By Jerry Brown, APR
Public Relations Counsel
www.pr-IMPACT.com

Frame de art, Denver’s premier custom framing shop, will celebrate it’s 20th anniversary on March 8.

I’m a customer.  So, I can say firsthand that if you have framing to do you should do yourself a favor and check out Frame de art.

Owner Brian Hart is awesome.  His clients include several billionaires, all of Denver’s professional sports teams and a who’s who list of media, sports, business and political celebrities — the kind of people who can afford to take their frame anywhere.  But Brian also has a lot of customers who are just plain folks, too.

The professionalism and customer service are outstanding.

If you haven’t experienced Frame de art firsthand, do yourself a favor:  Check them out next time you have framing to be done.

The two videos that bookend this article were two of the first videos I did for a client.  We shot them on the same day, beginning with the video at the top, showing how to get a swamp cooler ready for the winter.  Then we did the one at the bottom, showing how to get it ready for summer.

The work was done by Eric Garvey on the roof of his own house.   He works for his parents, who own the Handyman Matters franchises for South Metro Denver and Colorado Springs.

I like Handyman Matters because they solve an age-old dilemma for homeowners who, like me, don’t enjoy fixing things around the house — and aren’t very good at it.

If you’re like me, you’ve have had the experience of hiring a friend or relative or a Jack-of-all-trades you found through a bulletin board, classified ad or a referral from somebody you know.  Some of these people work out well.  But some don’t.

Handyman Matters brings professionalism and reliability to the task of getting help with the work around your home.  They show up when they’re supposed to.  They won’t disappear before the job is done.  And there’s a real company with an office staffed by people every day who stand behind their work.  So, they’ll come back if it wasn’t done right the first time.

Now that’s the kind of help you can count on.

The Rock Barbers video elsewhere on this blog is another example of a video I’ve done for a client.  I’m not a professional videographer.  If you need professional-level video I’m not your guy.  But I am a professional PR practitioner and storyteller.  And I can produce video good enough for most websites for a lot less money than you’ll pay a professional videographer.

If you want a professional videographer, two people I recommend are Marc Williams of Williams Communications Group and  Chris Nicholson of Clear Mountain Productions.

I committed journalism for 20 years. Been practicing public relations longer than that. Plan to keep practicing until I get it right.

If you’ve done the math, you may be thinking:  “This guy must be really . . . experienced.”  Yes, I am.  And it’s top tier experience — three daily newspapers, including five years with the Rocky Mountain News; seven years with The Associated Press, five of them in Washington, D.C.; and 17 years on the corporate PR staff of U S WEST (now Qwest).

I’d welcome the opportunity to put my experience, judgment and skill to work for you. Why should I hire me? Here are five reasons:

• Experience, judgment and skill matter. I have years of solid, top-tier experience in both public relations and journalism. And I’m better than ever at what I do.
• Because of the breadth of my experience, I do a lot of things and do them well. A lot of PR people offer some of what I do, but there aren’t many of us who offer it all.
• I’m an exceptionally good writer.
• I’m an excellent PR strategist.
• I’m enthusiastic about my work. I enjoy it and get energy from it.

At U S WEST, I increased the scope and effectiveness of every job I held. I headed a 14-state news desk that increased media coverage of the company’s products of services by several orders of magnitude. I was chief speechwriter for two phone-company presidents and U S WEST’s CFO. I got my first speechwriting assignment less than a year after joining U S WEST because of my writing skills. The editor of U S WEST’s company magazine sought me out as a contributor because he knew the articles I submitted would require minimal editing.

I maintain an active presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, write two blogs and maintain my own website (www.pr-IMPACT.com). Click on the video image at the top of this posting to view my video resume.

I did this video for Rock Barbers of Louisville, Colorado.  I hope you’ll check it, and them, out.  You’ll be doing me a favor if you check out the video.  You’ll be doing yourself a favor if you check them out.

Rock Barbers is “the last barber you’ll ever need.”  They say so right on their website.  That’s because they rip all of your hair out by the roots and seal the holes shut with non-biodegradable super glue, which gives you a permanent Bruce Willis / Michael Jordan look.

Well, okay.  That’s not true.  They’re the last barber you’ll ever need because they’re so darned good at what they do.  Adrienne — she’s the one performing the shave on the video — has been cutting my hair since before it all turned gray.  Unless she wins the lottery and retires prematurely, she’s definitely the last barber I’ll ever need.

I can’t vouch personally for the rest of the crew.  But, from the reactions I’ve overheard when I’ve been in Rock Barbers, I think they all do a really good job.

The video’s an example of the kind of video I do for clients.  I’m not a professional videographer.  I am a professional storyteller.  And have been for a long time.  Will a professional videographer produce better video?  You bet.  But you’ll pay them a few thousand dollars for something I’ll do for a few hundred.