by Newsroom Ink staff
The power of mapping content to the business through strategic storytelling will be presented by Newsroom Ink’s Ed Lallo and Springfield Lewis at the IABC Southern Region Conference held in Charleston, S.C..
At the recent IABC World Conference in Chicago, communicators agreed that credible content – aligned with the business agenda – is essential to tell an organization’s story well.That’s what the team at Newsroom Ink does: Create, curate and communicate content that tells an organization’s unique story to its many audiences.
Ed Lallo, CEO and Founder of Newsroom Ink. Photo: Mark Hiebert
Lallo, CEO and founder of the Texas-based agency, and Lewis, vice president of strategic communication, will talk about the need for communications functions to become content engines that drive business.
Lallo and Lewis are known for repurposing paid, owned and earned media. As founding members of The News Group Net, they were instrumental in creating a dynamic newsroom for the Imperial Sugar Company. It was cited as the “future of online newsrooms” by the Communications Executive Council.
Lallo also played an integral part in giving a voice to the Louisiana seafood industry during the BP crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, with the groundbreaking Louisiana Seafood News.
Under Lallo’s leadership, Newsroom Ink developed and now staffs HeathNewsTexas.com, featuring the work of Seton Healthcare Family, as well as all other institutions involved in providing healthcare to Texans – or well as Texans providing healthcare to the world.
Lewis, a former news reporter, has led executive communications, internal communications and corporate messaging at FORTUNE 500 companies. At EDS, a technology services company, he directed a change management/storytelling program – engaging more than 100,000 employees worldwide as the company emerged from a business turnaround.
Springfield Lewis – Vice President of Strategic Communications Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink
Lewis has talked about content development and strategic storytelling with groups that include: Yale University’s communications departments, Southern Methodist University, 2012 Emerging Tech Conference, IABC Austin and Dallas chapters – as well as the Texas Association of Public Relations.
In 2011, the Newsroom Ink team helped IABC Austin’s Joel Nihlean, vice president of technology and social media, transform the chapter’s static website into BeHeardAustin.com – the first, dynamic communications newsroom in the global organization.
Adrian Cropley, ABC, former IABC Board Chair, called BeHeardAustin.com “just brilliant. This is exactly the value members are looking for.”
This news site is followed regularly by not only members of IABC – in Austin, Texas and around the world – but also by PRSA, AMA and other communications organizations. It allows the chapter to tell the stories of IABC, and gives it an effective tool in reaching new members.
Former interim director of IABC John Clemons, ABC, APR, said: This site provides “the chapter a platform to share fresh content through stories and thought leadership. BeHeardAustin.com gives a small chapter a very big voice.”
At the IABC Southern Region Conference, Lallo and Lewis will join other communications thought leaders, such as:
- Tim McCleary – The Involvement Practice
- Betsy Pasley, ABC, and Tammy Wagner – Independent and AT&T
- Lisa Arney, SAS
- Tammie Epps and Tim Floyd – Palmetto Health
- Stacy Wilson, ABC – Eloquor Consulting
- Johna Burke – Burrells Luce
- Cynthia Martinez – Royal Caribbean Cruises
- Wilma Matthews, ABC – IABC Ethics Committee
- Jennifer Wah – Forwords Communication
“We’ve got an amazing line-up of speakers for our conference, with topics in leadership, branding, social media and strategic communications,” said Kimberly South, who chairs the conference’s call for speakers
“Our two keynote speakers, Tim McCleary and Jennifer Wah, are sure to get you truly thinking about the way you ‘talk’ and ‘hear’ as communicators,” she added.
“With these presentations, along with our 24 break-out sessions, you are sure to walk away with a lot of energy, knowledge and insight in the way we do marketing and communications.”
