Institute for Public Relations

Rejoice. You can now cite proof that a media placement has the same effectiveness as advertising. But not more than that – at least not yet. In a new Institute-sponsored study entitled “Exploring the Comparative Communications Effectivess of Advertising and Media Placement,” David Michaelson (David Michaelson & Co., LLC) and Don W. Stacks (University of Miami) designed an experiment to test a long-held, oft-repeated assumption. Namely, that editorial coverage generated through public relations has greater value than equivalent advertising – some practitioners claim three or more times greater. The researchers (following their own pilot study in 2004, which was sponsored by ...

As measurement is increasingly seen as a requirement for communications professionals rather than a “nice-to-have,” the number of different methodologies and techniques to measure results has proliferated. Now that the tipping point seems to have been reached and measurement is appearing on almost everyone’s to do list these days, its time to move beyond “any measurement is good measurement” to the stage where CEOs, clients and agencies aren’t just demanding “measurement” but rather demanding that measurement be accurate, that the methodology be transparent, and declare the days of the “black box” dead. For far too long communications professionals, who might know a ...

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America has issued a call for entries for the 2007 Big Apple Awards. This year for the first time, the Institute for Public Relations will present a “Best Use of Research, Measurement and Evaluation Award.” Big Apple winners in every category will automatically be eligible for the additional research award, which will be judged by members of the Institute’s Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation. The Big Apple Awards program is open to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut public relations professionals, for PR programs created in 2006 and executed anywhere ...