I haven’t posted anything for a while and it’s been bugging me. It means I’m not practicing what I preach when it comes to social media policies. When I tell my clients that you should be updating your blog at least once a week, it doesn’t look good when I’m reduced to updating my own company blog once a month.

As I hang my head in shame, I can only say that my negligence in this area is because we’ve been very busy lately. In fact, we’ve been so occupied with various projects that we’ve had to bring in additional help to get it all done. On our plate right now is ongoing media relations and grassroots outreach for a major manufacturing and retail client, some media relations and crisis communications planning for another client, ongoing corporate communications, social media and advertising for our friends at Keystone Processors and the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council. And we’ve been busy with writing copy for Wellington West and Access Credit Union.

It’s fantastic that we’re able to call on the services of experienced, seasoned colleagues such as Karen Ilchena and Caroline Traweger. And I’m really looking forward to welcoming our intern from Red River College’s Creative Communications program, Lisa Bernstein, next week.

All told, it’s been a very busy spring and we look forward to keeping it all rolling with our customary attention to client service and results.

Adam Dooley, President of Dooley Communications, was recently interviewed by Uniter reporter Kristy Rydz on communications and corporate social responsibility. The question: can companies that pollute credibly call themselves environmentally sensitive?

The story examines the dilemma and wonders if some corporate efforts are only so much ‘greenwashing’.

What’s your view?

This time of year is always very exciting for me personally as we get closer and closer to the Manitoba Communicator of the Year celebration. This year, CPRS Manitoba will present the third annual award on March 24 at the Hotel Fort Garry.

I remember when we first started talking about creating the award some four or five years ago. Nearly everyone, especially the CPRS Manitoba board, was enthusiastic. That’s not surprising as we’d been looking for some time for new ways to bring value to our members and to promote both CPRS and our profession in Manitoba. The award has done a great job of that so far and I’m very proud to have played a part in developing it and organizing the celebrations for the past three years.

I want to thank Marketwire for its generous sponsorship of the award since its inception.
The nomination deadline has been extended to Feb. 26. So get your nomination in soon.

And as a special lead-in to the award, CPRS Manitoba is also hosting a half day conference on social media this year sponsored by CNW Group. It features Keith Bilous, President of ICUC Moderation Services as keynote speaker. ICUC has quietly grown to be one of the largest online content moderation companies in the world right here in our own backyard.

The conference also has a host of other homegrown talent on two panels dealing with the changing face of news media and how to leverage social networks. Come out and see, hear and meet: Bruce Owen of the Free Press, Glenn Tinley of Studio Publications, Curtis Brown of Endless Spin Cycle, Shel Zolkewich of ShinyPackages, Corey Quintaine of Kildonan Place, Rebecca McCormack of Cake Clothing, Jason Hasselmann of New Media Now, and Colin Whitney of Mars Hill Group.

It’ll be a great conference with plenty of fresh case studies on how to make social media work for you.

Buy tickets at www.cprs.mb.ca. Early bird rates end March 5!

The year is getting off to a great start for everyone at Dooley Communications with new clients coming on stream (stay tuned for more info) and old clients coming back with new projects.

It’s exciting to see the firm continue to grow. As we do, we’ll maintain our focus on being a service-oriented PR firm for the Canadian Prairies. Our focus remains on the Winnipeg and Manitoba markets for public relations and corporate communications services, but we also routinely reach into both Northwestern Ontario and Saskatchewan for our clients.

We use a variety of tools and tactics for our clients from traditional media relations to corporate communications, newsletters, magazines, social networks and blogs. We also develop and execute advertising campaigns, stage special events, and host photo ops and public speaking engagements.

As we get started on our third full calendar year in business, I’d like to personally thank all our suppliers for their highly professional and excellent help. They include:

• Twist Design and Communications
• Nova Design
• Prairie Research Associates
• GRP Media Services
• Mirek Photography
• Tony Nardella Photography
• Tint Marketing
• Contemporary Printing
• Marketwire LP
• Cision
• The Great Promotional Products Company

All the best in 2010!

Adam Dooley,
President

Dooley Communications was busy again this year setting up UNICEF Canada’s annual pumpkin carving contest yesterday at Kildonan Place. We’re pleased to report the event was even more successful than last year by every measure: we have more teams, more media coverage, bigger crowds and more money raised.

Here are a few clippings of the event:

Fish Find Glory as New Pumpkin Kings, Winnipeg Free Press, October 28, 2009

I’m Not Out of My Gourd, Winnipeg Free Press, October 27, 2009

2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest, Chrisd.ca, October 28, 2009

Billie Jo Ross’ blog, Clear 102.3 FM, October 28, 2009

We were also pleased to see CBC TV, Global TV, CTV, CITY TV and SHAW TV all out to cover the event.

Here are a few more photos of the event. 

Glad to see everyone had fun.

This is the third year in a row where September is our time to get busy with UNICEF’s annual Trick-or-Treat campaign.

Every October since 1955, UNICEF Canada has been raising money for children in underdeveloped nations around the world. This year, the campaign might surpass the $100 million milestone. I hope that our PR services here in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will help put them over the top.

Dooley Communications oversees all the media relations for the campaign across the Prairies region. We also do some event management for the campaign and this year will be hosting the second annual Celebrity Pumpkin Carving contest at Kildonan Place on October 27.

Please give generously and support UNICEF’s efforts to raise money to build and outfit schools in Rwanda and Malawi.

www.TrickorTreatforUnicef.ca

Dooley Communications is pleased to be celebrating its second full year in business this summer, offering senior level public relations and corporate communications services. From our base in Winnipeg, Manitoba, our firm now serves clients from across Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

We have organized small and large media events for clients and created entire public relations strategies for others. We regularly conduct media training seminars, and counsel organizations through the minefields of issues management and crisis communications. We’ve helped write and produce annual reports, newsletters, brochures and websites, and we’ve written countless blogs and advised on the best use of social media.

It continues to be a fun, exciting challenge as we build a service-oriented public relations firm here in the Canadian Prairies.

So thank you to all our clients. We look forward to serving and growing with you in the future.

Dooley Communications was very pleased to work with Global Wind Group Inc. to help the local company unveil a major installation of vertical-axis wind turbines today in Rosenort, Manitoba.

We helped coordinate the media relations and social media efforts for the company and were happy to get coverage on CTV Winnipeg (watch it tonight), CBC Television (last night), CJOB, CBC Radio Noon, BobFM, CFAM and the Golden West Media network, Altona Echo and the Emerson Southeast Journal.

 Here are some photos from the event.

Here’s our news release:

The RM of Morris first to feel the winds of change

RM of Morris will unveil the first ever vertical-axis wind turbines installed on a Manitoba public service garage

Rosenort, Manitoba, June 24, 2009 – The RM of Morris has become the front line in the battle against greenhouse gases and airborne pollution from fossil fuels thanks to an innovative Manitoba company specializing in renewable energy.

This morning Global Wind Group, Inc. unveiled an installation of three new roof-mounted, vertical-axis wind turbines on the Morris Municipal Public Service Garage. The installation is the first of its kind in the province and will generate enough energy to power the building’s geothermal heat exchange pumps, effectively giving the building a carbon footprint of almost zero.

“Global Wind Group is a North American leader in wind energy technology. We specialize in easily transportable designs that help urban, rural and remote communities realize green alternatives to fossil fuels,” said Alex Stuart, President of Global Wind Group. “The cost of non-renewable energy is only going to rise in the future. These turbines will play an important role in helping Manitoba meet its Kyoto targets.”

Dignitaries from around the province were on hand to help celebrate the occasion, including MLA Rob Altemeyer who brought greetings from Hon. Stan Struthers, Minister of Conservation; Herm Martens, Reeve of the RM of Morris; Alex Stuart, President of Global Wind Group, Inc. and Ernest Buhler, Chief Administrative Officer for the RM of Morris; and MLA Mavis Taillieu.

The Rosenort installation has three 1.2kW vertical-axis wind turbines delivering a total of 3.6kW of clean, renewable energy. That is enough to power a typical energy efficient 1,000 square foot bungalow. Global Wind Group turbines are well suited for mounting on roof tops and can exceed green building standards. The turbines’ vertical-axis design offers many advantages over traditional propeller style wind turbines, including silent operation, very little vibration, and no bird-kill. The wind turbine installation in Rosenort is an important step towards reducing Manitoba’s carbon footprint and is a symbol of our innovation in developing new sources of renewable energy. The new turbines now give many other locations around the province a new alternative for renewable energy.

The installation was partly funded by a grant from Conservation Manitoba Sustainable Development Innovations Fund. The fund supports and encourages processes, practices, materials, products, substances or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste, and reduce the overall risk to the environment and human health.
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Adam Dooley
For Global Wind Group
Phone: 204-291-4092
adooley@dooleycommunications.ca

About Global Wind Group (www.globalwindgroup.com)
Global Wind Group (GWG) is a Manitoba-based company that sells and installs durable, quiet and versatile vertical-axis wind turbines in Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario and Nunavut. In addition to providing wind testing services, the company helps its clients identify, and apply for, available rebates, to achieve cost-effective solutions for their energy needs. GWG is a leader in vertical axis wind turbine technology and wind-energy generation. The company is member of a the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Green Building Council, Manitoba Environmental Industries Association (MEIA) and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

For companies, brands, organizations and people that ever doubted the value of social media as a powerful means of communication, the events of the last week in Iran must be an eye opening experience. Since the Iranian government has expelled almost all foreign correspondents the only news getting out of the country is being sent via social networks, namely Twitter.

What makes this particular situation different is that the content being shared on social networks is not remaining just on the social networks. Images and videos from inside Iran are being broadcast on television channels around the world – from CNN, to the BBC, to CBC.

The world is seeing the Iranian situation through the eyes of the Iranians. The news is coming from people living the event, not just reporting on it. This new free way to share information instantly around the world is forcing the Iranian government that has been accused of illegitimate actions in the past, to take notice and tread a little more carefully (witness the call for a review of some election returns by the clerics who run things there).
Some people and news outlets have called this the tipping point for Iran. Many feel that if ever Iran was going to throw off the cloak of old world thinking and reenter the world stage as a positive contributor that time is now.

Recent movements for positive change - the falling of the Berlin wall, the solidarity movement in Poland, the end of apartheid - have all come by way of people coming together, joining in the fight for change and slowly gaining the upper hand. It took communication; it took people understanding and drawing strength from their neighbours. With new technologies that enable anyone, anywhere in the world to instantly share their experiences through photos, videos or even their own voice, these movements now have the ability to do in days what used to take years.

It is hard to imagine this happening so quickly had it not been for Twitter, the killer social network with the silly name. Almost over night, a world that looked down on Iran has come to hope for it, to hope for its people. Some say that this could have all been possible without social media and they are right. Major change has happened many other times in our history without social media. However, a big contributor to the movement in Iran gaining momentum so quickly is because the people inside the country did not feel alone, they knew their messages were and are getting out and the people of the world are listening.

Many people are calling social networks a trend, and some aspects of it are trendy. There will always be a newer, hipper social network to be a part of, but social networks will always be there. The opportunities for communication that new media affords the world are just to great to ignore.

If you’re unsure how new media and social networks can benefit your business or organization, give Adam Dooley a call at 204-291-4092. We’d love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with you to discuss the potential.

One of the cool things about working with great clients like ICUC Moderation Services is that we come into contact with all sorts of new information all the time. Today’s snoo.ws blog includes an interesting post on how the value of communications executives is growing quickly these days due in large part to the increasing importance of social media.

That is no surprise to me - though I can think of a couple of former bosses who could use  some education there. With the growth of social media, there is no place to hide for companies and organizations.

Even companies that choose not to participate can be thrown in front of the public glare of crisis thanks to a viral video post. Witness the recent Dominos Pizza debacle where a couple of employees from the low end of the gene pool posted YouTube videos of themselves doing disgusting things to pizzas.

As social media makes communications so much easier, companies will need to invest more time and effort into monitoring online conversations  about their brands, as well as participating in those discussions. Often the best way to do that is to start the conversation yourself, which is why we find ourselves frequently working with out clients to create blogs and broadcast feeds (via Twitter or Facebook for example).

It takes time, money and planning, but social media is a vital tool for contemporary communicators.