Putting Things into Context

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on March 30th, 2012

I have been travelling across the country this week for client meetings. Contrary to what some believe, this doesn’t mean that I saunter into meetings at 10 a.m., that we break for lunch at noon and then in the evening, drink good wine and eat fabulous meals. It does mean I get up early (earlier than usual… which is already pretty early!) and that I watch a lot of television news shows and read even more newspapers than usual. (Hey – if they are going to make the effort to deliver it to my hotel room door, I am going…

“Plan B” – Do You Have One?

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on March 23rd, 2012

In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday, Ruth is in Toronto talking about why it’s important to create a “Plan B” for your communications initiatives.

Think It Through!

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on March 22nd, 2012

I read an article recently about a computer company in Germany that undertook what they thought was a smart promotion. They began gluing hard drives to alarm clocks and sending them to companies with a note reading, “Your time is running out.” Well, many of the people who received them were terrified and called the police, thinking the package held a bomb. You can read more about it here.

It reminded me of an old episode of WKRP in Cincinnati in the late 70s/early 80s, where they did a Thanksgiving promotion by dropping turkeys out of a helicopter……

What is good public relations?

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on August 24th, 2011

AHA Creative Strategies is a public relations agency. We’re communicators. We’re social media participants. We’re brand journalists. We use video, video news releases, b-roll, podcasts, photography, articles, news releases, media and blogger pitches, news conferences, media tours, speaking tours, speeches, special events, trade shows, community meetings, annual reports, newsletters and so much more to assist our clients in communicating with their stakeholder groups. (Notice I said “with” – not “to” – that’s very important.) We are in the business of informing, educating and creating conversation. As importantly, we’re in the business of listening and responding.

I mentioned in Monday’s blog…

The Death Of PR Is Near…Or Is It?

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on March 02nd, 2010

There is a very interesting piece by Grant Cardone on the Huffington Post. It has a compelling title: Do PR Firms Make Sense Anymore?

According to the article, Mr. Cardone has had some disappointing results using PR agencies over the years. Not knowing the background of what the objectives and goals were, what the strategy was or how the agencies approached the work, I don’t have the information to comment on that component of his article. But it is never a pleasant experience for anyone when you don’t achieve success.

As to whether PR firms make sense anymore,…