IPR is featuring research and some of the many Indigenous pioneers who have had an impact on the field of public relations.Dr. Treena Clark and colleagues analyzed the contemporary experiences and contributions of Indigenous women in the public relations industry.Interviews were conducted with five indigenous women from different Indigenous groups/nations across Australia, working in public relations or communications. The participants discussed themes of Indigenous Australian public relations and Indigenous women’s experiences.Key findings include:1.) Respondents felt pressure to balance Indigenous protocols and values with wider public relations strategies.2.) Respondents experienced the “systemic privileging of non-Indigenous standpoints” and said practices within the field offered little promise of meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities and peoples. 3.) Respondents reported feeling like they had “to be exceptional to go far,” which had been reflected in other Australian public relations women’s and feminist discussions.4.) Respondents said workplace burnout not only resulted from long hours and weekend work, but also from upsetting cultural pressures, community obligations, manifested effects of colonization within the workplace, racism, and not being able to fully “clock off” the job when “you live and breathe Indigeneity.”Read the original research here. ...

Ragan and The Conference Board researched the advanced use of generative AI in marketing and communications and how much AI’s unedited creative output can truly support brand differentiation without human expertise.An online survey of 93 senior and 71 junior/mid-level marketing and communications professionals was conducted from Sept. 12 – Oct. 3, 2023. Key findings include:1.) 53% of respondents said they increased their use of generative AI to inspire thinking, followed by to write press releases/articles (40%), to conduct research (40%), and to create social media content (33%).2.) 20% of marketing professionals and 19% of communications professionals reported using generative AI frequently in their daily work.3.) 64% of respondents said AI will improve their effectiveness and creative output to achieve business goals.4.) 25% of respondents said AI will deteriorate the level of creativity in their field.— 32% of respondents said AI will deteriorate the uniqueness of creative output that differentiates their companies.5.) 63% of respondents said human experts should be reviewing and approving AI output to minimize risk or reputational damage due to using AI.— 56% of respondents said professionals need to stay on top of developments in the application of AI, including legal issues, to minimize organizational risk.Read the original research here. ...

PRovoke Media examined communications executives’ perspectives on their organizations’ communication plans and internal strategies across Asia-Pacific.Surveys of more than 120 senior in-house communication executives across Asia-Pacific were conducted during the second quarter of 2023.Key findings include:1.) 66% of respondents did not report receiving any backlash from key stakeholders regarding their ESG agendas.2.) 31% of respondents said their organizations had an either extremely effective or very effective diversity and inclusion policy, followed by 51% who said they had a somewhat effective policy. 3.) 33% of respondents expected to spend upwards of $4 million on communications in 2023.4.) 66% of in-house communication  executives said their organization is understaffed and 80% said their organization’s headcount has remained static this year.5.) Every respondent placed media relations at the top of their communication team’s list of responsibilities, followed by corporate reputation and crisis/issues (97%), employee engagement and social media monitoring (66% each), ESG and social impact (58%), and public affairs (48%). Find the original research here. ...

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Fueled by advances in digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI), public relations is transforming into a data-driven practice. Communicators must curate, analyze, and draw insight from disparate streams of data to inform decisions relevant to organizations and society. This rapid evolution demands an equally quick adaptation from communicators, who have indicated they want more training and development in this increasingly complex space.Dr. Emily Kinsky, Professor Michele Ewing, and I recently conducted research to examine how senior communicators are adapting to and leading teams in this data revolution. We conducted 28 in-depth interviews with communication practitioners with data and analytics experience. Participants worked at a wide variety of organizations. Many participants were members of the Institute for Public Relations Measurement Commission and International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), and they reported an average of 20 years of experience in communication.As highlighted below, participants described how they are leading their teams, including efforts to (1) foster a culture that enables risk taking, creativity, and curiosity, (2) create and enable diverse team structures, and (3) support and champion employees. How to Foster a Culture of Risk Taking, Creativity and Curiosity Suggestions from Participants How to Facilitate Create a safe environment that allows for data interpretation failure Encourage risk taking by creating awards such as “mistake of the month” or the “biggest flop” (p. 6 of study) Give employees the time to thoughtfully analyze Give employees time to ideate and to look for connections between online and offline sources of data. Don’t overburden employees with constant deadlines that leave little room for innovative problem solving and discovery Encourage diverse data interpretations Facilitate a show and tell environment of data interpretations so employees can build upon one another’s thoughts to help an interpretation evolve from good to great Champion curiosity Teach employees to ask good questions and to be a contrarian Prioritize honesty in data interpretations Remind employees to share honest interpretations, even when results indicate a failure by the organization or client How to Create and Enable Diverse Team Structures Suggestions from participants Why to facilitate Recruit employees who are innately curious Degree is less important than whether an applicant is inquisitive Encourage employees from different departments, experiences, and viewpoints to work together when examining data Doing so helps organizations avoid silos and to engender a more holistic interpretation How to Champion Support and Champion Employees Suggestions from participants How to facilitate Support and affirm self-learning of employees Give employees the time to do online training courses or to attend conferences Empower employees to support one another Create a brownbag show-and-tell lunch or a sandbox environment for exploration Mentor employees individually on how to work with data and analytics Coach employees in one-on-one sessions to dig deep in their analysis and to gain confidence Cultivate a passion for data and analytics as a career path Make data interpretation fun at work and helps employees to map out a career path in this space Respondents also mentioned using data to help their teams be more efficient. Data allowed them to demonstrate the impact of their strategies and tactics on organizational outcomes. They explained the importance of using data to identify and understand their audiences, construct stories, and motivate and amplify stakeholders. According to participants, three skills comprise the trifecta of data leadership in public relations practice: strategic counseling, storytelling, and data expertise.In summary, our research provides examples of how communicators can create or adapt an analytics-led, insight-driven culture among teams and to use to use data to elevate their status and the industry.The authors thank the Commission on Public Relations Education for championing this work and the Bob Schieffer College of Communication of Texas Christian University for sponsoring the research. The authors also thank the many IPR and AMEC members for sharing their insight and experiences.References: O’Neil, J., Kinsky, E., & Ewing, M.  Insights from senior communicators: Navigating obstacles, leveraging opportunities, and leading teams to capitalize on data and analytics. Public Relations Review, 49(4), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102362 Dr. Julie O’Neil is a Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and AdministrationStrategic Communication at Texas Christian University. Her areas of focus are public relations, internal communication, corporate social responsibility, measuring and evaluating communication programs and public relationships. Dr. Emily Kinsky is a Professor of Media Communication at West Texas A&M University. Her research interests include PR education, crisis communication, social media, and media depictions, including the portrayal of public relations and journalism in the media. Michele Ewing, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a professor at Kent State University with more than 30 years of experience in agency and corporate public relations and public relations education.  ...

This blog is provided by the IPR Organizational Communication Research Center.Dr. Kati Tusinski Berg and Dr. Katharine E. Miller examined how women leaders in the public relations industry advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and empowered their organizations. In-depth qualitative analysis of publicly available statements from 70 female honorees named to PRWeek’s “Women of Distinction” (formerly Hall of Femme) classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 was conducted. Key findings include:1.) The women leaders examined in the study practiced their advancement and empowerment of DEI through four main approaches:— They practiced empathetic leadership and built meaningful connections.— They reimagined the workplace and workplace culture.— They showed a commitment to and celebration of DEI efforts.— They championed purpose-driven work and organizations.Read the original research here. ...

This summary is provided by the IPR Organizational Communication Research CenterDr. James Ndone examined how negative employee-organization relationships impacted an organization’s internal reputation and its employees’ negative emotions as well as unsupportive behavior during a crisis. Negative employee-organization relationships (NEOR) were manifested by distrust, dissatisfaction, control dominance (how an organization intentionally neglected and controlled employees during decision making), and dissolution (employees’ willingness to break their relationship with an organization).Furthermore, the researcher investigated how an organization’s crisis responses, such as denial (e.g., finding a scapegoat or attacking the accuser) versus rebuilding (e.g., offering apology and compensation), may change the effect of NEOR during a crisis. Lastly, the research explores how the timing of the organization’s crisis responses, thunder (responding after crisis news coverage) versus stealing thunder (self-disclosing crisis information before news coverage), may also alter the impact of NEOR.An online experiment of 465 full-time employees working in the phone manufacturing industry in the United States was conducted in March 2021.Key findings include:1.) NEOR negatively impacted internal reputation and increased the likelihood of employees engaging in unsupportive behavior during a crisis.— The effects of NEOR mentioned above did not change when the organization chose different timing strategies of responding to the crisis.2.) Rebuilding crisis responses lessened the impact of NEOR on employees’ unsupportive behavior. 3.) NEOR intensified employees’ anger and anxiety during the crisis, which in turn affected the organization’s internal reputation negatively.Implications for PracticeOrganizations should cultivate positive relationships and avoid negative relationships with their employees as this may help the organization weather a crisis. When a crisis occurs, public relations practitioners should help the organization monitor employees’ emotions and especially try to minimize their anxiety and anger. Additionally, organizations can consider adopting rebuilding strategies to respond to a crisis when appropriate, which will help decrease employees’ unsupportive behaviors. ...

IPR is featuring research throughout October in support of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).The National Disability Institute researched the challenges and opportunities for small business owners who have disabilities.Multiple methods were used including a review of past census bureau survey data, in-depth surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Data were collected in 2022.Key findings include:1.) 61% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I have to demonstrate superior knowledge to be taken seriously as a business owner with a disability.”2.) 58% of respondents said they’ve used their disability experiences to develop and design products and services others haven’t thought of.3.) 29% of respondents said networking with business owners who aren’t disabled is challenging because they get treated like they do not belong.4.) 16% of respondents said they’ve lost customers because the customers preferred to work with business owners without disabilities.Read the original research here. ...

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