CU’s errant e-mail points to PR problem
Will the embarrassment of sending crass e-mail to someone other than the intended recipient never cease?
Last week, the University of Colorado’s highest paid public-relations officials owned up to misfired correspondence that was anything but flattering to a Boulder Daily Camera reporter.
“As we saw last weekend, this reporter isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I agree with your recommendation yesterday that we walk her through this,” Ray Gomez, associate vice president for university communications, wrote to Michael Hesse, associate vice president for university advancement.
The two men were referring to Elizabeth Mattern Clark’s request for a plan to improve CU’s image, help CU win public trust and also operate with the “highest level of ethics.”
Gomez and Hesse are paid $150,000 a year each for their expertise.
“It’s amazing that, regardless of salary level and past experience, good PR strategy can simply boil down to the basic tenets of common sense and good manners,” said Maggie Chamberlin-Holbern, owner of Absolutely Public Relations in Lakewood. “It seems like everyone associated with the CU debacle could use a dose or two of both.”
Dean of indiscreet discourse needs help
Speaking of indiscretion, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean has a case of “foot-in-mouth syndrome lately,” and Denver-based speech coach Harrison Monarth would like to help him recover.
Dean has made controversial and explosive statements about all things Republican, Monarth says, that have required public, apologetic backpedaling.
Tired of cringing, Monarth and his GuruMaker School of Professional Speaking have offered Dean free-of-charge speech coaching.
“We’ve done some local seminars for nonprofits, but this is the first time we’ve offered this (for free),” Monarth said. “Dean’s obviously in need of some coaching.”
Monarth said that although Dean’s office and GuruMaker have been playing phone tag since the offer, “it sounds like there’s interest.” No word yet on whether the pro-bono services extend to Rush Limbaugh.
Sharp-tongued exec gets lashing from pals
The Mizel Museum in Denver recently gave its Cultural Enrichment Award to petroleum executive Cortlandt Dietler for his “contributions as an outstanding leader and philanthropist.”
About 1,700 people attended the $100-a-plate dinner June 2 at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, including Denver financier Philip Anschutz, prominent Denver lawyer Steve Farber, and museum benefactor and chairman and chief executive of Denver’s MDC Holdings Larry Mizel.
Tucked among the glowing tributes to Dietler were references to his notoriously sharp tongue and – as Vice President Dick Cheney put it in his videotaped salute – crankiness.
“‘Biting’ isn’t sharp enough to describe what he can do to you,” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said of Dietler.
“His smart cracks are driving me insane,” added former Wyoming U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson.
“There’s a law about perjury, and I think there has been a great deal of it committed tonight,” Dietler said in his acceptance speech.
Hear this: Men gab more on cellphones
Women can no longer accuse men of being bad communicators. Men talk 35 percent more often on their wireless phones than women, according to a survey done by Cingular Wireless.
“The results are undisputable,” said Jennifer Bowcock, director of consumer media relations for Cingular Wireless. “Men are definitely the top wireless talkers.” And they’re becoming ever more talkative.
When it came to home phones, women talked 62 percent more than men in 2003. Men narrowed that gap to 53 percent in 2004.
What are women doing with their extra time? Apparently taking photos with their cellphones. About 25 percent have a cameraphone, compared with 21 percent of men.
Author-entrepreneur shows her cheeky side
Just like her alter ego Tildy Wilson, Boulder entrepreneur Louise Ross enjoys being fun, naughty and full of innuendo. Perhaps that’s why she named her company after the lead character in her novel, a sexy personal shopper with a lot of attitude.
And perhaps that’s why the first product in her Tildy Wilson Designs line is a risqué accessory “for women who want to be sexually active but also responsible.”
Ross planned to introduce the 3P-Pack – a small but stylish beaded “Purse” that contains a pair of tiny lace “Panties” and a colored condom (call that “Protection”) – at a Friday night launch party. A portion of each sale will go to charities that promote sexual and reproductive health rights.
“It’s a fun way to send a serious message to adult women,” said Constance Spheeris, the company’s vice president of business and strategic development. It’s also a fabulous cross-promotion for Ross’ self-published novel, “The Misadventures of Tildy Wilson.”
If all works as planned, the company will use the illustrated Tildy to introduce a fuller line of intimate accessories in coming months. For details, visit www.tildywilson.com.
