If you’re here, that means you are getting a sneak peek at our new website. We’ll officially launch on Monday, but are taking the weekend to do some live testing to make sure we’ve got everything right.
If you happen to find a link that doesn’t work or see something amiss, please let us know…that’s what this weekend is for.
We’ll be making a much bigger splash about this next week!
For Immediate Release – July 9, 2009
North Vancouver, B.C. – Claudia Alan Inc. recently launched an inspired collection of readers and sunglasses showcasing the work of First Nations artist Corrine Hunt. The AYA Accessories collection includes high quality ready-to-wear reading glasses (retailing from $39 – $60), sunglasses (retailing at $35), embossed cases and cleaning cloths. The line is available at fine retailers across Canada and at www.claudiaalan.com.
The elegant, yet stylish look of the AYA sunglasses and readers are sure to start conversations wherever they are worn. The line created and designed by Carla D’Angelo, Founder and President of Claudia Alan, features original artwork by Hunt. Said D’Angelo: “We are the first company to infuse traditional First Nations art with contemporary eyewear accessories, and that is very exciting for us.” She added: “Working with Corrine was very inspiring, I am a huge fan of her work and I think consumers will love these readers and sunglasses.”
The new AYA line follows fresh on the heels of the successful second season launch of the company’s Pink Ribbon Readers in October 2008.
True to Claudia Alan’s approach to contributing to its community, $2 from the sale of every pair of AYA eyewear supports ONEXONE First Nations Nutritious School Breakfast Program. “It is truly a wonderful honour to be associated with such a passionate and caring company,” said Joelle Adler, Founder of ONEXONE. “At ONEXONE we believe in helping children one by one as well as the power of each individual to make a difference and nowhere is this more apparent than in the partnership we’ve developed with Claudia Alan/AYA Accessories.”
The AYA Accessories collection is composed of ready-to-wear reading glasses and sunglasses. The collection focuses on wearable art, featuring Native art in a range of designs found on four styles of reading glasses (two are specifically designed for women and two are unisex), available in weak (1.50), medium (2.00) and strong (2.50). AYA sunglasses come in three highly fashionable and unique styles – two for women and one for men. The optical line of frames is set to debut in the fall of 2009.
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For more information, please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at 604-303-1052 or at paul@ahacreative.com.
There is an interesting blog post on arikhanson.com on the evolving skills of tomorrow’s PR pro that sparked an interesting discussion among the AHA Crew. The way the world communicates has changed and as communicators, we have had to evolve right along with it in order to remain effective and relevant.
Our approach at AHA is to blend traditional communication and social media. Online communication is an important component of our toolkit. Arik is right when he says that the skill set required has changed.
Strong writing is an important asset for any PR agency – it’s one of the abilities we look for when bringing someone onboard. Telling the story of our client’s organization is important and good writing facilitates great storytelling. But times have changed. Shorter is now better. Getting a message across in 140 characters isn’t easy, but with the popularity of Twitter, it’s important. When I was at Maclean’s, I used to write a lot of pieces for the People page of the magazine. I often wrote short, snappy articles that were only a paragraph long and got teased by some of my colleagues who were writing six page feature articles. Others I worked with understood that sometimes it’s harder to write short pieces than it is to produce a full-length article. The world now demands short and to the point, but still wants to hear the story, be entertained and engaged. The PR person that can do “short” well is in demand.
In his blog post, Arik also touches on what we, at AHA, believe is key to developing a strong outreach. You need to reach your stakeholders where they live and interact. Understanding all the ways that the individuals or groups you wish to have a conversation with communicate is essential. If they are on Twitter, your organization needs to be there. If they are writing or reading blogs, you need to be doing that also. If they are actively attending events or are reading and watching specific media outlets, well…you get the picture. It’s not about how you want to communicate with them any more, it’s about understanding where they want you to be and how they want you to initiate or join the conversation. This is an approach that has always been strategic, but with today’s opportunities to connect through online communities, understanding the culture of the new paradigm of connection and conversation is key.
Online search is another important component of today’s PR. Understanding Search Engine Optimization well enough to include keywords in an article or blog post without damaging the content is a huge asset. So is the ability to use search tools to better understand how your stakeholders or community base perceive your organization.
Another element that we are focusing on more and more is how to evaluate and measure a campaign, program or overall success. The traditional ways don’t work for the online space and there needs to be a process that combines the two without creating so much work that the time spent on this overtakes the time spent on communicating. While there are some ways to evaluate and measure for both traditional and online that might be considered adequate, and there are certainly some excellent companies offering this service, for our part, we always want to do better and it’s an area that we continue to research and improve upon.
Arik also points out that understanding the use of mobile tools is critical and as the iPhone and the Blackberry and their apps become more and more the norm, understanding how to use these tools and what they mean strategically is essential.
One of the tools that we use quite often—and that is becoming more and more important—is the use of video and podcasts. From live streaming video with interactive chat components, to person on the street video interviews, to a personalized message from a senior executive, this is gaining credibility as a valuable communications tool. With the growing use of video, it becomes important that as a communicator, we understand the visual elements as well as the messaging.
We’ve embraced the new paradigm of business and communication here at AHA. It’s become a part of what we do everyday and each of us is always looking to expand and improve our knowledge, expertise and understanding of the evolving skill sets necessary to succeed. For us as communications professionals, it’s challenging and exciting. As a business, it’s a necessity. Our clients expect the best from us and we want to exceed those expectations as often as possible.
For Immediate Release – July 9, 2009
Vancouver, B.C. – As clients continually request new and unique food products, Vancouver’s premiere gift basket creator, Mad About Food Inc., recently launched two new food lines through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jules + Kent Food Group: Jules + Kent and Undercurrents. Consumers can find these products at fine retailers across the Lower Mainland, on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan.
For the “saucy” people out there, the Jules + Kent line of products feature Blueberry Pear Sauce, Caramelized Onions, Cranberry Beet Sauce, Cranberry Cherry Citrus Sauce, Tomato Chutney, and Vegetarian Antipasto. For the “honeys” on your list, Undercurrents includes Nutty Hazel Honey, Swell Honey, Valley Girl Honey and Vegetarian Antipasto.
With a reputation for delivering well-received (and quickly eaten!) custom gift baskets filled with the finest specialty food products—many of which are unavailable anywhere else in Vancouver—owner Allyson Nelson saw an opportunity to not only continue to delight her regular gift basket customers, but to also deliver locally-made specialty food products to consumers.
“We spent a great deal of time creating and developing these delicious sauces, savoury condiments and honeys,” says Nelson. “We’re excited to be offering new items for customers that want to surprise their corporate clients, family and friends with our gift baskets and, at the same time, we’re tapping into delivering these products to a whole new market of retailer shoppers. We are thrilled to be working with the quality grocers and retail stores that are carrying our products. Being on their shelves gives these tasty products a nice ‘stamp’ of approval.”
Mad About Food gift baskets are the perfect thank you, hostess/host gift, are great for business development and make a great impression for almost any occasion where you really want to give that important person something that is created just for them. The Mad About Food store and warehouse is located at 1632 West 3rd Avenue in Vancouver. Mad About Food assumes no responsibility for dancing taste buds, excited friends and business associates or new addictions to specialty foods such as Nutty Hazel Honey, Blueberry Pear Sauce and Cranberry Cherry Citrus Sauce. Mad About Food’s quest is to make all of Canada MAD about food! For more information, please visit www.madaboutfood.net.
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For an interview with Allyson Nelson, please email Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at paul@ahacreative.com or call 604.303.1052.
It’s amazing what a hot video on YouTube will do to get a big company to pay attention to a consumer. According to a report in the travel section of the Los Angeles Times, United Airlines has opened a conversation with Dave Carroll – the musician who had his guitar damaged on one of their flights.
Good for you, United. Reaching out and making it right is always a good business decision.
…And for the record, I forwarded this link on to my client as well.