The Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading network of independently owned public relations counseling firms, today announced the appointment of Diego Biasi as worldwide chair. The appointment was officially confirmed at Worldcom’s AGM (Annual General Meeting), held in Seattle from 29 April to 1 May 2009. Biasi, president and managing director of the agency Business Press in Milan, Italy, has set the main objectives of his mandate as member recruitment; practice group expansion; and a stronger focus on Web 2.0 technologies for internal and external communication.
Recruitment of New Members
The Worldcom PR Group has more offices than any of the other international PR networks. “Our current size is one of our great strengths,” comments Biasi. “However, this isn’t only a numbers game, so I want to use my time as chair to increase the variety of services and market focus areas we offer in individual regions – particularly EMEA and Asia Pacific.” With the other board members, Biasi will define a strategy for intensifying agency recruitment in certain countries and industry sectors. He will also implement additional measures to ensure new agencies are mentored and supported effectively during their first year of membership.
Expansion of Specialized Practice Groups
The second of Diego Biasi’s main goals is to grow the network’s practice groups. The Worldcom PR Group offers customers multinational, specialized teams in eight sectors: Consumer; Crisis & Issues Management; Financial Services; Healthcare; Investor Relations; Public Affairs, Energy & Environment: Technology; and Travel & Tourism. The groups also collate and analyze the results of international surveys, reports and research, and share these analyses with clients. “With some of the world’s top PR experts in specialist subjects, our practice groups are one of Worldcom’s biggest advantages compared to other agency networks,” says Diego Biasi. “We are increasing the number and geographical spread of the experts in each practice group, ensuring that our clients have access to a pool of specialized local and international expertise whenever they need it.”
Broader Use of Web 2.0
To complement their regular meetings and conference calls, Worldcom members stay in touch using Web 2.0 tools such as Twitter and Facebook. During his two-year mandate as chair, Diego Biasi plans to broaden their use across the group. “Web 2.0 is already in widespread use within individual teams and I am implementing initiatives to utilize them on a group-wide basis,” notes Biasi. “This benefits our clients and our members by providing a stronger platform for collaboration on projects and joint pitches. Expanding the use of these tools facilitates the coordination and implementation of strategies throughout the group.”
Diego Biasi was chair of Worldcom’s EMEA board from 2006 to 2008, during which time the region recruited multiple new members, and introduced the “buddy” system where experienced members help new ones quickly become an integral part of the group and uphold the stringent quality standards that Worldcom guarantees its clients.
“Quality is at the heart of all we do,” concludes Biasi. “All our members are independent agencies, but we’re bound by the same passion for quality and service excellence. I’m looking forward to my mandate as worldwide chair to uphold this passion while driving recruitment and making our practice groups even more structured and dynamic.”
