Frank Ovaitt received the Arthur W. Page Society's 2015 Distinguished Service Award, which is given to an individual who has helped strengthen the role of PR in business and society. Ovaitt, who recently concluded a highly successful second tenure as President and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations, has helped redefine and evolve the meaning of public relations as a research-based social science. 

"Throughout my career I have been guided by the knowledge that communications is a fundamental aspect of enterprise success, and as leaders in its practice we are obliged to demonstrate just how important and impactful it is," said Ovaitt. Read more.
Brandi Watkins, Ph.D., Virginia Tech & Regina Lewis, Ph.D., The University of Alabama
 
Watkins and Lewis
Most professional athletes have a well-maintained and active social media presence because they utilize hashtags and retweets on Twitter, according to a recent study. Players are more likely to mark a tweet as a "favorite" or retweet a message from another athlete to express their point of view.  

Twitter's unique features still enable the athletes to create a dialogue with their followers without having to directly state their opinion. This allows athletes to have a well-maintained Twitter presence without the risk of getting into trouble. Read more.
Tim Marklein, Big Valley Marketing and Member, IPR Measurement Commission
Today's marketers and communicators are awash in data, metrics and research - and yet they frequently report they can't measure the impact of communications efforts. In many cases, they lack a measurement framework that makes sense of all the data across different channels, campaigns and disciplines. 

At this year's Measurement Summit, Tim Marklein will introduce a new cross-discipline, multi-channel approach to communications measurement that balances short-term and long-term impact. The Summit is on October 12-13 in Durham, NH. Read more.
Marit Christensen,  Norwegian University of Science and Technology 

Organizations struggle to communicate with employees during challenging transitions, such as when downsizing or when introducing new technology. Leaders can employ clear communication strategies during these times to help employees smoothly cope with the structural changes.
 
Organizations should provide sufficient instructions about the change, facilitate contact between employees, explain the rationale, and invite feedback and participation from employees during the process. Following these communication strategies will put employees at ease during a tense transition. Read more.