Klein College of Media and Communication’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has a long history of championing professional development for its members, from hosting invitational conferences to its illustrious guest speakers. The most recent of these speakers was Joanne Trout, the chief communications officer for Omnicom Group Inc., an international holding firm encompassing 70,000 employees and major agencies around the world.

Trout visited Main Campus on Tuesday, March 29, and first spoke with Assistant Chair for Public Relations Gregg Feistman’s Crisis Communication class in the morning. She focused on her experience doing crisis communication with the firm’s Ukrainian and Russian employees and clients during the recent invasion of Ukraine, and the steps taken to properly communicate with all stakeholders during the crisis. Later in the day, she went on to address PRSSA.

In Crisis Communication, Trout emphasized that professionals in her field must not only be confident and quick on their feet, but also well-informed.

“You have to be aware of all the things happening around the world,” she told students after a brief discussion of where they obtain their news. “Know what your clients are reading.”

This was followed by a crisis communication activity in which students filled out a template and wrote a sample statement from a fake company following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This kind of hands-on experience — mirroring a global situation affecting the public relations industry — is an example of what such distinguished guest speakers can bring to the table.

"The breadth and depth of Joanne's experiences on both the agency and corporate client side was invaluable for our students to hear about,” Feistman said. “As the CCO for one of the world's largest agency holding companies, with 70,000 employees around the globe … she is truly a leader in the communication industry, and I hope, an example of how much our students can achieve.” 

When Trout spoke to PRSSA, club President Christina Billie noted Trout’s experiences in previous roles, as well as crisis communication.

“Joanne had so many insights on the public relations industry and really provided PRSSA members with great advice,” Billie said. “She went into depth about her previous careers before Omnicom, and she talked about how she handled crises at her company over the past few years."

PRSSA’s next major event will be their TU Invitational Conference, PuRsuing Philly, April 9. Tickets are still available.