PRSA Charlotte April Luncheon

Becoming "Global" by Infusing Creativity: The Big Idea that Grabbed the World's Attention

With 190 thousand competing brands, what does it take to stand out from the crowd? The "banana benders" of Queensland, Australia, knew what to do ...

Australian-born former President of the International Public Relations Association, Richard Linning, Fellow IPRA, Fellow CIPR, will discuss the "big idea" that answered that question. Drawing on the lessons learned from working for clients on all five continents for ... well, a long time ... he will share his insights into what works and what doesn't work in the international market place. He will also share how Charlotte might project itself as a global center and where the public relations practice is going across the globe. And yes, he'll explain who exactly are the "banana benders."

Linning is currently the Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Global Public Relations at UNC Charlotte. An international public relations practitioner, he has been responsible for issue advocacy, public and corporate affairs, marketing campaigns, crisis management, international media and public relations programs in every continent.

Linning was the 2011 President of the International Public Relations Association. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and an associate of ORBICOM, the United Nations network of University Chairs of Communications. In 2011, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Senate of the University of Bucharest in recognition of his promotion of communication as a key element of democracy development.

A much published author of articles on many aspects of public relations, he is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Communication Management. Prior to practicing public relations, he enjoyed a successful broadcast media career in Austrailia, the United Kingdom (BBC World Service) and Hong Kong, China.

Networking begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12 and the program begins shortly after. The cost is $25 for PRSA Charlotte members, $35 for non-members and $15 for students.