Lessons Earned: Helping a High-Profile Brand Regain its Reputation
Kirk Stewart, IPR Trustee, CEO, KTStewart
In partnership with PR News, "Lessons Earned" is a series featuring IPR Trustees sharing a difficult lesson.

When I took my dream job as head of global corporate communications at Nike in 1997, I did not know it would turn out to be my most professionally challenging and rewarding experience.

At that time, Nike was the poster child for the anti-globalization movement. In addition, it was a top target of nearly every labor and human rights organization. A daily pummeling in major media outlets around the world was the norm.

Nike was accused of running sweatshops in its factories, mainly in Asia. The issues in its factories were real. In addition to its business model of outsourced manufacturing, Nike was a high-profile, in-your-face global brand. Its endorsers included many of the most famous athletes in the world. A billionaire was its CEO.

I was fortunate enough to be part of a team that worked to help improve the brand's reputation. Along the way, I learned how best to rebuild a reputation in a highly tumultuous environment.

Read the rest of Kirk Stewart's blog to discover how he helped Nike regain its reputation, and the lessons he learned along the way.
Do Remote Employees Prefer Different Types of Appreciation Than Employees in Face-to-Face Settings?
Paul White, Ph.D., Appreciation at Work

Dr. Paul White explored whether employees who work remotely have different preferred languages of appreciation than those working in face-to-face settings.

Data was collected from 2,640 individuals who work remotely and 86,393 individuals who work onsite. Data was collected from 2014 to 2018. Participants were asked questions from White's Motivation by Appreciation Inventory.

Key findings include:
  • Both remote and onsite employees prefer appreciation to be shown through "words of affirmation" more than any other method.
  • The second most preferred way to receive appreciation was through "quality time."
  • More remote employees chose "quality time" as their preferred way of being appreciated compared to onsite workers.
  • Employers should create quality time for their remote workers by keeping them up-to-date through virtual meetings and regular check-ins.

Read more to learn how employees best receive appreciation based upon their work arrangement.
Where are we now? Public Relations Professionals Discuss Measurement and Evaluation
Alexis Bajalia, University of Florida

This study explored how employees who possess different roles within communications departments view measurement and evaluation. The researcher also explores the extent to which these employees use measurement and evaluation findings to influence organizational effectiveness.

In-depth interviews with 16 executive and junior-level communications professionals from agencies, corporations, and nonprofit organizations in the U.S. were conducted.

Key findings include:
  • Most metrics mentioned by junior-level professionals fell into the outtake-level category, such as social or digital media clickthroughs, unique visitors, etc.
  • Junior-level professionals expressed that they feel more comfortable advocating for public relations measurement when they had strong workplace relationships with executive-level professionals.
  • Executive-level professionals discussed the need to measure outcomes and demonstrate how public relations efforts contribute to business goals.

Read more to see what public relations professionals had to say about measurement and evaluation practices.
American Views 2020: Trust, Media, and Democracy
Gallup and Knight Foundation
Gallup and Knight Foundation explored American perceptions of the news media and its role in democracy.

Mail interviews of 20,000 U.S. adults were conducted between November 8, 2019 and February 2020.

Key findings include:
  • 84% of Americans said the news media is "critical" or "very important" to democracy.
  • 49% of Americans see "a great deal" or political bias in the news media.
  • Political affiliation played a significant role in respondents' views of the press.
  • 22% of Democrats had a "somewhat" or "very" unfavorable opinion of the news media.
  • 51% of Independents had a "somewhat" or "very" unfavorable opinion of the news media.
  • 71% of Republicans had a "somewhat" or "very" unfavorable opinion of the news media.
  • More Republicans (61%) agreed that "the news media is under attack politically, and those attacks are justified" than Democrats (16%) and Independents (36%).

Read more to learn about Americans' perceptions of the news media and its role in democracy.
The Bones are the Same: An Exploratory Analysis of Authentic Communication with LGBTQ Publics
Erica Ciszek, Ph.D. & Kate Pounders, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
This abstract is summarized by IPR from the original journal article published in the Journal of Communication Management.
 
Dr. Erica Ciszek and Dr. Kate Pounders identified the components of authentic communication with LGBTQ publics and examined potential differences in what constitutes authentic communication for LGBTQ publics compared to other publics.

In-depth interviews were conducted with professionals who identify as LGBTQ and are instrumental in developing content targeted to this public.

The researchers discovered that authenticity is synonymous regardless of the target public, but differences emerge in the manifestation of authenticity with historically marginalized groups, like LGBTQ publics.

One major implication for the public relations industry which emerges from this study is that practitioners working with historically marginalized communications need to make sure they are taking action, not just talking the talk.

Read more to see how LGBTQ professionals perceive communication that is targeted toward them.
American Perceptions of Corporate Reputation Have Changed Throughout COVID-19
The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll tracked Americans' perceptions surrounding COVID-19. This wave of the study focused on corporate reputation and the activities Americans plan to "venture out" for.

An online survey of 1,992 U.S. adults was conducted July 31-August 2, 2020.

Key findings include:
  • 35% of Americans plan to spend money on traveling once things return to normal.
  • This number is up 11% since March 28, 2020.
  • Reputations of the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries soared this year.
  • Pharmaceutical industry reputation increased 53% from January to July 2020.
  • Health Insurance industry reputation increased 58% from January to July 2020.
  • The technology industry was the only industry to experience a decline (-3%) in reputation from January to July 2020.

Read more to discover what Americans plan to spend money on after COVID-19, and how the pandemic has changed their perception of certain industries.
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