Summit on Measurement, Part 3: Michelle Hinson and Don Wright

Here at the IPR Summit on Measurement, I sat down for a few minutes with Don Wright (IPR's Director of Forums, and a Professor at Boston University) and Michelle Hinson (IPR's Director of Development), the dynamic duo who put on this event each year. Actually, they put on several IPR events each year -- including the PR Leadership Forums, the PR Executive Forum, and the Summit on Corporate Communications -- so they know how to put on a conference, and what PR people want when they go to one.

They are clear that the major purpose of the Summit is to bring the best of measurement clients, agencies, measurement providers and academics together to exchange ideas and excitement. And that's what they do each year, attract a Who's Who of PR measurement and evaluation.

But they are also clear that a very important purpose of the Summit is to provide the opportunity for measurement people to meet and chat over coffee, meals, drinks and lobster dinner. And all this networking is truly where the action is, as old and new friends catch up, trade war stories and talk measurement. Every time you turn around someone is asking someone about how to do this, what does that cost, how can I get such and such? One attendee, a professor, told me that his students are thrilled to hear that he actually has drinks and dinner with the authors of their text books.

Don and Michelle agree that Portsmouth, NH, is a little trickier to get to than the bigger cities, but the environs are beautiful (especially this time of year) and the small-city prices make the event more affordable. They say they'd like to boost Summit attendance from the 100 or so at present to about 150. So email Michelle right now and reserve your spot for next year. --Bill Paarlberg