June 3-5, 2026
New York Marriott
Brooklyn, NY
June 3-5, 2026
New York Marriott
Brooklyn, NY
Earn your certificate in brand storytelling by attending this conference.
- Influencers and Next Gen Media
- Pitching in the AI Era
- Real-Time Crisis Control
- Executive Media Training
- Brand Newsrooms Reinvented
- ROI Decoded
PR is evolving — and it’s time your strategy did too.
Even as the press shrinks, the platforms are multiplying; organic reach is being replaced with GEO and AI; and trust in media, brands, and leadership is declining. Meanwhile, the demand for PR pros with fast, confident crisis response and scenario planning experience has never been higher.
That’s why the smartest communicators are riding the subway to Brooklyn, New York on June 3-5, 2026 for the PR Daily Conference, where you’ll learn from experts, connect with your peers and help redefine the future of public relations. You’ll walk away with the insights, tools and confidence to measure what truly matters, prove PR’s business impact and connect your work to revenue goals.
This is the event for communicators who want to become indispensable. Get ready to explore how AI, analytics and creative strategy intersect — and how to use them together to lead smarter, faster and more effectively. Rub elbows with your peers and respected colleagues over 2.5 days packed full of networking opportunities, interactive sessions and inspiring keynotes.
Don’t miss out. Join us in Brooklyn, NY.
Register Today to Secure your Spot! Don’t miss this opportunity to:
- Build buzz for your brand.
- Network and connect with your peers.
- Access exclusive lineups and resources.
- Stay ahead of the curve in today’s fast-paced media landscape.
Everything You Need to Elevate Your Internal Communications Game — All in One Event
THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE
- Industry leading speakers vetted and ready to share
- Choose from workshops, sessions, firesides and more
- Get access to all the speaker presentations
- Dig into the post-event bonus content and extra resources for attendees only
- Hundreds of peers in attendance to brainstorm with
- Discover new tools and technology from our industry partners
AGENDA
One viral post, deepfake or data breach can dismantle years of credibility—which is why crisis comms now demands a faster, smarter strategy. This crisis deep dive breaks down the anatomy of a modern crisis plan, showing how one leading brand turned backlash into renewed trust. You’ll dissect their framework and build—or strengthen—your own roadmap for resilience in the age of AI. What you’ll learn:
- Crisis Comms Framework: The anatomy of a modern plan—defining roles, approval paths, trigger thresholds, message templates and monitoring tools that keep teams aligned under pressure.
- Case Study: How a global consumer brand rebuilt confidence after a reputational hit through decisive action and visible accountability.
- AI Tools for Early Detection and Response: The media monitoring you need to incorporate—plus how to use AI to triage issues fast and improve speed of response across social, media and internal channels.
- Empathy in Action: How to craft transparent, accountable messaging that satisfies public scrutiny and delivers authenticity while protecting brand reputation.
- Cross-Channel Consistency: How to sync PR statements, leadership voices, employee comms and customer updates for a unified narrative.
- Trust Metrics: Which post-crisis KPIs matter most—from tracking sentiment recovery and loyalty rebound to long-tail media tone.
✓ Interactive Exercise: Apply this crisis framework to your own org by mapping triggers and drafting a holding statement, then compare takeaways with peers to pressure-test your approach.
In a world where Substacks rival CNN and AI search decides who gets seen, measurement must evolve—or budgets will vanish. Traditional PR metrics just can’t capture visibility across emerging channels or translate media value into financial language. This workshop reveals how to modernize your measurement model for today’s AI landscape, integrating GEO results, newsletters, podcasts and nontraditional outlets into a unified narrative that speaks to leadership. You’ll leave with a CFO-ready scorecard and narrative that tie your wins to reach, results and real ROI. What you’ll learn:
- What’s New in Measurement: Why legacy metrics like impressions no longer tell the full story (spoiler: they never did, really)—and what today’s smarter measurement looks like.
- Case Study: See how a leading brand integrated AI-era visibility into its scorecard to secure additional funding and prove its PR value.
- Goal Alignment: How to connect media coverage and owned storytelling to business outcomes and stakeholder priorities to protect (or increase) your budget.
- AI Technology and Tracking: Ways to include GEO search, Substacks, Reddit threads and even podcast pickups in your reporting for a complete view of modern reach.
- Data Storytelling: The AI tools you can use to turn analytics into executive-ready narratives and dashboards that highlight ROI and risk mitigation.
- Continuous Calibration: How to set quarterly checkpoints to reassess KPIs, identify what’s working and adjust campaigns based on changing media and audience signals.
✓ Interactive Exercise: Map out your own CFO-ready scorecard that unites traditional metrics with new media visibility data and AI-driven insights.
Think you know what editors really want? Can your pitch survive a real newsroom test? Led by a veteran PR exec who’s worked both sides of the media divide, this workshop turns the traditional media panel on its head. After a classic panel discussing what editors and reporters look for in a pitch—and how to tailor your story for their audience—we’ll break out into tables so you can mix, mingle and pitch in real time. It’s fast-paced, feedback-driven and fun—a rare chance to sharpen your story instincts, keep the “press + PR” love alive and leave with the confidence to earn more meaningful coverage. You’ll learn:
- Audience-First Angles: How to find the overlap between newsroom priorities and your brand’s story to earn more targeted, impactful placements.
- Pitch Precision: Real-world insights and friendly feedback on subject lines, data hooks and multimedia assets that make pitches irresistible—even to deadline-driven editors.
- Results and ROI: How to track the ripple effects of strong media relationships—from placements to trust-building and long-term collaboration (yes, relationships can equal ROI!).
✓ Interactive Exercise: Rotate through live “desk-side” pitch rounds where you’ll present, refine and re-pitch your ideas directly to our panel of journalists.
Kick off the evening with a vibrant reception where you can unwind, connect and exchange ideas with your peers.
We’ll serve up trends along with bagels. Get ready for a quick trends-review from the editors of PR Daily, alongside a welcome message from CEO Diane Schwartz.
Join influential reporters and editorial voices from leading Substack publications, top podcasts and emerging digital outlets for a dynamic conversation that brings the people shaping news and culture directly to the stage. They’ll have an unfiltered discussion on today’s media ecosystem, polarization trends and how these forces are transforming the relationship between media and communicators. You’ll discover:
- The Changing Landscape: How leading reporters, creators and podcasters are redefining news distribution, sourcing and audience connection for PR and media relations teams.
- Hot Button Headlines: What reporters see as the biggest political, tech/regulatory and cultural flashpoints driving editorial decisions.
- Media Trust and Transparency: Real-world perspectives on earning audience trust, combating misinformation and balancing speed with accuracy.
- Navigating Polarization: Approaches for covering divisive issues ethically and effectively.
- The Attention Economy: How these indie journalists and niche experts command loyal, influential audiences beyond their sites, pages or podcasts—and here’s how your pitches should pivot to fit.
In a Ragan Remixer, you’ll meet your table neighbors and swap perspectives on the keynote. This networking event is your chance to meet peers facing the same challenges and meet a new friend to learn together.
Silos are no longer sustainable—not with brand reputation now shaped as much by LLM search and influencer commentary as by news coverage. One misstep, earnings shortfall or regulatory change (think tariffs) can erupt overnight—and only agile, coordinated teams can respond at the speed of modern media. This panel explores how you can lead that charge, breaking down barriers between PR, marketing, internal comms and public affairs to deliver unified strategies that protect reputation and promote trust. You’ll learn:
- The Urgency of Unity: Why today’s disruptions—from downsizing to deepfakes and data privacy laws—demand seamless collaboration between PR, marketing, internal comms and public affairs.
- Shared Goals, Shared KPIs: How to align departments around common outcomes like reputation strength, audience engagement and business resilience.
- Integrated Workflows: Practical ways to sync content planning, approvals and analytics so messages stay consistent and credible across every channel.
- Comms as Connector: How PR teams—as the org’s “eyes and ears”—can take the lead in bridging silos by monitoring reputation and translating internal intent to external perception.
- Sustained Collaboration: Frameworks to keep momentum going post-crisis or campaign—turning lessons learned into long-term coordination and continuous improvement.
You came into PR as a storyteller and wordsmith—not a number-cruncher. But today’s C-Suite wants KPIs and business outcomes. This session demonstrates how to talk to the C-suite in a language they understand, shifting from clip counts to business value, reframing reports around executive priorities and speaking the language of growth, risk and reputation—so your results finally carry the weight they deserve. What you’ll learn:
- The Business Fluency Gap: Blind spots that can keep PR pros from being seen as strategic partners—from misunderstanding revenue drivers and financial terms to focusing on visibility over value.
- From Outputs to Outcomes: How to replace vanity metrics like impressions and AVEs with KPIs that actually matter like brand search lift, reputation score, lead quality, SOV and stakeholder sentiment.
- Narratives that Sell: How to translate PR success into executive language—showing your impact through reduced risk, higher trust, improved retention or increased customer demand.
- Visibility that Counts: Ways to track the business ripple effects of your work—like referral traffic, inbound leads, investor mentions or policy influence—so PR becomes part of growth strategy.
- Fluency Roadmap: How to sharpen your business IQ by partnering with finance or marketing on KPI dashboards, joining campaign ROI reviews and benchmarking results against enterprise goals.
Sometimes the most resonant stories begin with a misstep. When Coors Light’s Times Square billboard went viral for a typo, the brand didn’t apologize—it improvised. “Monday’s Light” became a national, limited-time campaign that humanized the brand and proved that quick, creative thinking can outshine flawless execution. This session explores how PR pros can turn unexpected moments into opportunities for connection, creativity and credibility. Learn how to cultivate teams, instincts and storytelling systems that make your brand both responsive and resilient when things don’t go exactly as planned. We’ll uncover:
- Turn Errors into Engagement: Identify the narrative potential in small stumbles before they escalate—and shape them into shareable stories that reflect brand personality.
- Move at the Speed of Culture: Build approval frameworks and creative processes that enable rapid, thoughtful responses without sacrificing brand integrity.
- Humanize Brand Voice: Use humor, honesty and humility to strengthen emotional connection and consumer trust.
- Empower Your Comms Team: Foster a creative culture that encourages experimentation, calculated risk-taking, and proactive storytelling.
- Measure the Upside: Evaluate post-pivot performance to prove the value of agility, authenticity and earned buzz.
It’s time to break bread and make connections! Enjoy your lunch, then dive into 30 minutes of networking—with a twist. Grab a “Lunch & Link” bingo card on the way to the buffet and see who you meet: find someone with your birthday, match a last name, share your most memorable PR moment. It’s not just lunch, it’s where fresh connections (and ideas) are on the menu. It’s time to link with your peers.
While trends move quickly, crisis erupt with lightning speed. Keep up when you join this rapid-fire session with a global retail leader sharing lessons learned from navigating high-profile challenges in a digital-first marketplace, where social sentiment can change overnight. Practical takes you’ll walk away with:
- Speed vs. Substance: How to respond quickly without losing authenticity.
- Influence with Integrity: Partnering with creators and advocates in ways that build trust, not tension.
- Owning the Narrative: How proactive storytelling and transparency can defuse speculation.
When Hurricane Helene crippled communications across western North Carolina, a utility's comims team was already on the move. In this fast-paced session, go behind the scenes to see how this organization turned its crisis response expertise into life-saving action—restoring connectivity for hospitals, first responders and emergency agencies—while keeping internal teams, partners and the public informed every step of the way. Learn their lessons on:
- Move First, Talk Fast: How early communication and trust-based relationships with emergency partners shaped a rapid response.
- Messaging Under Pressure: Keeping tone, clarity and purpose consistent when the story changes hourly—plus how to blend operational updates with human impact stories to sustain credibility and inspire support.
- Measurement Matters: Why data (miles traveled, hours logged, homes rebuilt) built the story of impact better than any campaign could.
When a defective software update triggered a worldwide outage, one organization faced a nightmare scenario: critical health systems offline, staff unable to access records and patients waiting for answers. But instead of retreating, the organization communicated—early, often, and everywhere. This case study breaks down how they aligned internal clarity with external transparency to lead under pressure and how communicators can apply the same playbook when everything is on the line. You’ll walk away with the knowledge to:
- Start from Within: How timely, consistent internal comms builds the credibility needed for effective public messaging.
- Create a Multichannel Rhythm: Strategies for synchronizing updates across email, intranet, blogs, social platforms and media outreach to maintain control of the narrative.
- Led with Visibility: Why accessibility from executive messaging to “tech bars” and real-time employee feedback fuels trust and organizational calm.
- Measurement Tips: The KPIs and dashboardsused to monitor and adjust its crisis messaging.
Three high-stakes crises. Three very different playbooks. One honest conversation. Join the speakers from the event’s various Crisis Comms case studies as they return to the stage for an unfiltered panel as they discuss aligning leadership, messaging and speed when reputational risk is unfolding in real time. What do you say internally when you don’t have all the answers? And how do you rebuild trust once the headlines fade? Learn that and more:
- High-Pressure Decision Trees: How leaders make calls when minutes matter and information is incomplete.
- Internal Plus External Workflows: Navigating what to say, when to say it and to whom—plus how to protect your brand from “internal > external” links.
- Empathy Under Fire: How to blend empathy, authority and message discipline without losing credibility.
- Lessons Learned: What these communicators would (and wouldn’t) do again.
When a viral backlash suddenly targets your brand, every second counts. Preparation of your execs in advance is the key to a credible, composed response. In this fast-paced, hands-on simulation, you’ll learn how to coach execs while on the clock in a mock crisis. Test your response instincts and message discipline in a pressure-cooker scenario ripped from the headlines. We’ll cover:
- Practicing the Pivot: How to equip your execs with verbal and nonverbal techniques to deflect hostility, reframe questions and restore authority.
- Training Before the Storm: How to prepare leaders for tough questions with media and stakeholders (including tips for media-proof message maps).
- Tone Over Tactics: Surprising body language, emotion mirroring and physical cues your execs can use to demonstrate connection with the press and public in crisis situations.
- Live Simulation: Step into a real-time mock crisis where you’ll rotate roles between exec, coach and press to test your instincts, messages and ability to recover under scrutiny.
Before we lead into the night’s festivities, we’ll do a classic Ragan Remixer to meet five peers.
Bring your new friends and colleagues with you as we celebrate the evening in style.
Get your pens out! Ragan’s host will share highlights from the previous day in a tight ten.
What happens when a legacy brand dares to rewrite its own story? Learn how one of the world’s most recognizable brands transformed a decades-old message into a modern call for purpose and reflection. Explore how their storytelling strategy around their brand reinvention helped them reconnect to their consumers and inspire long-term loyalty. You’ll learn about:
- Evolving Legacy Narratives: How to refresh long-standing messages into purpose-driven stories that speak to today’s audiences.
- Brand Transformations: How this legacy brand used storytelling and narrative strategy to maintain continuity while embracing bold change.
- Trend Shifts and Cultural Insights: How they determined “now” was the proper time for action—and how you can translate societal shifts into stories that strengthen your brand’s reputation and relevance.
- Proof in the Public Square: How journalists, creators, communicators and social media embraced the evolved brand story—and KPIs that showed the narrative was breaking through.
Not every brand gets to sell sneakers. Some are tasked with explaining satellites, insurance or industrial machinery, while others need to lean into B2B platforms. This panel showcases PR pros who have landed major earned media attention with unusual narratives. You’ll discover:
- Jargon Demystified: How to quickly transform dense, industry-specific language into stories anyone can understand and the media wants to cover.
- Storytelling Techniques: How to reframe deep expertise as an assetand build compelling hooks that sell your brand narrative.
- Visuals as the Translator: How videos, data viz and AI-enhanced content can turn dry concepts into sensory, sharable experiences.
- Resonance Across Earned: Case studies of panelist successes, including how one media placement went viral.
Your workforce is more than your internal audience, it’s your most credible media channel—if you know how to activate it. In this session, you’ll learn how smart communicators are redefining PR as BR, and how internal culture, purpose and people can be outward-facing proof of trust. Learn how to build reputation that starts within and radiates outward. Let’s dive into PR’s next chapter:
- Employees as Amplifiers: How internal advocates can drive authenticity and trust on platforms like LinkedIn, Fishbowl, Glassdoor and even Reddit more effectively than any paid campaign.
- Culture as Content: How workplace stories, initiatives and values can be turned into earned media and social proof that fuels external coverage.
- Real World Examples: The framework that one company used to evolve their PR function—and the metrics they used to track success.
- Reputation Equity: How PR pros can build the narrative before any crisis or change hits—and how that has worked so far for brands in 2026.
With a sudden federal funding freeze putting life-saving care for hundreds of thousands at risk, the team behind the PR Daily Campaign of the Year showed how courageous storytelling, rapid response and relentless clarity can reshape the national conversation when the stakes are life or death. In this session, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how a nonprofit facing an unprecedented federal funding freeze protected its mission and mobilized global support. You’ll learn:
- From Idea to Impact: How the team built a proactive strategy under a 90-day government funding freeze, with every decision grounded in audience research, policy insights and life-or-death needs.
- Creative Execution Under Pressure: How human-centered storytelling, expert sourcing and a coordinated multi-channel content cadence broke through a crowded media landscape.
- Collaboration and Adaptability: Steps to align internal teams, activated partners and pivoted messaging as the crisis evolved.
- Measurement That Matters: Ways they tracked and communicated success—from earned media value and placements to grassroots fundraising.
- Lessons Learned: What the team would refine in future crises—and what every PR pro can apply to navigate high-stakes policy, reputational and humanitarian challenges.
The top takeaways from the event, plus winner announcements!
We’ll serve up trends along with bagels. Get ready for a quick trends-review from the editors of PR Daily, alongside a welcome message from CEO Diane Schwartz.
Join influential reporters and editorial voices from leading Substack publications, top podcasts and emerging digital outlets for a dynamic conversation that brings the people shaping news and culture directly to the stage. They’ll have an unfiltered discussion on today’s media ecosystem, polarization trends and how these forces are transforming the relationship between media and communicators. You’ll discover:
- The Changing Landscape: How leading reporters, creators and podcasters are redefining news distribution, sourcing and audience connection for PR and media relations teams.
- Hot Button Headlines: What reporters see as the biggest political, tech/regulatory and cultural flashpoints driving editorial decisions.
- Media Trust and Transparency: Real-world perspectives on earning audience trust, combating misinformation and balancing speed with accuracy.
- Navigating Polarization: Approaches for covering divisive issues ethically and effectively.
- The Attention Economy: How these indie journalists and niche experts command loyal, influential audiences beyond their sites, pages or podcasts—and here’s how your pitches should pivot to fit.
In a Ragan Remixer, you’ll meet your table neighbors and swap perspectives on the keynote. This networking event is your chance to meet peers facing the same challenges and meet a new friend to learn together.
In this candid conversation, leaders of agencies and in-house comms teams discuss today’s confusing job market through the lens of AI. They’ll cover the skillsets they’re hiring for, the roles they’re phasing out and the hybrid human-AI skills every communicator needs to stay indispensable. AI is the new baseline—and here’s what’s next:
- The Top AI-Impacted Skills: From project management to data literacy, the top skills that hiring managers are searching and training for now.
- What Agencies Value Most: Why hybrid thinkers (part creative, part analyst, part technologist) are in demand to elevate work beyond the machines.
- Entry Level Upset: Why AI is absorbing the classic “first job” workload and what leaders are doing to rebuild pipelines, redesign early career goals and avoid a future talent drought.
- Future-Proofing Your Team (and Yourself): Practical stepss you can take to reskill, upskill and align your expertise with where the industry is heading.
As AI speeds up content creation, communicators face a new challenge: How to maintain accuracy, transparency and brand trust at scale. From media statements and bylines to press releases and campaign copy, the margin for error has never been smaller. This session featuring a real brand case study shows how to create a lightweight “AI Content Review Board” that keeps quality high and risk low. You’ll leave with a one-page decision tree and QA checklist to protect your brand before anything goes live. What we’ll cover:
- The Review Sweet Spot: How to balance speed and oversight so PR and other content teams stay agile without risking accuracy or credibility.
- Red Flags to Watch: Practical checkpoints to catch factual errors, bias, tone issues or missing AI disclosures in your media and marketing content.
- The Human Loop: When and how human review should intervene—especially for owned and earned media, executive quotes and high-stakes storytelling.
- QA Toolkit: Tips to build an AI content checklist and approval workflow tailored to PR and communications teams, not compliance departments.
- Case Study Roadmap: See how one brand rolled out a scalable review process that protects reputation while empowering faster content creation.
Today’s PR pros need workflows that protect their time and multiply their output. In this instructional session, you’ll learn how one team has systemized their operations, streamlined intake of requests and built an AI-enhanced workflow that cuts through the chaos. Learn about:
- Intake Dashboards: How to build a request system that categorizes work by channel, complexity and business impact—helping teams focus on what’s mission-critical while showing leadership exactly where PR’s time is going.
- Accountability Models: How to use RACI, effort-impact matrixes and decision trees to clarify ownership, eliminate overlap and set expectations with stakeholders.
- AI Agents as First Line of Triage: The plug-and-play tools and AI agents you can incorporate to auto-categorize incoming requests, detect missing information and generate draft briefs and route tasks.
When crisis strikes at 30,000 feet—literally—composure, credibility and clarity determine whether your organization lands safely or spirals out of control. In this rapid-fire, high-impact flash talk, PR Daily’s Media Relations Professional of the Year takes us behind the scenes of one of the most intense years in corporate comms. From an in-flight door blowout that made global headlines to navigating federal probes and a high-stakes acquisition, the media pro’s “inside-out” comms strategy became a model for balancing transparency, empathy and precision under extreme pressure. You’ll learn how the comms team addressed:
- Coordinated Messaging: How they synchronized internal and external messaging to maintain trust with employees, regulators and the public.
- Media as an Asset: Ways they turned media relationships into an asset during nonstop national coverage.
- Correcting the Record: How they identified and countered misinformation in top-tier outlets with strategic persistence and credibility.
- Cross-Sector Alignment: Steps they took to build unity across government, airline and manufacturing partners amid crisis and corporate transition.
It’s time to break bread and make connections! Enjoy your lunch, then dive into 30 minutes of networking—with a twist. Grab a “Lunch & Link” bingo card on the way to the buffet and see who you meet: find someone with your birthday, match a last name, share your most memorable PR moment. It’s not just lunch, it’s where fresh connections (and ideas) are on the menu. It’s time to link with your peers.
Creative, smart AI prompts can help with roadblocks, strategy, pitching, editing and more. In this session, a PR prompting pro will share not just their favorite prompts, but the tools you need to tailor prompts for your own needs. What you’ll learn:
- Find the Angle Faster: Using prompts to scan beat patterns, decode reporter priorities and surface the strongest news hooks so pitches hit media inboxes and passion points.
- Stay Ahead of the Cycle: How trend-spotting prompts can pull rapid intel on what’s breaking so you can pivot outreach and insert yourself into coverage.
- Pressure-Test Your Ideas: How to create a “critical prompt: framework that challenges assumptions, flags weak spots and pushes you to sharpen your narrative.
- The Custom GPT Question: When and how to evolve successful prompts into lightweight custom GPTs.
You need a different playbook if you want AI answer engines to quote you—and not a competitor. This session dispenses with theory and delivers a use case that breaks down exactly how to structure, tag, attribute and distribute your content so LLMs recognize your organization as an authoritative source. Learn the techniques, formats and triggers that GEO hunts for—and walk away with templates you can borrow. Explore:
- Formatting Basics: How to structure owned content (blogs, newsrooms, press releases) with explicit claims, definitions and clear headings that LLMs can easily parse and index.
- Keyword Strategy for the AI Era: SEO keyword stuffing is over, but there are still ways to align copy to how LLMs interpret relevance, including strategic use of synonyms and conceptual variations, natural language for question-based queries and “intent clusters.”
- AI-Friendly Distribution Plans: Where to publish so your content is more likely to be scraped, cited or referenced.
Digital avatars are no longer sci-fi—they’re already delivering earnings explainers, analyst briefings and leadership updates in multiple languages. We’ll unpack real examples, including Klarna’s AI avatar of its CEO used in earnings videos and UBS’s use of Synthesia and OpenAI to create avatar analysts delivering research to clients—plus a quick framework for when avatars can scale storytelling and when humans must stay in the spotlight. You’ll learn:
- Current Use Cases: How others are testing avatars for investor relations, PR leadership updates and scalable internal messages—and why most still pause at high-stakes external comms.
- Legal and Brand Guardrails: The fast-emerging rules around likeness rights, cloned voices, licensing and brand identity.
- Your Avatar Decision Guide: A simple matrix for deciding when AI avatars can safely amplify your PR, IR, marketing or internal comms strategy—without crossing the trust line.
AI is reshaping research, writing and reporting, and the smartest PR pros are learning alongside their AI tools. A robust L&D strategy helps keep teams fluent in both human judgement and machine intelligence. Learn how these communicators and their teams balance daily tasks with upskilling to stay current and productive.
- Just-In-Time Upskilling: How micro-learnings on skills can help keep staff current.
- Skills to Hire For: How curiosity, data-literacy and ethical awareness will define the best and brightest, and how to teach and learn those traits today.
- Models for Future-Proofing Teams: Practical models for continuous learning that can evolve alongside the tools and techniques your team is using.
When a viral backlash suddenly targets your brand, every second counts. Preparation of your execs in advance is the key to a credible, composed response. In this fast-paced, hands-on simulation, you’ll learn how to coach execs while on the clock in a mock crisis. Test your response instincts and message discipline in a pressure-cooker scenario ripped from the headlines. We’ll cover:
- Practicing the Pivot: How to equip your execs with verbal and nonverbal techniques to deflect hostility, reframe questions and restore authority.
- Training Before the Storm: How to prepare leaders for tough questions with media and stakeholders (including tips for media-proof message maps)
- Tone Over Tactics: Surprising body language, emotion mirroring and physical cues your execs can use to demonstrate connection with the press and public in crisis situations
- Live Simulation: Step into a real-time mock crisis where you’ll rotate roles between exec, coach and press to test your instincts, messages and ability to recover under scrutiny.
Before we lead into the night’s festivities, we’ll do a classic Ragan Remixer to meet five peers.
Bring your new friends and colleagues with you as we celebrate the evening in style.
Get your pens out! Ragan’s host will share highlights from the previous day in a tight ten.
What happens when a legacy brand dares to rewrite its own story? Learn how one of the world’s most recognizable brands transformed a decades-old message into a modern call for purpose and reflection. Explore how their storytelling strategy around their brand reinvention helped them reconnect to their consumers and inspire long-term loyalty. You’ll learn about:
- Evolving Legacy Narratives: How to refresh long-standing messages into purpose-driven stories that speak to today’s audiences.
- Brand Transformations: How this legacy brand used storytelling and narrative strategy to maintain continuity while embracing bold change.
- Trend Shifts and Cultural Insights: How they determined “now” was the proper time for action—and how you can translate societal shifts into stories that strengthen your brand’s reputation and relevance.
- Proof in the Public Square: How journalists, creators, communicators and social media embraced the evolved brand story—and KPIs that showed the narrative was breaking through.
AI search is redefining what “earned media” means. If your content isn’t optimized for this new ecosystem, your brand risks vanishing while competitors surge ahead. Join us as this panel of experts breaks down how PR and media relations pros can adapt, create content for LLMs and master Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—the next frontier of PR strategy. You’ll leave ready to future-proof your media outreach for the GEO era and ensure your brand is cited, trusted and seen. You’ll learn:
- Generative Engine Optimization (DEO): The PR-friendly version of SEO—how to write, tag and distribute content so AI answer engines quote you, not competitors.
- Best Media Targets in the AI Age: How to pick outlets, influencers and story formats that boost your odds of appearing in today’s search results and AI summaries.
- Search Audit Steps: Steps to audit and improve earned and owned media so your brand remains credible, competitive and discoverable in AI answers.
- Press Release Changes: How to structure press releases for machine readability, contextual accuracy and discoverability—so they feed both journalists and large language models.
Brand newsrooms are becoming a major source of AI generated answers, underscoring how owned media is more important than ever. Brands have more power than ever before to control the narrative through careful storytelling that feeds AI models. Learn how one brand has built an agile, data-informed newsroom that helps strengthen credibility, future-proofs their brand visibility and serves as a primary source for additional earned plays. We’ll cover:
- Owned to Earned: How a database of owned articles becomes a rich source for both LLMs and overworked reporters hunting for a quick story.
- Rewriting the Algorithm: How GenAI and answer engines pull from brand-owned content—not just press releases—and why an updated newsroom strategy is critical in 2026.
- Authority as Armor: How owned media boosts credibility both journalists and AI systems alike—plus how to optimize it for visibility and voice.
- Newsroom ROI: How to translate newsroom successes into business terms—and the KPIs your execs will love.
With a sudden federal funding freeze putting life-saving care for hundreds of thousands at risk, the team behind the PR Daily Campaign of the Year showed how courageous storytelling, rapid response and relentless clarity can reshape the national conversation when the stakes are life or death. In this session, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how a nonprofit facing an unprecedented federal funding freeze protected its mission and mobilized global support. You’ll learn:
- From Idea to Impact: How the team built a proactive strategy under a 90-day government funding freeze, with every decision grounded in audience research, policy insights and life-or-death needs.
- Creative Execution Under Pressure: How human-centered storytelling, expert sourcing and a coordinated multi-channel content cadence broke through a crowded media landscape.
- Collaboration and Adaptability: Steps to align internal teams, activated partners and pivoted messaging as the crisis evolved.
- Measurement That Matters: Ways they tracked and communicated success—from earned media value and placements to grassroots fundraising.
- Lessons Learned: What the team would refine in future crises—and what every PR pro can apply to navigate high-stakes policy, reputational and humanitarian challenges.
The top takeaways from the event, plus winner announcements!
SPEAKERS
INTERESTED IN SPEAKING?
Please reach out to Director of Event Programming
Alyssa Smith.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- Prove ROI, Protect Your Budgets: Demonstrate bottom-line business impact that resonates with leadership by connecting campaigns to revenue, sales and trust — not vanity metrics or empty impressions.
- Command a Fragmented Media World: Thrive in a landscape of shrinking newsrooms and rising micro-media by building data-informed, personalized relationships that earn coverage and credibility.
- Make AI Your Smartest Teammate: Use AI to forecast story success, predict risk and decode journalist behavior without losing the human touch that makes messages matter.
- Build Unshakable Brand Trust: Craft authentic, multi-channel narratives that position your brand as a credible voice while empowering executives and creators to connect and convert.
- Own the Conversation, Everywhere: Navigate pay-to-play platforms and emerging digital communities to drive influence across Reddit, Substacks, Discords and beyond.
- Lead Through Crisis and Change: What you can do to anticipate disruption, polarization and reputational threats. Plus: the real-time response strategies that will keep you in control of the narrative.
- Earn Influence at the Table: Speak the language of leadership by using data, modeling and storytelling to advocate for PR’s essential business role.
- Build Relationships That Matter: Move beyond pitching by using AI insights and relevance-driven strategies to forge lasting trust with journalists, creators and audiences.
PRICING
Join us for the PR Daily Conference:
| PRIORITY | ADVANCED | EARLY BIRD | VIP | REGULAR RATE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference All-Access Pass(includes the pre-conference workshops and conference recording) | |||||
| Standard | $3,495 | $3,595 | $3,695 | $3,795 | $3,895 |
| Nonprofit/Gov/Edu | $3,395 | $3,495 | $3,595 | $3,695 | $3,795 |
| Ragan Insider | $3,345 | $3,445 | $3,545 | $3,645 | $3,745 |
| Conference Registration - Individual | |||||
| Standard | $3,095 | $3,195 | $3,295 | $3,395 | $3,495 |
| Nonprofit/Gov/Edu | $2,995 | $3,095 | $3,195 | $3,295 | $3,395 |
| Ragan Insider | $2,945 | $3,045 | $3,145 | $3,245 | $3,345 |
| Conference Recording On Demand | |||||
| Includes pre-conference workshops and conference sessions | $1999 | $1999 | $1999 | $1999 | $1999 |
Bring your team! Discounted group pricing for 3 or more is available. Contact customer service for more information.
GET RECOGNIZED!
Each registration comes with a personalized "PR Daily Conference" Certificate of Completion for attending.
Group Discounts
Would you and your team like to attend? Group pricing for 3 or more is available when going through the registration process!
RAGAN COUNCIL MEMBER DISCOUNTS
Membership includes free registration passes. Contact Shallon Blackburn for more information on becoming a member.
RAGAN INSIDER DISCOUNTS
Insiders save on all Ragan events. Not a Ragan Insider? You can become one during registration for this event!
New York Marriott
333 Adams Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 246-7000
Visitor Info Minutes from amazing attractions, the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most exciting hotels in Brooklyn, New York. Situated close to Prospect Park, our hotel near the Brooklyn Bridge provides guests with an inspired vantage point to work, play and relax.
RECHARGE, RELAX & HAVE FUN
Brooklyn Bridge ParkWaterfront park with skyline views, green spaces, and walking paths — ideal for a sunset stroll.
Prospect ParkBrooklyn’s version of Central Park, featuring meadows, trails, and weekend events.
Brooklyn Botanic GardenA serene garden filled with roses, ponds, and shaded paths — beautiful in June.
DUMBO & the WaterfrontTrendy shops, cafés, and photo-worthy views beneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.
Coney IslandClassic boardwalk fun with amusement rides, beach access, and Nathan’s Famous hot dogs.
Brooklyn MuseumA world-class art museum with diverse collections and rotating exhibitions.
WilliamsburgA lively neighborhood with rooftop bars, boutiques, and a vibrant dining scene.
Bushwick CollectiveAn open-air gallery of colorful street art and murals.
Time Out Market New YorkA curated food hall in DUMBO with great eats and rooftop views.
- IABC ‘s 5 Stages of Crisis Recovery and Reputation Repair
- Global State of the Press Release Report
- Media Coverage Scoring Guide and Template
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Want to become a sponsor? Get in touch with our team to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
You should attend if you spend at least a quarter of your time in any of these areas:
- Public Relations
- Media Relations
- Corporate Communication
- Brand Journalism
- Reputation Management
- Crisis Communications
- Issues Management
- Social Media
- Storytelling
- Writing and Editing
- Measurement and Evaluation
- Executive Communication
- Brand Management
WHO ATTENDS
Communications professionals from these organizations have attended the PR Daily Conference Conference:
WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD ATTEND?
Here’s what past attendees are saying about Ragan and PR Daily Events!
The PR Daily Conference was an outstanding experience. The caliber of the speakers, recognized leaders in the communications industry, was truly impressive, and the insights they shared were both practical and inspiring.
This was my first Ragan PR Daily Conference. The event was insightful and inspirational, and I look forward to attending future Ragan events!
Networking with some of the brightest people in the industry made this an invaluable experience. While the content was valuable and interesting, the time spent sharing stories with peers who "get it" was the highlight.
PR Daily convened a group of smart and passionate communicators and leaders. I enjoyed meeting my peers and sharing space for learning and growth. I will recommend for early to mid-career professionals.
KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST!
The conference fun doesn’t start and stop at the event! Follow us on socials and sign-up for update emails.
Contact us for group rates and share with friends!
