Ruth Atherley, Author at AHA Creative Strategies

Why CEOs are afraid of social media

Jeff Bullas has a great post on his blog that outlines many of the reasons that companies aren’t using social media. The post showcases many of the points that we, at AHA, have heard from senior communicators and CEOs. What I also found quite interesting are the comments. They put forward a range of perspectives and are worth a read.

In the world of a communicator or marketer, there is a great deal of focus on social media. It’s important for those of us who work in this area to keep in mind that not everyone has embraced social media the way that we have. We have had many senior executives talk to us about their fears about using social media and their concerns are valid. We’re facing a culture shift and change isn’t easy – even change for the better.

Escape the Pressures of Being Single this Holiday Season

Newsroom

For Immediate Release – October 19, 2009

Vancouver, B.C. – According to recent statistics*, more than 51 percent of people in Canada are unmarried. For many, the approaching holiday season is something to dread. For some, it comes down to choosing between a solo frozen turkey TV dinner, watching a rerun of It’s a Wonderful Life or listening to Aunt Debbie ask (again) why you aren’t married yet.

For many of the growing population that are not married, getting out of town to do something exciting and adventurous is a great alternative to tinfoil dinners or Aunt Debbie. Recognizing that not everyone looks forward to staying home during the holiday season, BikeHike Adventures offers a range of trips throughout December to meet the needs of this growing group. An adventure trip can take you out of the ho ho ho humdrums and immerse you in activity, culture and friendship. Plus, at BikeHike there is no single supplement.

Many of BikeHike’s excursions are developed with the single adventure traveller in mind. Says BikeHike Founder Trish Sare, “We understand the single traveller and have made sure that our trips create a memorable experience for everyone involved. On our trips, people seem to bond really quickly. The only way someone will feel ‘alone’ with us is if he or she wants to keep to themselves.” She adds: “Quite often, our single traveller has the best experience. They generally make more friends both in our group and by connecting with the people in the towns and villages we visit. We’ve even had a few romances blossom from people meeting on a BikeHike tour.”

Some of the upcoming holiday season BikeHike trips that Sare recommends for singles are:

Ecuador, Andes to Amazon http://www.bikehike.com/ecuador/ecuador_trip01.html
Guatemala, Mundo Maya Multi-sport http://www.bikehike.com/guatemala/guatemala_trip01.html
Panama, Rumble in the Jungle http://www.bikehike.com/panama/panama_trip01.html

BikeHike doesn’t charge single supplements and groups are matched with the overall dynamic and the travellers’ fitness levels in mind. Not all BikeHike Adventure trips are hard core adrenalin-filled, and singles looking for a less physically demanding trip can find one that matches their abilities.

Rated this year as the fourth best adventure travel company in the world by National Geographic Adventure, BikeHike Adventures Inc. was founded in 1994 by Trish Sare. The organization’s spirit of adventure mission is to bring together like-minded active individuals with a passion for cultural exploration and physically rewarding travel. BikeHike specializes in small or gender group multi-sport adventures in South and Central America, Canada, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and Africa. To review travel itineraries please visit www.bikehike.com or call 1-888-805-0061.

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For more information, interviews or images, please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at paul@ahacreative.com or 604-303-1052.

*Statistics Canada 2006 Census: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/070912/dq070912a-eng.htm

Do something good today

This blog post might not seem to have a great deal to do with PR or communication, but the reality is, it is at the foundation of what we do professional and personally. It touches everything.

How does social media fit into PR?

There is a good piece on Mashable.com on How To: Use Social Media In Your PR Pitch Plan. In your organization, whether you are the communications person or not – we are in a time of change. The challenge is that we’re not all at the same spot yet. There are many people who have embraced social media, many who are looking at it but not quite sure yet, and others who are either fearful or in complete denial. Some of those in denial have decided they are going to completely ignore the conversations happening online and others have decided to use the technology and tools, but are still going about it in a traditional way. And, that just doesn’t work.

It’s a brave new world

We have regular production meetings at AHA and during today’s briefing, it hit me that public relations is a different profession today than it was even a year ago. Technology, specifically online technology, has changed how we do our job.

At AHA, we have always approached the publicity and media relations component of what we do much as a media outlet would. We have regular story meetings, we hold our ideas up to scrutiny and we review each pitch through the eyes of the specific journalist and media outlet that we are approaching. We have a focus on acting (as much as possible) like a newsroom would when it comes to clearly identifying the news value and the heart of the story before we take it to media.

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