for working with promotional product vendors and how NOT to wind up with an inventory of trinkets that no one wants.
9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.	Concurrent Sessions C (repeat)
10:30 a.m. - Noon	Curbside Consultations Join us for intimate and informal conversations about relevant issues for marketing professionals. Six topics will be crowdsourced by attendees before the conference to bring you the most top-of-mind issues for discussion. Every 30 minutes attendees are encouraged to rotate rooms, providing the opportunity to engage in four networking experiences with your peers on the topics critical to you.
Noon - 1:00 p.m.	LUNCH ON YOUR OWN
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions D STRATEGY Enhancing Your Community Visibility Staying connected and visible in the community is critical for success in public relations and marketing. Learn what other telcos are doing to become recognized community partners and how you can enhance your company’s visibility. SALES The Key to Sales Success A missed opportunity in most cases of new product and services releases is that the customer doesn’t understand the value. Educating your customer is key. Use your sales team, customer service representatives and field technicians to provide value to your products and services by educating customers and helping them navigate their options. Learn how to bolster this approach at your telco. TACTICS Offers to Increase Upgrades and Expand Your Reach Promotional offers are commonplace, but what really works? We’ll examine many different marketing promotions, bundles and pitches that have received some serious traction.
2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions D (repeat)
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.	CLOSING GENERAL SESSION Emerging Technologies as a Core Marketing Strength Matt Cooney, Senior Director, Emerging Technologies and Interactive Campaigns, iMediaSalesTeam Hear from a leading PR firm why they are moving headfirst into emerging technologies that most would consider fringe, but for them are a core strength. How will new tech affect the way customers interact with marketing in the future? It may seem far off, but virtual and augmented reality are right around the corner, and they are going to have a big impact on consumers in all markets.
4:00 p.m.	Conference Adjourns