Media Relations
Emerging Media and Online Communications
Strategic Planning
Community Relations
Broadcast Production and Strategy
Media Training
Crisis Communications
Internal Communications
Corporate and Business-to-Business
Non-Profits and Community Involvement
Research and Communications Audits
Cocktail Talk

Media is our stock and trade. We have worked with local, regional, national and international reporters for 35 years, and former broadcast and print journalists make up a significant part of our staff. We know inside-out what journalists want and how they want it, and we get results.

We also counsel our clients on how to navigate the rapidly changing media landscape, driven by new technologies. A local story has the potential to become an international story the moment it hits – for better or worse.

JohnstonWells is proud of the broadcast, print and online media results we’ve achieved for our clients on a local and national level. We have won numerous awards for our work including, most recently, the top award from the Public Relations Society of Colorado, the Grand Gold Pick, and the national Bulldog Award for Best Healthcare Media Relations program.

Emerging Media and Online Communications

Technology is rapidly transforming the media and the way we communicate with far-reaching implications for businesses and organizations of all types and sizes.  JohnstonWells Emerging Media helps our clients navigate these changes, to recognize and seize upon opportunities created by the Web and mobile technologies and to avoid pitfalls.

Darby Doll, senior counselor, heads up JohnstonWells Emerging Media with a team of experts on staff who have valuable experience in new and emerging media, online communications and Web marketing.

Services include:
•    Web strategy
•    Online media relations
•    Social media strategy
•    Web site development
•    Use of communication tools, such as blogs, podcasts and instant messaging
•    Blog monitoring and outreach
•    Online video production
•    E-mail communication
•    Viral marketing
•    Search engine marketing
•    RSS feeds

Samples of JohnstonWells work include: IncredibleInternet.com , OzoneAware.org , and JW Videos.

Please contact Darby at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on JohnstonWells Emerging Media and our services.

Strategic Planning

We have seen companies waste considerable money on misguided public relations programs that lack focus, solid research and meaningful objectives. Splashy events and slick marketing materials may impress, but they do little else for the organization if they aren’t part of a thoughtful, results-oriented program.

Involving clients in every step of the planning process means everyone is on the same page and there are no surprises. Plans may be as simple as a two-page outline for a specific project or as comprehensive as a full-blown crisis communications plan. Large or small, JohnstonWells has drafted literally hundreds of plans for clients that have accomplished the results they were seeking in a methodical way.

Community Relations

JohnstonWells has long assisted clients in developing creative community relations and philanthropy programs, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the smart thing to do. Community involvement is a meaningful, essential rung on the reputation-building ladder.

Our leadership team has long been personally involved in the region’s major community organizations and is uniquely qualified to assist clients with executive positioning and effective community relations programs. The Holmes Report ranked JohnstonWells in the top 10 public relations firms in the country for its community involvement programs.

Broadcast Production and Strategy

JohnstonWells is the only public relations firm in Denver to offer an in-house broadcast division offering:

• Video news releases (VNRs): scripted and voiced 90-second video news stories television stations can run in their newscasts.
• B-roll packages: a video package of interviews, footage and graphics television stations can use to assemble a story in their newscasts.

We also produce:

• Corporate video libraries
• Audio news releases
• Satellite media tours
• Radio media tours

Broadcast video works because:

• The average video news release gets 30 to 40 airings nationally, sending your message to an audience of nearly two million television viewers.
• Nearly every television station in America uses footage from VNRs and b-roll packages.
• You can earn even more exposure online when television stations post newscasts to their websites – clips which can be viewed anytime and e-mailed to others.

In addition to our production capabilities and script-writing services, JohnstonWells has extensive contacts with the local and national broadcast media. These relationships provide clients valuable insights in developing a comprehensive media strategy. We also offer clients expert coaching on how to conduct effective broadcast interviews and presentations.

Marc Williams, an award-winning broadcaster with 25 years in television news and client-based media, directs JohnstonWells’ broadcast division. Williams has worked for ABC News, KMGH-TV and KUSA-TV in Denver directing day-to-day news gathering operations and numerous special events.  Williams draws on his background to help clients develop strategic use of broadcast video, Web site video, satellite and radio media tours.  Williams and his JohnstonWells colleagues have produced video packages for numerous clients including Qwest Communications, the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses and Cerner Corporation. 

Media training

JohnstonWells conducts message development and media training programs to help prepare our client spokespersons for effective media interviews in a variety of interview situations.

Our expert team of media trainers – comprised of former broadcast and print journalists – has conducted media training programs for dozens of clients in a variety of industries. During training sessions, our clients participate in a variety of mock print and broadcast interviews conducted by former reporters.

JohnstonWells’ media training has recently been revamped to be more interactive, more dynamic and to better prepare participants for the new, rapidly changing media environment driven by the convergence of traditional media and the Internet. What’s more, we tailor our media training program to the unique needs of each client or project.

Crisis Communications

JohnstonWells is the regional leader in crisis communications. We have managed numerous crisis programs for clients in a variety of unique and challenging situations, including threatened labor strikes, product tampering, bankruptcy and other financial crises, controversial medical issues, abrupt management changes and downsizing.

We believe it is vital for our clients to develop a crisis plan that will determine, in advance, how the company will react if and when a crisis occurs. Crisis plans assess an organization’s overall preparedness – culturally and logistically – for dealing with a crisis, identify strengths and weaknesses and detail appropriate responses and programs for the organization.

If a crisis occurs, we immediately bring our counsel and resources to bear on the problem. We offer our objective, outside perspective and develop the communication materials required to represent the organization’s position. We also develop special programs aimed at reaching employees, consumers, the community and the media.

Internal Communications

JohnstonWells has had considerable experience in helping clients effectively communicate during periods of change and transition – often for companies that have experienced mergers, organizational and operational changes and that have a geographically-dispersed employee base difficult to reach with traditional communications techniques.

While no template fits all companies, some basic success factors have emerged as critical to an effective internal communications program, such as the importance of two-way communication, stability and the repetition of messages.

Successful internal communications programs require the buy-in and participation of all levels of management, not to mention management’s responsiveness to employee feedback. Credible, honest and consistent messages are essential, as are communication vehicles that are accessible and user-friendly.

Corporate and Business-to-Business

Through the years, JohnstonWells has provided general strategic counsel and public relations support for the region's largest corporations, including Coors Brewery, Gates Rubber Company, StorageTek, Samsonite Corporation, Qwest Communications and Public Service Company of Colorado. Our corporate work has included crisis planning and advice, executive and corporate positioning, employee communications, issues management, message development and media and presentation training.

We also have considerable experience developing business-to-business marketing support programs for a variety of clients, both large and small, local and national. In addition to trade show and media relations support, we provide research and strategic planning to determine venues appropriate for reaching target audiences.

Non-Profits and Community Involvement

JohnstonWells has long assisted clients in developing smart community relations and philanthropy programs, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the smart thing to do. Community involvement is a meaningful, essential rung on the reputation-building ladder. Our community relations expertise has been honed by years of experience in counseling Mile High United Way, the Denver Art Museum, the Boys and Girls Club, the Denver Botanic Gardens and other non-profit organizations. JohnstonWells was the 2003 National Philanthropy Day Award winner for Outstanding Small Business in Colorado.

Our signature “Cocktail Talk” program has been particularly popular among non-profit organizations. Built on the premise that word-of-mouth works, the program aims to familiarize employees, volunteers and board members with the organization’s core messages, ensure the messages are understood, teach participants to easily incorporate the messages into social conversation, and make messages easy to remember. We have conducted Cocktail Talk for dozens of organizations in Colorado.

Research and Communications Audits

JohnstonWells provides its clients with a wide array of research services, including:

• Communications audits to analyze the reach and effectiveness of existing communications tools.
• Media audits to gauge coverage of our clients, their competitors and their industry as a whole. This can also include audits and interviews with reporters and editors to gauge their impressions of a client.
• Surveys and focus groups to gauge awareness and perceptions of employees, customers and other key audiences. When large-scale formal research is required, we partner with local survey research firms.

Clients for whom we have conducted research projects include Coors Brewing Company, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, American Water Works Association, StorageTek, Gulf Canada Resources, City of Aurora, Koala Corporation, PacifiCare of Colorado, the Alexander Dawson School and Norwest Banks.

Cocktail Talk

Cocktail Talk is a signature program of JohnstonWells that is designed to help members of an organization—whether they're staff, board members or volunteers—be effective ambassadors for that organization. The program trains participants on the important messages that will help them explain their organization's work and raise funds to support it.

The program involves a series of skits and role-plays to explain the messages and give board members a chance to try them out. Prior to the training session, the JohnstonWells team works with the organization's staff to develop the right messages and an acronym to make them memorable.

While the program is designed specifically to assist participants to communicate effectively in social settings, it can be adapted for corporate purposes as well.