Institute for Public Relations

We need a new definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to apply not only to corporations, but also to governments, NGOs – any organization that competes for societal resources – thereby helping societies set a sustainable path. The economic crisis is a good opportunity for social scientists to talk to each other, who for decades have been telling us that organizations are not perfect: Herbert Simon and many others have proved Max Weber wrong.  For what concerns the environment nothing is very new either: The Limits to Growth was published 40 years ago. As for self inspection, on one side, we ...

Last month I was in Miami for the 15th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference. For three days, researchers, teachers, masters, doctoral students and PR professionals from around 15 different countries were gathered together to discuss over than 108 researches that were made the past year. All kind of topics were presented, but social networks took the major attention this time: 38% of the research had to do something with this issue, while another important topic, with the 18%, was the one that involved the issue of Financial Crisis, eight papers were done about the evaluation and measurement of Public Relations ...

I write this post from Dubai, where the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) has invited me to speak at a conference called ‘Public Relations in the Age of Dialogue.’ There’s much symbolism here: a great global city, in a region at an extraordinary crossroads between tradition and modernity, hosting a dialogue about a profession undergoing a similarly profound transition. This change is not limited to the public relations or communication profession. It pervades almost every organization and society – autocratic or democratic — as we adapt to an age in which both internal and external publics have unprecedented access ...

I’m very pleased to welcome the latest addition to the IPR Trustee Class of 2014.  Adele Ambrose, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, Merck, becomes our 44th Trustee. At Merck, Adele leads the Global Communications organization, responsible for the company’s internal and external communications with key audiences including the news media, employees, the financial community, other specialized stakeholders and the general public. Prior to joining Merck in 2007, Adele was a corporate officer and executive vice president, public relations and investor communications, for AT&T Wireless, a newly public company with 21 million customers. Before that, she was vice president of ...

As the public relations industry grows in size and stature, it is coming under increasing scrutiny by the public, media and government. But not all scrutiny is bad, especially if it helps broaden the understanding of a profession and advances its role and value. Twice in the past year there have been investigations into public relations spending by the federal government. The most recent was launched in late February by Senator Claire McCaskill (D–Mo.) and Senator Rob Portman (R–Ohio), who have triggered a wide-ranging investigation of the federal government’s use of public relations and advertising services. At the initial stages of ...

IPR Trustee Rob Flaherty turned my attention to Jonah Lehrer about a year ago.  Lehrer, the author of “How We Decide” and “Imagine: How Creativity Works” (due out next week), writes about neuroscience.  Last weekend, his essay in The Wall Street Journal hinted at what’s to come in the new book. Creativity is a skill, says Lehrer, and one that anyone can learn.  Some creative challenges require a burst of insight, some a slog.  Fortunately, numerous studies show that the human brain is remarkably good at figuring out what kind of creativity is needed. If you suspect you can find the ...

To explore current public relations/communications practices with Wikipedia, I’m conducting a survey sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Center. My goal is to explore current engagement with Wikipedia and identify what changes are necessary. I started researching Wikipedia in 2006 with Marcus Messner, Virginia Commonwealth University, and we have been arguing for years that public relations professionals should monitor their Wikipedia articles. Our 2010 study found that the negative content in corporate Wikipedia articles increased from 2006 to 2008 to 2010 and articles were becoming less focused on historical information and more on legal issues and controversies. Given our findings and the ...

There is quite a lot of science in crisis response to go with the art. I was interviewed a few weeks ago (along with PRSA Chair Gerry Corbett and Council of Public Relations Firms’ Senior Vice President Matt Shaw) by The Business Journals for an article on “How to respond to bad publicity.” The three tips at the bottom of the article come right from what research teaches us about crisis response: “If you act fast, you have a better chance of controlling the story and the outcome. “Treat employees, community leaders and officials as key contributors to helping you solve the ...