Ruth Atherley's Posts





We had one final Fast Take Friday from Paris to show you. It was at the Arc de Triomphe where it is incredibly busy with traffic (so much traffic), people (so many tourists) and that particular day wind! So much wind that it overpowered our little Flip Cam’s microphone and made the video unusable.



This technical issue brings up a key point in what we do as communicators. Our Fast Take Fridays are important to us. We plan them out carefully, deciding what topics are relevant, why they matter to you and what tips and hints to share. The ones we did in Paris were a bit of a bonus and I have to admit, I took the technical aspects for granted. Something we never do on a client project.  This technical issue actually allows me to talk about the value of planning and the importance of it.



The magic of a great communications initiative is in the planning—whether it is a video, a brand journalism campaign, an article, media relations outreach, speech writing or any kind of writing for that matter, a town hall event (or any event), a communications audit, an issue and crisis communication plan…well, you get my drift. You have to be prepared for the what ifs—because in our world, if you don’t have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D, you are going to find yourself overwhelmed and reacting, rather than proactively making strategic decisions and shifting your efforts to generate results.



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At AHA, we love media relations. That’s not necessarily a common thing among communicators. I know many PR people who don’t like the media relations aspect of their job at all. In fact, I have had several senior communicators laughingly say they are so glad that they don’t have to do that anymore (since they got the manager, director, or VP title).



That comment always surprises me. Pitching journalists, producers, bloggers – everyone that has a role in sharing a good story – is one of the most challenging, rewarding and FUN things we do here at AHA. We have a solid crew here when it comes to identifying and telling an organization’s story in an interesting and compelling way. We have a defined process of how we develop a story idea, which media we target with the idea or angle, and when. It is all planned out – and every component matters.



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HSBC has developed an online editorial style website that uses brand journalism. There are differing opinions on the value and benefit of the site. I have to say we lean towards the side that says this is a great site. I think it can be easy to criticize without taking into context that it is brand journalism – not journalism. While the stories should be credible, balanced, multi-faceted and provide value, it is still a brand that is responsible for creating this content.

Step by step, we are moving into a more credible approach to sharing the stories of our organizations.

This article is worth a read and the site is worth a visit.

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