Picture of Elena Erdley (Conference Coordinator) and Gwen Quackenboss (Assistant Conference Coordinator)
Saturday, April 6, Temple University’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) held its annual invitational conference. This year’s conference was centered around politics and government public relations. It included three breakout speaker sessions, a keynote speaker, a workshop, and a networking session at the end.
The first session focused around corporate and government diplomacy. Temple professor, Heather LaMarre, and Vice President of Chubb Multinational, Christopher Twomey. The two discussed Twomey’s background and the importance of building a trusted relationship between the government and the company you are representing. Twomey has had an extensive background and has traveled to multiple countries including Vietnam and Hong Kong. Some advice he gave for students who are looking to travel while having experience within politics is that when looking for internships, it is important to look at companies who have global operations and who are focused on building their global brand.
The second session I attended was with Vincent Thompson, the director of communications for Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson. With the scandal surrounding Kenyatta Johnson, Thompson spoke about how to deal with crisis. Thompson emphasized the power of being authentic but also how important it is for your client to be authentic in who they are. Thompson also spoke about how as a professional, it is important to know exactly what the crisis is, so you are able to assess and deal with it effectively. It is essential to know what your narrative is and know exactly what you’re telling the public, so there is not a miscommunication.
A part of the conference that I really enjoyed was the keynote speaker, Brendan McPhillips. He is a campaign manager who has worked with Joe Biden, Jon Fetterman, and Helen Gym. When discussing his array of experiences he talked about the importance of using the resources that you have. Sometimes he did not have a huge budget at his disposal, so he had to find ways to get in the news. McPhillips also discussed intentionality. Being intentional with who you choose to work for and being intentional with the message you want to convey while working for that person is critical.
The last session I attended was with Lauren Cox, District Director for Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon. Cox mostly discussed her previous occupation as the Deputy Communications Director during the pandemic. Something that was stressed throughout the entire session was the importance of building relationships and the importance of keeping up with the fast pace news cycle. Her organizational skills and commitment to knowing what is happening in the news was key to helping her convey an accurate message to the public. It is important to get out the information fast, but it has to be accurate. If the information given to the public is false, then that can lead to mistrust and an overall bad image of your client.
Overall, the conference was extremely informative and eye opening. I had the opportunity to meet and network with a lot of students and professionals. Even though I am not necessarily interested in pursuing a career in politics, a lot of the concepts and advice discussed can be applied to varying fields.
Jaelyn Jennings, Account Associate
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