Remembering Mark Weiner

Institute for Public Relations

The IPR community pays tribute to IPR Trustee Mark Weiner, one of the founders of the IPR Measurement Commission and longtime Trustee and IPR supporter. 

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Mark Weiner, longtime IPR contributor, measurement expert, and friend to the public relations industry. In 1994, Mark began a long career working in research and insights at PRIME Research, Cision, Delahaye, Public Relay, and Ketchum. In 1997, Mark helped launch our IPR Measurement Commission, our oldest and largest IPR Center of Excellence. He served as chair in 2004 and then returned in 2017, when he served as director for two terms. Mark published two IPR signature studies. In 2016, he co-authored with Dr. Sarab Kochhar, “Irreversible: The Big Data Revolution,” and in 2021, he was the primary author on “The Communicator’s Guide to Research, Analysis, and Evaluation.” Mark also served on the Board of the Museum of Public Relations and was a member of the Page Society.

In 2018, Mark received the IPR Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to measurement and evaluation. When I told Mark he had been nominated for the award and could not serve on the awards committee that year, he sent in two additional nominations. Despite the additional competition, he did win that year. When Mark received the award at the IPR Annual Distinguished Lecture, Braden Bledsoe introduced him. After showering him with accolades, she revealed that as a fellow communicator and marketer, she knew him so well because she was his wife. Mark said receiving that award was one of his career highlights because it demonstrated his impact on the field and his willingness to help others in the spirit of former IPR CEO Jack Felton. Mark also was a PRNews Measurement Hall of Fame winner..."

– Dr. Tina McCorkindale, President and CEO, Institute for Public Relations

More than 40 members of the IPR Board of Trustees, IPR Measurement Commission, and other friends of Mark offered tributes.

Read the rest of this tribute and others from the IPR community

"In a Car with IPR" Starring CEO and Founder of Gagen MacDonald, Maril MacDonald

Institute for Public Relations

"In A Car with IPR" is a video series by the Institute for Public Relations where we get to know leaders in the public relations industry

In our latest episode, Tina McCorkindale, Ph.D., president and CEO of IPR, takes us to the Wisconsin horse farm of Maril MacDonald, CEO and founder of Gagen MacDonald. Together, they’ll explore a unique retreat that Gagen MacDonald has developed for leaders alongside two special four-legged guests. 

Watch as they discuss how to lead with strength and empathy during a time of perpetual change and uncover emerging trends communications leaders should understand. Join us for an episode that might even inspire you to say, “yee-haw!”

Click here to watch the full episode!

Majority of U.S. Employees Say they are Affected by the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Grossman Group & The Harris Poll

The Grossman Group and The Harris Poll analyzed how organizations are communicating internally about the Middle East conflict and its implications on how leaders address future issues.

A survey of 2,154 American employees was conducted Oct. 24 – 26, 2023, and Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, 2023. An additional survey of 118 internal and senior communications professionals was conducted from Oct. 23 – Nov. 3, 2023 and 68 internal statements from leading companies were collected. 

Key findings include: 

• 1-in-5 employees said their employer shared an official internal statement, and only about 1-in-6 employees reported that their manager communicated with them directly.
• 51% of US employees said they are affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Of those affected, 19% of respondents have a family member or colleague who is directly affected.
• Of those affected, 25% of respondents said they feel personally affected despite not knowing anyone directly affected.
• Confidence in leadership, alignment with company culture, and engagement increased four to six times when employers communicated about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and managers reached out to employees.
• 59% of employees had higher confidence in company leadership (compared to 10% who reported no statement or manager outreach).
• 54% felt better aligned with the company culture (compared to 10% who reported no statement or manager outreach).
• 45% said overall engagement increased (compared to 10% who reported no statement or manager outreach).



Learn how organizations are addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict internally

How Social Media Can Impact ROI in 2024

Hootsuite

Hootsuite analyzed how social media and artificial intelligence (AI) will play a role in return on investment (ROI) for organizations in 2024. 

A survey of 4,281 marketers and 4,508 consumers was conducted in August 2023, along with an analysis of 1 million anonymized social posts and 15,557 articles from major social media reporting organizations.

Key findings include:

• 61% of organizations said the primary reason they use AI for social media is to “reduce staff workload.”
• 62% of consumers said they are less likely to trust and engage with content if they know it was created by an AI application.
• 66% of consumers said it’s hard to tell if information included in AI-generated social media content is real or fake.
• 67% of consumers said it’s hard to tell if AI-generated images are real or fake.
• 52% of organizations said their investment of time and money to maintain a presence on multiple social platforms contributes to concern about ROI for social media activities.
• 25% of organizations said rising costs of social media activity contributes to concerns about ROI.
• 70% of respondents said they’re confident that LinkedIn delivers a positive return on investment for their organization, followed by Instagram (68%), WhatsApp (66%), Facebook (62%), YouTube (52%), TikTok (50%), and X/Twitter (30%).

Find out how organizations are using social media and AI to impact the bottom line