Seven things to watch out for at #PRAXIS7

Come September and for the last six years all roads lead to a new host city for several professionals in Public Relations. This year is no different. And to top it there are 40 speakers who are getting on to the PRAXIS stage for the first time. What is unique to the seventh edition? Read through to find out.

Content – This year we are exploring the various facets of Storytelling. From how diversity and inclusion make for great stories, to digital storytelling, from culture playing a role in remarkable stories to stories from the world of agriculture and tourism. We have over a dozen international speakers and two dozen Indian professionals who will discuss, debate and deliberate on the essence of storytelling. This will be interspersed with hundreds of stories during the breaks

Masterclasses – This time we are re-introducing something we tried out at the second edition in the form of workshops for everyone. This time we are bringing in a marketer, a journalist and a digital expert – all on sabbaticals from full-time jobs, to share with an intimate group of attendees through break-out sessions. The focus will be on getting the most out of television stories, learning from brand marketing in the 80s and building the personal brand online.

Super Night – We are launching a new property within the property thanks to one consultancy’s passion to bring a new element of fun to the entire experience. Super Night will be a series of three fun evenings, with the first one taking place at PRAXIS on Day 1. It will be a mix of a conversation with a high achiever followed by a live performance with a famous band and cocktails, conversations and dinner. Two more Super Nights will happen in Mumbai in December and in NCR in February.

Ikea City – While the original plan was to run sessions on Sunday morning we realise how several Ikea fans want time off to check out the brand-new store and the first in India which is couple of kilometres away from the venue. We recommend heading out after breakfast on Sunday to shop at this iconic store and then head to the home destination after a meal of chicken or vegetable meat balls. If one looks closely there are many stories and PR tricks one can learn from the store.

Partners – This year we have close to 30 brand partners and few other supporting partners who are supporting the event in cash and kind. PRAXIS would not have reached this stage without the support of these companies. While every partner is important, the Platinum partners do the heavy lifting. We are indebted to them and are grateful to their generosity. The cover image highlights them and there are half a dozen corporate organisations along with two dozen PR firms in this vibrant group.

Global Corporate Communication Leaders – For the first time we have a good number of communication leaders from different continents flying down to PRAXIS representing varying sectors. We could not have asked for more. From Stella Row of Dell, Beth Roden of Bayer, Jonathan Adashek of Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance to Peter Brun of VFS Global we are covered in terms of sectors and geographies. Their keynotes will be followed by conversations with an Indian communication leader.

Delegate mix – At the seventh edition we maybe heading to the 700 mark as things stand. Our measure of success was to cross 600 delegates and we reached that milestone with 30 days to spare. So, if our estimate is right we maybe heading to the 700 number. And these include professionals from over 150 organisations. As in the past couple of years there is a healthy mix of consultancy and in-house professionals.

For more information about PRAXIS and to register, please visit – www dot praxisonline dot in.

Amith Prabhu

Founder at PRomise Foundation

Amith Prabhu is the Founder of the PRomise Foundation which organises PRAXIS, India’s annual summit of reputation management professionals.

He is also the Founding Dean of the School of Communications & Reputation (SCoRe).

He can be reached at @amithpr on twitter.