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How to Measure Public Relations Success

Don't let myths cloud your understanding of PR measurement. Instead, leverage PR as a powerful tool to drive your organization's success. Public relations is often shrouded in the myth that measuring outcomes is elusive if not impossible. This misconception stems from the belief that the primary result of PR activities is the mere generation of publicity. While publicity indeed provides value, its true significance is unlocked when it aligns seamlessly with your organization's overarching strategies and business objectives. It's imperative for organizations to hold their public relations initiatives accountable for achieving well-defined and quantifiable goals that truly matter. In many instances, the same metrics used to gauge the effectiveness of advertising can be applied to evaluate the impact of PR. Public relations outcomes typically fall into three distinct categories. We can educate. We can persuade. And we can mobilize. Put …


Six Tips to Ensure Your Communications Resonate

It's common for corporate communications to inundate their audiences with countless messages, often saying the wrong things to the wrong people.


Response to Wuhan Coronavirus: Another PR Fail or Chance to Shine?

While a lot of attention has understandably been focused on the Senate Impeachment Trial of President Trump, we learned that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first case of the novel Wuhan coronavirus. The patient involved was described as having a history of traveling to China and started to show symptoms four days after arriving from China in the U.S. Images of health workers in full protective gear and the announcement that travelers from Wuhan – a city of 11 million people – to the U.S. will be required to undergo health screenings immediately brought back memories of the Ebola outbreak in Dallas in the fall of 2014. As The Dallas Morning News reported, in the story, ‘Looking back, Dallas Ebola crisis showed cost of fear, value of leadership,’ “We learned that the buffering protection of the two …


Americans Agree on One Thing: Disinformation is a Problem

A version of this article, "IPR Report Finds Americans Bombarded with Disinformation," was featured by the Institute for Public Relations on June 24, 2019. As communicators who work on behalf of a range of organizations to educate, engage and mobilize individuals and communities, trust matters a lot to us. Trust is something that is earned over years and decades. It is invaluable. Without trust, the relationships we strive to build and strengthen lack a foundation. In this context, we are posting today about the 2019 Institute for Public Relations Disinformation in Society Report published by the Institute for Public Relations (https://instituteforpr.org). Not surprisingly, the study found that Americans believe disinformation -- deliberately misleading or biased information -- is a problem. In fact, just seven percent of the 2,200 American adults who were surveyed said disinformation is not a problem. While …


Helping Smart People Make Complicated Information Relatable

Best of Silver Anvil Winning Program Builds Support for Human Space Exploration DPK Public Relations has a long relationship with NASA - Johnson Space Center that goes back to the Space Shuttle era, and we were proud to assist the Human Research Program's efforts to communicate about the science behind Astronaut Scott Kelly's Year in Space. The concept was simple: Kelly is an identical twin, so NASA seized the opportunity to monitor the impact of this prolonged exposure to zero gravity and compare those physiological and psychological measurements with those of his brother, Mark Kelly, who also is an astronaut. The challenge for any organization involved in science, technology or medicine -- or really anything that is complex -- is getting the smart people who are involved comfortable speaking in plane English about it. Making complicated information relatable isn't something …


Five Crisis Communications Fundamentals Every Organization Needs to Know

Access to Accurate Information Will Help Decision Makers Stop a Crisis Plenty has been written about how digital media has changed crisis communications. That makes sense, because the pace of scrutiny has accelerated with everyone carrying devices that can instantly broadcast video to a worldwide audience. What’s more, digital media creates a platform for people to express outrage, and that backlash can really sting. That said, the core fundamentals of crisis communications remain unchanged from when I entered public relations more than 20 years ago – and they go back a lot further than that.  Crisis communications is sometimes portrayed as a way to deflect responsibility or explain away a problem. In reality, crisis PR’s most important role is to aid in stopping human suffering and the potential for harm to the community as quickly as possible.  Crisis communications does …


Best of Silver Anvil 2017 Goes to Client NASA Johnson Space Center

NASA's One-Year Mission Earns PRSA's Highest Honor Congratulations to our client, NASA Johnson Space Center, for winning the 2017 Best of Silver Anvil Award. The agency's program, "Year in Space: Communicating NASA's Historic One-Year Mission from Space to Ground," won the Silver Anvil in the Integrated Communications category and a second Silver Anvil for Reputation Management. It was judged to be the best of all this year's Silver Anvil winners. DPK Public Relations is proud to have assisted with spokesperson preparation connected to NASA's historic one-year mission. We worked closely NASA's Human Research Program in the year leading up to the mission to hone messages and refine storytelling strategies. We later media trained many of the scientists and researchers involved in the mission. NASA Johnson Space Center's integrated communications campaign showcased diverse activities aboard the International Space Station and collaborated …


Are You Doing Enough to Turn Employees Into Brand Ambassadors?

Three Out of Four U.S. Workers Don't Believe Their Employers' Brand Promise Do your employees really believe in you and your company? If CEOs and corporate communicators are being honest, they would not confidently answer 'yes' to that question. According to research from Gallup, three out of four workers in the U.S. feel their organizations do not always deliver on the promises they make to customers. Gallup's Nate Dvorak and Robert Gabsa write about this research and the implications in the post, "Companies Don't Have Effective Brand Ambassadors." As an ongoing responsibility, leaders and managers need to provide employees with relevant tools, education and support. In the modern economy, delivering a brand is becoming more than just providing that product or service; in many cases, it includes an experience and a specific emotion. The most successful organizations ensure they provide these …


Silence Can Amplify the Power of Your Words

Shut Up and Use One of the Most Powerful Communications Tools  We at DPK Public Relations appreciated a recent post by Dan Rockwell, "How to Capture the Opportunity in Awkward Silence," from his Leadership Freak blog. It describes the value of leaders allowing silence in the midst of meetings or interviews. So often, silence in a meeting ratchets up tension and anxiety. It is the third rail of interpersonal communication - touching it can be deadly! However, this negative response to a moment of contemplation can be harmful. It can prompt people to rush and make statements or offer solutions that lack a solid foundation and are ill conceived.  Right out of college, I worked briefly selling cars. As is the case with many salespersons, we were coached to capitalize on the discomfort created by silence. Make a closing statement and …


DPK Public Relations Reflects on 13th Anniversary

Many Thanks to Clients, Extended Team Members and Friends for a Very Lucky 13! Looking back on our first 13 years in business, it is amazing to reflect on the change in what we do. When we first hung a shingle in 2003, the concept of "social media" was not well defined or understood and RIM's Blackberry was the dominant mobile device, offering a hint of what smartphones would become. That said, the writing was clearly on the wall. We were de-emphasizing traditional media relations and urging clients to incorporate interactive elements into their websites. In 2003, social networks were in their infancy, with MySpace, Friendster and Linkedin all launching in 2002-2003. For us at DPK Public Relations and other public relations counselors, this was a period of experimentation. I remember Web marketing expert and client Ed Schipul speaking to …