Institute for Public Relations

This study examines the relationship between the tone and visibility of media coverage about a CEO and an organization’s overall media tone and visibility. This paper also examines how the topic of media coverage (strategy/vision, product, CSR, positioning, financial performance) impacts the relationship between CEO media tone and organization media tone. A content analysis was conducted of media coverage for 36 Fortune 100 companies and their CEOs within 53 opinion-leading U.S. media outlets between January 2010 and June 2012. The findings show a positive relationship between CEO visibility and organization visibility, as well as CEO media tone and organization media tone. ...

The idea of communication professionals as consultants and enablers of communication has been expounded by a number of researchers. This is usually linked to the ‘consulting role’ as one of multiple roles enacted by communication professionals. Nevertheless, the specific dimensions and practices of internal communication consulting and its various objectives, forms and specifications have not been researched until now. This paper provides an initial step to close this gap by developing a theoretical framework based on research in business consulting and on existing public relations role models.

This multiple case study of two organizations with differing degrees of integration of their communication functions demonstrates that public relations may not assume an inferior “marketing support role” with higher levels of integration. Rather than become relegated to marketing support functions, public relations’ role in strategic management may increase with higher levels of integrated communication. Public relations can lead an organization’s integrated communication through its emphasis on mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships. This study also answers Hallahan’s (2007) call to conceptualize communication structures and public relations and marketing convergences in an ...

June 2010 – This paper defines marketing mix modeling, shares approaches for incorporating public relations results into the model – primarily through media content analysis – and provides a recent case study. The featured case study confirms what PR professionals believe to be true: PR is a most powerful marketing agent. What is more, public relations consistently surpasses the return-on-investment and relative selling power of other MARCOM activities within the marketing mix, including those which command much larger budgets. Today’s marketers, with the benefit of advanced mathematical methods along with new technologies for data-collection, data-warehousing and data-mining, are unraveling marketing’s mysteries ...

2010 – This paper expands on and updates the thinking of the Institute’s original Setting Measurable Objectives paper which was drafted in 1999 by Forrest W. Anderson, Independent Consultant, and Linda Hadley of Porter Novelli, along with contributions from members of the Institute for Public Relations Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation. In every business case – whether the organization is large or small; for-profit or nonprofit; local or global – there is an objective. Objectives may include generating a profit, approving legislation or giving back to the community. To advance the organization, those doing so need a clear understanding ...

2008 – This paper will primarily focus on tying public relations programs to business results. It examines how a variety of organizations have used PR measurement systems to demonstrate the business outcomes of their efforts. Its purpose is to encourage the use of data-driven decision-making within the PR profession. It considers the setting of measurable goals and objectives and provides six case studies from the technology, defense, retail, airline, utility and healthcare industries in which research has been used to further business goals and communications objectives.

2007 – A number of tools and methodologies have been developed in recent years to measure the impact of public relations programs through media coverage, key audience perceptions and increasingly, return on investment. However, measurement for some specific elements of the PR mix such as speaking opportunities remain more elusive. Yet in this era of increasing accountability, it is important to assess the return on the resources invested and to learn how to gain the best results. This paper provides recommendations on assessing the effectiveness of speaking opportunities. Speaking opportunities are often sought ...

March 2006 – By reviewing the literature in stakeholder theory, stakeholder management, and public relations, this paper arrives at a model that prioritizes stakeholders through a four-step process: Identifying all potential stakeholders according to their relationship to the organization Prioritizing stakeholders by attributes Prioritizing stakeholders by relationship to the situation Prioritizing the publics according to the communication strategy Studies in stakeholder theory, stakeholder management, and public relations provide many different ways of identifying key stakeholders or publics. At the heart of these attempts is the question, “How much attention does each stakeholder group deserve or require?” Since it is impossible that ...

May 2001 – I have observed public relations practice around the world as a scholarly researcher for over 35 years. In general, I believe five trends are occurring. First, public relations is becoming a profession with a scholarly body of knowledge. Second, public relations is becoming a management function rather than only a technical communication function. Third, public relations practitioners are becoming strategic counselors who are less preoccupied with publicity in the mass media than their predecessors. Fourth, public relations has moved from a profession practiced only by white males to a ...

October 2000 – The preeminent challenge facing the public relations executive seeking to develop evaluation and measurement systems is gaining acceptance of them from all important parties, starting with the organization head who has to approve the budgets and the staffs who have to develop, execute and then interpret the resulting research.