The Delta Media P.R. Clinic

We work hard to ensure that our clients have the tools they need to effectively promote their messages. The Delta Media P.R. Clinic endeavours to answer the questions of our clients and other communications professionals to ensure that their public relations program are as effective as possible.

Every month, a member of our team posts a relevant article on the art and science of strategic communication, ranging from Web content to media relations to government relations and research.

Please take the time to read our current article and archive. If you have a suggestion or a question for the P.R. Clinic, you can use the form below to submit it to the Delta Media team.

Featured Articles

Messages for the New Medium: Why association executives need to tap into the power of the mobile Internet
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

Marshall McLuhan was right: The medium is the message. Though McLuhan was more interested in how different media transmit information to our senses (what they leave in, what they leave out), I also think his idea can be expanded to consider the audience’s impressions of a particular medium or channel. Some media and channels are considered current, leading-edge and engaging. Others are not. more >

Engaging an Overloaded Audience
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

A new study by the Bensimon Byrne agency (available at www.consumerology.ca) confirms what most association executives already know: getting and holding the attention of audiences is getting harder. New channels (blogs, Facebook, Twitter) and new technology on old channels (on-line TV and PVRs) are encouraging audiences to scan, zap, multitask and sample, rather than settling down and consuming media messages slowly and completely. This is especially true of younger audiences – your future members. more >

Maximum Awareness Equals Maximum Value
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

Money is tight and you want to make sure your members derive maximum value from their membership. Here’s a simple and cost-effective way to get there: tell them what you do for them. I know it sounds self-evident but one of the most interesting revelations from the many membership surveys we’ve run for clients has come from giving members a simple option when they answer questions about the programs and services you offer: “NA” or “Not Applicable.” more >

How Often is too Often?
The importance of frequency in communication
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

I recently had the privilege of presenting to the Manitoba Chapter of the CSAE as part of the Association Excellence Series. One of the participants asked an important question that I thought would be an excellent topic for the PR Clinic: How often is too often when it comes to repeating a message? It’s an important question because an error on either side of the equation can be costly. more >

Events: The Other Social Media
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

In our rush to move our messages into the interactive world of Web 2.0, there is a risk that we will turn our attention from the original way to link in groups of people, put our words and images up on a wall, and create that all important buzz: events. I’m all for Facebook but nothing beats face-to-face when it comes to successful PR. more >

Successful Communications in Anxious Times
By Bernard Gauthier, MA

As I write this, the world economy is undergoing one of its most serious declines in a century, unemployment rates are creeping up and consumer confidence is crashing back to earth after a decade of ascent. This would well qualify, it seems to me, as a time of anxiety – anxiety that could severely challenge the success of your members and, by extension, your association. more >

Past Clinics

Have a PR question you’d like answered in the PR Clinic? Let us know here. We can’t answer all the questions we receive, but if we do, they’ll appear on this page.