Internet Marketing, Distribution and Revenue Measurement
Social Media Marketing
Co-Founders of Online Revealed Canada
A Couple of Chicks Guide to Optimizing Your Presence on the Web
Alicia Whalen and Patricia Brusha are the co-founders and principals of A Couple of Chicks.Com an internet marketing, distribution and revenue measurement company. After 8 years developing search engine strategies and measuring online return on investment for large branded hotels, resorts and destination portal websites in Niagara Falls Canada, Alicia partnered with Patricia Brusha to develop an integrated, non-intimidating approach to Internet Marketing and Web strategy.
Brusha spent 26 years working in the hospitality industry in the United States and Canada in the fields of sales, hotel marketing , internet distribution and revenue management. Brusha is also a Google-approved Qualified Google Advertising Professional and has extensive experience managing SEO and paid online advertising strategies for a variety of clients. Patricia has also been on numerous industry panels including the Hotel Association of Canada Conference, Tourism Quebec Annual Conference, Yahoo! Canada Workshop Series, Canada e-Connect, the Search Engine Strategy Conference and the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference.
They are co-founders of the first and only Online Marketing Conference in Canada dedicated to educating tourism professionals about marketing online – Online Revealed Canada. The conference provides practical hands on education, training and services for the hospitality industry and beyond through web strategy programs, consulting, workshops, speaking engagements, articles and a blog.
Past supporters include Yahoo! Canada, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) and brands such as Marriott, Travelzoo, Google, TripAdvisor and Orbitz. Online Revealed and A Couple of Chicks have recently formed a strategic partnership with Big Picture Conferences to produce the annual event which enters its fifth year in 2010.
A Couple of Chicks also educate about Search Engine Optimization and Online Marketing best practices with their popular Get Cracking e-Marketing workshops. Speaking engagements include Travel Alberta, B.C. Tourism Industry Conference, SYTA (Student Youth Travel Association) and TIANS (Tourism Industry of Nova Scotia), Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce, Grey-Bruce Annual Tourism Summit, the PhocusWright Conference and the Illinois Governors Annual Conference on Tourism.
Having both the experience in the tourism industry, as well as in internet marketing, the “Chicks” knew they had the magic formula of drive technology know how, love for tourism and passion for education to make A Couple of Chicks e-Marketing “fly”- even as many questioned the decision to form a business solely around marketing on the internet. (Especially with a company name like “A Couple of Chicks!”)
Known for their flare for fun, the Chicks’ along with their team have worked with over 70 active clients including Marriott International, Tourism Nova Scotia, Niagara Falls Tourism, New Castle Hotels and Resorts, and Yahoo! Canada in just four years. They have managed online marketing campaigns and search engine optimization programs for clients such as Travel Alberta, Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism, The Sports Museum of America (NYC), Niagara Economic and Tourism Co., the Shaw Festival Theatre and more.
The Chicks Blog ideahatching.com has become a passion for Alicia who along with the “other” chick Patricia, has been quoted in publications such as “Hotelier” Magazine and in the Globe and Mail. The Chicks have also created an online shopping site where fans can buy all things “Chicks!”
The Chicks have been recognized by their industry colleagues being honoured with a Pinnacle Award as Supplier of the Year 2008 from Hotelier magazine. Alicia Whalen was also awarded Entrepreneur of the year for Niagara in 2008. They also were ranked #39 on the Profit Top 50 emerging companies in Canada in 2009, as well as being included in the top ten women entrepreneurs in the country for Profit magazine. Profit magazine has also listed them in the top 100 companies in Canada as part of their Profit 100 2009 list. Patricia Brusha has been named by Click! Weekly as one of the top 40 online marketing innovators in Canada for her dedication and passion to the her craft. And both being entrepreneurs with families to raise, they were included in the top 25 women entrepreneurs in Canada for 2009 by Mompreneur magazine.
The first in a series of books on online marketing was published in May 2009 titled Online Marketing Revealed: A Couple of Chicks Guide to Optimizing Your Presence on the Web which can be purchased online.
