Speaking Engagements
AHA Partner Ruth Atherley regularly speaks to groups, organizations, and associations about how to build their business with PR and publicity and how to effectively manage the media. Below are the four main topics she speaks on, please click on the topic to find out more information. If you are interested in having Ruth speak on another topic, please email us at , we're always open to new ideas!
How to Generate Free Publicity
Do you want to make use of the media — both online and traditional — to promote your business? AHA Creative Strategies partner, former journalist and self-admitted blog, podcast and PR 2.0 junkie, Ruth Atherley, shows you how to craft your key messages, develop your media contact list — including bloggers, pitch the media and bloggers — and follow up in order to generate coverage for your business, product or service. Ruth shows you how to respectfully and professionally get their attention. You'll never look at the media the same way again!
What is Great PR?
PR can be a stand-alone function for a small business with a limited budget or a part of the mix in a large campaign that includes advertising, promotion and direct marketing.
Each day, every business around the world sends out a message to the market place. What is your business saying? What are you known for? What do people say about your company at the water cooler, in the boardrooms, on the street?
Great PR is communicated from what your employees tell their friends and family, how your receptionist answers the phone, how quickly your sales or customer service people return calls — and what they say when they do. Great PR isn't just about media coverage (although that helps), it's about what your staff has at the bottom of their emails, how you tell your staff and other stakeholders about changes — both good and bad, how you speak to your target audience, and now, as importantly, how you listen to them.
Great public relations communicates your company's message in a way that makes your markets listen and drives them to action. It raises the profile of your company so you become a topic of positive conversation whenever your industry is mentioned. PR acts as a translator, taking what you have to say to the market and putting it into a message that is not only heard, but creates a positive response.
In this presentation, Ruth walks you through the importance of communication — and how to best speak with, rather than "talk at" your audience. This kind of positive communication helps build billion dollar brands. It is key to your success.
How to Manage Issues or a Crisis with PR
What happens when a little internal problem becomes an issue? How big is it going to get when your staff is talking about it over drinks after work, when they are telling their friends and family about it, when clients hear about it, or when the media comes knocking? Even an incident that is misunderstood or not the fault of the company's executive can cause damage to your company.
And what about when a big mistake occurs?
A crisis communication plan is much like house insurance. It can protect you in the event of an emergency, and the right time to think about it is before you see smoke. Corporations spend millions of dollars perfecting their brand, developing their markets and delivering their messages, only to be destroyed by a situation that takes them by surprise. A crisis or issue that is mishandled or ignored will create negative consequences for a company and its bottom line.
Through an interactive presentation, Ruth showcases the best and worst ways to handle issues or a crisis. Through real life case studies, common sense and wisdom built on experience, she engages her audience to think about the challenges they might face and gives them the tools to manage, maintain and even improve their reputation in the face of a public or internal challenge.
What To Do When The Media Calls
There are two situations that will make the media want to talk to you or someone from your company. One is when you have done something positive that they find interesting (new technology, new partnership, unique service or product offering and you have been effectively positioned as an "expert"). The other is when something has happened that you don't want them to cover (lawsuit, bankruptcy protection, labour dispute).
With the right approach, the media can be an important asset to your company. Ignored or disregarded, it can hurt your company's reputation and your bottom line. Ruth demystifies the media process through showcasing real world situations and scenarios so that when the time comes to deal with media (whether you want to or not), you and your key personnel are prepared.
Ruth takes you through what the media looks for as well as how to also create the "human factor" so that a connection can be made with the interviewer and in the end, with the audience listening to, reading, or watching the piece about your company. From body language to addressing challenging questions, Ruth prepares you to engage with, and succeed, through your interactions with the media.
Lunch & Learns
All of our presentations can be condensed into an interactive lunch & learn and customized specifically for your company. We're available to come in and chat with your staff and senior management, providing relevant and specific information to help you to move your company into proactively developing and implementing PR. Whether the lunch & learn is to give tools to your staff or to help explain why PR will be a great investment for your senior team, we're here to help!