Confused by the ethical/public relations dilemmas surrounding Gizmodo’s reporting on the lost/stolen iPhone? Fast Company has created a flowchart to help:
Month: April 2010
Tooley Elected to SafeHouse Denver Board
GroundFloor Media vice president & managing partner Ramonna Tooley has been elected to the Board of Directors of SafeHouse Denver. SafeHouse Denver serves victims of domestic violence and their children through both an emergency shelter and a non-residential Counseling and Advocacy Center.
Pope Joins Sarah Evans’ Sevans Strategy
Liz Pope has been named media and research manager at Sarah Evans’ Chicago-based Sevans Strategy. Pope will remain in Denver and consult with businesses on how to integrate social media into their public relations strategies. Pope formerly was PR and marketing manager at Scott Systems.
Twitter Vigilantes
Ahhh, delicious irony. The self-important Jacob Morse is profiled in the New York Times for spending his time “calling out the (grammar mistakes of the) self-important” on Twitter. In the spirit of Mr. Morse’s endeavor, I’m starting a “Name that Tweeter” contest to identify the authors of notable tweets. The first (and likely only) installment:
“Its impossible to eat sopapillas with hiney and not get sticky.”
Identify the author and you win lunch and a free Bawmann Group pen.
UPDATE: 5280 publisher Daniel Brogan correctly identified Andrew Hudson, publisher of the brand new Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List Blog, as the author of the Tweet. Andrew’s Tweet was quickly followed by a second one that read, “Arrrggg. I meant ‘honey,’ not ‘hiney.'”
Andrew Hudson’s New Blog
Denver jobs guru Andrew Hudson has launched a new blog focusing on career advice and insights – http://andrewhudsonsjobsblog.com/.
Foxes in the Henhouse
Is it just me, or does the idea of public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard teaching kids “how advertising works so they can make better, more informed choices” just make you laugh your ass off?
And if that doesn’t, how about this: A representative of FH’s client, the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission, defended the hiring, saying, “(FH) know(s) the tricks of the trade. We’re tapping into their expertise.”
What’s lesson No. 1?: “Advertisers shout lies. Public relations executives whisper them?”
PRSA Colorado to Honor Fuentes at ‘Gold Pick’ Awards
PRSA Colorado will pay tribute to Joe Fuentes at its annual Gold Pick Awards ceremony on Thursday, May 6. Joe, who lost his battle with cancer in March, was a longtime PRSA Colorado member and well-known in the Denver PR and media communities. According to PRSA Colorado, “The tribute to Joe will include a video featuring many of his friends and colleagues reminisremembering the five attributes he displayed daily throughout his life, including: professional excellence, community, mentorship, family and ethics/integrity.”
Following the video, Joe’s widow, Christine, and her family will present the “Joe Fuentes Rookie of the Year Award.” The award was renamed to honor Joe and will continue to be awarded annually at the awards ceremony. The tribute also will include a Coors toast in Joe’s memory as a nod to the 14 years he spent leading PR efforts for the Coors Brewing Company.
Off the Record?
Do you go “off the record” with journalists? Fifty percent of your colleagues do.
Denver Post Circulation Decline Greater than National Average
The bad news for newspapers continues. The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reports that domestic weekday newspaper circulation fell 8.7 percent over the past six months. Meanwhile, here in Colorado, the Denver Post reported a 10.2 percent weekday circulation decline over a year ago, which now puts it as the nation’s 14th largest newspaper in terms of weekday circulation.
Is PR a Stressful Job?
Occasionally. But if you are feeling stressed, CNBC explains why: “potentially hostile members of the media.”
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, the Competency & Credentialing Institute, Competitor Group, Fuel Team, Gambo, KPMG, Lumension, Westword, Vail Mountain, Orion Multimedia, National Opinion Research Center (Chicago) and O’Malley Hansen Communications (St. Louis).
Colorado Health Foundation Selects GroundFloor
The Colorado Health Foundation has selected GroundFloor Media as its agency of record. GroundFloor will support the foundation’s traditional and social media campaigns.
MGA Recognized for Philanthropy
Congratulations to MGA Communications, which was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as the 2010 ‘Partners in Philanthropy’ Small Business of the Year.
Seven Stupid Reasons to Hire a PR Agency
Aaron Kwittken of Kwittken & Co. compiles the list for Entrepreneur:
- You want to be on Oprah
- You want to spend less time on PR
- The agency is willing to take equity in lieu of cash
- It’s the least-expensive agency you could find
- Agency fees are on a per-media placement basis
- The agency is guaranteeing a minimum number of media placements
- You want media placements in the next 30 days
Free PR Tip of the Day
If you are the PR firm that signed singer Macy Gray to a $2,000-per-month contract and then let her run up a $43,000 tab without paying, well, you may be too stupid to be in public relations (and that’s a phrase I never thought I would type). Here’s a free PR tip: If your client hasn’t paid in 21 months, you should cut them off.
5280 Names New Art Director
5280 has hired award-winning designer David McKenna as art director. McKenna most recently worked at National Geographic Adventure, and his work has been recognized with a National Magazine Award nomination for General Excellence, as well as other honors including a Society of Publication Designers award and Folio’s Ozzie Award recognizing excellence in magazine redesign.
Preheim on ‘Late Show with David Letterman’
Congratulations to 9News anchor Cheryl Preheim, whose reporting on Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano was featured last night in a David Letterman bit, “Iceland Volcano Mispronunciation Roundup.“
Great Moments in Journalism XXVII
How many cockroaches does it take to freak out a weatherman meteorologist? Just one.
I Dare Someone to Try this ‘Stunt’ in Texas
If you are looking for a change of public relations scenery, you might try (and thrive in) New Zealand. Apparently, Australia’s little brother is a little behind the curve when it comes to public relations strategy. From the New Zealand Herald:
“A marketing stunt to promote a video game sparked an armed police callout after an actor pointed a fake gun at terrified pubgoers in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin.”
Rocky’s Flynn Accepts RTD Position
If you saw Dean Singleton cackling like a James Bond villain today, it is because highly respected former Rocky Mountain News reporter Kevin Flynn has taken a position with RTD as “public information project manager for the public-private partnership that is to build and operate trains to Denver International Airport and Arvada/Wheat Ridge, along with other FasTracks elements.” Flynn spent 27 years at the Rocky covering a host of beats, including transportation.
Bawmann Group Appoints Creative Director
The Bawmann Group has named Rich Martin as director of creative and interactive services.
AP Stylebook Catches up to 2003
Somebody buy Ef Rodriguez a drink: The AP Stylebook has officially changed the preferred usage of “Web site” to “website.”
WSJ: ‘PR Creates a Relationship, Marketing the Buzz’
A Wall Street Journal blogger examines the differences between public relations and marketing. If you need more clarification, see here.
Reason #2,321 Why I Wish Steve Jobs Had a Sense of Humor
Apple’s PR department is no doubt working hard this morning trying to rationalize why a Pulitzer Prize-winner cartoonist’s work is not acceptable content for its App Store.
Denver Magazine Names Associate Editor
Denver Magazine has named Nicole Frehsée associate editor. Frehsée formerly was an assistant editor at Rolling Stone, where she interviewed musicians ranging from Yoko Ono and 50 Cent to Kings of Leon and The Jonas Brothers. She also was a frequent television correspondent for Rolling Stone, appearing on CNN, Entertainment Tonight, E! and Fox Business.
Vladimir Jones Appoints Director of Emerging Brand Communications
Vladimir Jones has named Margaret Ebeling as Director of Emerging Brand Communications. Ebeling, who formerly was marketing director for Larimer Associates, “will serve as the agency’s lead for staying on top of emerging trends in the brand communications realm, further fulfilling the agency’s commitment to taking an integrated approach to client challenges and opportunities.”
Brand Iron Opens New RiNo Office
Brand Iron has officially moved into its new 3,000-square-foot digs in RiNo (2450 Larimer Street), just a few blocks from its old office in LoDo.
Philosophy Celebrates 9th Anniversary
Congratulations to Philosophy Communications, which is celebrating its 9th anniversary today.
The Problem with Today’s Journalism: You
What’s the problem with journalism today? Brent Cunningham of the Columbia Journalism Review and Alan C. Miller of the News Literacy Project argue that the Internet has moved you from a news consumer to a news gatekeeper, and that you aren’t paying enough attention to do that job effectively.
Expect Cost-cutting to Result in More Solo TV Anchors
Joanne Ostrow at the Denver Post has seen the future of Denver television news, and it does not include co-anchors such as Karen Leigh, Libby Weaver and Mark Koebrich. Instead, expect more of the 20-20-20 rule: “Hire 20-year-olds, pay them $20,000 a year and have them work 20-hour days.”
Denver PR Moves
- Dovetail Solutions added Amy Secor as marketing coordinator. Secor is a recent graduate of the University of Denver.
- Linhart PR added Lauren Cameron as an account associate. Cameron’s experience includes stints at Ogilvy and APCO Worldwide.
At Least Toyota’s Crisis Communications Team is Warmed Up
And the hits keep coming for Toyota. After months of terrible press about its unintended acceleration and braking problems, Consumer Reports today gave the Toyota-built Lexus GX 460 its once-in-a-decade “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” rating due to what it views as an unacceptably high risk of rollover.
Connect with Us … No, Wait, Go Away
B.L. Ochman at WhatsNextBlog examined the Web sites of America’s largest companies and found that “it would have taken Nancy Drew to find the company blog, or Facebook page, or Twitter feed, or all of its YouTube videos.” Why? Ochman suspects that companies “fear that they’ll lose control of their brand if too many people know they can have a say,” with Nestle a classic (and recent) example.
Journalism Execs May be Pessimistic About the Future …
… but let’s hope this isn’t a harbinger of things to come (of course, Rush Limbaugh probably considers moving from the New York Times to homelessness as a lateral career move).
Mint.com Credits PR for Success
Mint.com’s Jason Putorti credits public relations – and, more specifically, San Francisco’s Atomic PR – for the company’s meteoric growth and ultimate acquisition by Intuit.
Pew Reports Finds Journalism Execs Remain Pessimistic
The money quote from the summary of a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism in association with the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA):
“Fewer than half of all (journalism executives) surveyed are confident their operations will survive another 10 years – absent significant new sources of revenue. Nearly a third believe their operations are at risk in just five years or less. And many blame the problems not on the inevitable effect of technology but on their industry’s missed opportunities.”
Post’s Walker Wins Pulitzer
Congratulations to Denver Post photographer Craig Walker for his Pulitzer Prize for photography. Walker was recognized for his series, “Ian Fisher: American Soldier” that chronicled 27 months in the life of soldier Ian Fisher.
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are the American Cheese Society, Aspen Chamber of Commerce, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, Covidien, FoodServiceWarehouse.com, Nutrition Business Journal, Quiznos, The White House Project, Cricket Communications (San Diego), Glendive Ranger-Review (Glendive, Mont.), Kiewit Corp. (Omaha, Neb.), Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx (Minneapolis, Minn.), Smith Micro Software (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), SUPERVALU (Earth City, Mo.), and Weber Shandwick (Minneapolis, Minn.).
Steve Kroft: I’m Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take this Anymore
If any of you manipulative PR people have been pushing Steve Kroft and the gang at “60 Minutes” around, they respectfully request that you stop. Meanwhile, somewhere, Mike Wallace is rolling over in his grave on his couch.
Press Release of the Week
It was a good fundraising quarter for U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton, so much so that her communications staff rushed out a press release. The problem? It wasn’t quite finished.
(Hat tip: Colorado Pols)
DPC Appoints Lester, Shermer as Marketing/PR Co-Chairs
The Denver Press Club has named Philosophy Communications’ Jennifer Lester as the co-chair to the Club’s Marketing and Public Relations Committee. Lester will head the committee with co-chair Jennifer Shermer of Fransen Pittman.
Denver Agency Wins
- Metzger Associates has been retained by AC Golden Brewing Company, a subsidiary of MillerCoors, to help launch the company’s newest beer, Colorado Native.
- Cloud computing solutions provider LTech has selected Catapult PR-IR as its agency of record.
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are the Bureau of Reclamation, Encana, HealthTrans, Hitachi Consulting, ista, Janus, Merkle, MMG Mardkis, MWh, Pendum, Project C.U.R.E., Pure Brand and Rally Software.
PRSA Hosts ‘Young PR Professionals’ Event
Nothing makes you want to drink as much as landing your first job in public relations and seeing first-hand how the PR sausage is made (except maybe trying to find that first PR job). So, either way, head on over to the Ginn Mill bar at 2401 Larimer Street this Thursday from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. to attend PRSA Colorado’s Young Pros Event. The event is celebrating the formation of PRSA Colorado’s Young Professionals group that is designed to be a go-to resource for all young pros looking for peer-to-peer networking opportunities, professional development and a nontraditional mentorship experience. Click here for more details.
Knaus Launches 4degre.es
Zach Knaus has left MGA Communications to form 4degre.es, a full-service online communications firm that focuses on social-media marketing, search-engine optimization, Web design and public relations.
GroundFloor Inks Two New Clients, Welcomes Back Three More
GroundFloor Media has signed two new clients: Brassica (BroccoSprouts) and The Medical Center of Aurora. And after pausing their PR efforts in 2009, three former GroundFloor clients have renewed their relationships: Bellco Credit Union, Young Americans Center for Financial Education and Seattle-based Point B Solutions.
Coup at SE2
SE2 finally wised up and dumped partner Eric “Dead Weight” Sondermann. Said SE2 senior associate Olivia Gallegos, “His incessant afternoon naps and audible snoring deeply affected company morale and even productivity. We decided something had to be done.”
MGA Campaign Named One of the Best of the Decade
Congratulations to Denver’s MGA Communications and its client Rocky Mountain Arsenal, which were named one of the top five public relations campaigns of the past decade by the Holmes Report. MGA President Jeff Julin said, “We are so pleased to have our clients and their programs recognized by our peers. We realize how fortunate we are to have clients who give us the opportunity to partner with them on programs that have a positive impact on the community.”
The four other campaigns recognized were:
- Ketchum and Frito-Lay for encouraging customers to create a SuperBowl ad for Doritos.
- Liz Claiborne and its agency Patrice Tanaka & Company (now part of CRT/tanaka) for their long-running Women’s Work cause-related marketing program.
- The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for The Heart Truth campaign and its introduction of the Red Dress icon.
- Fleishman-Hillard and its support of SBC Communications, Yahoo! and Cingular Wireless for their efforts to help individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Denver Public Relations Blog 