Networking over coffee at RM26
Can you picture their names and willing faces?
That person you ring when a journalist is on the phone and you have ten minutes to nail what to say. The one who reads the press release at 11pm after the millionth amend to help you ensure its word perfect for the launch the next morning. The one who knows a photographer who can be on site tomorrow. The one who lends you a printer at the show when yours has died, and the programme has changed again. The one who can get you access, a location, a bit of kit, a name, a second opinion.
These are our professional ‘life savers’. If you’re lucky, you have people like this in mind.
But maybe you could do with a few more people in your corner. This is the army we are helping to build for you through the community of Reputation Masterclass.
When the universe decides to test you
At last year's Masterclass, Helena Holden told the story of a call that most comms people would dread. A client with an amazing new product, ninety days to launch, no strategy, no messaging and not much idea what they wanted from us. "Can you help?"
Then, after an enthusiastic yes to the client, “the universe decided to test us”. The launch event fell through in week one. And 24 hours before filming, the product stopped working. "An entire film about showing it in motion, and we had a very, very expensive sculpture."
The team threw out the storyboard, got creative, got physical, and made it work.
Believe it or not, some of the shots were better than the ones they had planned.
But the point Helena made was this: "Those solutions didn't come from nowhere. When we had 72 hours to find an alternative, we didn't panic for long because we knew we had credit in the bank with people. We could pick up the phone and make the calls that mattered."
"That's your plan B. That's your safety net. You can't shortcut it. You build it over years, and then when you need it, it is there."
Everything is going into your bank
That is why we started Reputation Masterclass three years ago. Of course, you can expect us to work tirelessly to get excellent speakers for you. But it's about more than that. Every conversation you have on the day, every person you meet, every person you help, every insight you pick up over coffee is going into your bank. It is what you will draw on when you have your own ‘oh gosh’ moment: the CEO leaves, the event gets cancelled, the thing won't move the day before the shoot.
Our Reputation Masterclass is open to everyone who has a responsibility for how their organisation is understood. BD and capture, technology development, marketing and comms, sales, HR, the MDs and directors who carry the reputation personally. And it is open to agencies. We run for the whole community: the club is stronger with us all in it.
And it’s getting more sociable
We listened to previous attendees and made three changes. We have moved to central London, so it is easier to get to and easier to stay all day. We have built in more time for networking and proper access to speakers after their sessions. And the day ends with drinks nearby, with a voucher for a drink or two included in your ticket. The best conversations often happen over a drink.
Start to strengthen your network: as Helena put it at RM26: “this community right here is the reason plan B always works.”
Reputation Masterclass 2027
24 February 2027
Central London
