• Institute for Public Relations guides multiyear effort to establish effectiveness model for PR

• Council of Public Relations Firms provides $100,000 to launch first two phases

• Wirthlin Worldwide chosen to develop model

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC (April 3, 2000) - The Institute for Public Relations and Council of Public Relations Firms announced today that they are collaborating to develop the first comprehensive model to measure the effectiveness of public relations programs. The Council has committed $100,000 to launch the initiative and has retained Wirthlin Worldwide to develop and test several PR Outcome Models. The models would support the planning, execution and measurement of public relations by providing a means to forecast and evaluate the outcomes of PR programs and activities.

The announcement was made at the opening session of a two-day international symposium hosted by the Institute's Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation at American University. Composed of 20 leading research professionals from corporations, agencies, commercial research firms and academia, the Commission played a major role in designing the modeling project and managing the search for a research partner that led to the award of a contract to Wirthlin Worldwide.

David Drobis, Ketchum CEO and Chairman of the Council's board, said: "This landmark project will build on the body of knowledge concerning public relations measurement produced over the past 30 years by some of our profession's greatest minds. The Council is proud to be funding and supporting an effort that will benefit our agencies and our clients as they tap the tremendous strategic potential of public relations in the New Economy."

"We are delighted that the Council has agreed to fund this important effort on behalf of the entire profession," observed Jack Felton, president of the Institute for Public Relations. "The Institute is committed to bringing together the body of knowledge of past studies and the best minds from today's public relations and research industries to guide and assist the Council and Wirthlin Worldwide."

The Council developed the requirement for the model in cooperation with a group of 25 senior corporate public relations officers who form a client advisory committee to the Council. The group called for a process that would move the public relations profession beyond output measures -- that is, the counting of press clips and analysis of coverage of PR-initiated news stories -- and to explore the application of models that will have the same usefulness and acceptance as those widely used in advertising. This would enable practitioners to measure the effectiveness of PR programs and activities from a bottom-line perspective, at the "outcome" or ultimate impact level.

The research project leading to the design of a series of PR Outcome Models has these objectives:

• Develop a database of PR programs that will support quantitative analysis to determine the effectiveness of different types of public relations programs at different spending levels.

• Learn through analysis how different program elements interact and contribute to outcomes, such as building awareness, cultivating specific attitudes and perceptions, and motivating and/or changing behaviors.

• Allow for continual updating of the database to add future cases and to expand the models to address all aspects of public relations, from marketing communications to public affairs.

The Council has called for its members and clients to submit by 30 April 2000 the initial 100 case studies that will form the foundation for the study.

The Council of Public Relations Firms is a newly established trade association of 120 public relations firms formed to advance the business of public relations by building acceptance of PR as a strategic business tool and to assist its members and their clients raise the standards of the practice of public relations.

The Institute for Public Relations is the only independent foundation in the field of public relations. It sponsors academic research, competitions, awards, lectures and publications -- all dedicated to improving the professional practice of public relations around the world.

The IPR Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation views itself as a leading arbiter of accepted standards for research and measurement relating specifically to public relations, as well as for research and measurement in communications disciplines that may apply to, or be linked to, public relations programs and activities. Bruce Jeffries-Fox, Public Relations Research Director, AT&T, current chair of the Commission, and Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann, previous Commission chair, are directly overseeing the work of Wirthlin Worldwide.