Subway is playing defense once again after a study found that the sandwich chain’s oven-roasted chicken is actually only 50 percent chicken.
To be fair, this issue isn’t as bad as when it made a pedophile the face of its franchise, but it is worse than when its lawyers made the argument that the name “footlong sandwich” wasn’t meant to indicate that the sandwich would be a foot long.
Option A: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for telling a group of elementary school kids that women should be seen but not heard:
“All my young boys, stand up. The ladies, sit down. But all my boys, stand up. We strong, right? We strong! We strong, right? … But the ladies, they’re supposed to be silent, polite, gentle.”
Option B: The principal of Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg, Fla., who invited Winston to speak to the kids knowing that his background includes a shoplifting conviction, a suspension for screaming vulgarities, being detained by police for squirrel hunting on the Florida State University campus and being accused of rape in a winding investigation that resulted in FSU paying a $950,000 settlement to the alleged victim.
Jennifer Kaplan at Bloomberg reports on the PR contortions companies are performing in our highly politically charged political environment:
“Consumers are holding brands accountable as though they were political candidates, and they’re voting again and again,” said Micho Spring, head of global corporate practice at Weber Shandwick, a public relations firm that handles crisis management. A Weber Shandwick study, set to be released Wednesday, found that 57 percent of top executives believe that boycotts can affect a company’s bottom line. The survey polled more than 1,000 executives and 2,100 consumers around the globe last year, just as Donald Trump was wrapping up the Republican nomination on his way to the White House.
Cactus has retained Colorado Lottery and added CommunityAmerica Credit Union as clients. Cactus will provide a variety of services including public relations, strategic planning, creative development, media planning and buying, digital, SEO marketing and analytics.
Michael Roberts at Westword reports that rumors are swirling that 9News will continue to dramatically reduce its sports staff following the departure of Drew Soicher:
“… an industry source shared a rumor with Westword that 9News expected to pare its sports staff down to former Denver Post reporter Mike Klis and a couple of MMJs — which in this context means multi-media journalists who serve as their own camera operators — and allow the contract of Rod Mackey, another veteran sports anchor, to expire.”
9News President & GM Steve Carter is denying those reports. Interestingly, Carter also says that Soicher has landed at 9News sister station 12News (NBC) in Phoenix.
The Colorado Business Committee for the Arts has named Christin Crampton Day as its new Executive Director:
“Crampton Day brings a strong background in communications, fundraising, management, and strategic planning having been co-owner at Schenkein and, most recently, Senior Director of Public Relations at Barnhart. She was also Executive Director of Ballet Nouveau Colorado. Crampton Day is a life-long advocate for the arts, serving on the Colorado Ballet Board of Trustees for 13 years, among numerous other volunteer leadership roles. A graduate of CBCA’s inaugural Leadership Arts class, Crampton Day was honored with CBCA’s Cultural Leadership Award in May, 2016.”
Crampton Day formerly was senior director of Public Relations at Barnhart, and before that was co-owner at Schenkein.
It hasn’t been a very good month for the University of Colorado and Colorado State University athletic departments. Both CU head football coach Mike MacIntyre and CSU head basketball coach Larry Eustachy are facing allegations related to charges of abuse.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel has threatened to sue Colorado State Sen. Ray Scott after he tweeted that one of its recent articles was “fake news.”
Jay Seaton, the (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel) publisher, in an editorial over the weekend, said the tweet from the Senator is “a false character assassination that can’t go unchallenged.” … As of Tuesday, it is unclear if the newspaper will actually go through with the suit.
The odds of poaching the lucrative Outdoor Retailer show from Utah seem to have gotten pretty good, the Salt Lake Tribune reports:
Several outdoor gear companies followed Patagonia’s lead and announced Thursday and Friday that they would no longer attend the Outdoor Retailer shows in Salt Lake City to protest public-lands positions promoted by Utah’s elected officials, led by Gov. Gary Herbert. …
Organizers announced last week that they were seeking proposals from other cities for the twice-yearly shows, a move largely in reaction to the persistent opposition to the newly designated Bears Ears National Monument from Utah leaders. …
Vermont-based Ibex Outdoor Clothing says it will attend with a reduced team and budget, channeling funds instead to the Conservation Alliance Public Lands Defense Fund and leaving its booth early to protest.
“Outdoor Retailer cannot stay in Utah,” stated Ted Manning, Ibex’s CEO. “And until it moves out of the state, we as a company are taking decisive action to stand up for our public lands and conservation.”
President Trump has his eyes on potential 2020 Democratic campaign opponents, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is on that short list. The New York Post reports:
The White House is already tracking which Democrats could challenge President Trump in 2020 and Gov. Cuomo and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand aren’t on the list, sources told The Post.
Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, asked consultants to scour the backgrounds of four outspoken Democrats — Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, two sources close to the administration said. …
Hickenlooper, who founded a brewery before becoming governor of the Western swing state, is seen as a less-combative rising star, the sources said.
But the White House’s “biggest fear” is that Cuban, a billionaire businessman, would run because he can appeal to Republicans and independents, the sources said.
The United States Tennis Association was forced to apologize this weekend after it accidentally performed Germany’s Nazi-era national anthem at the opening ceremonies of the 2017 Fed Cup in Hawaii.
Sewald Hanfling Public Affairs has added Brittany Morris Saunders as president of local affairs. Morris Saunders formerly was senior vice president for economic development and public affairs at the Downtown Denver Partnership .
Two Denver agencies – digital strategy agency Relish Studio and tech and healthcare branding and digital agency Anabliss – have merged. The combined business will retain the name Relish Studio and will provide digital strategy, branding, design, development, mobile integration and traffic generation services to clients in Denver and nationally.
“This merger represents a positive move for both firms,” said Stuart Swineford, Co-Founder and CMO of Relish Studio. “In this era of digital marketing, it is important to be nimble and responsive to the changing needs of our clients. Combining our resources creates more offerings which will help better serve our expanded market.”
Robert Tonsing, Jr., the former public relations director at Martin Marietta and the man who was instrumental in bringing RTD light rail to Denver, died. He was 86.
Western State Colorado University (yes, that is a real school – I Googled it) is dealing with a brewing public relations crisis. As Kirk Mitchell at The Denver Post reports:
Western State Colorado University president Greg Salsbury has been accused in a federal lawsuit of making discriminatory remarks about black employees when he was executive vice president of a large insurance company with offices in Denver.
According to a federal civil discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, Salsbury allegedly stated that an Atlanta satellite office of Jackson National Life Insurance Company was moved to Denver in 2007 because the worker pool in Atlanta was too black.
Among the winners, according to AdAge:
Honda’s “Yearbooks” Commercial:
Bai’s “Gentleman” Commercial:
SquareSpace’s “JohnMalkovich.com” Commercial:
The Denver Press Club will bestow its 2017 Damon Runyon Award on David Simon, creator of “The Wire” and a former Baltimore Sun journalist. The event is Friday, March 31, at the Denver Athletic Club. Tickets are $125 – $150.
Who are the most influential Denver reporters/anchors on social media? An analysis by social media analytics firm Share Rocket offers this list:
Issues management firm Pac/West has promoted Mark Truax to vice president. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s presence in the Rocky Mountains and helping with projects across the country. Truax previously was senior director of political affairs for the firm.
Boom Broadcast announced it has completed three new public service announcements:
With less than two months in distribution, these three PSAs have already generated over 25,000 airings on over 600 networks/stations with over $10 million in donated ad revenue.
Denver Public Relations Blog 