Views from the West – A blog about public relations & social media in the Rocky Mountains

Michele Wells, senior counselor

Entrepreneurial ventures have always been a key driver of the Rocky Mountain economy, and they’re one of the reasons we’ve weathered the economic downturn better than most regions in the U.S. Now is the time for the Rocky Mountain’s most winning entrepreneurs to stand up and be recognized.

We’re helping get the word out about Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) program, now in its 24^th year. In June, Rocky Mountain award winners and finalists get to rub shoulders with their peers at an awards ceremony held at Denver’s Grand Hyatt hotel downtown. And, the regional award winners are feted with their peers from around the U.S. at the Entrepreneur of the Year gala, hosted by Jay Leno in Palm Springs next November.

From a pool of about 60 applicants, finalists are chosen based on at least three years of extraordinary business success in innovation and financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and local communities. A panel of independent judges comprised of local business owners, including past award winners and civic and academic leaders reviews the confidential nominations and selects the winners.

The nomination process isn’t that arduous, and if you know someone who deserves to be recognized, urge him or her to fill out the form. The Ernst & Young EOY team in Denver will guide would-be applicants through the process. Nominations must be received by March 19, and you may access the nomination form here.

More complete details and contact information may also be found in the news release posted on the JohnstonWells Web site.

Gina Seamans, APR, senior counselor

We love Valentine’s Day.

Perhaps you already know about our long-standing tradition of sending a valentine to our dearest clients, friends and community members. This year is no different. You can view the JohnstonWells valentine here.

While working on our valentine this year, I realized that I don’t know much about the history of Valentine’s Day. In less than 14 seconds, I was browsing History.com learning more about this favorite holiday.

There are a few competing legends that connect St. Valentine with love, but let’s just say valentines have been around for a very long time. So long, in fact, that the “modern” tradition of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 began around 498 A.D. People in France and England believed that Feb. 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which led to commemorating a day of romance during the middle of February.

The oldest recorded valentine is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. You can find this ancient valentine at the British Library in London.

Valentines Day didn’t cross the pond until the early 1700s, when lovers began exchanging hand-made valentines. It took nearly a century for an entrepreneur to realize the commercial potential. Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America in 1847. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures.

Today, more than one billion valentines are sent each year, according to the Greeting Card Association. The holiday is celebrated in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

And one more interesting tidbit: women purchase 85 percent of the valentines, but men spend twice as much as women on Valentine’s Day gifts.

As it should be.

Lee Bley, associate

Stress.

What does stress mean to you? For me, it can be positive or negative. Stress can be the exciting feeling before a big presentation, an unexpected adventure or even a first date. Negative stress, the one most of us are more familiar with, tends to do with finances, our careers, relationships and numerous other little inconveniences (cold weather, bad traffic, dirty laundry).

I recently attended a meeting for the LoDo Young Professionals. The topic was, “Why Is Stress Killing You?”  That question alone was enough to make me run for the door, but I figured I’d stay and finish my glass of wine.

Dr. James Turnbull, a local chiropractor, provided a run-down on what stress does to our bodies and explained why the stress we experience is far more destructive than say, the stress a zebra faces.

Although we are neighbors in the animal kingdom with animals like the zebra, their stress never varies, therefore, they adapt. Run from a lion, eat grass, and sleep – sounds manageable enough. Humans’ stress comes in all different forms and at all different times, which means we are constantly trying to adapt to these stresses. Stress creates a “fight or flight” response in our bodies, which then affects our cortisol, adrenal glands and adrenalin.

Basically, the super-non-scientific version of this information is, when stress constantly changes our chemical make-up, it can result in negative long-term health implications, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few.

The signs of stress may be easier to spot than you think – trouble falling or staying asleep, dependency on caffeine, weak nails, and weight gain. All of these could mean your body is reacting negatively to stress.

So, what to do? Exercise, meditation, yoga and rest are a few ways to help you fight stress. We’ve noted some of our favorite ways to destress. Take a peek, and de-stress.

http://www.corepoweryoga.com/

http://www.puravidaclub.com/nectar_spa_denver.html

http://www.14ers.com/

http://www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/parksandrecreation

Michele Wells, senior counselor

I spent two fattening days at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last week. When I wasn’t helping Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy sample their popular Colorado goat cheeses, I walked the floor, tasting farmstead and artisanal cheeses, chocolates, teas, coffees, charcuterie, jams, olives, yogurts, pates and other delicacies. In a one-hour spin through the South Hall, I sampled the best specialty foods from Italy, France, Egypt, India, China, Canada, Australia, Spain and the U.S.

The toughest part of all this tasting is taste-bud burnout. I’ve learned from past Fancy Food Shows to taste the subtle items, such as toasted barley tea and skyr (a yummy non-fat strained yogurt) early in the day, then work my way up to the goat, cow and sheep cheeses, prosciutto, Iberian ham and pate. I usually do my chocolate-tasting as I’m leaving the show. Tough schedule, I know.

The word from retailers I met is that business is strong, despite the crummy economy. Many attribute this to the increase in home entertaining. When you’re not paying restaurant prices for wine and food, it’s easy to justify $20 for a wedge of aged Gouda or some artisanal salumi. And, entrepreneurship in the specialty food world has spawned all kinds of new products, especially from American producers.

Though this used to be a show exclusively for the trade, the general public is now invited. The cost this year was $35 in advance, an amazing deal, and a good reason to visit San Francisco in January when much of the country is cold and dreary.  Now, I’m heading out to see if I can find a piece of my favorite from the show: Willapa Hills’ Two Faced Blue – a wonderful aged blue cheese made from a mix of sheep and cow milk. Bon appétit!

Gwinavere Johnston, CEO

Remember when Johnson & Johnson was such a revered company after they removed Tylenol from all drug and grocery shelves because someone had tampered with it, putting cyanide in some bottles? That was 1982.

Today, Johnson & Johnson is accused of knowingly using contaminated containers for Tylenol, Rolaids and several other over-the-counter drugs it manufactures. What’s more, the company is also under investigation for taking kickbacks for the sale of certain drugs. Here’s the Wall Street Journal summary:

“Federal prosecutors alleged that Johnson & Johnson paid one of the nation’s largest pharmacies serving nursing homes ‘tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks’ to increase sales of drugs, including blockbuster antipsychotic Risperdal.

Prosecutors charged in a complaint filed in federal court in Boston on Friday that J&J illegally paid Omnicare to get the pharmacy company to buy J&J medicines and recommend their use to nursing homes. Omnicare purchases nearly tripled to $280 million, prosecutors alleged.”

These charges make us wonder how a corporation can go from publicly idolized to being accused of and investigated for being dishonest on at least two fronts.

Can a culture or leadership change so easily shift a reputation from positive to negative? Does the CEO set the tone that in one era the company leads the way in product recalls and in another double deals and knowingly puts contaminated containers in the market?

Ah, reputation, how quickly it can change.

Elizabeth Jumel, APR, senior counselor & social media manager

For all of us in public relations, we should have a high Klout score, right? (Don’t know what your Klout score is? Visit klout.com to enter your Twitter handle and see your score.) But, is a score really what matters when gauging the value of social media? Or, is it the raw numbers, like how many followers or fans you have, that matter most?

Many of Denver’s 2010 PR predictions mention the increasing importance of social media measurement, as do numerous articles, like this one written by Amber Naslund, director of community relations for Radian6. Amber suggests it’s not about counting, but more about what it is you actually want to accomplish with social media.  Doing things like setting measurable objectives and committing to a social media strategy that makes sense for your business (not just makes sense because it is social media) are a couple of suggestions. Sounds a lot like what traditional PR programs do to evaluate success.

In the end, we really have to answer why. Why are you using Twitter for your company? Why is a Facebook fan page important to your customers? Let’s have our social media measured for its strategic purpose (brains), more so than its stats (beauty).

Gwinavere Johnston, CEO

I’ve always said hope is not a strategy, but perhaps it can be.  As we begin another new decade, our mission should be to restore optimism.

The public relations profession is generally made up of optimists.  We believe that improving an organization’s relationships leads to what so many corporations and non-profits need today – a solid reputation. That’s a reasonable hope, right?

Our optimistic view does not allow for inauthentic representations, however. We don’t whitewash, greenwash or tell anything but the truth.  A corporation’s reputation is conveyed through its behavior.

Reputation comes from the way a corporation treats its employees, how its CEO interacts with the business community and by its contribution to the community – and we’re not talking about just ponying up sponsorship dollars.  Reputation stems from the quality of an organization’s product or service, their customer service and their relationships with customers and the community.

Let’s try for more optimism in 2010 and let it shine.  Happy New Year, everyone!

I can’t help but feel philosophical about returning to JohnstonWells. In every way, it feels good to “come home,” especially to the lovely new offices in this historic building (where I used to buy tulip bulbs) and to an impressive staff and portfolio of work.

I’m more excited than ever about being in the communications profession. I’m not worried about the future of public relations, even in the face of declining traditional media outlets. Let’s face it, organizations will always need to communicate with their customers and other key audiences. And, that’s where public relations pros shine.

I’m looking forward to working again with three professionals—Diane Amdur, Gina Seamans and Kirsten Ritter–who were part of the old JohnstonWells team, and to getting to know all the other smart people here who are new to me. All in all, it feels like a great way to start the new year. Here’s to good things ahead for JohnstonWells in 2010.