Ken Makovsky, IPR Trustee, Makovsky Integrated Communications

Jon Iwata, IBM
In its early days, communications professionals focused on mass awareness. Print media coverage in a PR campaign was considered successful if it generated awareness and understanding.

Today, the mandate of communications is to go beyond awareness into driving belief, action, confidence and advocacy, according to Jon Iwata, senior vice president, marketing and communications, IBM. That is true engagement. And the rise of digital, including social media, has given communications practitioners' new opportunity to engage not just the masses, but also individuals. Read more.
Sophia Charlotte Volk, University of Leipzig
 
This post was written by one of the winners of IPR's Top Paper Awards at the 2016 International PR Research Conference.

A crucial prerequisite to conduct valid measurement is the expertise of PR and communications staff. Across Europe, only an alarming minority of practitioners report high competencies when it comes to calculating reputation or brand value.
 
Throughout Europe, measurement is still heavily based on monitoring outputs, with 83 percent of the organizations documenting media clippings and 69 percent tracking Internet use. Without measurement of costs (input) and impact on organizational goals (outflow), it remains yet impossible to document communication effectiveness and efficiency reliably. Read more
Three DePaul University students will be awarded the Jack Koten Page Principles Case Study Award for their winning submission on Starbucks' efforts to create positive social impact by facilitating a national conversation on race. This is the second year in a row that students from DePaul have taken top honors under academic advisor and university associate professor of public relations, Dr. Matt Ragas.

The Case Study Competition in Corporate Communications, which is sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations, awards students whose original case studies best examine the practice of corporate communications in a business issue or crisis. Read more.
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