Local PR firm celebrates 25 years with rebranding

The oldest public relations firm in Williamson County started in the bonus room of a house in Redwing Meadows. Now, as it celebrates its 25th birthday, the company operates out of corporate offices, representing major brands like PGA of America, Durango Boots and Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival.

Mike and Tiffany Alday took the fast track into entrepreneurship. Mike had worked as a public relations intern in college and spent three years after graduation pursuing PR experience in Nashville before deciding to begin his own venture with his wife in Williamson County. Thus, in 1994, Alday Communications was born.

For a young firm, the Aldays had already found great clients in Georgia Boot and Durango Boot, which eventually came together under Rocky Brands — a client to this day — Arnold Palmer Golf Company and others.

Having been married for four years and raising two young kids, working at home was a suitable, though sometimes hectic, solution. But as business grew, so did the Alday team, and the firm moved into an office full-time.

The Aldays credit their local roots and community involvement with much of their early success, as they quickly gained connections through friends, coworkers and local organizations, which led them to major clients — PGA, Battle Ground Academy and, most recently, Williamson Medical Center.

To this day, community remains a priority to the couple. Mike is on the Williamson, Inc. board of directors, is currently going through Leadership Franklin and helped found local nonprofit Franklin Tomorrow and the Downtown Franklin Rotary Club.

While the Aldays certainly stay involved in the community out of passion for Williamson County, Mike explained their immersion in the local scene has certainly become part of their appeal.

“We’re deep in this community,” he said. “Our elected officials — if you need to talk to them, we can call them. If you’re trying to find the right charities to connect to, we can do it because we know them, they know us.”

These connections certainly benefited one local client, which began working with the firm in 2018 after a bit of a low point in its run — Pilgrimage Festival. After months of anticipation around a lineup featuring Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Lionel Richie and Brandi Carlile, most of the festival was canceled due to thunderstorms, and communication issues funneled disappointed fans into a cloud of negative social media feedback.

Enter Alday team members, who helped the festival team mend, develop and strengthen relationships with the Franklin community so it could return in 2019 with a bang — unrelated to thunder.

“We engaged with the Alday team to help us strengthen our roots in Franklin through better communications and community involvement,” said Brandt Wood, Pilgrimage Festival co-founder. “There’s no way we can quantify the value that they brought to us, which was instrumental in our great comeback year in 2019. They really know this market.”

However, the firm also touts its national scope, as it not only represents brands from Texas, Ohio, Florida and beyond, but it has also worked to put its clients, big and small, on the national radar, helping them reach huge platforms like USA Today, FOX News, NASCAR and more.

As Williamson County continues to grow, the couple foresees their national connections expanding with it.

“We see a potential where we wouldn’t have to necessarily go out and start pitching for other big, national companies because there’s big, national companies moving to Williamson County,” Tiffany Alday said.

The couple also explained a big part of their company is transparency in their limitations.

The Aldays represent a wide variety of brands, but they admit some things are not in their wheelhouse, and they hope this reputation of honesty will serve them well in the future through referrals and word-of-mouth.

“We learned long ago that, if we’re not the right fit, we need to say it up front, because it’s only going to be a nightmare and not good for everybody,” Mike Alday said. “I’d rather help somebody get what they really need.”

As Alday Communications reaches the 25-year benchmark, it’s rebranding itself as Alday Public Relations, launching a new website and heralding a new slogan: “Local roots. National connections. Lasting relationships.”

Mike Alday explained 2019 was a great year for the team, which is bigger than it has ever been at 12 employees, but they are chugging along into 2020, hoping to build on their success and not simply rest on their laurels.

“We cannot relax, because things change quickly,” he said. “So [we are] just continuing to be out in front and look for new things, … and hopefully that does mean adding people and continuing to employ more people in the county here.”

To learn more about the newly renamed Alday Public Relations, visit aldaypr.com.