The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is the largest nonprofit membership organization for economic developers, serving thousands of members worldwide. Through its conferences, training programs, thought leadership, and policy advocacy, IEDC connects the people enhancing their communities every day across various regions, sectors, and disciplines.
IEDC’s conferences and events drive mission and visibility. These convenings bring practitioners together to share what’s working, compare notes, and push the field forward in real time.
PPR Strategies partnered with IEDC to provide end-to-end communications support across programming from May 2025 through March 2026. During this period, we stewarded communications and event support for three major events: the 2025 Rural Retreat, the 2025 Annual Conference, and the 2026 Leadership Summit.
Throughout this time frame, IEDC experienced momentum in its digital communications and across its events portfolio. With that momentum came a practical challenge: how to keep communications consistent and compelling to elevate engagement and provide practitioners with the tools to lift their communities.
PPR’s ongoing communications support acquainted us with IEDC’s brand voice—making scriptwriting, pre-conference support, slide deck development, branded event materials, social media management, email marketing, media relations, and on-site coordination seamless. We focused on how those pieces fit together so that communications were consistent, energetic, and brand aligned. PPR’s support was steady throughout the full lifecycle of each event, from early promotion to on-site execution and post-event wrap-up.
”PPR’s expertise helped to elevate our conference communications to a whole new level,” said IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle. “The exceptional communications strategy and tactics resulted in deeper engagement with our attendees and beyond.”
During the inaugural Rural Retreat in 2025, PPR supported pre-event promotion, script development, social media engagement, and visual asset development to establish a strong identity for this new offering. On-site event support allowed us to amplify the event’s energy while supporting communications in real time. In all, the event welcomed more than 425 rural practitioners and advocates to Great Falls, Montana, which signaled clear demand for practical tools to lift rural communities.
During the 2025 IEDC Annual Conference in Detroit, Michigan, PPR played a central role in shaping the attendee experience. We developed pre-conference communications, run-of-show scripts, supported leadership messaging, and produced a full suite of branded materials (including sponsor collateral, stage visuals, signage, and digital assets). Working alongside the IEDC team, we helped to create a value-added, polished experience for attendees, exceeding registration goals in the process.
At the 2026 Leadership Summit, PPR continued this support through targeted email campaigns, social media promotion, and design assets that reinforced the event’s positioning and value to members. Digital policy toolkits and accompanying social media posts offered attendees a clear pathway to advocate effectively on Capitol Hill. Sponsorship collateral communicated a strong return on investment. Pre-event program, script, and slide support created a through line for attendee engagement.
Across all three events, PPR maintained a steady rhythm of communication, ensuring that messaging stayed clear, timelines stayed on track, and each event remained connected to IEDC’s mission-driven storytelling.
PPR’s consistent cadence of communication contributed to record levels of engagement during this period. Proof points included:
• The 2025 Annual Conference achieved the highest number of registrations of any major conference in IEDC’s history.
• LinkedIn was a key driver of event awareness, interest, and conversions for all events.
- During the heaviest promotion period for the Annual Conference, IEDC’s LinkedIn engagement jumped from 8.1% in September to 18.2% in October, while clicks surged +317%, showing that pre-event momentum carried into high engagement during and after the event.
- Leading up to the Rural Retreat, LinkedIn clicks increased 19%, and engagement held steady at over 7%, indicating strong awareness-building.
- LinkedIn engagement rose to 19.7%, and clicks jumped +305% immediately before, during, and after the 2026 Leadership Summit, demonstrating highly effective conversion of pre-event interest into event/policy engagement.
• Media relations efforts supporting the Rural Retreat, Annual Conference, State of the Field Report, leadership position announcements, and Leadership Summit generated significant visibility, resulting in coverage across more than 400 media outlets.
Beyond the numbers, the impact showed up in the experience itself. Communications were clear. Materials were cohesive. And each event reflected the professionalism and leadership that define IEDC’s role in the field.
PPR functioned as a seamless extension of our team,” said IEDC Vice President of Public Affairs Brian Namey. “Together, we delivered consistent narratives from pre-event marketing to onsite engagement to follow-up with our attendees and broader audiences. Working with PPR enabled us to connect with economic developers and our partners in meaningful ways, ultimately resulting in real-world community impacts across the globe.”
Our partnership with IEDC reinforces that strong communications don’t sit on the sidelines of an event; they shape how it’s experienced. When everything is aligned, events run smoothly, accelerate engagement, and leave a lasting impression on attendees and communities at large.
