Vancouver PR Agency

AHA - Zorb Image

Zorb Rotorua during my 2010 trip.

We, at AHA, are taking part in #Blog4NZ, a three-day blogging extravaganza designed to highlight how spectacular New Zealand is as a travel destination. This initiative was created to help restore travel to New Zealand after the tragic earthquake that hit Christchurch in February. While this isn’t a travel blog, we do quite a bit of travel PR at our Vancouver PR agency. Since Tourism New Zealand is one of our favourite clients, we thought we would focus on posts on New Zealand for the next three days as a show of our support for the youngest country on earth.

This campaign showcases the value of connecting with stakeholders online. The objective of it is to engage travellers, to showcase New Zealand and to move those interested in visiting New Zealand to buy a plane ticket, book accommodations, and begin researching activities in New Zealand. #Blog4NZ is a grassroots campaign that will allow travellers to connect with other travellers, with travel bloggers, with other like-minded people who can (and will) authentically tell them about the things to do in New Zealand.

I have had the opportunity and privilege to travel a great deal for both professional and personal reasons. I have been to some amazing places and, with few exceptions, can always find something to marvel at in any destination. Having said that, New Zealand is one of the most incredible places on earth. Full disclosure (again) – at AHA, we are the Canadian PR agency of record for Tourism New Zealand. My love for New Zealand isn’t because they are a client – they are a client because New Zealand is a fabulous place to visit.

We are currently planning a trip to New Zealand. It will be my fourth visit and Paul’s first. As we map out our itinerary, it looks like our trip will include a visit to the artistic community of Waiheke Island – just a short ferry ride from Auckland – for wine and olive tours and tastings; Rotorua which provides a look into Maori culture, the opportunity to check out boiling hot pools of mud and, of course, to visit the lovely Dorian and Ann at Volcanic Air Safaris and take a trip to White Island – an active volcano; and the amazing Hawkes Bay, which includes the art deco city of Napier, and the start of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail (a must do for wine drinkers). Hopefully we will also have the opportunity to tour the world-class golf resort Cape Kidnappers and, of course, have a glass of wine with one of our favorite Kiwis, the fabulous Annie Dundas. Then we’re off to Queenstown for TRENZ 2011, New Zealand’s tourism trade show. In Queenstown (another breathtaking place) we’re hoping to zipline at Ziptrek Eco Tours (the same company that has the zipline in Whistler, BC), and we will have to stop for a burger at FergBurger (best burgers ever!). I am looking forward to showing Paul around New Zealand.

New Zealand is a magical place. We hear how incredible it is all the time from the travel journalists that we work with – and these folks travel for a living! While the cities in New Zealand offer a vibrant, cosmopolitan experience, you are never too far from getting away from it all and getting out into nature. New Zealand offers a unique combination of feeling a little like home (especially for us Canadians) and yet being totally different from anything we’ve ever experienced before. The people of New Zealand are at the heart of it all. They are helpful, open, friendly and have a wicked sense of humour. Being a tourist in New Zealand brings life to that cheesy saying about there being no strangers, just friends you haven’t yet met.

New Zealand is a place worth visiting. If you have ever thought about going to New Zealand – take that next step today. Check out flights. Air New Zealand and Qantas have some great prices. And for any of you worried that it’s a really long flight, there are direct, non-stop flights out of Vancouver. You get on the plane in the evening, have a glass of wine, have dinner, watch a movie, maybe another glass of wine and you go to sleep. When you wake up, breakfast is served and you’re there. It’s an easy flight.

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AHA Image - TV CameraWe work with our clients on media training. It doesn’t mean that we put words in their mouths or that we help them to “spin” a story. It means that we help our clients understand how the media works, what a journalist needs to get from an interview and how to be effective and relevant during the interview process.  At AHA, we take pride in working with clients that are ethical, that have integrity, and that care about their stakeholders and the work that they do. In our opinion, media training is about making the most of an interview opportunity – to share facts, to inform, to open a conversation. If the questions are tough or difficult, it is crucial to answer them with transparency and authenticity, and to provide valuable information that shows what is being done about the situation.

I have seen tough interviews from both sides – media and client – and it is one of the areas that we talk a great deal about at our Vancouver PR agency. An interview with a journalist can be of huge value in sharing information, in talking about your organization and – if an issue or crisis has happened – in providing background, the reason why it happened, and explaining what is happening now to your stakeholders and the public at large. (Just a note of caution here. If you are dealing with an issue or a crisis, as important as the media is, it isn’t the only avenue you should be taking to communicate with stakeholders and the public.)

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AHA - Facebook imageI have to admit that I have a bit of a split personality when it comes to social media use. On Facebook I have a blend of personal and professional contacts and there are days when that can be a little…different. To say the least.

I have great friends. They are creative, talented and most of them are living life to the fullest. Which means every once in a while, their Facebook posts can be surprising or even a little shocking.  Nothing illegal, immoral or unethical – it’s just that they can be a little wild sometimes. They are my friends for a reason – I like them, I love hearing about their lives – especially the ones that live in other places that I don’t get to see often. And their cheekiness delights me.

However, every once in a while, I wonder if any of my clients, professional colleagues or the journalists that are my Facebook friends look at my pals and wonder what the heck is going on – these people are crazy!!!

And then I wonder if my personal “friends” look at some of the postings from others – usually about PR, communication and social media – and wonder if I have a life outside of work. (I have to admit, I wonder that myself sometimes.)

I have been paddling around online for quite some time (since I was director of communications at Vancouver Film School and the New Media Program was launched in 1990). When Facebook arrived on the scene, I embraced it and jumped right in without much of a strategy about how to manage my personal and professional worlds. On Facebook, to quote George Costanza of Seinfeld fame, my worlds collide.

When we started AHA, we wanted to create a company that was authentic, that represented who we are – and that includes our crew. What we do as communicators creates a special connection with our clients and colleagues. It gets personal – even when it’s business focused. Having said that, even if the only friends I had on Facebook were from my personal life, there is information I just wouldn’t share on there. I think more than separating business from personal, what bears thinking about is how much of your life do you want out there on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere online? There is a point where it is just too much information. Some things are best kept for in-person conversations.

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