PUBLIC RELATIONS PROS OFFER FREE STRATEGY SESSIONS TO HELP BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

San Diego-based Falcon Valley Group joins Gray Public Relations in launching “Back to Business” initiative with complimentary strategy sessions

East County News Service

April 15, 2020 (San Diego) -- The disruption to businesses from the coronavirus pandemic is staggering. According to a Goldman Sachs survey of 1,500 business owners, 96 percent say they have been impacted by the outbreak. Only 13 percent feel confident about their contingency plans to maintain business. Fifty-three percent say their employees do not have the ability to telecommute, and 51 percent say their business cannot operate beyond three months.

Public relations and communications professionals from across the U.S. including San Diego have joined forces to offer support through a new initiative, “Back to Business.” Business owners will be matched with an agency volunteering a complimentary strategy session to assist them in addressing their most pressing challenges both during and after the pandemic.

Among the participants is San Diego base strategic communication consultant Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, Fellow PRSA, owner of Falcon Valley Group. “This is not the time for businesses and organizations to run silent,” said Falkenthal. “This is the time to work on new ways to communicate with customers and reposition their organization for a comeback in the post COVID-19 era. Only the prepared will survive. A smart communication strategy is a must.”

Participants are all members of Solo PR Pro, a professional membership group of independent public relations consultants and boutique and micro-agency owners. “There was overwhelming support for the initiative,” said Amy Kovar, owner of Franklin, Tennessee-based integrated marketing communications firm Gray Public Relations and the leader of “Back to Business.”  “We are coming together to do what we do best: guide others with best practices and ideas for lessening their company’s financial impact during this time.”

Business owners interested in taking part in the initiative should email  BacktoBusiness@graypr.com. They will be asked to complete a short questionnaire identifying their most pressing needs, and match them with an agency best equipped to assist.

Participating PR and marketing agencies: Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, Falcon Valley Group (San Diego, California), Empowered Public Relations (Long Beach, California), Grassfed Media (Arlington, Virginia), Gray Public Relations (Franklin, Tennessee), Jemef Public Relations (Reston, Virginia), Karen Couf Cohen Public Relations (Franklin, Michigan), Open Road Communications (St. Louis, Missouri), 1L Communications LLC (Wilton, Connecticut), Pinkerton Public Relations, (Atlanta), Rorex Marketing (Thompson’s Station, Tennessee), Steigman Communications (Washington D.C.), Thought Bubble Communications (New York), and VoiceMatters (Souderton, Pennsylvania). For more information, contact BacktoBusiness@graypr.com.