SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug 13, 2020 -- Two powerhouses in their respective fields are forming a strategic alliance to help clients drive business using data-driven digital/social marketing and public relations/communications programs.
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Social Ally Media, led by Natalie Speers, and Here and Now Public Relations, co-founded by David Migdal, have a combined 40 years of experience in the social media/digital marketing and public relations space. They are now offering new and existing clients in the tech, health and wellness, CPG, and ecommerce industries the ability to increase revenues by partnering with them on the strategic and metric level.

“We both agree that helping clients connect with consumers is integral to the success of any program, and that’s one of the reasons we’re combining forces,” said Speers. “We’re really looking forward to working together and showing clients how powerful their brands can be.”    
Speers and Migdal recently worked together on the Pure Flix Digital business in Scottsdale, Ariz. Migdal handled all the communications/media relations for the company, while Speers’ company drove all social media and digital marketing efforts.

Combined, Speers and Migdal supported the streaming video company by driving almost 530,000 trial subscriptions (through organic social and targeted, paid advertising) with a conversion rate of more than 50 percent.  They also developed effective homeschool and military outreach programs, created a weekly online video program that had a reach of more than 2.5 million in its first season, and helped drive media coverage in the New York Times, Variety, NBC News and other outlets.

Social Ally Media was founded in Scottsdale by Speers 12 years ago. She is one of the leaders of the social media revolution, and her firm excels in paid advertising, organic social media strategy, planning and execution, graphic design, brand strategy and LinkedIn prospecting.
Speers’ company supports businesses in the entertainment, health and wellness, media and ecommerce industries. She also uses her social media prowess to elevate individual corporate executives, business owners and non-profit organizations.

Migdal’s career spans 20+ years in corporate and consultancy roles, helping companies in the tech and CPG industries by developing and executing results-driven public relations, content creation, and corporate communications programs. 
 
He has supported companies of all sizes; from multinationals (such as Sony, Samsung, Lululemon, Fiji Water, Intel and Duracell) in the US, Asia and Europe to garage-based startups. He is the past chairman of the Consumer Technology Association’s communications committee.

“We were both looking for ways to better serve our existing clients and attract new clients,” said Migdal, “so this strategic alliance makes a lot sense. Besides, we’ve always accomplished big things when we’ve worked together.”
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For more information, please contact Natalie Speers at natalie@socialallymedia.com or David Migdal at david@hereandnowpr.com.

CARLSBAD, Calif. and BASKING RIDGE, N.J., July 28, 2020 -- Two proven leaders in the brand, communications and reputation management space, David Migdal and Perri Richman, are forming a strategic alliance with their companies to help small-to-mid-sized companies increase sales, establish footholds in the B2B space, and elevate their corporate reputations and identities.

Migdal, co-founder of Here and Now Public Relations and Richman, founder of The Brand Promise, and bring a combined 40+ years of experience working in the corporate and consulting space, where they held leadership roles across brand, marketing, public relations and reputation management, corporate social responsibility, and employee engagement. 

They are now leveraging their individual expertise and experience to combine forces and provide impactful consultation to small and mid-sized companies.

“Our companies each have its areas of expertise, but when Perri and I talked about what we could provide by forming this alliance, it became a compelling proposition,” said Migdal. “We look forward to providing new and existing clients with a dynamic suite of services starting with firm and leadership branding all the way through to content and public relations execution, leading to meaningful results.”

Migdal’s career spans 20+ years in corporate and consultancy roles, helping companies in the tech and CPG industries by developing and executing innovative public relations, content creation, and corporate communications programs to drive results. 

He’s supported companies of all sizes; from multinationals (such as Sony, Samsung, Intel and Duracell) in the U.S., Asia and Europe to garage-based startups. He is the past chairman of the Consumer Technology Association’s communications committee.

Richman is a brand and reputation advisor who partners with individuals and organizations undergoing change and transformation. She applies her science-based approach to helping firms build their brands and deliver upon them through the behavior (time, style, experience, rituals, communications, image and more) of their people. Her approach is predicated on the idea that nearly 50 percent of a firm’s reputation is attributed to its people -- and that their choices, performance and perception must align. 

During her 20+ year corporate career, she held progressive corporate communications, brand and marketing, CSR and ESG roles at multinational industrial and technology companies. She also worked at the communications consultancy, Burson-Marsteller, supporting Fortune 500 companies in professional services, automotive, financial services, and consumer packaged goods.

For more information, please contact David Migdal at David@hereandnowpr.com or Perri Richman at pjkrichman@yourbrandpromise.com.  

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​Over the past few weeks, it’s becoming increasingly clear that three simple words have fallen out of favor.

“I don’t know.”

Whether it’s related to the pandemic, social unrest, or the markets, no one seems to be able to say that facts may suggest one thing and reality suggests another. They make educated guesses, theorize, and in some cases, make outlandish—even dangerous--predictions.

They can’t simply say: “That’s a great question, but I don’t have an answer for you today. I just don’t know.”

In media circles this makes sense. Heaven forbid a guest or the interviewer is caught off-guard and offers up a less-than-salient response to a question. And with a dearth of science reporters in the media, covering something like a global pandemic is bound to create problems.
 
But it’s different in public relations/communications. Being transparent about what you don’t know isn’t just an honorable trait, it’s mandatory.

It’s called being professional. Or, more importantly, being human.

We’ve been asked hundreds of times what we think about one program or another or what we think will resonate with a desired audience. When we weren’t certain, we asked for some time to conduct research, collect facts,  and report back.  Several quick phone calls to pros we trust, a soft audit of a dozen sources or so, or maybe a coffee with a trusted advisor… NOT ONCE was this scenario met with scorn or derision.

Why? Because while we may be respected in our field, we simply don’t know everything.  Experience is helpful in creating plans and strategies, but something that worked 2-3 years ago, might not be quite as effective today. Things change; we have to be every bit as agile as the world we operate in.

And humble.

Christopher Robichaud, senior lecturer in ethics and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School recently told the Harvard Gazette:  “Most of us are, at best, experts in a tiny, tiny area. But we don’t navigate the world as if that were true. We navigate the world as if we’re experts about a whole bunch of things that we’re not… A little intellectual humility can go a long way.”

Public relations practitioners are infamous for creating smoke or fostering spin. We sometime have to magnify a small angle of a story to make it resonate. Smoke is another story. But coming off as a know-it-all is the kiss of death. If you can’t be honest, you shouldn’t be practicing PR.

This isn’t a call to arms or a treatise on ethics or moral dilemmas in the world in which we work. That’s not the point. It’s simply a great time to step back and examine our practices.

That much I know.
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"There are only two options. Make progress or make excuses."​

As we embark on our second month of our COVID-19 restrictions, this quote—from someone out there in the ether who didn’t want attribution—rings so true. This global crisis we’re facing has the potential to break some businesses, but it just might be an opportunity for others.

​We’re going with the second option.
 
It's our belief that businesses need nimble public relations/communications partners who are agile and savvy enough to drive results in any environment.

With that in mind, please allow us to re-introduce ourselves. We're Here and Now Public Relations (formerly Migdal/Underwood Consulting).

Rebranding a successful, 20+-year business during a pandemic is probably not going to resonate with all the business gurus and myriad consultants. But we are on it.

After all, we’re being told to batten down the hatches, hoard that toilet paper, bathe in hand sanitizer, and if you’re headed to the supermarket, you’re running a risk. We’re all being safe rather than sorry and yes, we follow all the rules and regulations in place, but we’re not about to stand still and wait for things to happen.

Or move is designed to shake things up and look closely at how we do things. Are we going to still work in client offices? Sure, if they’re open, we’ll be there. Are we going to travel to meetings? Absolutely. We love face-to-face communications (even if masks make it tricky to read facial expressions) and we'll learn that shoulder-handshake thing at some point. Heck, we're still hoping to design and produce media events that drive coverage and clicks in some way, shape or form..

But we are studying how we spend our time, where we spend our time, and the best ways to engage and enlighten desired audiences, influencers and the media. For example, with seemingly everyone working remotely, press events, even in a posh setting, better be real compelling, with a clear ROI for clients and invitees. Or will everything simply transform into virtual experience? We hope not, but we'll navigate anything that comes our way. We've done it for the 20+ years, so we clearly have our sea legs in this regard. 

In short, we're still open for business. We're thrilled that most of our clients are, too.

We look forward to talking with you soon remotely and one of these days, over a cup of coffee in a socially-distanced cafe. After all, this is new, new normal.

Take care.