Filed under: PR Moves
- Denver Public Schools Foundation named Natalie Wilkins communications director; Wilkins joins the DPSF from SafeHouse Denver.
- Schenkein hired Sara Antonio as account director, promoted Bridget Ford and Sasha Harrell to senior account executives, and promoted Lana Jefferson Taussig, Abbey O’Neal and Melissa Miller to account executives;
- Turner Public Relations hired Jordan Blakesley as publicist. Blakesley joins Turner from LeGrand Hart.
- Fentress Architects hired Jennifer Ito to manage public relations and business development. Ito formerly was executive director of the Foothills Art Center.
- Colorado State University appointed Michele McKinney to manage public relations in the Denver area. McKinney joins CSU from the University of Colorado, where she was director of communications and spokesperson for the CU System and the Office of the President.
- The Heedum Agency hired Julie Dunn as a senior account manager. Dunn formerly was a Denver Post business reporter.
Filed under: Journalism Moves
Denver ad shop McClain Finlon is rumored to have notified more than 100 of its 170 staffers last week that they will be terminated in February when the Qwest account officially ends. The number seems a little high given that AdWeek estimates that Qwest represented 30 percent of the agency’s business.
The Rocky Mountain News has named Richard Scharf, head of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, as its “Businessperson of the Year.” He gets the nod because of the “bureau’s performance with Scharf at the reins,” according to the Rocky. Among his successes: record numbers of conventions in Denver for three years running, successfully pushing for a lodging tax to double the bureau’s annual marketing budget to $15 million, and improvements to the bureau’s internal culture.
The runners-up for the award were Mitch Ackerman of the Service Employees International Union’s Colorado Council, Tom Marisco of Marsico Funds, Charlie Monfort of the Colorado Rockies, and Auden Schendler of Aspen Skiing Co.
Filed under: Weber Shandwick
Leslie Gaines-Ross of Weber Shandwick researched the number of times the phrase “the company declined to comment” appeared in media during the past 11 years. Surprisingly, it has doubled since 2000. Clearly, many companies do not understand that “no comment” is usually associated with presumptive guilt.
Filed under: Journalism Moves
Filed under: CP+B
News Corp.’s decision to sell eight of its Fox affiliates — including KDVR/Fox 31 in Denver – could result in cuts to the station’s management and news staff. Oak Hills Capital Partners acquired the eight stations to include in its Local TV LLC venture with the Tribune Co. The venture will provide “shared services” for all the Local TV LLC stations, and “produce savings in management, technology and other overhead costs,” according to the Chicago Tribune. Randy Michaels, who has been tapped to lead Local TV LLC, told Variety, “We are going to find new ways to operate smarter, cheaper and more efficiently.”
The deadline to enter the 2007 SABRE Awards is Jan. 22 (the entry form is here). Last year’s winners included MGA Communications for its campaign, “Avenue of Change: Launching the Inaugural Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon.”
Sad news – Westword co-founder and former Denver Post reporter Sandra Widener and her politically connected husband, John Parr, were killed in a Wyoming traffic accident this weekend.
Filed under: Layoffs, McClain Finlon | Tags: Draftfcb, Jeff Smith, McClain Finlon, Qwest, Rocky Mountain News
Jeff Smith at the Rocky Mountain News reports that Denver ad firm McClain Finlon is expected to layoff an undetermined number of staffers in February due to the loss of Qwest Communications’ consumer account. Chicago-based Draftfcb announced several weeks ago that it had won the Qwest account, which is reported to be worth $95 million annually. AdWeek estimates that Qwest represented 30 percent of McClain Finlon’s total business, so dozens of staffers could be affected.
Filed under: PR Moves | Tags: Denver, Hickenlooper, Marketing, Steve Sander
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has appointed marketing veteran Steve Sander as the city’s new strategic marketing director. He will work on various initiatives related to economic development, tourism and the delivery of city services. Sander has more than 30 years experience at firms such as Sander Marketing, Sander/GBSM, Karsh & Hagen, and Barnhart Advertising.
Lynn Bronikowski, Mark Eddy, Anna Osborn, Ernest Gurule, Michelle Ames and Sharon Sherman are all Denver media types who successfully made the jump to public relations. They may have a lot more company from former colleagues at the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News. Westword reports on a group called “The Jump” that is helping journalists who fear continued downsizing make the move to PR.
No. 1 on the list: a Victoria’s Secret giftcard.
Filed under: Denver Post, Pitches | Tags: Al Lewis, Denver Post, Marketing Sherpa
- “I probably bite on about 2 percent of the pitches that come my way.”
- “I like irony. I like controversy. … I like raging success and spectacular failures.”
Colorado State won the 2007 PR Nonprofit Award for Media Relations at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The school was recognized for its campaign to gain increased coverage in Denver media.
Filed under: Linhart | Tags: InterMountain, Linhart, Worldcom Public Relations Group
Seattle-based consulting firm Point B Solutions Group has selected GroundFloor Media to develop a national strategic public relations plan. No word on the value of the deal.
