http://www.boileaucommunications.com/index.php Boileau Communications Management was founded in 2005 by Randy Boileau, a communications expert with over 20 years experience in journalism, marketing and strategic public relations. en-us Copyright 2011 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/no_were_not_dead http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/no_were_not_dead When you haven't heard from us in a while, it's either because we've been very busy or not busy at all. Luckily for us, over the past few months, it's been the former. 2011-02-21T21:12:16+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/santa_delivers_in_an_example_of_great_customer_service http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/santa_delivers_in_an_example_of_great_customer_service OK, it wasn't really Santa, but it might as well have been as far as I'm concerned. 2010-12-20T14:33:45+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/walk_for_water http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/walk_for_water Yesterday we received a letter from our friend Bruce Okkema, who—with the help of the community—raised more than $114,000 for Water Missions International, an organization that supplies clean water to communities throughout the third world by providing them with water filtration systems. 2010-10-15T18:36:54+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/discovering_more_than_art_in_my_community http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/discovering_more_than_art_in_my_community School buses squeaked to a halt and 350 students tousled down their stairs. This unfolding sea of kids flooding downtown and moving toward ArtWalk Headquarters could make the bravest superheroes cower, but the artists, volunteers and coordinators of Grand Haven's ArtWalk decreed "Bring 'em on!" 2010-10-05T19:20:31+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/taking_print_online http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/taking_print_online We were all smiles this week with the launch of one of the most innovative projects we've ever had the opportunity to work on: the Holland Board of Public Works' interactive annual report. 2010-08-13T14:44:40+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/heard_on_the_street http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/heard_on_the_street We were happy to see this morning that Perrigo Company made its way into the Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” section. 2010-05-14T18:43:12+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/on_turning_twenty http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/on_turning_twenty C/D/H, a technology consulting firm in Grand Rapids, has been with us since we started six years ago. Last Thursday’s celebration marked their 20th anniversary. 2010-05-10T19:42:19+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/next_exit_fibertown http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/next_exit_fibertown Over the past month, you probably heard or read about (and hopefully nominated Holland for) Google's "Fiber for Communities" broadband experiment. The whole country went a little crazy; cities renamed themselves, elected officials risked freezing to death, and generally, everybody had a lot of fun. 2010-04-05T20:10:59+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/public_relations_wishes_for_2010 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/public_relations_wishes_for_2010 My Top 10 wish list of good PR that I hope can happen in 2010. 2009-12-31T16:37:16+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/having_fun http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/having_fun I hope that sooner or later everyone gets to work on a project that’s as much fun as the one we helped Perrigo launch this week. It’s a video called Talent Show, and its purpose is to help show prospective employees that Perrigo takes having fun seriously. 2009-10-16T00:12:44+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/3_common_problems http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/3_common_problems Lots of people claim to be experts on the “best practices” of web design, but the fact is that web design takes many shapes and forms, and a true best practices list would be 100 pages long, 960 pixels wide, and (according to most experts) a font size of approximately 15 points with a maximum line length of 85 characters – not to mention a budget too large to escape the boss’s eyes. So I’ll spare your eyes the 30 hours of reading, and do what we Millennials do best – tell you what people are doing wrong and what we would do differently if we were in charge. So lean back, grab a nice cup of Earl Grey and a sliver of lemon, and enjoy reading about three common problems in web design. 2009-08-28T20:28:54+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/on_the_water http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/on_the_water When I was back in journalism school I used to dream that some day I'd have a newspaper column in which I could write at large about the great outdoors. I finally made it. 2009-08-11T13:52:27+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/labor_day_1 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/labor_day_1 The great football coach Vince Lombari used to hate the passing game. In his mind there were only three things that could happen on a passing play, and two of them were bad. I have to admit that event planning sometimes feels the same way. 2009-07-22T18:43:53+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/van_wieren http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/van_wieren A flooded basement this week gave me a potent reminder of how important the little things are to building enduring customer loyalty. 2009-06-24T13:21:39+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/corotech http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/corotech Seeing a great piece on our client CoroTech in Reinforced Plastics is a tangible reminder that trade publications still matter--a lot. 2009-06-15T15:13:30+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/ghsp_double_header http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/ghsp_double_header It was great to see GHSP get some well deserved recognition this week, both at the local and national level. 2009-06-10T21:32:37+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/3d http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/3d Lots of elements go into creating a successful outcome for our clients. As diverse as those elements can be, nothing works well if we don't start with 3D. 2009-06-10T18:35:12+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/five_year_annivarsary http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/five_year_annivarsary Since its founding, the Holland-based public relations and business communications firm has quadrupled its revenues and grown from one to five full and part-time employees. The firm’s broad client base includes companies in pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, energy, legal services, technology consulting, healthcare, construction and non-profit organizations. “It’s been a great adventure for us,” said Randy Boileau, Boileau Communications’ founder. “We’ve been very pleased to survive and grow in our first five years, thanks entirely to the great clients we have the privilege to serve.” 2009-05-29T16:35:31+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/blazers http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/blazers One of our local watering holes, a sports pub named Blazer's, held a nifty promotion last night that I wish I would have thought of. Name Your Price night gave the pub's customers the right to decide how much they were willing to pay for their food. The results were interesting. 2009-05-20T19:30:54+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/more_chrysler_news http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/more_chrysler_news Chrysler's announcement that they're going to cut a quarter of their dealerships doesn't much qualify as news--everyone knew it was coming. Still, spend a few minutes thinking about more than just the raw numbers. Consider what those numbers mean, especially in small towns across America where a Dodge or Chrysler dealership is integrated into the fabric of the community. 2009-05-14T20:12:05+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/job_angels http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/job_angels I came across a great story in Workforce Management about a growing national movement called the "Job Angels." Made up of professional recruiters and other HR folks around the country, the Job Angels are regular people who are pitching in to help others who've lost their jobs--which is benefitting unemployed workers and employers nationwide. 2009-05-12T21:30:40+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/talk_about_bankruptcy http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/talk_about_bankruptcy Like everyone else in Michigan I've been paying close attention to the GM and Chrysler stories, and how they are playing out. One would have to imagine (or at least hope) that those companies are keeping their employees up to date on the events that are pushing them beyond any place they have ever been before. 2009-05-11T20:53:05+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/lessons_from_swine_flu http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/lessons_from_swine_flu We should take notes on the fact that a nasty bout of the flu sent the world into a breathless hysteria. 2009-05-08T13:28:38+00:00 http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/podcasts_rock http://boileaucommunications.com/index.php/story/stories/podcasts_rock Some things are better said. There may be a place for podcasts in your communications toolbox and putting one together is probably easier than you think. 2009-05-07T14:33:24+00:00