It’s about time to be bold and think differently: IABC World Conference 2021

After spending three days immersed in communications goodness with fellow communications professionals from around the world, I’m feeling Inspired and Energized!

This year’s IABC World Conference was incredible. When I signed up, I knew I was in for an invaluable learning opportunity to get ahead in my career. As a first-timer, I came in eager to learn, make new connections and pick up new trends I can apply in my work.

I left with so much more. I feel I have built new capabilities to lead and succeed ahead – acquired a wealth of knowledge and new perspectives to add to my toolbox. Let’s just say, I’m fired up!

The conference included 50 sessions, even some fun rock and roll and trivia games, opportunities to attend networking sessions, participate in roundtable discussions and listen to two extraordinary keynotes from Pfizer’s Sally Susman and NASA’s Isidro Reyna.

Sally Susman, Pfizer Executive

In her presentation, opening keynote speaker Sally Susman, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Pfizer Inc. took us on a journey on Pfizer's race to find a vaccine for COVID-19. This included, the moment she and her team communicated the launch of the “Science Will Win” campaign to the moment Pfizer’s executive team learned their vaccine was FDA approved. Sally Susman’s message was clear – business communicators should always think big, bold and be ambitious. In her case, even if it meant incorporating a business rebrand and a reputation reversal plan for Pfizer in the middle of a pandemic. The race to deliver a vaccine in record time did not stop her team from thinking big!

 She noted, being bold and ambitious will mean:

• Don’t take no for an answer

• Be consistent and persistent

• Collaborate with your team to adapt and transform.

Closing keynote speaker, Isidro Reyna, Senior Communications Specialist for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, touched on what it means to be a communications professional working with and in space. He too challenged business communicators to think differently, to use new tools and to take giant leaps - just like astronauts.

Isidro Reyna, NASA Executive

Reyna provided an inside look at some of NASA’s communications initiatives, such as capturing live rocket launches and broadcasting interviews with astronauts in Space. He also shared insights into the “Dare, Unite, Explore” campaign NASA launched after it realized it was missing out on a key demographic – employees and retirees. This internal campaign focused on the Johnson Space Centre’s vision: “We dare to expand frontiers. We unite with our partners to complete bold missions. We explore space to benefit humanity.”

Interestingly, NASA also engaged in a rebranding exercise of its internal materials, employee newsletter and the company’s employee site which was turned into an external-facing platform in an effort to encourage employees to share their great work with the public. Now, that’s bold!

The rebrand was bold, fun and colourful. The branding went beyond digital and content. It extended throughout the campus, on banners, crosswalks and murals.

My key takeaways

For me, all these stories and communications strategies, are a lesson to think differently.

Some of the questions I’m asking myself are, how can I motivate my team to think differently about how we communicate to our colleagues? What are some of the tools available to us as a team to communicate more effectively and efficiently? What processes can we put in place to enhance colleague engagement?

During the pandemic, we have all been forced to navigate something we’ve never experienced before. In the process, we’ve had to rethink how we do business. This shouldn’t stop there. We need to continue to unite as business communicators, collaborate and explore new ways of doing business.

It’s about time to stop talking about our plans and dare to take action!