The Institute for Public Relations will celebrate its 60th Anniversary on October 26.
In 2016, the Institute for Public Relations will commemorate 60 years delivering research that matters to the practice by asking leaders in the field to share IPR’s contributions and what they see as the future for PR Research. To kick off the milestone, Trustee Ken Makovsky shares how the organizations has influenced the past 60 years of communications research.
A Letter from Ken Makovsky:
Was the Institute for Public Relations 60 years ahead of its time? Looking back, it’s tempting to think so. IPR’s tag line—the science beneath the art of public relations™—now underpins many of the most significant developments across the ever-expanding communications universe, whether it’s marketing, advertising, digital and online communications, internal communications or classic public relations. Public relations professionals no longer operate in a narrow niche, and we have the tools to operate across disciplines with imagination and precision.
To engage our stakeholders, advise our C-suites, and be relevant to our companies and clients, we need to deliver timely and unique insights that measure the effectiveness of what we do, and help professionals put those to use every day. To chart the course for the next 60 years, we’ll need more tools at our disposal than ever before, as well as core technologies that enable wide-ranging global opportunities.
But as we look to IPR’s future, let’s remind ourselves that we will always be measuring human engagement. The key word is human. And it’s the interplay of the human factors—the needs, the motivations, the rewards, the decisions—that has always guided what we do as professionals. While we need to seek and encourage development of new technologies, let’s remember the importance of collaboration with others as a way of bringing new life to our research.
With all of the policies above carried out, we will have a major impact on the next 60 years and will truly be the central address for research that matters to the profession.
Ken Makovsky is President of Makovsky and Trustee for the Institute for Public Relations. Follow him on Twitter at @3centsmak.
