The fall semester begins. Another cohort of strategic public relations master’s students at The George Washington University enters my applied research course, which focuses on integrating research into practice. One of the assignments they will endure involves developing a detailed RFP (request for proposal) for research services. ...

On the heels of the Tiger Woods scandal last April and only days before the BP rig explosion and oil spill, the Economist ran a story calling attention to the fact that brand-threatening scandals are becoming a regular feature of the corporate landscape. This, the Economist sai ...

In order to better understand the user requirements of the Institute for Public Relations website, our partner Prescient Digital Media conducted an online survey with IPR users and key stakeholders during early June. I say “many thanks” to the 120 people who completed the survey. The feedback provides a holistic view of our current website and its potential future state, from the user perspective. This feedback wil ...

The Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles slides (PDF) A new declaration of standards and practices to guide measurement and evaluation of public relations was discussed in Barcelona this week and adopted by delegates attending at the 2nd ...

I’ve been reminded over past days how truth and accuracy in information are under assault – and of the obligation that each of us has to fight back. Harris Diamond, CEO of Weber Shandwick, characterized the situation in a commencement speech: “The new paradigm holds that everything is opinion, everything is relative, and everything is spin. Information is in the eye of the communicator. The assumptio ...

CEOs look to us – look to you – to be, if not the smartest person in the room, certainly able to make some very serious judgments often under crisis circumstances when there is a great deal on the line. We have to approach that responsibility with a great deal of humility and understanding, and research helps. That’s what Don Baer s ...

Social media surveys are a dime a dozen these days and with good reason. Social media are hot in the public relations and public affairs profession. Practitioners at all levels want to know how to use them for publicity, marketing, sales, reputation management, crisis communications, and more. And judging by the PR/PA M&A agency business, firms ...

That’s the theme – and ambition – of Indonesia’s public relations community, which hosted a regional conference Feb. 2-4 in Jakarta for the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). There were 162 delegates from 23 countries attending. The Institute for Public Relations and its mission of PR research, measurement and evaluation had a high profile with this multi-national but mostly-Asian audience. Among the takeaways: MISSION ACCOMPLISHE ...

The use of Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) as media measurement and a tool to value media placements is one of the most contentious topics in our business; the topic seems to emerge at nearly every professional conference. As you undoubtedly know, AVE is essentially the practice of assigning a “value”to a news story by equating it to advertising costs, with ...

Well, here we are. Still just days into the New Year. Time to turn over a new leaf. Start a new chapter in our personal or professional lives. Pick your metaphor; it feels good. Enter 2010 refreshed and re-energized. Apparently what characterizes our optimism at the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education – the Institute – is not ne ...