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1 November 2019
In a Car with IPR: the latest episode of the video series

Recently, the Institute for PR has released the latest episode of In A Car with IPR featuring Catherine Hernandez-Blades, SVP and Chief ESG and Communications Officer at Aflac. Catherine gives us a tour of “The Big Easy” (New Orleans) and shares her thoughts on diversity, equity, inclusion, CSR, the future of work and more.

In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness month, the IPR also meet up with a special guest who introduces us to the My Special Aflac Duck. Named one of Time’s best inventions of 2018, Catherine shares how Aflac developed this heartwarming technology for children with cancer in mind.

Have you missed the previous episodes (and the deleted scenes)? You can find the complete collection here:

In a Car with IPR
31 October 2019
EUPRERA congresses 2020-21-22

Details are being defined and a formal announcement for the 2020 edition will come soon, but you can already save the dates for our next congresses!

2020 congress

October 8-10, Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.

The Call for Papers is already out and invites abstracts on the theme The Camino of strategic communication: (re)-discovering the human element in public relations by February 29, 2020.

2021 congress

September 9-11, Universität Wien, Austria.

2022 congress

(dates will be announced soon) Charles University in Prague, Austria.

28 October 2019
Corporate Activism: research, case studies and solutions for communicators to address a rising trend

You might be aware of an ongoing reader on corporate activism, edited by prof. Ana Adi from Quadriga University of Applied Sciences: it has some new contributions but all timely and valuable when it comes to discussing this trend and its implications. It’s a conversation starter, rather than a final statement on the matter.

In recent years, corporate activism has intrigued, puzzled and challenged communicators. While in the past, activism and corporate communications were often presented as incompatible if not totally opposed (for that, all you need to do is leaf through any book of PR history published before 2000), a shift into what corporations can and should acknowledge seems to have haven taken place around 2010. Whether this is related to changes in technology (and more specifically, the rise of social media) or the increased visibility and success of social movements, or a combination of both, is still up for debate. It is also questionable whether critical PR scholarship calling for an integration of activism and communication (see my recent edited collection on Protest Public Relations, for example) has finally reached practitioners and corporations.

What is certain is that the term ‘corporate activism’ has entered the mainstream, implying not only that the time is right but also that it is increasingly expected that corporations are more explicit and more consistent about the values they have, the causes they promote, and the ideas, ideals and ideologies they support.

Can activist stances be exported? And what if organizations become the focus of another organization’s activism or even another state? This reader aims to tease out answers from practitioners, members and alumni of Quadriga University of Applied Sciences’ network. Conceived as a collection of research updates, opinion pieces, case studies and practical insight geared at communication practitioners and communication students, this reader has been designed as a conversation starter as well as classroom material. It is therefore structured in three parts: research updates, case studies, and tools and solutions from practitioners.

Go to the reader
3 October 2019
IPRRC23: abstract submission until November 6

Public relations professionals, educators, and graduate students are invited to submit competitive abstracts for paper presentations at the premier public relations research conference, the 23rd International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), to be held on March 5-7, 2020, in Orlando, Florida.

This year’s theme focuses on “Connecting Theory and Research with Public Relations Practice” and one-page abstracts can be submitted until November 6, 2019.

The International Public Relations Research Conference is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting socially beneficial public relations research that increases understanding, builds relationships, support ethical socially responsible performance, and advances the development of an increasingly democratic global society.

Go to
IPRRC website
1 October 2019
New book: Big Ideas in Public Relations Research and Practice

edited by Finn Frandsen, Winni Johansen, Ralph Tench, Stefania Romenti
published by Emerald

Part of the APRCM series, this volume collects the best contributions from the EUPRERA 2018 congress held in Aarhus, Denmark. EUPRERA members can have this volume with a 70% discount.

Big Ideas can do many things. They are transformative and change the way we work and communicate in organizations and societies. As Big Ideas are dynamic, they can cross borders between disciplines to create new relationships between people, organizations and countries.

In applying big ideas to public relations, this volume challenges how scholars and practitioners perceive and understand public relations within an organizational setting. In thinking about the ‘bigger picture’, the collection expands public relations research to include more theory-building, more cross-disciplinary research, and more innovation in practice.

The 12 unique contributions from scholars based in Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, France, Romania, the UK, Finland, Portugal and the USA explore the challenges surrounding communication, management and big ideas. Some of the topics discussed include: corporate identity, millennial engagement, strategic communication in the internationalization of firms, public relations in the start-up community and, social capital.

More info
1 October 2019
Prof. Dr. Dejan Verčič receives the EUPRERA award as Distinguished PR Scholar

EUPRERA has named Prof. Dr. Dejan Verčič, from University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, a “Distinguished Public Relations Scholar”. The lifetime award recognizes his outstanding contribution to research and education in public relations as a social science discipline on an international level. He was awarded on September 28, 2019, at the University of Zagreb, on the occasion of the EUPRERA annual congress, by the association’s president Professor Dr. Ralph Tench.

What Dejan brings to his academic roles is a sharp critique of the discipline from a deep understanding of the research and literature base. And he combines this with the insightful application of the theory to practice. This gives his discussions and observations added value as he provides not only disciplinary understanding but an appreciation of the implications of communication on both society and organisations.

 

About Dejan Verčič

Dr Dejan Verčič is Professor, Head of Department of Communication and Head of Centre for Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Partner and Knowledge Director in strategic communication group Stratkom, in Slovenia.

  • PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK,
  • He was a Fulbright scholar at the San Diego State University, USA.
  • Verčič has published 14 books and his most recent are Experiencing public relations (2018), Communication Excellence (2017), Culture and Public Relations (2012) and The Global Public Relations Handbook (2009).
  • In 2001 he was awarded the Alan Campbell-Johnson Medal for outstanding service to international public relations by the UK Chartered Institute of Public Relations (of which he is a Fellow),
  • In 2016 the Pathfinder Award, the highest academic honour bestowed by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) in New York.
  • In 2015 he was elected an Honorary Member of the Croatian Public Relations Association,
  • In 2016 into the Arthur Page Society.
  • Dejan has served as the chairman of the Research Committee of the IABC Research Foundation
  • President of this very important Association
  • Since 1994, he has organized the annual International Public Relations Research Symposium – BledCom which celebrated its 25th birthday in 2018

Dejan is as many will know a regular speaker at universities, academic and professional meetings around the world. And as well as all of this Dejan has been a member of the ECM (European Communication Monitor) team since 2007.

28 September 2019
Awards for best doctoral and master thesis in public relations

The European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) has awarded two master students for their excellent theses in strategic communication at the EUPRERA annual congress in Zagreb on September 28. The congress is known as the major gathering of scholars and professionals interested in advancing the profession of public relations and corporate communications on the continent, hosted this year by University of Zagreb in Croatia.

Best thesis on Instigatory Theory, public diplomacy campaign and country image

The PhD Award for Excellent Doctoral Thesis is a bi-annual prize awarded by EUPRERA together with the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association) and ICCO (International Communications Consultancy Organisation), aimed to stimulate the academic discussion and build the body of knowledge in communication management across Europe. The jury, headed by Prof. em. Dr. Betteke van Ruler and Prof. em. Dr. Günter Bentele, selected the winning thesis and the award has been delivered by Ralph Tench (EUPRERA president), Sue Wolstenholme (PRCA representative) and Günter Bentele (head of the jury):

“Strategic Communication: The Instigatory Theory of NGO Communication (ITNC)”, by Evandro Oliveira. Supervisors: Teresa Ruão, University of Minho, Portugal; Ansgar Zerfass, Universität Leipzig, Germany.
After NGOs have been made understandable as civil society organizations from various disciplinary perspectives, the author develops a new model for NGO communication, the Instigatory Theory of NGO Communication (ITNC). Different models are being tested in the theses; a mixed-method-design, composed of a worldwide study on international human rights NGOs as well as an elite interview study are carried out. As one result, the ontological principles of the ITNC model were confirmed and the model turned out to be applicable for NGOs. The theoretical as well as the empirical part of the theses are of a very high standard. The dissertation was defended simultaneously at the University of Minho and at the University of Leipzig.
The Jury decided unanimously that Evandro Oliveira’s theses was the best in the whole field of applications, fulfilling all the criteria in an excellent manner. Complexity and appropriateness of the underlying theory, sophisticated empirical studies, practical orientation and suitability for practice are characteristics that distinguish this thesis. The development of an independent and new theory, the mentioned Instigatory Theory of NGO Communication, the broadness and complexity of the theory as well as the empirically very elaborate foundation are.

Master Thesis Award for Excellence is an annual prize aimed to celebrate the PR academia and the role performed by European Higher Education Institutions in the evolution of knowledge of this field. The jury, headed by Alexander Buhmann, from BI Norwegian Business School in Norway, selected the winning theses in two categories. The awards have been delivered by Stefania Romenti (EUPRERA director) and Ralph Tench (EUPRERA president):

Theoretical Impact Award

“Building the Nation: Analysing the Scottish Government’s Public Diplomacy Campaign Scotland is Now in the Context of Brexit”, by Melissa Walker. Tutor: Mariola Tarrega, University of Stirling, UK.
Brexit is currently one of the most salient and prevalent political challenges in the EU. The complex and uncertain process towards a British independence from the EU has led to a controversial debate over Scottish independence. Melissa Walker’s thesis is situated in this important context and focuses on elements of nation building in the digital campaign “Scotland is Now”. Using the case of the campaign, Walker looks at how elements of nation building are employed to cultivate an image of Scotland, and how these nation-building elements can be related to Scotland’s soft power strategies in the context of Brexit.
Overall, the jury congratulates Melissa Walker to a very interesting and topical thesis that focuses on important dimensions of a communication campaign in the complex negotiation processes over nation identity, thereby bridging conceptual insights from public relations, public diplomacy, and work on nation building.

Practical Impact Award

“The Impact of International News and Stereotypes on Country Images. A Case Study of the Swiss Country Image” by Jérôme Chariatte. Tutor: Diana Ingenhoff, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
The study of country images has become a vital research domain within in public diplomacy and international strategic communication. In his thesis, Jérôme Chariatte uses agenda setting theory and news value theory to hypothesize how international news and news factors, such as proximity, come to determine people’s country image. Further, the candidate incorporates a cognitive level in his analysis by including recent discussions on national stereotypes, as well as a newly developed five dimensional model of the country image.
For public diplomacy and strategic communication practice, the insights from Chariatte’s thesis offer a complex picture of the conjoined and weighted influence of national stereotypes and the international media on the country image, and assess how they differ along the lines of geographic proximity. The results allow practitioners to better understand the complex process of the formation of country images and can serve as an evidence based source for strategic communication measures accordingly. Overall, the jury applauds Jérôme Chariatte for outstanding academic work that contributes to a topical discussion in the field and offers insights based on a sophisticated research design.

27 September 2019
Awards for best research papers in public relations: EUPRERA and Emerald honor academics and practitioners

The European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA), a body of academic institutions, researchers and senior professionals in the field of strategic communication with nearly 500 members from 40 countries, has awarded authors for their excellent research in strategic communication at the EUPRERA annual congress in Zagreb, on September 27. The congress is known as the major gathering of scholars and professionals interested in advancing the profession of public relations and corporate communications on the continent, hosted this year by University of Zagreb in Croatia.

Academic awards for research on
communication strategies to activate citizens,
Twitter as a lobbying tool, communication in Disaster Management

EUPRERA Best Paper Awards were given to the authors of three papers with the highest rankings in a two-stage, blind peer-review process performed by a scientific committee of renowned international scholars, headed by Sabine Einwiller from University of Wien in Austria. Sabine Einwiller, Head of the scientific committee, and Ralph Tench, EUPRERA President, delivered the awards for the three winning papers:

“Small But Mighty. Communication Strategies Of Dutch Local Energy Initiatives” by Petrus ter Halle, Pascal de Vries, Liesbeth Hermans.
The paper addresses the role of communication strategies in activating citizens in private Local Energy Initiatives (LEIs) to stimulate engagement in a common social cause. In phase one, authors interviewed representatives of LEIs to then, in phase two, extend and deepen the insights by presenting them to other LEIs using dedicated workshops. It shows that LEIs do not appear to have a clear communication strategy, but elements of such a strategy are readily identifiable, and LEIs activate enormous civic potential. The paper is very innovative with a high level of practical significance and an inspiring methodological approach.

“The Democratic Success of Twitter as a Lobbying tool” by Øyvind Ihlen, Ketil Raknes, Anders O. Larson.
The paper discusses the contribution of Twitter to democratic goals of engagement and debate by asking “What type of interest groups and organizations succeed in having members of parliament react on (retweet) their Twitter messages?”. To answer this question, the authors analyzed the extent to which Norwegian politicians retweet messages from interest groups and lobbyists during normal parliamentary activity. Despite the touted democratic potential of Twitter, the researchers find that it is the powerful groups and organizations that get heard more by politicians, also on Twitter. The paper is excellently written with solid links to the relevant literature and sound methodology.

“Building Community Resilience: Strategic Communication in Disaster Management”, by Gayadini Imesha Dharmasena Madho Kandage, Margalit Toledano, Kay Weaver.
The authors analyze the use of strategic communication for building community resilience to natural disasters in two different socio-cultural contexts, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Based on 50 in-depth interviews of communication managers in government and non-profit organizations involved in disaster management, it shows that Sri Lanka has a fatalistic approach to disasters relying on collectivistic values, while in New Zealand the challenge is to persuade people to seek help from others and to be familiar with good sources of help and information. This highly interesting paper has a solid theoretical basis, sound methodology and contributes to our understanding of building community resilience in different cultures.

Moreover, Emerald Group Publishing, publisher of Journal of Communication Management, presented the yearly Emerald Professional Impact Award for the best research-based paper that is not only academically sound, but which makes an important and useful contribution to the practice of communication management. The paper addresses issues of current concern to managers and also successfully discusses the research’s implications to managers and for practice. The winning paper is:

“Happy or End: The Role of Strategic Communication in Start-ups”, by Markus Wiesenberg, Alexander Hagen Godulla, Katharina Tengler, Inga-Marit Noelle, Julia Kloss, Natalie Klein and David Eeckhout.
The paper is based on very sound theorizing, and takes an effort to ground the research in wider concepts and theoretical discussions that go beyond a mere observation of startup communication. Based on a systematic literature, the authors chose a qualitative-explorative approach reflecting the external perspective of consultants and funders as well as the internal perspective with start-up founders and the communication managers (where existent). Results reveal eight areas in which start-ups face strategic communication challenges including the basic orientation of strategic communication. This is an excellent paper combining a tight theoretical framework with practical and professional impact.

Special recognition to the best reviewer

EUPRERA Best Reviewer Award recognizes the work done by the reviewer because it is an essential contribution to the quality and the success of the annual congress. The scientific committee identified as this year’s winner:

Grazia Murtarelli from IULM University, Milano, Italy, who has contributed to careful, thorough and useful reviews.

25 September 2019
ECM Benchmarking Tool on Atificial Intelligence now available

Artificial Intelligence is coming to communications – but every second professional in Europe finds it difficult to secure competencies and infrastructures. How do you compare to your peers in assessing challenges and risks of AI? Find out in the newest edition of the ECM Benchmarking Tool.

Want to know more about Artificial Intelligence in communications? Download the new ECM Facts Flyer for free.

More ECM benchmarks
24 September 2019
EACD Summit 2020 – save the date

It has been already announced the next edition of the EACD (European Association of Communication Directors) annual conference, now called EACD Summit, this time taking place in a new location in Amsterdam.

The summit will be held on May 14-15, 2020. Further details will be communicated soon.

More info

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