Taking Food Fights Online: Analysis of Chipotle’s Attempt to Cultivate Conversation with \u3cem\u3eThe Scarecrow\u3c/em\u3e Video

This study examines Chipotle’s use of The Scarecrow, an animated YouTube video, to initiate conversation about food sustainability issues. Results illustrate publics were highly engaged in conversation with one another, even though the organization did not directly engage with publics or employ principles of dialogic communication. We highlight the importance of network approaches to studying online interaction between stakeholder groups for public relations scholars interested in dialogical theory frameworks

Understanding Dialogue and Engagement Through Communication Experts’ Use of Interactive Writing to Build Relationships

Dialogic communication is an important public relations theory, yet scholarship has found few organizations using it to its full potential. Meanwhile, multiple overlapping definitions exist for related terms like engagement, interactivity, and responsiveness, causing potential confusion for researchers and professionals. This research reports the results of in-depth interviews with top digital public relations professionals regarding how they use interactive writing, a form of social media engagement, to build relationships. Through their own unprompted words, the research also describes how professionals use terms such as dialogue, engagement, interactivity, and responsiveness, and corresponding definitions, to refer to their daily work. Our model clarifies relationships between similar concepts and recommends areas of future research to advance theory informed by practic

Farmed and Dangerous? A Case Study of Chipotle’s Branded Entertainment Series and Polarized Reactions to its Satirical Depiction of Farming and Agribusiness

This study follows Chipotle’s innovative strategy of using branded entertainment and satire to enhance its brand image and positive consumer perceptions, while negatively portraying an entire industry. The study explores audience reactions to Chipotle’s satirical Farmed and Dangerous program, part of the company’s broader “Food with Integrity” campaign. Increasing agricultural literacy and understanding among the general public is a priority (Doerfert, 2011). Yet marketing communication campaigns—and responses or reactions to those campaigns—that simplify issues into distinct “sides,” or focus on attacks, prevent deep discussion of the complexity of our food system and efforts to collaborate on solutions. Research presented uses a case study, supported by focus group methodology and in-depth survey responses of YouTube commenters, to examine consumer and stakeholder reactions to Chipotle’s content. Findings reveal sharply divided reactions and significant anger and frustration within the agricultural community toward Chipotle for its satirical portrayal of the food production industry. Findings also reveal generally positive attitudes toward Chipotle from those without agricultural experience, and clear perceptions of “sides” in the food debate. Discussion of Chipotle’s marketing strategy explores whether the negative sentiment the company has generated among agricultural stakeholders through efforts like its Farmed and Dangerous webisode series is worth it for the brand, considering the broader positive image the company has gained among much of the general public, as well as related implications for the company linked to more recent struggles with food safety issues and attacks from political groups

Work-Life Balance 2.0? An Examination of Social Media Management Practice and Agency Employee Coping Strategies in a 24/7 Social World

This study examines the work experiences of public relations agency professionals who specialize in social media and digital strategy for clients and those who manage employees tasked with monitoring, updating and responding to social media content. Building upon existing literature focused on work-life balance dynamics for strategic communicators, the research draws from a series of in-depth interviews and correspondence conducted with 26 agency professionals, representing a brand range of the industry. Participants were asked to describe how social media has impacted the nature and volume of their job responsibilities over the past five years, and to discuss how social media management duties have influenced career satisfaction within the industry. Interviewees were also asked about strategies their agencies are using to help employees respond to client needs and the 24/7 nature of social media. Common themes among responses were identified, as well as noteworthy anecdotal evidence. While interviewees expressed mixed emotions related to social media and its impact on their careers, personal lives and the broader industry, participants agreed the rise of social media has dramatically altered agency practice and client expectations, especially related to the speed of the workflow. Participants discussed issues of employee burnout and reported specific challenges related to keeping pace with quickly evolving technology, and the perceived need to maintain a personal brand conveying cutting-edge expertise. Others highlighted opportunities and unique challenges social media has created for more junior agency employees. Interviewees also described family dynamics and the distinct work-life challenges faced by parents, especially mothers, in juggling care-giving roles with agency responsibilities. Findings include identification of best practices and potential strategies for addressing contemporary work-life balance challenges

Wikichurch: Exploring a 21st Century Incarnation Ethic for the Body of Christ

Exploring a 21st Century Incamational Ethic for the Body of Christ The wikiChurch is Christ\u27s church as it practices collaborative processes in its life, organization, and mission. More and more literature is being written about the flat nature of our world, its shrinking horizons, the free flow of information, the porous nature of national borders, and shifting generational norms. Children are growing up in a world where they will not only be well educated, but also will exercise creativity in the world\u27s cultural formation. Our world is increasingly open sourced. In it\u27s beginning, open source was a term used by computer programmers referring to collaborations that used a common computer language to build and alter software as well as widely distribute it for free. As the term moved into cultural and social forums, open source was modified to open content which describes any kind of creative (including writing, graphics, audio, and video), engineering, or scholarly work (i.e. open machine design) that is published in a format that explicitly allows the copying and the modifying of the information by anyone; not exclusively by a closed organization, firm or individual. The largest current open content project is Wikipedia.9 This new socio-cultural collaborative syntax has given way to what Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams refer to as the Age of Participation. 10 This age lives by four principles - openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally which are radically remaking business, science, the arts, society, and even culture. Yet for all the ways wikinomic praxis is remaking our day-to-day reality, the conversation about the wiki revolution\u27s connection to and influence on the church is only just beginning. This project explores how the Age of Participation and the church can intersect by initiating a digital conversation using a website, Twitter account, and Facebook page. xii

Insights from Industry Leaders: A Maturity Model for Strengthening Communication Measurement and Evaluation

Much scholarship has been devoted to identifying barriers that prevent the advancement of communication measurement and evaluation. This research focuses on the characteristics, objectives, and practices of chief communication officers (CCOs) with successful measurement and evaluation programs. Three key dimensions of practice emerged from in-depth interviews: communication executives’ measurement practices and evaluation programs were used to adjust communication strategies; were aligned with other business units; and were integrated with business priority plans. Interviewees also focused on the ability of communication measurement practices and evaluation programs to provide insights for executives, to align communication with the work of other business units, and to connect the organization with the outside environment and stakeholders. This study extends strategic communication scholarship by discussing how overcoming barriers and advancing measurement and evaluation work relates to roles adopted by organizational leaders. This article also offers a preliminary, scalable maturity model that aids in the development, formalization, and optimization of strategic communication measurement and evaluation. This study demonstrates the capacity for communication evaluation to overcome perceived barriers, realize appropriate stature with organizations, and grow communication functions accordingly

Maturity as A Way Forward for Improving Organizations’ Communication Evaluation and Measurement Practices: A Definition and Concept Explication

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an explication of the concept of “maturity,” as it applies to communication evaluation and measurement (E&M) practice, along with contextualization of recent maturity model adoption within academic and professional communities. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from previous work on maturity models within other fields, recent communication scholarship and industry practice, this paper fills a gap in the literature by offering a theoretical conceptualization of communication E&M maturity, including the construct’s core dimensions and sub-dimensions. Findings Communication E&M maturity is conceptualized into four essential elements: holistic approach, investment, alignment and culture. The contribution of E&M efforts is represented as the direct support of corporate strategy, and ultimately increased value, from the communications function. Operational elements of maturity include levels of analysis, time, budget, tools, skills, process, integration, motivations, relationships and standards. Originality/value In exploring the factors necessary for “mature” E&M programs, and specifically emphasizing the need for a holistic approach, along with sufficient investment and alignment, and conducive cultural factors, the research builds upon existing work examining how communication can serve to inform corporate strategy and create value for an organization. Greater understanding and application of the maturity concept has the potential to advance the field by increasing both accountability and credibility for the work done by the communications function

Does trait variation within broadly distributed species mirror patterns across species? A case study in Puerto Rico

Although populations are phenotypically diverse, the majority of trait‐based studies have focused on examining differences among species. The justification for this broadly applied approach is based on the assumption that differences among species are always greater than within species. This is likely true for local communities, but species are often broadly distributed across a wide range of environments and patterns of intraspecific variation might surpass differences among species. Therefore, an appropriate interpretation of the functional diversity requires an assessment of patterns of trait variation across different ecological scales. In this study, we examine and characterize patterns of leaf trait variation for species that are broadly distributed along an elevational gradient. We focus on seven leaf traits that represent a main axis of functional differentiation in plants reflecting the balance between photosynthetic efficiency, display, and stomatal conductance. We evaluated patterns of trait variance across ecological scales (elevation, species, populations, and individuals) and examined trait covariance at both within species and across species levels, along the elevation gradient. Our results show three key patterns: (1) intraspecific leaf trait variation for broadly distributed species is comparable to the interspecific trait variation, (2) the trait variance structure is highly variable across species, and (3) trait coordination between pairs of leaf traits is evident across species along the gradient, but not always within species. Combined, our results show that trait coordination and covariance are highly idiosyncratic across broadly distributed and co‐occurring species, indicating that species may achieve similar functional roles even when exhibiting different phenotypes. This result challenges the traditional paradigm of functional ecology that assumes single trait values as optimal solutions for environments. In conclusion, patterns of trait variation both across and within species should be considered in future studies that assess trade‐offs among traits over environmental gradients.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150574/1/ecy2745-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150574/2/ecy2745_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150574/3/ecy2745.pd

Outputs or Outcomes? Assessing Public Relations Evaluation Practices In Award-Winning PR Campaigns

This study advances a framework of concepts based on the Barcelona Principles (AMEC, 2010) to assess the extent public relations practitioners, in award-winning campaigns, place greater emphasis on outcomes than outputs in evaluations of their campaigns, as the Barcelona Principles advocate. The study employs content analysis of the evaluation sections of campaigns recognized for excellence by the Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil awards from 2010, when the Barcelona Principles were adopted, to 2014. The findings show mixed results. Many cases do measure outcomes, yet the most predominant evaluation described is outputs, which are nearly universally present in campaigns. Awards in certain categories of PR practices are more likely to measure outputs only, with no measurable outcomes. Advertising Value Equivalencies (AVEs), though measured only in a small percent of cases, are still making their way into some evaluation sections. The findings, and recommendations based on the results, provide direction for professional and pedagogical approaches to PR measurement and evaluation