Midlands PR conference explores trust, AI and the future of influence

It’s seven years since I chaired the first Midlands PR conference, and over the years the CIPR Midlands volunteer group, which produces the annual event, has creatively looked at the PR profession from all angles.

Core to everything we stand for as CIPR members, and for the conferences we have run, has been to lead with our commitment to showcasing professional standards, ethics and the ensuring awareness of our code of conduct, the dos and don’ts of our chartered profession.  

Chairing this year’s conference, I proposed inviting Traitors 2026 winner Rachel Duffy as our keynote speaker, and I received a few raised eyebrows.

Before millions of viewers watched Rachel navigate deception, trust and persuasion on primetime TV, she was doing something many of us will recognise: working in-house as a head of communications, leading communications from inside an organisation, influencing stakeholders, managing risk and building credibility day in, day out. That’s precisely what makes her appearance at the Midlands PR conference so compelling.

Rachel will be sharing “accelerating influence through trust, not traitory” and reflecting on how she turned the tables on trust to win the Traitors, and drawing powerful parallels with her previous career as a senior communications professional

The core of PR

At its core, PR has always been about influence rooted in trust. Rachel’s story will bring that to life in a way few case studies ever could. In a world fascinated by AI, strategy and technology, she reminds us that human judgement, ethics and emotional intelligence remain central to influence, whether you’re managing reputation in an organisation or outplaying the competition on national television.

Rachel’s personal demonstration of human influence is in sharp contrast to the dynamics of day-to-day communications delivery, which can not avoid the implications of technology and AI. We’re living and working in an age where AI is reshaping communications at speed, audiences are more sceptical than ever, and trust feels increasingly fragile. Against that backdrop, our 2026 conference theme, ‘accelerate Influence’, couldn’t be more timely.

This year’s conference doesn’t shy away from the big questions. AI gives us extraordinary opportunities to supercharge audience engagement, sharpen insight and work more efficiently. But it also presents risks: ethical grey areas, skills gaps, over-automation and the potential to damage reputation if used carelessly.

That’s why this year the focus runs deeper than what technology can do, but on how PR professionals must harness tech responsibly, combining AI with core communication skills to build influence, not break trust.

Alongside Rachel, we’re welcoming over 10 exceptional speakers who will each explore different dimensions of influence in today’s fast-changing landscape, including:

• Rachael Clamp: From activity to impact: what actually accelerates influence.
• Anthony Tattum: How people really decide and why it matters more in the age of AI.
• Marcus Matthews: How the words you speak influence behaviour.
• Grant Currie: The AI-augmented communicator.
• Kathy Stedman: Using AI to drive efficiency in writing for influencing.
• Sophie Poduval-Morrell: Future faces of PR.
• John Clegg: Internal influence: change communications in the age of AI.

Together, they’ll challenge assumptions, share practical insight and help you think differently about where influence really comes from, and how to accelerate it ethically and effectively. The conference will also showcase nine award-winning campaigns from the recent Midlands PR awards, offering honest insight into what excellence looks like in practice, right here in our region.

As well as the great speakers, the conference will offer valuable time to network with peers from across the Midlands and beyond, plus a martech demo lab showcasing practical tech solutions. It’s all made possible thanks to the generous support of Birmingham City University who hosts our conference, and this year 72Point, who have kindly sponsored the event, plus the volunteer team; Jennifer Morgan, Kelly O’Hanlon, Seb Greene, Anisha Mistry, Sed Ghari, Alison Gallagher-Hughes, Rebecca Williams and John Gaylor.

As chair, I’m incredibly proud of this year’s programme, but more importantly, I believe it reflects where PR needs to be right now. Amidst a culture of AI, algorithms and automation, influence is still built on trust. This conference is about understanding how to scale that trust using technology, insight and skill, without losing the fundamentals that define our profession. 

I can’t wait to welcome you on 23 June, and there are still tickets available if you’d like to join us. 

Join us to learn, to connect, and to explore how we can accelerate influence the right way and never be a Traitor to ethical PR practice. I hope to see you there.

Chartered PR practitioner Rachel Roberts is the CEO of LeopardCo, which is a corporate affiliate member of the CIPR. Rachel is also a former President of the CIPR.

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