“I have never met a more creative or forward-thinking person than Ryan Ruud. He was wonderful to work with, always challenging those around him to do their best and think of better solutions to the problems presented. He has a firm grasp on what it takes to be a leader in digital media and his ambition is unmatched.”– Heather Kraabel, Leighton Broadcasting
“Ryan is one of those rare cats who is both excellent with strategy and execution. Freaking awesome guy to work with. Period.”
Robert Weber, Founder, Native X
“I recommend Ryan to any client or organization that is looking for enthusiasm, creativity, marketing smarts and commitment. He brings that every day. Ryan gave our non-profit the marketing energy we needed to grow. Simply put, without him it would not have happened”. – Mike Brunner, Director of Strategic Brand Planning, GEM Minneapolis
“Ryan brought a great deal of energy while working on our marketing messages and strategy to attract new customers. His insight into product definition and digital marketing was invaluable during a new product launch.” – John Wangaard, CTO, Four51, Inc.
“Combine a keen intellect with an amazing sense of humor, power it with social media and voila you have a stand out Social Media Extraordinaire – that’s Ryan! It was a true pleasure working with Ryan. I will miss his energy, expertise and passion, they are contagious.”
Lisa Nister, SVP Account Development, NativeX
“I worked with Ryan on a variety of marketing pieces for the City of Elk River. Ryan and LifeSpeaks media provided awesome, creative and cutting edge work for our community- we continue to receive compliments on them.”
Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Development, City of Elk River
“Dealing with PR contacts day to day, you begin to spot the special ones a mile off.
What made Ryan such a good source for PocketGamer.biz was that he always made sure we were fully involved with any news W3i had to break, without being pushy.
Even more impressively, rather than looking for blanket coverage and identical stories from each and every site he approached, Ryan encouraged any angle we employed and, as a result, ensured both us and our competitors managed to add something to W3i’s story, rather than merely report on it.
<
Perhaps most importantly, however, Ryan had the ability to connect with our writers. He always came to mind as a contact we could use if we needed a source for a particular story and, as a result, I like to think we were able to form a friendly working relationship – the kind many in PR simply overlook.
All in all, any company Ryan represents can only benefit from his talents, and can sit safe in the knowledge that he’s getting the right message out to the right people, in the right way.”
Keith Andrew, Editor, Pocketgamer.biz
“He has an uncanny ability to find the best opportunities to get PR for our company.”
– Matt Brauchler, Senior Systems Administrator, W3i
“It has been very exciting watching him take our company to the forefront of all meaningful conversations and networks in our space.”
– Chris Brama, Vice President, Business Development, Argentum
“He was evaluated as the best guest speaker and overall session of the 14 weeks!!! It was fantastic. [Ryan] shared his knowledge of current social media applications as well as pros and cons for business and personal. His style was welcoming and he could answer questions in layman terms.”
– Sara Braziller, University of St. Thomas
“Ryan is a social media guru! He helped me (and many others in the newsroom) become more savvy.”
– Katie Hamner, Executive Producer KSTP-TV (Hubbard Broadcasting)
“Ryan’s work ethic and performance are impeccable. I can completely recommend Ryan for any position, he is very reliable and has a great amount of drive.”
– JJ Holiday, Program Director, Leighton Broadcasting