The IPR Jack Felton Gold Medal is an impact award given to an individual for making significant and sustained contributions and a commitment to advancing applied research and evaluation in five key areas of public relations and communication that fit the IPR Commissions and Centers of Excellence:

— Behavioral Insights
— Digital Media
— Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
— Measurement
— Organizational/Internal Communication

Nominees should have demonstrated advocacy of research and insights in driving significant communications and public relations programs, thereby affirming the importance of research in effective public relations practice.

Additionally, and reflective of Jack Felton’s “give back” beliefs, nominees must have developed other leaders, serving as mentors and advisors in inspiring IPR’s mission of building sustainable research competencies and leadership across the professional practice of public relations.

The 2024 nomination deadline has passed. Please stay tuned for the 2025 deadline.

Nominate Here!

The award is for an individual who has:

  • Elevated the status of public relations directly or indirectly through applied research in behavioral insights; digital media; diversity, equity, and inclusion; measurement; and organizational/internal communication.
  • Developed other leaders, serving as mentors and advisors in inspiring IPR’s mission of building sustainable measurement competencies and leadership across the professional practice of public relations.
  • Influenced organizations to apply research and evaluation throughout the public relations process.
  • Enhanced the body of knowledge related to research for, about, and in public relations.
  • Made major contributions to the communications research profession through significant participation in professional organizations, and/or by writing, speaking, or teaching.
  • Gained recognition by peers as an influential leader; being honored with other major non-IPR professional awards and honors.
  • Represented generally accepted public relations research standards.
  • A minimum of 15 years in senior-level public relations positions for corporations, agencies, and research consultancies in the U.S. or internationally.

In 2015, the award was changed from the Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award given to a campaign to the Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement given to an individual.

Past Winners

 

Stacey Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA, Senior Counsel & Partner at Jackson Jackson & Wagner will receive the 2023 IPR Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement for her outstanding contributions to advancing the vital role of research, measurement, and evaluation in the practice of public relations and corporate communication. Smith will accept the award at the 2023 IPR Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner on Nov. 30, 2023, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

The IPR Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement is presented annually to an individual whose career reflects Jack Felton’s “give back” beliefs, and those who have developed other leaders, serving as mentors and advisors in inspiring IPR’s mission of building sustainable measurement competencies and leadership across the professional practice of public relations.

The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) awarded the IPR Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement Award to Johna Burke, Global Managing Director of AMEC. Burke received the award at the 2022 IPR Annual Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner on Dec. 1 at Current (Chelsea Piers) in New York City.

IPR presents this lifetime achievement award annually to an individual who conducts thorough research that involves comprehensive measurement and evaluation practices. Throughout their career, recipients of this recognition have demonstrated a commitment to using applied research in driving significant communications and public relations programs. Burke has displayed the importance of research in public relations throughout her career. Additionally, recipients of the award have aided in the production of other leaders, serving as mentors and advisers. Burke has captured the spirit of IPR’s mission of building empirical measurement practices and robust leadership across the public relations industry.

Allyson Hugley, Global Director of Customer Insights at LinkedIn, will receive the 2021 IPR Jack Felton Gold Medal for her contributions made in advancing the importance of making significant use of research, measurement and evaluation in public relations and corporate communication practice. Hugley will accept the Medal at the 59th Annual IPR Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner on December 2, 2021, at Current at Chelsea Piers.

Hugley’s expertise includes the development of audience intelligence, media research, and digital analytics solutions to inform business strategy, marketing, and communications.  She is currently the Global Director of Customer Insights at LinkedIn, which is part of the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions (LMS) Customer Science function. In this role, she leads a global team responsible for leveraging LinkedIn’s unique audience and firmographic data to inform customers’ business and marketing strategies.

The Institute for Public Relations will award Katie Delahaye Paine, Publisher and CEO at Paine Publishing, the prestigious IPR Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement, an award made for lifetime contributions in the advancement of research, measurement and evaluation in public relations and corporate communication.

“When one considers whom within the communications research community has fought most doggedly over the course of time to elevate the status of data-driven insights and decision-making in public relations, Katie Delahaye Paine tops the list,” said Mark Weiner, Chief Insights Officer at Cision and Director of the IPR Measurement Commission, “Since 1987 when she founded the Delahaye Group, Katie’s determination, skill and charisma go a long way towards explaining the “who” behind the “why” and the “how” public relations measurement and evaluation have evolved in the past 30 years.”

For decades, Paine has been a major contributor to the field of measurement. She founded and sold two measurement companies, KDPaine & Partners Inc., (now Carma) and The Delahaye Group (now part of Cision). Her books, Measure What Matters (Wiley, March 2011) and Measuring Public Relationships (KDPaine & Partners, 2007) are considered must-reads for anyone tasked with measuring public relations and social media. Her latest book, written with Beth Kanter, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit: Using Data to Change the World, won the Terry McAdam Book Award for best non-profit book of the year.

Weiner received the award at the IPR Annual Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner on November 28, 2018 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. This medal, given under the guidance of a special committee that includes select members of the IPR Commission on Measurement and Evaluation, honors those individuals who epitomize the philosophic perspectives of Jack Felton, a former CEO of the Institute for Public Relations who passed away in 2013 who valued research and measurement in the advancement of public relations as a profession.

“Jack Felton was all that I admire in both a friend and professional role model.  This high esteem makes being named the 2018 Jack Felton Gold Medal winner that much more meaningful,” said Weiner. “I’m grateful to the Institute for Public Relations for recognizing my lifetime commitment to our profession.  I’m obliged to my colleagues on the Commission on Research and Evaluation from whom and with whom I’ve learned so much.  Most of all, I’m indebted to my colleagues at PRIME Research and the clients we serve…without them, I would be much less than I am.”

Weiner joined PRIME as CEO in 2008 and continues in that role since Cision acquired PRIME in 2018. Since 1993, he has devoted his career to helping many of the world’s most respected organizations and brands to demonstrate and generate a positive return on their investment in corporate and brand communications.

IPR will award Don W. Stacks, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Strategic Communication at the University of Miami, the prestigious Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement, an award made for lifetime contributions in the advancement of research, measurement and evaluation in public relations and corporate communication.

Dr. Stacks has written more than 200 scholarly articles, chapters, and papers. His awards include the IPR Pathfinder Award, the University of Miami Provost’s Award for Outstanding Research and Theory, the Public Relations Society of America Outstanding Educator of the Year Award, the University of Miami Outstanding Professor Award, and the PRSA Jackson, Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize.

“I am beyond honored to be named the winner of the Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement,” Dr. Stacks said. “Jack was both a mentor and a friend who worked hard to bring the academe and the profession together with a better understanding of research and measurement.”

Charlotte Otto, retired Procter & Gamble Global External Relations Officer and now Senior Corporate Strategist for Weber Shandwick, will receive the Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement. The recipients of the Jack Felton Medal are individuals who epitomize the philosophic perspectives of Jack Felton on the value of research and measurement in the advancement of public relations as a profession presented by the IPR Measurement Commission. tto is a communication veteran and long-time champion of the power of measurement. She spent 33 years at Procter & Gamble including 13 years in its marketing organization and 20 years in global public affairs and external relations

The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner 2015

Gary Sheffer, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at General Electric, was the first recipient of the Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement. Sheffer was recognized for his major contributions to the advancement of research, measurement and evaluation in public relations and corporate communication at the Institute for Public Relations Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner on November 17 in NYC.

“Gary is one of the true leaders in our field and he epitomizes the foresight and leadership of Jack Felton,” said Dr. David Michaelson, IPR Research Fellow and a member of the award’s selection committee. “His contributions to the advancement of the “science beneath the art” of public relations include his significant support for the development of research standards for our industry and his effective use of measurement and evaluation during his role as the chief communications officer at GE.”

For the past 13 years, Sheffer has overseen external and internal communications and provided advice to GE executives on issues related to culture, reputation and business strategy. He also works with external groups and individuals to foster understanding of GE policies and businesses. Sheffer is retiring from GE at the end of 2015.

Sheffer is chairman of the board of the Arthur W. Page Society, a membership organization for senior public relations and corporate communications executives. He also serves on the board of the Institute for Public Relations and is a member of the boards of the GE Foundation and the GE-Reagan Scholarship Program.

PUTTING THE I IN HEALTH IT®

Agency/Client: Ketchum with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Putting the I in Health IT®

Situation Analysis:

An accident victim is brought unconscious to the ER. The medical team scans her electronic health record (EHR), providing a full medical history and revealing an underlying health condition that must be addressed to save her life. This is the promise of health information technology (health IT) – smarter health decisions through coordinated information. The Obama Administration sought to ignite a national movement to overhaul the nation’s health care system – moving from outdated paper records to health IT to advance health care quality. The Administration created the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to bring this mandate to reality.

Challenge:

Health care providers – particularly smaller and rural practices – saw electronic health record adoption as burdensome, with substantial costs, workflow disruptions, productivity loss, and difficulties in qualifying for government adoption incentives. Ketchum created Putting the I in Health IT® to personalize health IT benefits. The campaign helps providers, caregivers, and patients step into the hero’s shoes – demonstrating the personal benefits of electronic health records. And the campaign lets providers know they don’t have to do it alone – ONC resources can ease the burden.

Results:

In 2012, 72% of office-based physicians had adopted an electronic health record system, up from 42% in 2008. As of June 2013, 59% of primary care physicians received federal incentives for successfully adopting electronic health records; 43% of primary care physicians and 49% of nurse practitioners sought personalized adoption assistance through ONC-funded Regional Extension Centers.

CHANGING BEHAVIOR THROUGH PR: EARNED MEDIA BOOSTS CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE DURING MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT

PRIME Research, Porter Novelli with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Changing Behavior through PR: Earned Media Boosts Campaign Performance during Medicare Open Enrollment
The Institute for Public Relations Measurement Commission has awarded 2012 Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award to a three-member team comprised of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Porter Novelli and PRIME Research.  The case study, Changing Behavior through PR:  Earned Media Boosts Campaign Performance during Medicare Open Enrollment, exemplified excellence in public relations research, measurement and evaluation.

Of the many measures of success during Open Enrollment, the most important is increasing the number of Medicare beneficiaries who adopt the primary call-to-action—comparing and reviewing their insurance coverage during this time period.   The decision to adopt this call to action is a yes/no proposition, either the beneficiary does it or not.

Our analytic approach involved several steps that together helped to reduce bias and provided the statistical controls needed for the logistic regression results to be interpreted as showing a causal relationship between earned media exposure and behavior change over and above that of the paid media. In general, logistic regression enables the researcher to evaluate what factors increase the likelihood that an individual adopts this action.  Equipped with survey data that measure this action, as well as demographics and other key measures of campaign exposure, logistic regressions enables us to tease out what levers most effectively helped us to reach our goals.  However, in observational studies results based on logistic regression alone must be interpreted cautiously. Sometimes self-selection or similar processes can be mistaken for exposure effects (e.g., if more engaged consumers are simply more likely to be exposed to the media).  Traditional regression-based adjustments can actually make this problem more acute.  For that reason, we augmented standard logistic regression with propensity score analysis.  In this technique, one identifies exposed and unexposed participants who are as identical as possible on key characteristics (e.g., age, sex, race, decision-making style) and compare the exposed participants with matched control cases to allow for an unbiased “apples to apples” comparison that can be interpreted in much the same way as a controlled experiment.  It is from this set of statistical efforts that we can make the claim that even after controlling for exposure to paid media and a variety of demographic and decision-making style variables, beneficiaries who reported exposure to PR coverage and earned media about Open Enrollment were 2.3 times more likely to adopt the campaign’s primary call-to-action. The techniques used in this study can help other PR practitioners reduce bias and more accurately assess the impact of their campaigns in real world settings.

THE TOYOTA RECALL CRISIS: MEDIA IMPACT ON TOYOTA’S CORPORATE BRAND REPUTATION

InfoTrend, Inc.

The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation has awarded InfoTrend, Inc. (www.infotrend.com), the 2011 Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award.  InfoTrend’s case study, “The Toyota recall crisis: Media impact on Toyota’s corporate brand reputation,” exemplified excellence in public relations research, measurement and evaluation.

A Silver Merit certificate was awarded to Determinus and their client, Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, for their case, “METRIC Model: Measuring Engagement and TRacking Influencer Communications”.

Golden Ruler Award
“The Toyota recall crisis: Media impact on Toyota’s corporate brand reputation,” by InfoTrend, Inc.
Golden Ruler Award presentation – “The Toyota recall crisis: Predicting corporate reputation from the media,” by InfoTrend, Inc.
Golden Ruler Award presentation – Video

Silver Merit Award
“METRIC Model: Measuring Engagement and TRacking Influencer Communications,” by Determinus (a Chandler Chicco Company) and Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance

MAKING THE CASE FOR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Northwestern Mutual, Gagen MacDonald LLC with Employee Motivation & Performance Assessment, Inc.
PDF: Making the Case for Employee Engagement

THE MEDIA REALITY CHECK: A NEW APPROACH TO CONTENT ANALYSIS

MetLife and Echo Research

The Commission on Measurement & Evaluation presented this year’s 2009 Jack Felton Golden Ruler award to Echo Research and MetLife for their work on “The Media Reality Check: A New Approach to Content Analysis.” The Commission also awarded two Certificates of Merit to The Department of Defense/TRICARE Management Activity with Fleishman-Hillard and to American Express. These entries, available in PDF format, are prime examples of excellence in public relations research, measurement and evaluation.

Golden Ruler Award
“The Media Reality Check: A New Approach to Content Analysis” by Echo Research and MetLife

Certificates of Merit

A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON ENERGY SECURITY

Shell Oil Company, Burson-Marsteller and A Brink & Company

The judging panel from the Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation decided to bestow a Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award and two Certificates of Merit in the 2008 competition. These winning entries are presented here as superb examples of research, measurement and evaluation integrated into the public relations program.

Golden Ruler Award
Shell Oil Company, Burson-Marsteller and A Brink & Company, “A National Dialogue on Energy Security”

Certificates of Merit

RESEARCH BASED BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION: BENCHMARK AND TRACKING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Padilla Speer Beardsley and GfK for Rockwell Automation
PDF: Research Based Business Transformation

We welcome you to review this winning entry as an excellent example of effective use of public relations research, measurement and evaluation. These qualities are integrated into PR practice by using research to connect public relations objectives with real business strategy. What began as a brand differentiation study led the company to focus on loyalty and advocacy and commit to annually measure the factors that drive them. As part of this commitment, Padilla and GfK conducted quantitative research to establish benchmark measures for satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy. These results were embedded into goals and targets set for the company, business units and individual managers. The data has become the principal driver of Rockwell Automation’s overall business and communication strategy, and the cornerstone of delivering on its brand promise to listen, think and solve.

PROOF: PORTER NOVELLI KEY MESSAGE ASSESSMENT & OPTIMIZATION

Watson Pharma, Inc. and Porter Novelli

We welcome you to review this winning entry as an excellent example of effective use of professional measurement techniques in public relations. Click on the links below to download the entry and the related presentation in PDF format.

PDF: PRoof: Porter Novelli Key Message Assessment & Optimization
PDF: Media Analysis of the Overactive Bladder Market (Presentation)

YOU ARE NOW FREE TO LINK PR AND SALES

Southwest Airlines and SEO-PR

We welcome you to review these winning entries as great examples of effective use of professional measurement techniques in public relations. Click on the links below to download the entries in PDF format.

PDF: You Are Now Free To Link PR and Sales
PDF: Turning Press Releases into Ticket Sales (Presentation)

NEGOTIATIONS 2003 AND IMPLEMENTING THE AGREEMENT

Alberta Medical Assocation and Comalco with Burson-Marsteller

We welcome you to review these winning entries as great examples of effective use of professional measurement techniques in public relations. Click on any of the links below to download the entries in PDF format.

Golden Ruler Awards

Silver Ruler Awards

Certificates of Merit