The World Communications Forum Association is thrilled to announce the upcoming Awards Ceremony for the 2023 Davos Communications Awards. This year's Awards will showcase the exceptional work of top PR professionals, agencies, and in-house teams from over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Africa. A distinguished international jury of leading communications experts reviewed nearly 100 entries, setting the stage for a highly competitive event.

Join us on:

• Tuesday, December 12, 2023
• 2 p.m. CET (your local time here)
• Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/6252668357

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In today's fast-paced digital era, the spread of fake news has become a significant concern. Misinformation, half-truths, and outright fabrications can quickly circulate through social media platforms, leading to confusion, manipulation, and even harm. To ensure a more informed society, it is crucial to combat fake news effectively. This article explores various strategies that individuals, organizations, and governments can employ to address this pressing issue.

Prior to the emergence of social media, the majority of the news we ingested came from reliable sources — journalists and media organisations bound by rigorous ethical standards. Unfortunately, there isn't much oversight or editorial standards when it comes to publishing, sharing, and consuming information thanks to social media platforms like Twitter. Social media platforms are mostly responsible for the spread of "fake news".

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In the ever-evolving realm of influencer marketing, staying ahead of the curve is essential for brands and creators alike. With recent changes in regulations, a growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and the constant social media trends, the landscape of influencer marketing is undergoing a transformation.

The New Rules of Disclosure: One significant shift in influencer marketing revolves around disclosure requirements. In the past, a post could only be classified as an "Ad" if the influencer was compensated, and the business had editorial control over the content. But things have changed now. Content created by influencers that have a personal or business relationship with a brand, have accepted payment in kind, or have both, must be clearly labelled as sponsored content. This means that a clear "Ad" disclaimer must be included with every inducement, regardless of whether it's money, goods, services, invites to events, or other benefits.

When engaging with influencers, the notion of "organic" or "earned" content is no longer relevant. Everything must be labelled as an "Ad," even if it was made without first undergoing a brand evaluation or getting permission from a contract. This change emphasizes how influencer marketing requires compliance and openness.

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Join our online Africa Communications Summit on Friday, November 24, at 2 p.m. CET.

Everybody can join it for free on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/6252668357
*Secure your spot and register HERE.

The Summit will bring together several outstanding speakers who will participate in thought-provoking panel discussions, Q&A sessions and keynote speeches on current topics, including academic framing in communication, the role of AI in sustainability narratives, communication as a change agent, the potential of communication in enabling a just transition, and the power of storytelling to influence change in the context of African sustainability.

FINAL PROGRAM 

Article by Zsofia Lakatos, Managing Director at Emerald Public Relations (Hungary) and WCFA Global Advisory Board Member.

I was recently judging a prestigious communications competition and was shocked to find that there is still no healthy link between the advertising and PR professions. What’s more: there is no relationship at all.

Better and better communication solutions are submitted to the jury - but all of them are sorely lacking something to make them truly effective, truly rounded. I suspect this is because many advertising professionals have no idea what PR people do. Years ago, when I worked for a large communications agency, my colleagues and I used to have a lot of fun being cautiously eyed by people in other divisions. They would come and look at us like we were bazaar monkeys.

Being interesting to others would not be a problem. If they would take - and we would take - that one step to bring us closer to the other. I'm genuinely interested in what goes on in the mind of a creative director, how a digital professional works and what a media buyer does all day. I'd like to believe that there are people who are genuinely interested in what a PR professional does all day and why clients pay more or less for their work.

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My business – interview with Zsófia Lakatos, owner-CEO of Emerald PR, former President, and Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association

- What do you consider the highlight of your career so far?
I can't name one thing, because a career path is not a mountain you climb and enjoy the view, it's more like a mountain range, with ups and downs. It meant a lot to me when I was elected President of the Hungarian PR Association ten years ago, the same year my book on sustainability was published in London and I was the first person in Hungary to receive the "Professional Ambassador of Sustainability" award. An important highlight beforehand, back in 2008 was when I became the Managing Director of Hill+Knowlton Hungary - at the age of 33 - and again in 2015 when, at the age of 40 and having 3 children, I had the courage to give it all up and founded my own agency Emerald PR, an affiliate of Burson Cohn&Wolfe. One outstanding moment for me was being elected Member Emeritus of the Hungarian PR Association on its 30th anniversary and when - as an international success - I was invited to the Advisory Board of the World Communications Forum Association.

- How far ahead are you planning?
In the current polycrisis period, it is almost impossible or very difficult to plan, so I prefer to think in terms of Plan B. And plans C and D. In addition to Emerald PR, I founded a crisis management company Crisis112, a sustainability consultancy BSP and most recently, a training broker agency Emerald Academy. And these are just my professional adventures.

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Since its creation in 2000, Datawords Group has established itself as a leader in e-multicultural technologies, forging the term Multicultural Ingenuity to reflect its capacity to support brands in the deployment of their digital marketing and technology strategies on an international scale.

Multicultural at its core, Datawords has developed a unique know-how and expertise in adapting its clients' technologies, strategies and digital content to a local audience, while respecting their brand image. The deployment of international campaigns poses a real challenge for major global brands, with linguistic and technical constraints, as well as cultural preferences, that can make a single global campaign impossible. Datawords relies on both MULTI digital expertise and CULTURAL adaptation of brand content across more than 50 languages and countries to capture local relevancy.

To reinforce its position in the Chinese market, Datawords announces the acquisition of the award-winning integrated communication company Switching-Time, founded in Shanghai, China. Established in 2012, Switching-Time serves a prestigious set of clients in the fashion, beauty, luxury and lifestyle industries. Over the years, it has expanded its offering to cover the full breadth of digital marketing services, including public relations (e-PR), influencer digital marketing and social media.

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Kobi Hemaa Osisiadan-Bekoe has been appointed as the Director of Corporate Affairs of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE). She becomes the first female to occupy a director’s position since its establishment.
Kobi Hemaa has over 14 years of experience in marketing, events, and communication. Kobi Hemaa is significant in media and international relations, tourism, journalism, diplomacy, and philanthropy.

She grooms and nurtures leaders in the public and private sectors on brand visibility, communications, and media relations. She leads major enterprise-level projects on negotiations, Investor relations, Market Entry Strategies, Multicultural Relations, Brand sustainability, Protocol and Public Diplomacy in Ghana, Nigeria and Netherlands.

She is the first Ghanaian member of the World Communication Forum. She is a member of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG), Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Chartered Institute of Public Relations, UK (CIPR), and Women in Cybersecurity, West Africa Affiliate.

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