2011





Here at AHA, we’ve been taking a good, hard look at ourselves and identifying areas where we could improve. So often when you work in communications, you are so busy helping clients that a focus on your own public relations takes a back seat. I found an interesting article on Ragan.com that identifies the seven elements that the writer feels every professional should have in their email signature.



While I agree with many of the points, I also believe that email signatures provide an opportunity to highlight a newly launched initiative or campaign. We recently had a client ask us how they could let people know about a charity initiative that they were holding. This is a multinational organization with staff and stakeholders worldwide. One of the easiest ways was to add a call to action to their email signatures, driving people to a page on their website. It was a quick, no cost, straightforward way to let their community know what they were up to – and it worked. The website saw an increase in visitors once the call to action was added, which in turn helped to support the event and the charity.



I do agree that it is important to have your basic contact information on your email signature – and to use the signature. I can’t tell you how often I get emails with no signature on them at all!  And I do think that you can use your email signature to get the word out, when it’s appropriate. A quick call to action and a link can help spread the word about an event, campaign or initiative.

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At AHA, we believe strongly in the power of blogging. Having said that, it’s important to note that blogging isn’t for every organization.

A blog gives you the opportunity to connect with your organization’s stakeholders. It allows you to provide valuable, relevant information to people. It can help, depending on the writing style and the content, show the “human” side of your organization. All are important components of your brand and how your organization interacts with your community.

Our AHA blog is currently under review by our crew. We are committed to our blog and find that it provides great value to our community. Our objective with this blog is to provide interesting, relevant, useful information that focuses on communication – both traditional and social media – for our stakeholder group. Readers who may potentially be clients, contractors or partners see who we are, our expertise, skill sets and experience and they understand our approach to business. Having said that, we have written this blog for several years and it’s time for us to see what we are doing well, what we could do better and what we need to drop or add to stay current and relevant to our readers.

I came across a good post on Ragan.com about how to use stats to make your blog a must-read and I found it valuable. I hope you do too.

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At AHA, we work on a range of communication or public relations initiatives with clients. No matter what the campaign, project or idea, it is always tied to measurement and results – business results.

Connecting communication or public relations initiatives to business results doesn’t always directly mean sales or revenue. It can also be raising awareness of an organization or campaign. It can mean informing and educating a specific stakeholder group or creating an action or response. It can mean building loyalty. Or it can mean driving sales. It is important when building the strategy for the initiative that you clearly identify what your objectives are, what results you want to achieve, and how you will measure success.

We recently worked with a client to develop an internal communications initiative that was created with the objective of building staff morale. This organization has gone through a great deal of change over the past 24 months under the leadership of a new, proactive president. There have been many successes that have been overshadowed by an organizational restructuring and a strategic planning process that uncovered some challenges and the need to evolve and change some business practices and processes. We wanted to focus on what has been accomplished, to spotlight some of the staff members who have stepped up and gone the extra mile to make things happen, who have shown leadership and who have supported colleagues during this transition period. I am happy to share the tactics we used with you, if you are interested. Just send me an email. But, in order to keep this blog post a reasonable length, I will skip to how we are going to tie this initiative back to business results.

Our first measurement focus will be on participation – how many staff members actively participate by attending specific events or visiting the website page, where this information will be showcased. Next will be to reach out and ask for feedback on the campaign from staff members. And, over a longer period of time (this campaign is set to run for 9 to 12 months), we will monitor changes in attitude and approach. (Are more staff members actively participating in organizational initiatives? Has engagement in town hall meetings increased?) Some of the measurement will be softer (attitude), others will have harder statistics to review. On a monthly basis, we will be reviewing how this campaign positively impacts this organization’s business – which, in this case, is the morale of staff. Without great staff who care about their work, you don’t really have much.

I came across an interesting article on Ragan.com that talks about how to connect communications initiatives to business results. It’s worth a read.

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 24, 2011 – The most successful kiwi bird breeding season in the history of New Zealand’s national wildlife center has ended on an extraordinary note with the surprise hatching of an all-white kiwi bird chick.

Named “Manukura” by local native iwi Rangitane o Wairarapa, the chick, whose name appropriately means “of chiefly status,” is not an albino kiwi, but the rare progeny of kiwi bird that were transferred to Pukaha from Hauturu/Little Barrier Island last year.
The chick was the thirteenth of fourteen kiwis successfully hatched at Pukaha Mount Bruce this breeding season, by far the most successful since 2003 when the kiwi were reintroduced into the wild there.

The white chick will remain in captivity with other chicks at Pukaha for at least four to six months where, subject to its behavior and welfare, it will be able to be viewed several times a week while being weighed. When it is old enough to protect itself, it could potentially be released into the sanctuary. However, Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers, who manage the kiwi program at Pukaha, will ensure the best interests of the bird remain a top priority.

“A white kiwi might really stand out making it more vulnerable,” said DOC area manager Chris Lester. “We want to ensure that as many people as possible get a chance to see it and that we keep it as safe as possible. We also recognize the need to take everything into account when deciding how best to keep Manukura safe.”

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For more information, please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at paul@ahacreative.com or 604.303.1052.

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