Newton Technologies became the technology partner for the 26th edition of PR Brunch, which was held for the first time in the historic premises of the Czech News Agency (CTK) PressCenter. Our Beey AI solution provided simultaneous translation of Richard Bagnall’s presentation on Barcelona Principles 4.0, enabling full participation for all attendees regardless of their language skills.
A New Era for PR Brunch at CTK PressCenter
After 25 editions and 10 years of operation, the traditional PR Brunch has moved to a new format. The event relocated from Magenta to the impressive premises of the Czech News Agency PressCenter , a building with 95 years of history, where press conferences of First Republic ministers were held as early as the 1930s.
As Patrik Schober, director of the organizing PR agency Pram Consulting, noted in his opening remarks, the change of venue was not random. CTK today is not just a service for journalists, but offers commercial services for communicators, making it an ideal partner for such events.
Main Topics: From PR in Cannes to Barcelona Principles
Patrik Schober first presented six key trends from the inaugural PR in Cannes, which his agency co-organized during the Cannes Lions festival. Among the main conclusions:
- Communication teams are becoming strategic partners to company leadership
- 61% of companies prioritize reputation building over direct sales support
- AI is not a threat, but an opportunity – saving time for strategic work
- Earned media is experiencing a renaissance due to its importance for AI search engines (GEO – Generative Engine Optimization)
- Changing compensation models from hourly rates to value-based pricing
Barcelona Principles 4.0: The Evolution of Communication Measurement
The keynote speaker was Richard Bagnall, board member of AMEC (International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communications), who presented the fourth iteration of the Barcelona Principles – global standards for measuring PR value.
Bagnall emphasized that 15 years after the first edition of the principles, 50% of communication managers still use AVE (Advertising Value Equivalents), despite it being an invalid metric. “AVE is like a quick, cheap, and easy solution that gives you a big number with a currency sign, but says nothing about the real value of your work,” Bagnall warned.
Beey AI in Action: Overcoming Language Barriers
This is where our technology came into play. Thanks to Beey AI, all participants could follow the presentation regardless of their English proficiency level. The system provided:
- Real-time transcription and translation of Bagnall’s English presentation into Czech
- Translation of Czech contributions into English for the international guest
- Web interface accessible via QR code directly in the hall
Magdalena Horánska, director of Newton Media and president of FIBEP, explained the technology’s history during the panel discussion: “We started developing our own recognition engine back in 2005 in cooperation with TUL, because major players like IBM weren’t interested in the Czech market. Today our technology covers over 25 languages and is used, for example, by the Austrian Press Agency APA.”
Practical Applications in Media Monitoring
Beey AI is not just a conference tool. At Newton Media, we use it for:
- Automatic transcription of broadcast content
- Podcast monitoring
- Media content analysis across the 10 markets where we operate
As Horánska noted: “Thanks to AI technology, we no longer need 20 people manually transcribing news broadcasts. We can focus on providing quality insights to our clients.”
Feedback and Future
Participant reactions were enthusiastic. The ability to follow content in their native language was especially appreciated by those who would otherwise have difficulty following technical discussions in English. For us, it was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our solution directly to the target audience – professionals from PR and media sectors.
We thank PR agency Pram Consulting and CTK for the opportunity to be the technology partner of this prestigious event. We look forward to more opportunities where our technology can help overcome language barriers and make quality content accessible to a wider audience.