March 2011 - Page 3 of 3 - AHA Creative Strategies

SPRING ARRIVES EARLY AT RICHMOND CENTRE

Newsroom

Richmond, B.C. – For the winter-weary residents of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland dreaming of an early spring, it has arrived and in a big way. Inside Richmond Centre, located in the heart of the city of Richmond (just outside of Vancouver), spring is in full bloom. “Blossom at Richmond Centre” gives visitors to the mall the opportunity to leave the cold, rainy, winter weather behind for an incredible sea of living flowers, a bamboo forest, a full-scale wooden boardwalk and even a special wish tree. This incredible event is on until April 24 and showcases more than 8,000 plants, 1,500 flower blossoms at any one time and covers 2,300 square feet of the mall.

Central to Blossom at Richmond Centre is the Flowering Wishing Tree – based on the traditional wish tree, a custom embraced by many cultures around the world. Mall patrons can write down their wishes on special pieces of paper. Then, using the instructions provided, the paper will be transformed into beautiful origami flowers, which will be attached to the tree branches, creating the illusion of a flowering tree. It is believed that the concentration of many positive wishes, each one building on the next, increases the likelihood of them coming true. And, in fact, each wish brings the dreams of a child suffering with a high-risk, life-threatening illness that much closer to being realized. For every wish attached to the Flowering Wishing Tree, Richmond Centre will donate $1 to the Children’s Wish Foundation (to a maximum of $10,000, the average cost of granting one child their wish).

Richmond Centre is one of the Lower Mainland’s largest shopping complexes, with 240 stores and services. Recently renovated, new stores include XXI Forever, Bath & Body Works, Sephora and Apple. Located in the centre of Richmond, on the corner of Westminster Hwy and Minoru Boulevard, Richmond Centre is owned and managed by two of the largest developers in Canada, Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. and Ivanhoe Cambridge II Inc.

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For further information, interviews with or media access for photos or taping of Blossom at Richmond Centre, please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at paul@ahacreative.com or by phone at 604.303.1052.

What’s The Undertow

A special AHA Flip Cam Friday from Cabo San Lucas from AHA Creative on Vimeo.

In today’s video, Ruth talks about how you need to plan a few steps ahead in social media.

Social Media Etiquette

We are a courteous bunch at the AHA office. “Please,” “thank you,” “if you don’t mind…” those are regular (and appreciated) phrases at our Vancouver PR agency. In everything we do in our personal and professional lives, there is basic etiquette. Then there are ground rules specific to different areas that we practice – social media is one of those areas. It is important to know what is expected of you if you are going to participate in this area.

Social media has its own etiquette and it is important to know what that means prior to participation. We always recommend that our clients spend time online checking things out before jumping in and becoming actively involved. It is important to take the time to understand the culture and the specific environment that is relevant to the organization and its stakeholders.

Chris Brogan recently put up a great blog post on this topic. It lays out what to do and, as importantly, what not to do very clearly. It’s definitely worth a read.