Business News

Hollywood Frame Gallery owners Kathleen and Ricky Connaughton are pleased to announce a "Screen Queens" exhibition, which is comprised of special lithographic posters that were made by an S2 Art company, Art of the Movies, in association with the American Film Institute and their selection of the "100 American Movie Poster Classics." Through this historic project, the 100 most memorable and striking movie posters of the 20th century are being re-issued as a spectacular collection of limited-edition fine art lithographs. • Using old-time, hands-on lithographic techniques, the program recreates early film posters exactly the same way they were made during the first half of the century–from painstakingly hand-drawn plates, slowly "pulled" one color at a time on the extremely rare antique lithography presses of the S2 Atelier in New York City. All the posters are exactly the same size as the originals, but, unlike their predecessors, will be printed on durable archival paper with the finest-quality inks, guaranteeing that these masterworks of American culture will be preservec for generations to come. • Visitors to Hollywood Frame Gallery will be able to view and purchase six posters from the completed lithographic editions in the collection, including posters from the films Tootsie, Cleopatra, and Gilda. Prices start at $325. • Hollywood Frame Gallery is located at 2431 Bissonnet, 713/942-8885.

Larry Broughton just returned from the annual Regional Sales Conference where approximately 400 Wells Fargo loan officers from five states gathered. Broughton was one of approximately 25 WF mortgage loan officers who were awarded the 100% Customer Satisfaction All 5 Award. This award is given to those mortgage loan officers who receive all number-five ratings on surveys returned from clients for the past 12 months. The survey requests each client to rate their service during the loan process with a ranking of 1-5 with 5 being the highest possible score. Excellent customer service is a very high priority at Wells Fargo, and obviously, it is an equally high priority for Broughton. For more information, call 713/654-3085.

Ronnie Kee, GRI, ABR, Broker/Owner announced the opening of Ronald Kee Properties. With credentials from The Graduate REALTOR® Institute and as an accredited buyer representative, Kee has the ability to offer our community top-notch service when selling or buying real estate in the Houston market. Specializing in the innerloop area, plans are slated for an office location in the River Oaks/Montrose in the near future. For more information, call 713/523-4242.

PlanetOut Partners, Inc. presented the Gay.com and PlanetOut.com Gayest Commercial of All Time Award to Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc. and Hyundai Motor Company for the 1999 commercial "Boy Toy." The award honors advertisers that are breaking ground with outstanding commercials that effectively communicate to gay and lesbian customers through gay and lesbian themes. • To select the nominees for the Gayest Commercial of All Time, a panel of jurors–made up of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and gay-friendly advertising and marketing professionals from top-tier agencies and consumer products companies–narrowed down a field of 20 commercials based on their creativity, style, and ability to effectively convey their message. Visitors to the two websites were asked to vote online for the one commercial that best spoke to them as gay and lesbian consumers. • "While more ads today are including lesbians and gays, those that avoid stereotypes and break barriers are getting noticed and bringing social change," said Commercial Closet executive director Mike Wilke. "Hyundai’s win should come as little surprise–the ad was so widely liked it sped around the world via the Internet by members of the gay community, who were happy to share it with the global gay community."

Alexis and Lynn, owners of Club Rainbow, announced the opening of another community business. Their new Westheimer $1.00 Mart carries items A to Z with nothing over a dollar, giving "making a buck" a whole new GLBT dimension. The owners welcome your business and your continuing support to strengthen the community through the use of your dollar . . . literally. Conveniently located in the same shopping center as Club Rainbow, the new shop is located at 1429 Westheimer.

Gay and Lesbian Consumers Trust Brands Most From Companies With Progressive Policies. A survey conducted in May by Har-ris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc. reveals that consumers who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) have deeper trust for products and brands that not only target gay consumers, but are produced by companies that have progressive policies toward gay and lesbian employees. Fifty-six percent of all gays sampled agreed that they trust brands more from progressive companies–with 41 percent reporting they "strongly agree." • In addition, seven out of 10 gay consumers sampled (72 percent) agreed it was important for companies advertising products to LGBT consumers to "demonstrate effective corporate citizenship" by supporting lesbian and gay causes. Seven out of 10 sampled (71 percent) also stated it was important for companies advertising their products to "establish and publicize progressive policies toward gays and lesbians." • "In a market so information-driven, it’s not surprising that gays and lesbians ask which companies reach out to them," said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. "Reputation clearly matters, and companies that develop smart practices internally find they establish deeper connections and loyalty with customers. Lesbians and gays appear to learn quickly how their choice of brands stack up by judging the company that advertises those brands." • The results also show that half the respondents say it is important for companies to use gay images in advertising, and 72 percent of LGBT respondents say it is important for companies to advertise in gay media. • This data provides further evidence for companies like Verizon (sponsor of New York Gay and Lesbian Pride) and United Airlines (sponsor of San Francisco’s and Los Angeles’ Gay and Lesbian Pride celebrations) that actively pursuing the market makes good business sense. Wesley Combs, president of Witeck-Combs Communications, noted "both companies are known by lesbians and gays as leaders within the community because both offer domestic partner benefits to their same-sex employees and welcome diversity on many levels. Being a good corporate citizen not only makes these companies a good place to work, but also positively impacts the bottom line." • These findings were part of a significantly larger Harris Interactive online study about consumer behaviors of gays and lesbians, as well as other adults. The latest Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications research was conducted online among 2,692 adults from the Harris Interactive online panel of respondents, between May 3 and May 16, 2001, in which 128 individuals or 4.8 percent identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.