6th Annual Strategic Internal Communications - West Coast

8:00am PST

Workshop A: Goodbye Internal Communications, Hello Employee Engagement - led by Integral Communications Group

Discover and discuss what it truly means to activate, inspire and enable employees. We will share insights about the digital drivers changing the nature of relationships between employees and employers and explore how disruptions to these expectations impact the work of communications teams. You will walk away knowing how your team can develop and inhabit a model that works back from business objectives. See case studies from Bloomberg and IBM to inspire your creative thinking around driving employee engagement within your organization.

Learn how to activate your engagement strategy, including:

Recognizing the digital drivers pushing us to move from an “internal communications” model to an employee engagement model
Implementing next steps and tactics for your organization to increase employee engagement and develop communications results that work back from business objectives
Setting priorities for your team back at the office

Ethan McCarty, CEO
Integral Communications Group

Speakers

Ethan McCarty

CEO, Integral Communications Group

Ethan McCarty is the CEO of Integral Communications Group, a consultancy that enables international brands to engage, inspire and activate employees on behalf of their employers. Previously, Ethan was Global Head of Employee and Innovation Communications for Bloomberg LP. where he... Read More →

Tuesday January 29, 2019 8:00am - 10:00am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Interactive Workshop

10:00am PST

Morning Refreshments & Networking Break

Stand up and stretch and grab some refreshments as we switch over to the next workshop

Tuesday January 29, 2019 10:00am - 10:15am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

10:15am PST

Workshop B: Co-Create a Communications Strategy Using A Simple & Tactical Framework - led by Local Wisdom

The art of getting messages to audiences and moving them to act is daunting. Especially in this crazy world where the increase of disruption and information is staggering. As communicators and marketers, we gamble our investment on strategies that bring the best business returns.
The wisdom within all of us is powerful. This down and dirty, simple and fun, interactive workshop allows participants to team up, share their mission, and brainstorm ideas. It all happens within a framework designed to output the key elements to a communications strategy.
In this highly interactive workshop, you’ll learn frameworks to:

Draft a departmental mission and define key messages
Define experiences that will move your audience to action
Define communication channels to host and promote your messages
Define how you’ll measure your messages against business outcomes

Pinaki Kathiari, CEO
Local Wisdom

Speakers

Pinaki Kathiari

CEO, Local Wisdom

Tuesday January 29, 2019 10:15am - 12:15pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Interactive Workshop

12:15pm PST

Lunch Break: On Your Own or with a Group

Stop by the registration table for nearby suggestions for lunch recommendations. Feel free to dine with a group or go out on your own. **Lunch cost is on your own.

Tuesday January 29, 2019 12:15pm - 1:45pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Lunch

1:45pm PST

Workshop C: Let's Defeat the Deplorable "Talking Head" Video... Forever: How to Use Video on a Budget to Boost Engagement - led by 12 Stars Media

We all know that the world of communications has changed. Endless blasts of information from ever-changing channels have obliterated the attention spans of our employees. Meanwhile, one method of communication hasn't evolved since the earliest days of video - the infamously deplorable "talking head" video. It just won't go away, even though we all know staring at someone's head for three minutes straight is one of the worst ways to engage a viewer.

In this workshop, we're going to fix that once and for all. Walk away with new strategies on how to make videos that employees will want to watch, including:

The real reason talking head videos suck in the first place
How to rethink your messaging to avoid getting sucked into the talking head trap
Practical examples and hands-on practice of alternative ways to make a video

Rocky Walls, CEO
12 Stars Media

Speakers

Rocky Walls

CEO, 12 Stars Media

Rocky is the man behind the wheel on the 12 Stars Media bus. When he’s not working alongside fellow 12 Stars team members, he's consulting one-on-one with companies about using video in their marketing and communication plans or engaging rooms full of communicators by speaking in... Read More →

Tuesday January 29, 2019 1:45pm - 3:45pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Interactive Workshop

3:45pm PST

End of Workshop Day & Networking Reception

Cheers to a great day full of content! Join us in the hotel lobby bar for complimentary drinks + networking with your peers.

Tuesday January 29, 2019 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

TBA

GENERAL SESSION DAY 1

Wednesday January 30, 2019 TBA
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

8:00am PST

Registration: Badges, Bagels, & Beverages

Sign-in, pick up your materials and enjoy a continental breakfast before we start the day. Now is the perfect time to stop by and meet your sponsors!

Wednesday January 30, 2019 8:00am - 8:30am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

8:30am PST

Welcome & Speed Networking

Welcome to the 6th Annual Strategic Internal Communications conference. In this fast-paced forum you'll get to know your fellow peers, their biggest internal communications challenges, and a few fun facts.

Preston Lewis, CEO
Intactic

Speakers

Preston Lewis

CEO, Intactic

As a recognized expert in employee engagement, branding and strategic internal communications, Preston leads strategy development and employee experience design programs within some of the most reputable companies in the world.He is an energetic and creative leader who is intimately... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 8:30am - 9:15am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

9:15am PST

Building a Communication Strategy to Unite a Distributed Workforce - Marathon Petroleum Company LP

Marathon Petroleum Company LP’s (MPC’s) Terminal, Transport & Rail organization has more than 1,300 employees spread across 80 locations in 15 states. With a distributed workforce, it can be challenging enough to send a single message to everyone, let alone using communications to achieve employee engagement and organizational alignment. Effective communication starts with strategic planning and execution.

You will learn how to build a communication strategy to achieve alignment, encourage engagement and achieve business goals. Using MPC’s communication strategy as a framework, you’ll get a glimpse into the work that goes into building a strategy and the steps required for a successful rollout, including how to:

Use research to define scope and objectives
Leverage existing channels to spread targeted messages
Build a content calendar and communication methodology
Gain leadership buy-in and early approval
Build a feedback loop and track progress using a dashboard

Brandon Daniels, Internal Communications Strategist, Terminal, Transport & Rail
Marathon Petroleum Company LP

Speakers

Brandon Daniels

Internal Communications Strategist, Terminal, Transport, and Rail, Marathon Petroleum

Brandon Daniels is an internal communications strategist at Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), a Fortune 41 company and the nation’s second-largest transportation fuels refiner. Daniels began his as a video producer and editor at Ardent Productions. He joined Marathon Petroleum... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 9:15am - 9:50am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

9:50am PST

Culture for the Win: Using Technology to Fuel Growth, Innovation, and Employee Engagement -- Salesforce

Unlock the secret behind the #1 World’s Best Workplace’s phenomenal growth and recognition. Learn Salesforce’s formula for employee engagement, hear how it’s grounded in fearless and flawless technology, and see firsthand how it comes to life to drive consistent ROI.

Discover how to use technology to enhance your company culture and engagement, including:

Understanding the reality of today’s talent market
Getting why culture matters
Minding the work/life gap
Understanding the ROI of engagement
Measuring the success of your talent strategy

Pamela Lamarre, Director, Employee Communications
Salesforce

Speakers

Pamela Lamarre

Director, Employee Communications, Salesforce

I have the privilege of leading employee communications for the #SalesforceOhana — arguably and clearly unbiasedly the quintessential culture queen of the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm particular about what I say and how I say it — and inherently nosy with a (faint) eau de control... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 9:50am - 10:25am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

10:25am PST

Morning Refreshments, Networking Break + Visit Your Sponsors

Enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and other refreshments as you network with your peers. Be sure to stop by and visit your sponsors.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 10:25am - 10:45am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

10:45am PST

Advocacy from the Inside, Out - Amazon

Learn how to create employee ambassadors and build advocacy from the inside. See how Amazon increases employee engagement, including how to:

boost employee engagement
provide the right content
make data-driven decisions

Amy Alcala, Director, Worldwide Internal Operations Communications
Amazon

Speakers

Amy Alcala

Director, Worldwide Internal Operations Communications, Amazon

Amy Alcala, head of worldwide internal communications for Operations at Amazon has spent her career supporting frontline employees at iconic and high-growth organizations. At Amazon she and her team come to work each day to obsess over the experience for more than 600K Amazonians... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 10:45am - 11:20am PST

11:20am PST

Interactive Session: Let's Get Personal! Building Personas to Create Communications that Resonate and Inspire - led by Brilliant Ink

No matter how hard we try, communications can’t be everything to everyone. Inside every organization, there are groups of employees who process and react to communications differently. But how often do you find yourself developing messages for all employees? If you’re spending a lot of time on all-employee communications, they can end up watered down and uninspired. There’s a better way—we promise.

In this interactive session, Brilliant Ink will show you how to build employee personas so that your communications have the greatest impact. Because by not speaking to a particular someone, we risk not connecting with anyone.

Here’s what you can expect:

Techniques for learning more about your employee audiences vs. operating off assumptions.
How to use personas to help you better understand your audiences, target your messages and ensure your communications resonate with the people who need to hear them most.
Real-world examples demonstrating how personas can improve your communications approach.
A hands-on exercise to building personas that you can take back to your organization and re-create for other audiences.

Kate Brinkerhoff Angus, Head of Accounts
Brilliant Ink

Speakers

Kate Brinkerhoff Angus

Head of Accounts, Brilliant Ink

Wednesday January 30, 2019 11:20am - 11:55am PST

11:55am PST

Slay All Day: Empower Your People with Mobile-First Technology - American Cancer Society

Learn how the American Cancer Society is empowering staff and volunteers with the critical information at their fingertips to fight for a world without cancer. You will get the inside scoop on how the American Cancer Society created the ACS2Go app and made the shift from long-form content to snack-sized content that employees can consume on the go through this mobile-first platform.

Discover how you can engage your employees using a mobile app, including how to:

Create a content calendar and channel mix to deliver real-time targeted information
Make critical resources easily accessible to staff on the move to deliver results
Get C-suite buy-in and use the app to strengthen the connection between your workforce and leadership
Drive revenue and earn media value through one-touch social media sharing

JoEllen Saeli-Lane, Vice President of Organizational Communications
American Cancer Society

Speakers

JoEllen Saeli Lane

Vice President of Organizational Communications, American Cancer Society

Wednesday January 30, 2019 11:55am - 12:30pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

12:30pm PST

Lunch on Your Own, But Not Alone | Reservations are Booked!

Reservations have been made at a number of local restaurants. Don't miss this opportunity to have lunch with your peers at a local San Francisco hot spot!

**Everyone is financially responsible for their own lunch.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 12:30pm - 2:00pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Lunch

2:00pm PST

Emerging Tech Talks: Inside Look at Top Internal Communication Tools & Technologies: What, How & Why - PoliteMail, SocialChorus, Poppulo, Cerkl, Simpplr, Brightcove, Limeade, Contact Monkey, Bananatag, + the EMPLOYEEapp

Choosing the right channel for your employees is half the battle. Take a deeper look at the tools available for you to engage, inspire, and motivate your employees. In this "no-pressure" setting, you'll be able to ask your most pressing questions and receive honest feedback.

See demonstrations from PoliteMail, SocialChorus, Poppulo, Cerkl, Simpplr, and more.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 2:00pm - 2:45pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

2:45pm PST

Harnessing AI-Powered Digital Assistants to Drive Employee Engagement & Improve the Employee Experience - Liberty Mutual

How do you harness today’s technology and artificial intelligence to drive employee engagement and improve the employee experience for 50,000 employees? Liberty Mutual is using an intelligent digital assistant.

The 50,000 employees at Liberty Mutual no longer have to manage through a labyrinth of systems, applications or their email to find information and manage tasks. Instead, an AI-powered digital assistant orchestrates across all the disparate systems within the enterprise surfacing personalized and contextual communications, tasks, and information employees need to perform their job. Employees are provided with an intuitive interface and enterprise-grade chatbot serving as their digital assistant to automate tasks on their behalf, manage the information they need to know, and elevate communications and reminders outside of email, so they can get more work done, faster.
Learn how to use digital assistants to drive employee engagement, including how to:

Boost employee engagement and improve internal communication click-thru rates by 40%
Create, manage and deliver targeted, personalized and contextual digital communications across multiple channels
Reduce the number of clicks required by employees to obtain key information by 70%
Create a consumer-like employee experience that employees love (based on sentiment analysis)

Janine Marchi, Head of Marketing & Communications
Workgrid Software at Liberty Mutual

Speakers

Janine Marchi

Head of Marketing & Communications - Workgrid Software, Liberty Mutual

Janine Marchi is Head of Marketing and Communications at Workgrid Software, a wholly-owned company of Liberty Mutual Insurance. Janine has more than 12 years’ experience leading and delivering successful marketing, communication, and digital experience programs for tech companies... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 2:45pm - 3:20pm PST

3:20pm PST

Afternoon Refreshments, Networking Break, + Sponsor Tech Talks Continued

Enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and other refreshments as you network with your peers and continue to visit sponsor demonstrations.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 3:20pm - 3:40pm PST

3:40pm PST

The Chronicles of Webinaria: How to Engage with a Dispersed Workforce Using Webinars as an Internal Communications Tool - Johnson Controls

Is email and your employee portal just not cutting it anymore as an effective internal communications tool? Consider webinars, a versatile way to inform and engage with your workforce at the same time regardless of where they are located.

Learn new strategies on how to boost your engagement using webinars, including how to:

Understand how webinars for employees can increase employee engagement
Identify webinar topics your workforce will find interesting (and produce a series that will help increase interest)
Learn how to plan, market, and actually host webinars for your employees
Use webinars as a way to collect qualitative and quantitive employee feedback on any given topic
Position yourself as the more trusted source of company information by allowing employees to interact with you and various subject matter experts on topics of your choosing

Pete Donahue, Internal Communications Manager
Johnson Controls

Speakers

Pete Donahue

Internal Communications Manager, Johnson Controls

Pete Donahue is an eight-year strategic communications professional with a diverse skill set and background across the communications spectrum. From working in in-house public relations at a non-profit organization to managing an employee communications and training function at a... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 3:40pm - 4:15pm PST

4:15pm PST

Rapid Fire Panel Session: Gain Maximum Ideas in Minimal Time - Walmart Media Group + St. Elizabeth Healthcare + McDonalds + PagerDuty + Wag

In this lightning round, you'll have the opportunity to gain maximum internal communication ideas in minimal time. This is one session you'll want to get your notebook out for!

Panel Moderator: Pinaki Kathiari, CEO, Local Wisdom

Panelists:

Jessica Brubaker, Initiative Communications Lead
McDonalds USA

Lindsey Blakely, Senior Manager, Internal Communications
WalMart Media Group

Simon Liang, Internal Communications Manager
PagerDuty

Sarah Wice-Courtney, Director of Communications and Public Relations
St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Mark Shifflet, Senior Manager of Communications and Engagement
Wag

Speakers

Mark Shifflet

Senior Manager of Communications and Engagement, Wag

Lindsey Blakely

Senior Manager, Internal Communications, Walmart Media Group

Lindsey leads internal communications, change management and training for the Walmart Media Group, Walmart’s advertising platform.In this role, she drives awareness and advocacy for the platform, managing communication with hundreds of merchants and stakeholders across Walmart Stores... Read More →

Jessica Brubaker

Initiative Communications Lead, McDonald's USA

As Initiative Communications Lead for McDonald’s USA, Jessica uses a smart content strategy to raise awareness and adoption of key business initiatives. Her work ensures franchise owners of McDonald’s and corporate employees feel engaged with the information they need, when they... Read More →

Pinaki Kathiari

CEO, Local Wisdom

Simon Liang

Internal Communications Manager, PagerDuty

Simon is pioneering internal communications at PagerDuty from the ground up much like a typical Silicon Valley startup: testing and iterating quickly while scaling efficiently, using relevant GIFs or memes when necessary, and drinking lots of cold brew. So far, it’s working.Prior... Read More →

Sarah Wice-Courtney

Director of Communications and Public Relations, St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Sarah Wice-Courtney leads and influences the overall communication strategy for St. Elizabeth Healthcare in order to establish both communication content and rhythm that defines, reinforces and secures St. Elizabeth’s mission, vision, culture and reputation. Informally known as... Read More →

Wednesday January 30, 2019 4:15pm - 5:00pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

5:00pm PST

Close of Day One | Networking + Cocktails

Enjoy complimentary drinks on us as you continue the conversation with your peers.

**Please wear your name badges.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 5:00pm - 6:30pm PST

7:00pm PST

Dinner | Reservations Are Booked!

Want to keep the conversation going? Join a group of attendees for dinner at a local San Francisco hot spot.

Sign-up with an ALI team member to join a group at tonight's dine-around. Reservations have been made.

**Everyone is on their own financially.

Wednesday January 30, 2019 7:00pm - 8:30pm PST

Dinner

TBA

GENERAL SESSION DAY 2

Thursday January 31, 2019 TBA
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

8:00am PST

Welcome Back | Breakfast & Beverages

Coffee will be hot and breakfast will be available at 8:00 a.m. Be sure to stop by and visit your sponsors.

Thursday January 31, 2019 8:00am - 8:30am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

8:15am PST

Bonus Breakfast Session: Why Intranets Fail - Simpplr

Intranets have been around for over 20 years, but many organizations continue to fail to sustain program adoption and success. Join Simpplr in this bonus breakfast session as they share the results from a year-long research initiative where Simpplr assessed and analyzed hundreds of failed intranet implementations. The Simpplr team has quantified the primary challenges and will share how organizations are mitigating these risks.

In this session, you will learn:

What are the 10 most common challenges with intranet initiatives
How practitioners can mitigate these risks
How technology is changing to improve internal communications

If you're intranet isn't up to speed? In need a reboot? Or just a tool your employees aren't excited to be using - this session is one you won't want to miss.

Sam Keninger, Head of Marketing and Research
Simpplr

Speakers

Sam Keninger

Head of Marketing and Research, Simpplr

Sam Keninger leads product marketing at Simpplr, assessing and analyzing customer challenges and market trends. For nearly 15 years, he has helped design and promote software to improve customer and employee experiences. He speaks at industry events and customer forums and is widely... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 8:15am - 8:30am PST

8:30am PST

Day 2 Kick Off + The 5 Elements of a Modern Employee Experience - Intactic

Let's be real, most companies are having a hard time keeping up with employee expectations when communicating at work. As technology evolves, our approach to internal communications also needs to evolve.

Our role as communicators is to partner with leaders and other internal stakeholders to ensure that we are constantly facilitating an ongoing conversation about how to grow, innovate and modernize our function. Of course, all while we continue to stay grounded in the realities of how things get done inside our companies.

This session will cover the five key factors we have identified that leading companies are using to modernize their communications functions and prioritize their initiatives.

Preston Lewis, CEO
Intactic

Speakers

Preston Lewis

CEO, Intactic

Thursday January 31, 2019 8:30am - 9:15am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

9:15am PST

Recruiting New Employees Through Amazon Career Choice - Amazon

As Amazon grew from 30,000 total employees globally in 2010 to nearly 300,000 in 2016, it developed internal programs to keep all Amazonians engaged and connected to the company’s mission to be customer-obsessed. Some of those programs are peculiar, such as The Offer, through which Amazon pays employees to quit, and Career Choice, a tuition assistance program that gives employees the skills needed to leave Amazon for in-demand occupations.

Hear how Amazon’s peculiar employee programs could work for your organization, including how to:

Recruit high-quality candidates
Reach your employee retention goals
Keep employees engaged
Meet your performance metrics

Steve Johnson, Director of Associate Career Development
Amazon

Speakers

Steve Johnson

Director of Associate Career Development, Amazon

Steven Johnson is the global Director of Associate Career Development for Amazon. In his role, he leads peculiar programs like Amazon Career Choice that provides prepaid tuition for front-line Amazon employees to gain education and skills that lead to in-demand jobs, whether they... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 9:15am - 9:45am PST

9:45am PST

Creative Communication Strategies to Reach Your Deskless Workforce - Taylor Morrison + Polite Mail

Trying to reach a workforce scattered across the country, your communications must be more creative than an all-employee email broadcast. Learn how Taylor Morrison, a nationwide homebuilding company, uses a creative strategy to effectively communicate with their workforce of over 1,800, many of whom are non-desk employees.

Discover how to use an innovative strategy to enhance communications to your deskless workforce, including how to:

Align communications between headquarters employees and non-desk employees using targeted emails
Enhance your mobile communication strategy: Why crafting messages for mobile is so important
Use video to boost clickthrough rates and readership
Reach ideal message length- to boost attention and readership, keeping messages brief
Use the right “from” box and segmentation can boost readership through open rates

Jaclyn Rygg, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Taylor Morrison

Melissa Katski-Berry, Enterprise Account Manager
Polite Mail

Speakers

Melissa Katski-Berry

Enterprise Account Manager, Polite Mail

Melissa Katski-Berry is the Enterprise Account/Sales Manager at PoliteMail Software, and has been with the company for 5 years. She works with our enterprise level clients including Microsoft, Deloitte, and Comcast, to help them improve their internal communications through the use... Read More →

Jaclyn Rygg

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Taylor Morrison

Jaclyn Rygg is a corporate communications manager for Taylor Morrison, a national homebuilder and developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. In her role she oversees internal and external communications with a strong focus on storytelling to drive employee engagement, secure... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 9:45am - 10:20am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

10:20am PST

Morning Refreshments & Networking Break

Enjoy complimentary coffee, tea, and other refreshments as you network with your peers. Be sure to stop by and visit your sponsors.

Thursday January 31, 2019 10:20am - 10:40am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

10:40am PST

Interactive Session: Paper Airplanes & Ideas that Fly - Local Wisdom

This exercise utilizes all attendees in a random, anonymous, fun way to generate solutions and action steps to individuals’ specific challenges. You will go through a unique, 40-minute ideation exercise using paper airplanes. Yes, paper airplanes.

Pinaki Kathiari, CEO
Local Wisdom

Speakers

Pinaki Kathiari

CEO, Local Wisdom

Thursday January 31, 2019 10:40am - 11:20am PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

11:20am PST

Interactive Expert Speaker Panel: Get Your Biggest Internal Communications Questions Answered - Choice Hotels + Northwestern Medicine + Levi Strauss & Co. + Poppulo + Contact Monkey

You've submitted your biggest internal communication challenges, you've continued to submit questions over the past 24 hours, and this is your opportunity to get answers to those questions.

With an expert speaker panel with a variety of experience levels - you're bound to takeaway practical ideas that will immediately enhance your internal communications strategies.

Panelists:

Beth Ward Francesconi, Director, Internal Communications
Levi Strauss & Co.

Angie Thomas, Director, Internal Communications
Choice Hotels

Heather Cunningham, Director, Internal Communications
Northwestern Medicine

Katie Liston, Head of Marketing
Contact Monkey

Bob Varnum, Enterprise Account Executive
Poppulo

Speakers

Bob Varnum

Poppulo, Enterprise Account Executive

Bob Varnum is Poppulo’s west coast Enterprise Account Executive and is also a Member of the Board of San Francisco’s International Association of Business Communicators.In his role, he builds customer relationships through a strategic, consultative sales approach, characterized... Read More →

Katie Liston

Head of Marketing, Contact Monkey

Heather Cunningham

Director, Internal Communications, Northwestern Medicine

Innovative marketing communications consultant and writer with 20+ years experience developing creative solutions, engaging readers, increasing awareness and helping clients achieve set goals.As a marketing/communications project manager:Experienced in leading a range of marketing/communication... Read More →

Beth Ward Francesconi

Director, Internal Communications, Levi Strauss & Co.

Beth Ward Francesconi is Director, Internal Communications, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) After 22 years working for a global public relations agency, she left to join a 163-year old start-up -- native to California like herself. At LS&Co., Beth works on iconic, global brands focused... Read More →

Angie Thomas

Director, Internal Communications, Choice Hotels

Angie Thomas is the Director of Internal Communications at Choice Hotels, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. In this role, she transforms complex ideas into creative, simple statements that inform, connect and inspire Choice's associates. Angie joined Choice 15 years ago... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 11:20am - 12:05pm PST

12:05pm PST

Lunch On Your Own, But Not Alone -- Reservations are booked!

Reservations have been made at a number of local restaurants. Don't miss this opportunity to have lunch with your peers at a local San Francisco hot spot!
**Everyone is financially responsible for their own lunch.

Thursday January 31, 2019 12:05pm - 1:30pm PST

1:30pm PST

You Can't Always Win Championships - But You Can Achieve Championship Caliber Engagement - Spurs Sports and Entertainment

You can't always win championships, but you can get championship caliber engagement. Hear the step-by-step process Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) took to strategically redesign their intranet. Learn how they took a staff-first approach and used this as the foundation for developing a fresh site that encourages two-way dialogue while continuing to engage employees beyond the intranet.

Get insight on the collaboration, planning and approval process and how strategic content drives engagement, including how to:

Learn how to start the process of an intranet redesign
Understand the importance and benefits of a staff-first approach
Leverage the power of strategic collaboration
Enjoy the journey, muscle through the lows and celebrate small wins

Tanya A. Navalta, Associate Manager of Internal Communications
Spurs Sports and Entertainment

Speakers

Tanya A. Navalta

Associate Manager of Internal Communications and Engagement, Spurs Sports and Entertainment

In her eighth season with Spurs Sports and Entertainment … an Air Force brat, but calls San Antonio, TX home … earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. Mary’s University in 2009 … began as a part-time member of the Spurs game crew during the 2007-08 and 2008-09... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 1:30pm - 2:15pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

2:15pm PST

Providing Your Deskless Workers with Timely Information to Remain Engaged - APPrise Mobile & formerly of Chipotle

Strateges and insights into how we as communicators keep up with the expectation of realtime communication. When employees are used to receiving information immediately in their personal life, they will carry that expectation to work. It is our challenge to come up with solutions to ensure information is received quickly, but it also delivered in an engaging way (podcasts, videos, etc.)

Amy Jenkins,
Formerly of Chipotle

Speakers

Amy Jenkins

Director of Client Strategy, APPrise Mobile / Formerly of Chipotle

Amy is an experienced and innovative communicator with a vision of getting the right information to the right people in the right way. With 20 years experience in the restaurant industry, from frontline worker to corporate manager, she understands all facets of the industry and is... Read More →

Thursday January 31, 2019 2:15pm - 2:50pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

2:50pm PST

Key Takeaways & Conference Wrap-Up

It's been an information packed 2 days, 3 days for some. We've taken a deep dive into the most pressing issues being faced, laughed, shared horror stories, and are leaving equipped to return to our office and make a change!

Raise your glass to the 6th Annual Strategic Internal Communications Conference!

Speakers

Preston Lewis

CEO, Intactic

Thursday January 31, 2019 2:50pm - 3:05pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

3:05pm PST

End of the 6th Annual Strategic Internal Communications Conference

Thank you for joining us and making this 6th year a huge success. You will receive a follow-up email with a link to the dropbox again next week. The dropbox will contain speaker materials and a full contact list of all participants of this year's conference. We encourage you to stay in touch with one another and we look forward to having you join us again.

Speakers

Preston Lewis

CEO, Intactic

Thursday January 31, 2019 3:05pm - 3:15pm PST
Amazon Meeting Room 525 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA