It was what you would expect from an international conference - yet, it also held surprises and what turned out to be a slice of American economic history.

You’d expect the 2008 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) International Conference held in Detroit, Michigan from October 25-28 to be a spectacular gathering of the latest in social media innovation, PR strategists, entrepreneurs and corporate America - and it was.

With 3,000 delegates from around the world, including 1,000 students from the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), the workshops on social media were thought-provoking, hands-on and immediate.  There were strategies that applied no matter what your sector. Ideas were shared so that professionals could incorporate them into future communications plans.  On-site conference blogging (CPRS Hamilton member Zoe Siskos was at the conference blogging) added to the immediacy.

Hosted by the Detroit Chapter of PRSA, the superbly organized conference included the usual PR/communications supplier firms as sponsors, with, as befits the Motor City location, General Motors as the premier sponsor.

The well-mannered delegates began to get a bit testy during the lunch address of keynote speaker Penelope Trunk, business advice columnist for the Boston Globe and author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success and the Brazen Careerist blog.  Surprisingly, every 10th word she used was ‘spin’ - and the funny thing was, I could tell she meant it in the most positive of ways, like a compliment.  Finally, the PRSA president and COO, William Murray, spoke to clarify that PR people develop relationships; they do not create spin.

Yet, one of the most intriguing memories was the contrast - in ways both subtle and striking - between two successful businessmen who addressed the conference:

First was Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.  His success, he said, came from creating an online community for buying, selling and trading goods and services through classified ads that would traditionally run in a local newspaper.  He started in San Francisco in 1995 and the idea has grown to more than 550 cities in 50 countries around the world.

He appeared unassuming.  No slides, no presentation - one speaker on a bare stage.  He described himself as a ‘nerd’ fascinated by technology.  As a teen, he said, he even wore the iconic pocket protector.  He started his ‘list’ as an e-mail sent to friends every week.  From there, he said, the idea grew.  He confessed to not having managerial skills - he hired a professional to lead the company - and today describes his job as ‘customer service.’

For him, it was the sense of community that was important, and this was Craigslist’s strength - to develop a sense of community in cities and among users of the sites. In answering questions from the audience, his sense of irony and his support for Barack Obama, then democratic nominee for president of the United States, were obvious.

A day later came keynote speaker Bob Lutz, vice chairman of global product development for General Motors.  The PRSA program notes emphasized his 40 years of experience in the auto sector, his leadership in sales and marketing, and referred to him as a legend.

With all the October media attention on the state of the auto sector and the declining sales for the year, Lutz’s talk was bound to be interesting. He could have spoken about the changes in the industry, competition, what the future would hold, about the challenges ahead.  But he didn’t.  Accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, Lutz, standing behind a lectern spoke about the importance of communication, his rules for communication and how to communicate.  All this came after his introduction by a GM VP of Communications who got a few laughs when he said he’d spent a lot of time over the years calling journalists to say, ‘What Bob meant to say was . . . .’

Lutz did take questions from the audience.  But not one question was about the current state of the auto industry.  Not one question about why GM was running an ad campaign for the Chevy Volt - a car that is not expected until 2010 - when the company is running out of money.  And he mentioned his support for the Republican nominee for president of the United States.

Newmark and Lutz. Younger and older.  Technolgy and manufacturing.  Democrat and Republican.  Indeed, these match ups could not have presented a more compelling contrast - producing a slice of American, and perhaps global, economic history.

- Catherine Bianco

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