In light of the Volkswagen story, Kamal Ahmed, business editor at the BBC, said that, “honesty, transparency and information” are key when communicating during a crisis.

At the PRCA National Conference 2015 Ahmed said Volkswagen have thus far fallen short in communicating to all of their stakeholders. While they may be in discussion with investors, the automotive company have neglected the media, and by extension their customers, by failing to speak about what the crisis actually means for people who already own the Volkswagen cars affected by the scandal. Ahmed also spoke about the wider implications for the automotive industry with regards to fuel emissions and loss of trust.

Some of the most influential people in the public relations industry gathered at BAFTA in London’s West End for the PRCA National Conference. Ahmed was the first guest speaker of a line-up that included Shane O’Riordain, managing director at Royal Mail and Peter Morgan, corporate affairs director at Rolls-Royce. The conference was opened by Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA, who revealed the professional body’s growth, both financially and in terms of membership, in recent years.

O’Riordain spoke about his experience managing crises at Lloyds Bank and the Royal Mail. When communicating with the modern media, he said, remember that narrative takes president over fact and that businesses are considered “fair game”. Apart from crisis comms, integrated offering also emerged as a key trend at the conference and Tony Langham, chief executive at Lansons, observed the merging of PR and IR functions, he asked, “Will we see a bigger move towards integrated reporting?”

The conference, which took place last Friday (25 September), was presnted and curated by Matt Neale, international president at Golin and PRCA chairman.