The Era of Earned Influence

Registration, welcome and a light breakfast

Chairperson intro and welcome

Ben Smith, founder PRmoment

The Substack Creators Interview

Anna Wharton, creator and founder, White Ink

Anna Wharton is the founder of White Ink is a highly engaged Substack with more than 12,000 subscribers, 22,000 social followers and 300 paid subscribers, along with a growing reputation as a distinctive voice in contemporary commentary.

She is a journalist and author with more than 30 years’ experience writing for leading UK publications, including The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Times, The Observer and the Daily Mail, where she served as Associate Editor of Femail.

Anna van Praagh, creator and founder, Letter from London

Anna van Praagh is the founder of Letter from London, a growing platform for sharp, thoughtful commentary on how influence operates in the capital, alongside a developing community of engaged readers.

Anna van Praagh is an editor, writer and content consultant with a senior track record across some of the UK’s most influential media organisations. Most recently chief content officer at the Evening Standard, she has also written for titles including the Financial Times and The Times, and has worked across a wide range of major media brands.

Interviewer: Ben Smith, founder, PRmoment

Themes

• How the earned media landscape changed from a journalists perspective

• How to build a substack community

• What content works, what doesn’t on Substack

• What makes a story cut through today, regardless of platform or format?

• As the media landscape becomes more fragmented, what do comms teams need to think about differently when they are trying to land coverage in different platforms and formats?

• Content needs have changed, has PR kept up?

• What is the opportunity for brands in engaging with Substack communities?
  

The future of earned influence

Amy Parry, head of brand, Zeno

• How brands can thrive in this changing media landscape

• The role of influencers, legacy media and the creator economy

• The broadening of creator channels

• The deepening of PR’s sphere of influence

• Measurement and why scale isn’t always the clearest indicator of impact

In house panel: Futureproofing in-house teams for this new era of media

- Amy Parry, head of brand, Zeno
- Tamara Pickett, group communications & external relations director, Virgin
- James Banks, senior vice president - head of external communications, Rolls-Royce
- Sam Cole, global PR & events director, Cunard

Themes:

• How the increased breadth of influence has impacted the size, skills and workflow of in-house communication teams

• As the routes to coverage diversify, how should brands think differently about value and success?

• How earned media is changing as influence becomes more distributed across journalists, creators, newsletters, platforms and communities.

Coffee and networking

Close of event