BUFFALO — Former Niagara County Public Information Officer Christian W. Peck has opened up a new public relations firm based in Western New York.
Excelsior Strategies, committed to providing what its founder calls “scalable solutions that allow small businesses, local governments, not-for-profits, community groups and candidates for local public office to have their unique voices heard” is headquartered on Delaware Avenue.
The firm is helmed by Peck, who boasts more than 15 years working in public relations and communications — most notably a decade-long run as the official spokesperson for Niagara County’s government. Peck left his $71,843 job with Niagara County in August of 2018. Peck has been consulting for several local political leaders over the past year and decided to launch Excelsior Strategies in response to a marketplace need.
“What I noticed working in PR all these years is that the big companies, the large organizations can have an in-house communications team, but there are a lot of growing businesses, and plenty of governments and not-for-profits out there, that are operating lean and being responsible with their budgets but still have a need for help with messaging,” Peck said. “Our goal at Excelsior Strategies is to help them get their message out, to help them articulate what they stand for, and to help them compete.”
Excelsior Strategies will work with clients of all sizes to develop the right media relations, crisis communications, internal messaging, and reputation management solutions to meet their needs. Peck, who has worked with political leaders on both sides of the aisle since leaving his communications role at the Niagara County Courthouse, noted his firm is politically independent.
“Most people enter public service because they want to make their communities — the places where they live — into better, more prosperous places,” Peck said. “We’re excited to work with anyone who’s trying to make a difference, regardless of the ‘R’ or the ‘D’ next to their name.”
The public relations firm and its founder are members of the Public Relations Society of America, the American Association of Political Consultants, the Social Media Association, the Niagara USA Chamber, and the Chamber of Commerce Niagara Falls, Canada.
“I’ve enjoyed a long and mutually respectful relationship with Western New York’s media, and I look forward to carrying those relationships into this new role,” Peck said. “Having started my career as a newspaper reporter, I understand and appreciate the needs of professional journalists, and I want to help them accurately report on stories impacting my clients.”
Excelsior Strategies is located at 534 Delaware Ave., Suite 438, in the historic Becker Mansion. The firm’s web address is excelsiorstrategies.com, and they can be reached by telephone at (716) 466-6466.
