Winnipeg, July 31, 2008 – Dooley Communications is proud to announce that it is marking its first anniversary in business in much the same way it was launched: landing new clients looking for excellence in public relations and corporate communications services.

“This first year has gone by so quickly,” said company President Adam Dooley. “We’ve had the privilege to work with some fantastic clients on some great projects.”

Over the past year, Dooley Communications has worked with numerous clients on a variety of projects, creating comprehensive public relations strategies as well as developing individual communications pieces.

“When I started this company, I scribbled a short motto in the margin of the business plan: be excellent, be urgent, be yourself,” said Dooley. “It means that we execute at the highest possible level; we turn projects around quickly; and we do work that we can take pride in.”

Clients include: Tetrem Capital Management, UNICEF Canada (Prairies Region), the Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund, the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council, Natural Prairie Beef, Wellington West and, most recently, ICUC Moderation Services. Dooley has also done projects for Costco Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Manitoba Public Insurance, and the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority.

The company specializes in providing senior level corporate communications services. Services include: developing public relations strategies, media relations, media training, communications audits, blogging, website and social media consulting, newsletters, brochures and events.

“I believe we’re unique in the Manitoba market in that we offer traditional PR services, but we also work daily with the latest social media applications,” said Dooley. “That gives our clients expertise so they can achieve their corporate goals, whether that’s to generate brand awareness, make sales or raise money for a great cause. We also have some of the best partners in the business from graphic design, printing and television production to Website design, social media development and research.”

Prior to launching the agency, Adam Dooley was Vice-President of Marketing and Communications with Cambrian Credit Union. During his tenure overseeing Cambrian’s marketing and PR, the credit union enjoyed record growth, and was one of the fastest growing large credit unions in the country. Before Cambrian, Dooley handled media relations and internal communications duties at Assante Corporation, a North American financial services company. He began his career as a reporter and editor with a Masters in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario. He has more than 17 years of communications experience.

“I’m very glad to celebrate this first year with all of my clients, associates and suppliers,” said Dooley. “My thanks go out to everyone I’ve worked with over the last 12 months. I am looking forward to many more years of growth and great work for this company.”

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Contact:

Adam Dooley

President, Dooley Communications

(204) 291-4092

adooley@dooleycommunications.ca

I was on CBC Radio One’s Information Radio this morning. They wanted me to give them a PR person’s view of what’s going on with the Winnipeg Police Service, especially with regard to the ongoing Taman inquiry. The inquiry is looking in to the events that led to former Constable Derek Harvey-Zenk’s fatal collision with Crystal Taman. Harvey-Zenk had been drinking, but his arrest was apparently mishandled and evidence botched. He ended up with house arrest and there was a public outcry that led to the current inquiry.

The public has heard officer after officer take the stand only to (incredibly) lose almost all memory of the events that transpired.

It’s a PR disaster for the police service. More than most organizations, the police need to enjoy the trust and confidence of the public to do their jobs. If their credibility is impugned, their moral authority declines… precipitously. Judging from letters to the editor and countless ‘water cooler’ chats, I think that is exactly what’s happening here.

So what can or should the police do? In my opinion, Police Chief Keith McCaskill and city leaders should take the time during this inquiry (sooner rather than later) to express to both the police service and to the public that they are concerned with what they’re hearing. They should also use the opportunity to remind everyone not to jump to conclusions; the inquiry needs to run its course. But the chief needs to indicate that he is seeing and hearing what everyone else is.

McCaskill’s real work will begin once the inquiry reports its findings. He’ll have to do three things. First, he needs to identify the issues that are causing this credibility crisis. What are the roots here? The thin blue line is an excuse, not an answer. If there’s a culture of entitlement in the police service, he needs to attack it head on. That leads us to the second step: he needs to take action. If that means disciplinary action, then he needs to act swiftly and fairly. Third, he needs to communicate to both the police service itself and to the public at large what he’s done and why he’s doing it. Expectations need to be reset along with the high standards the police are held to.

I have a lot of sympathy for the Chief and for the officers on the force who are being tarred with a big, undiscerning brush. It’s not fair, but it’s reality. McCaskill has already showed a lot of character and leadership by testifying at the inquiry as soon as his name was dragged in to the affair. He needs to show the same grit in weeks and months to come to restore the public’s confidence in the service.

As I follow the almost daily reports on whether Winnipeg will build a new football stadium in Point Douglas, I’m left wondering if it will ever come to pass.

The story was leaked to the press a couple of weeks ago, well ahead of when it should have been made public. I wonder if the ‘leaker’ was trying to torpedo the project? If so, he or she will probably get what they desired. This is a great example of the story getting out in front its proponents. David Asper, the private developer looking to build the new stadium, seemed to be caught flatfooted. The neighbourhood was shocked to hear about plans to bulldoze their houses… go figure … and the rest of the city was just plain surprised that the Blue Bombers were considering a move to the low track.

Asper and Mayor Sam Katz have tried to catch up to the story, but they haven’t succeeded. It’s out and growing and evolving all on its own. Meanwhile, Asper and the politicians are still wading through all the many details that should have been sorted out before making the story public. The plans will no doubt change a hundred times before this project gets real traction and that, more than anything, will probably end up killing it: a death by a thousand cuts.

This is just one more example of the City of Winnipeg getting caught in a communications disaster. I suspect this is a direct (and costly) result of the current city administration gutting its public relations department.

WINNIPEG, July 2, 2008 - Dooley Communications is pleased to announce it has signed online moderation company ICUC Moderation Services as a client. Dooley will be helping ICUC create and manage a daily blog (www.snoo.ws) as well as various other public relations and communications projects for the Winnipeg-based company.

“ICUC is one of the world’s most successful companies in the online moderation space,” said Adam Dooley, President of Dooley Communications. “They are leaders in helping top brands manage user generated content online. We’ll be leveraging our mutual expertise in communications and social media to help ICUC build its own brand and business.”

ICUC (www.icucmoderation.com )works with some of the world’s top brands – including Dove, Knorr, Molson, MuchMusic and Virgin Mobile. Working in multiple languages, ICUC moderates all kinds of digital content from real-time chat to blogs, online communities, forums, videos, photos and more.

“We were looking for a communications company that understood our business and could bring the skills we needed to spread our message,” said ICUC President Keith Bilous. “We’re looking forward to working with Adam and his team.”

Dooley Communications is a Winnipeg-based public relations and corporate communications consultancy. Its clients include UNICEF Canada, Tetrem Capital Management, Wellington West, the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council, and the Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund. It has also done project work for Costco Canada, Manitoba Public Insurance and the Business Development Bank of Canada.

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For information:

Adam Dooley
(204) 291-4092
adooley@dooleycommunications.ca
www.dooleycommunications.ca