Giulia Prati, Vice-President, New York and Robyn McKane, Senior Research Executive, London, Opinium will present the data and findings from their current brand communications research. The research examines what kind of communication the public want from brands during the Coronavirus crisis and will be particularly useful for agencies advising clients on the the types of message they should be using and how these will be received.

Cristina Hanganu, Director of Communication & CSR for Lidl Romania and Vice President of GWPR Romania. Cristina will be talking about the Importance of Internal Communications giving us a valuable insight into keeping a large workforce motivated during Covid-19 - most of whom were previously not working remotely - and how the new communications framework her team created has led to a positive outcome with important lessons for the future. Cristina is an excellent communicator with a strong belief in building sustainable businesses. Her portfolio includes Director of Corporate Communication at CONNEX, Director of Communication for Michelin Romania & Balkans, Head of Communication for Intact Media Group and Media Pro Group, as well as extensive agency experience. Her motto in business and life: Make your own mistakes, but don't make them twice. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinahanganu

Managing a Virtual Agency during Covid-19 We are delighted to welcome as our speaker Georgette Pascale, Founder & CEO of Pascale Communications, an award-winning virtual agency specialising in healthcare communications. Georgette is a highly motivated entrepreneur and philanthropist, based in Connecticut, USA. Date: Thursday May 7th from 3-4pm (London time). Please note this is an hour later than our usual drop-in session timing During the event Georgette will share with us her tips on how to effectively connect with colleagues and clients in a virtual environment and explain why we need to continue to deliver what we always have during COVID-19. We will also discuss what have we learnt from remote working and how we can best use this knowledge as we come out of the COVID-19 crisis. Beyond the tips for how to #WFH Georgette will give us her views on What Next!

We are delighted to welcome Richard Houghton, The Agency Doctor, as our guest moderator.  The discussion will include: - Keeping the boat afloat - have you done everything you need in the short term - New normal - what might the new trading environment may look like - Winners and losers - who will thrive and survive in a world with social distancing and no vaccine Richard has more than 30 years experience in the agency business, with senior management roles at Fleishman-Hillard, Shandwick and Ketchum. He has merged, turned round and launched several agencies from scratch. Richard is Past-President, ICCO and Former Chair of the PRCA. Most recently he published Grow, Build, Sell, Live - a practical guide to growing and building an agency.’

The topic for this week’s discussion is ‘Onboarding’ - how to keep your employees engaged and build a community during the Coronavirus crisis, plus a brief guidance to ‘Remote Recruitment’ - and we are delighted to welcome as our guest speaker, GWPR Honorary Member, Alice Weightman, Founder and CEO of Hanson Search. Alice has gained a reputation as one of the leading search professionals in senior appointments across communications, developing an incredible network globally. A fellow of the REC and member of the 30% Club, Alice actively supports gender diversity as a business imperative and she is proactive about encouraging economic and social diversity within the industry. In 2015, Alice launched The Work Crowd, an online talent marketplace, and was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2016 FSB London Business Awards. She is a regular speaker at top international events on the issues relating to flexibility and diversity in the workplace.