Agency leadership is more than ensuring the company is financially successful. It requires setting the organizational tone with a clear vision, purpose and authenticity. Employees, clients and even prospects are seeking to work for and partner with agencies where work has an impact well beyond their own walls. A purpose-driven approach to agency leadership can be a significant driver toward making positive, and lasting, change and impact.

In the PRovoke Global Summit panel, agency leaders from PROI Worldwide will discuss how and why they consider values and company purpose front and center for everything they do, including recruiting and career pathing; informing employee educational initiatives; choosing which clients/industries to support; engaging with their local communities; and more. They will share their experiences on how they use their corporate values as a competitive advantage and how employees are embracing these values.

PROI Worldwide represents 90 entrepreneurial communications firms in more than 65 countries, with a combined headcount exceeding 8,800 people and over US$1.128 billion in revenue. The non-profit organization helps these leading agencies share best practices, leverage resources, and efficiently serve their clients around the world. 

Since the term “infodemic” was first coined in 2003, the speed, scale and sophistication of disinformation has exponentially increased. Generative AI has shifted the communications paradigm once again, making the threat of harmful narratives much easier to scale and fundamentally harder to detect. Business leaders know that the spread of disinformation casts a long shadow on society and enterprise, permeating relations between stakeholders, communities, and countries. At a moment in which geopolitical tensions are at a fever pitch – from Ukraine to the Middle East to US/China relations – and looking ahead to a blockbuster US Presidential Election, brands and businesses are already on high alert.

Join Global Chairman and CEO, Hill & Knowlton, AnnaMaria DeSalva, in conversation with CEO, Pendulum, Mark Listes, as they discuss the vital role communicators can and should play in combatting disinformation, and how new technology solutions can help clients analyze for risk in a more proactive and predictive way.

Flooding. Fires. Famine. Droughts. Greenhouse gasses are unleashing unprecedented weather events and natural disasters, posing grave danger to people and the planet. According to the UN, the scientific evidence of climate change is unequivocal, and “any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a livable future.” Time is running out…and for many, so is hope. Today’s climate issues are dire, urgent and complex – incrementalism is not enough to turn the tide of devastation if we don’t act now. Enter these bold disruptors seeking not to simply improve the status quo but to transform it through courageous vision and game-changing innovations, including the world’s first solar-powered community and the first ever marine biodegradable straws.

Between the steady rise of user-generated content (UGC), employee-generated content (EGC), and influencer co-creation has both empowered and challenged brands to come out of their content shells and adopt people-led storytelling that give consumers and customers candid, otherwise ‘unseen’ and ‘unfiltered’ perspectives of what the brand is like as a business, employer, community partner—and proponent of societal change. In this session, we will explore how the demand for behind-the-brand authentic, people-led storytelling is reshaping influencer marketing and what it means to creating meaningful connections in 2024.

Consumers are more polarized than ever before, presenting businesses with a unique challenge: to communicate authentically and purposefully without alienating one (or many) of their audiences in the process. While the task may sound impossible, many skilled communicators have helped companies navigate this complex web of customer expectations all while maintaining—and even growing—a brand’s consumer base. 

Join Porter Novelli Global CEO, Jillian Janaczek, in discussion with Bayer’s Senior Director for Sustainability and Political Affairs, Kasey Gillette, and Panasonic USA’s Jeff Werner, Vice President, Corporate and Government Affairs, to discuss their professional experiences and strategies for managing this difficult, yet increasingly ubiquitous conundrum. Our distinguished panelists will offer practical guidance and expert perspectives to help corporations effectively engage with consumers in a divided world while building a strong and lasting brand presence.