CorpComms Magazine

This year seasoned conference goers and conference virgins will be descending on Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, as Westminster decamps for its annual three week stint of wall-to-wall political hobnobbing. To the uninitiated the party conference season can seem like freshers' week for grown-ups: a relentless treadmill of meets, greets and hurried introductions washed down with plenty of social lubricant. But there is more to party conferences than rousing rhetoric delivered to the party faithful. It is also a place where lobbyists and communicators from various sectors nobble politicians of all colours. And arguably the annual party meetings have also become more interesting in recent times, with last year's historic coalition pact between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats affording more opportunities for engagement with not one but two ruling party conferences.

Lionel Zetter, founder of LZ Consulting, likens the party conference season to 'lobbying nirvana', adding: 'All around are ministers, MPs, peers, journalists and think tankers. It's all the key decision makers and opinion formers in one place, and without a civil servant in sight.'

Fellow long-standing conference attendee and chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, Darren Caplan, also values the opportunity to corner politicians out of our their natural habitat. 'You often get to talk to politicians without their civil servants and advisers present - meaning you can actually have a proper conversation.'

While the conference circuit is a staple for public affairs stalwarts, there is a growing interest from some segments of the corporate communications community. Iain Anderson, director and chief corporate counsel at Cicero Group, thinks we are witnessing a changing demographic at party conferences as the communications role broadens in scope.

'Managing political risk is now a core part of the communications function,' he states. 'And this means we are seeing increasing numbers of corporate communications people at the annual conference.'

Simultaneously, politicians are increasingly being influenced by the social media techniques used by communications and 'a lot of organisations now understand that traditional public affairs work alone is not as effective as it used to be', says Gavin Megaw, director at Hanover Communications. Moreover, he notes that lot of former political press officers are now in influential corporate communications roles. 'They will often use the conference to stay in touch with political and journalistic contacts.' But there could be other advantages to dropping into one of the party conferences this year. It may also be a useful platform to gauge feedback from key opinion leaders on nascent communications strategies.

Some professionals use party conferences as a way of determining how campaign messages will be perceived by a politically-savvy focus group. 'My advice would be to focus on gauging how your messages are being received - if fellow conversationalists show little interest in, or a complete misunderstanding of, the messages you are trying to communicate, this could be a warning light in terms of the direction of your messaging,' says Caplan.

Megaw encourages conference goers to pay close attention to the political communications strategies employed by the parties. 'It is the quick reactive decisions made in response to a piece of unexpected news or a mistake by a senior politico that are the most interesting things to watch. At the conference you can literally follow the story from its inception to its end. The broadcasters, written press and bloggers are all there on the same site and seeking to grab the agenda away from the parties. It is a constant news battle, but an incredibly interesting one to view.'

Influencing policy

While the idea of being able to influence directly in the policymaking process may seem like a primary motivation for attending a party conference, precious few policy decisions are actually made at the annual party forum. 'Party conferences are essentially morphing into set piece political presentations, and there is less of a focus on policy development,' points out Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the British Heart Foundation. 'In truth, these get togethers are more like rallies than conferences - with policy debates rather than policy resolutions, so changing the government's course is nigh on impossible,' she notes.

McBride thinks the lack of policymaking at the conference shouldn't put attendees off, adding: 'They are still great places to highlight our policy positions.' Caplan advises making the most of the opportunities for one on ones with parliamentarians as well as key party members. 'If you have an issue you want to project consider hosting a fringe meeting or a dinner,' he suggests.

With all the vying for attention, companies might want to think about approaching busy ministers by forming their own coalition of organisations with similar aspirations. 'Agree on your key messages in advance and don't forget special advisors - they usually attend party conferences too,' says McBride. The exception to the no policymaking rule is the Liberal Democrat conference. 'Their conferences invariably have an earnestness about them; they decide policy and now that they are in government they have taken on a much more professional feel,' explains Zetter.

Some expect the Liberal Democrat conference may also see its fair share of controversy this year as the party's grassroots supporters react to the party's poor May election results and the AV referendum.

Getting your message across doesn't just mean talking to the ruling parties. 'I think Labour are very important this year too - if your sector is having a tough time currently under the current administration, talking to the opposition may be your organisation's only hope, either in articulating your case in public debate, or in delivering some or all of your agenda should they come to power again in the foreseeable future,' says Caplan.

'All three party conferences are important in different ways - I have always thought it best to build up relationships with all three main political parties. You simply never know when that contact developed years previously will come in handy and anyone who failed to develop links with the Liberal Democrats in recent years probably wishes they'd made more of an effort now.'

This year's Labour conference will see its leadership come face-to-face with the unions, a meeting that could make for interesting viewing after Labour leader Ed Miliband recently mooted plans to curb union influence over the his party's annual conference. With this in mind and taking into account Labour party convention Zetter anticipates plenty more deal doing this year. 'Labour conferences are usually serious affairs and home to a lot of internal Labour party politicking, it's is the one place where trade union barons and business tycoons can meet on neutral turf.'

Others, like Anderson, predict a possible front bench reshuffle ahead of the Labour conference, meaning some new faces to meet. The Tory party conference, the last of the three and famed for being the 'party party' may come and pass with less fanfare this year. 'This year's conference will undoubtedly be more sombre and sober than usual. The state of the economy and the recent riots will put a dampener on spirits,' predicts Zetter.

The recent news agenda does affect the conference dynamic from year to year, as does the point at which it falls in the electoral cycle. 'Where the parties are on the cycle can affect the whole flavour and mood of the conference - clearly the similarities and differences between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat party conferences will be really interesting to see this year,' explains McBride.

Making the case

If getting out of the office for a one day conference is hard to manage then three weeks of conference schmoozing can be hard to justify. The justification might be easier, however, if you work in a sector where regulation is a particularly sensitive commercial. 'If a comms professional and the organisation he or she represents operates in a field involving controversial public policy then the annual circus of speeches, debates, receptions and late night wine-tasting and beer fests is a must,' argues Caplan.

But it's not just banking and tobacco companies that want to make the annual pilgrimage, says McBride. 'I can't think of a sector that wouldn't want to go,' she says. 'Political party conferences provide a unique opportunity to reach influencers first hand. Almost every elected party representative - from ministers to local councillors - will attend.'

So who should be part of your company's conference delegation? Ultimately who you bring to conference will depend on the issues you want to raise, says McBride. Last year the British Heart Foundation wanted to promote the UK as a world leader in the field of medical research. Consequently it took along the organisation's medical director, Professor Peter Weissberg. 'This year, we're focusing on the vital role of specialist nurses - and I'm sure our programme director will be part of the BHF contingent.'

In other sectors the conference contingent may be more stable from year to year. 'The banks usually send a team of two or three - and this will include public affairs teams and sometimes heads of business units or chief executive or chairmen if they are taking part in a fringe meeting,' Anderson explains.

Party conferences are crowded, hectic, contradictory environments full of people who think they've seen everything before. So how can you cut through all the noise and make your message stand out? The answer it would seem, lies somewhere between carefully honed communications strategies and good old fashioned booze-fuelled networking. 'Some of the best contacts and most useful conversations happen in the evenings, outside the formal settings,' McBride concludes. Teetotallers beware.

Warnings from the wise

The overwhelming advice from seasoned conference goers is to pace yourself. And this is especially applicable to those who don't have the stamina of an 18 year old fresher. Here are the top tips from the experts:

Julia Toft, the British Heart Foundation's advocacy manager is a veteran conference goer and has a four point programme: 'Pace yourself! Network! Go dancing... and keep flat shoes in your bag.' [The last suggestion is arguably less applicable to the boys.]

'Throw yourself into and enjoy the networking - fringe events, receptions and the bars are ideal places to combine insightful political discussions with contact-building, identifying new opportunities and, of course, developing your wine-tasting skills!' - Betty McBride, director of policy and communications, British Heart Foundation

'Just remember - eat when you can, sleep when you can, and avoid that last drink which means you lose your edge and wake up feeling like your blood has been replaced with room temperature conference wine.' - Lionel Zetter, founder, LZ Consulting

'Trying to speak to a 'big name' during party conference is similar to trying to have a conversation with a football manager or player on a match day. They are too busy and often their mind is elsewhere. Keep your chats with the main players short but memorable.' - Gavin Megaw, director, Hanover

'Pace yourself. If you are attending all three conferences you need to be fresh for all three. So watch the booze intake.' - Iain Anderson, director and chief corporate counsel, Cicero Group

'Balance a planned daily itinerary with spontaneity - you simply do not know where that breakthrough meeting, chance encounter or opportunity might come from and will need the freedom to explore. Prepare a 30 second elevator pitch on your major issue - short introductory chats work better than long presentations, and often lead to formal meetings.' - Darren Caplan, chief executive, Airport Operators Association

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