We’ve got change. In fact, there is a great deal of change going on at AHA right now. We are refreshing our brand, our vision, our approach to business and our website.
Bridging Two Worlds, the service (and the blog) that we offered in partnership with QUAY Strategies is wrapping up – since QUAY is closing and the two partners, Patsy and Della, are off to new chapters in their professional lives. We’re excited for them and inspired by their decision to embrace change when it would have been easy to stay with the status quo.
AHA has never been your average PR agency. We’re different and we’re proud of that. We know that we’re not the right agency for every organization and over the past six years, we’ve come to relish that thought. Sometimes it means turning down business and other times not being awarded a contract for a project, usually because of the misperception that we’re too small. In our brand and vision refresh, we’ve decided to approach those misperceptions head on. We are a small agency but—working within the new paradigm of business—we have created the ability to expand our agency’s people power, skill set and expertise in direct relationship to our clients’ needs. We have been focused on building a core team that provides the knowledge, expertise and skill sets that you might find at a much larger agency. The difference, our team is virtual.
We have an account executive and senior writer in Toronto, our coordinator/copy editor is in Calgary, our online digital producer, communications strategist and writer are in Vancouver and our interactive design strategist is in Gibsons. And, of course, I can’t forget to mention my business partner, Paul Holman and myself. Paul is AHA’s project and events manager – he makes sure each project or initiative is completed on time, on budget and that it exceeds expectations. He manages our media relations and publicity initiatives and his attention to detail and proactive approach make him a natural here. And then there’s me (Ruth), I provide strategic direction, issues and crisis communication management and am the go to person for social media. In reality, I do pretty much anything our clients need and everything Paul tells me to do.
Our “head office” (we’re not much on this kind of hierarchy, but the “head office” is the centre of the universe when it comes to AHA) is in Gibsons on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC. Here we have our office, space for workshops, training and group brainstorming and our reception area is called The Tiki Lounge. The Tiki Lounge is where everyone goes after an intense day of work to relax and wind down with a game of pool, darts or foosball and a cold beverage from the AHA mini-bar.
And we also have an office in Vancouver for client service and business development. With the closure of QUAY, we’re in the market for new office space and will keep you posted on where our new Vancouver home will be.
We’ve always been a little bit ahead of the curve and it feels like technology and business attitudes are just hitting their stride in this area. Forward thinking organizations see the value in companies like AHA and our approach to their success. The right time, the right place, the right approach and the right expertise – it’s a nice place to be.
Stay tuned for more information about the refreshed AHA and, of course, our thoughts and ideas about PR, social media and the world. (And our new website is just around the corner.)