August 05, 2009Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR featured in The Jerusalem Post, the largest English language newspaper in Israel. One on One: 'It's all about shaping a story'
To Keep a Star Shining; the Challenges of Celebrity PR by Ronn Torossian
(As Published in AOL Luxist)
New York, NY - August 19, 2010 – It has been hard to ignore the spate of celebrity disasters this summer. From Lindsay Lohan's turn in jail to Mel Gibson's infamous rants, it seems each day's news brings a new scandal. That means it has also been a busy summer for celebrity public relations. In a Luxist guest post, Ronn Torossian, the CEO of 5WPR, who has worked with celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Pamela Anderson and Nick Cannon, discusses the challenges of celebrity PR and why we need to remember that celebrities are human beings, like the rest of us, subject to the same frailties and foul-ups.
One of the most challenging parts of working in celebrity publicity is re-shaping an image which the world already thinks they know. Constant public scrutiny, the demand of hundreds of media outlets calling non-stop, and the immediacy of today's media make this even harder. The latest news from Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods and other shining stars, makes one wonder about the differences between a celebrity and a "normal" human being.
After years of work with corporations and celebrities, I realize that the media often decides a story angle before they actually hear the facts. In "Bias" - probably the century's most significant media-criticism book - Bernard Goldberg, ex-CBS producer, states that a lie in media terms is not really a lie, "they would pass the polygraph test... they honestly believe what they're saying. And that's the biggest problem of all". Just last week, in an unprecedented rule in England, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt won their case over privacy against a gossip outlet that reported an upcoming divorce. The damages will be accounted for by the paper and offered to the intruded couple. And, all this because drama sells paper, whether it's true, false or exaggerated. I mean consider how many headlines were written on Tiger Woods, but what do we really know other than that he cheated on his wife?
The media simply feels compelled to respond to massive public interest, and human fascination. Celebrity representatives often can't respond quick enough to damaging news – and this lack of response, or failure to fix the issue, can often shape the story. In contrast to a company, brand or product, the "celebrity brand" stands alone. If something is perceived to go wrong you can't accuse production lines, 'industry trends' or forces of nature, like BP has tried to do. Instead, the individual celebrity is the only one who can break, or fix, his or her "brand."
In today's new media world, information is excessive. It has inflated the online market, and questionable stories and their sources are all around. The media and its key players - reporters, producers and editors - find themselves competing hard for your attention, click, and 'retweet.' This struggle makes it more challenging to proof-check every single story as the cycle is a 24-hour "news" cycle where everything and anything can happen anytime. Unfortunately, this also allows some to promote their own goals and stockholders' interests by bullying people along the way. Perhaps the cure will come with online, fee-based content, which will charge readers for access but in exchange make a commitment to value and quality for the reader. It's rumored that the New York Times and Apple will adapt such a model.
I have commented extensively in the media regarding Woods, Lohan and Gibson, and I believe in today's America, with strategic planning and a PR plan, all of these figures can make a return to some degree and repair their image. They too are human beings, and for them too life shall go on.
Recently we have seen a return of sorts of Rev. Ted Haggard, who was forced to resign nearly four years ago as president of the politically powerful National Association of Evangelicals and to step down from the mega church he founded, after admitting that he had bought methamphetamine from and had a sexual interaction with a male prostitute. Haggard confessed in a tortured letter, calling himself "a deceiver and a liar" who had long wrestled with desires he described as "repulsive and dark." Now, in his comeback, the energetic and positive Haggard says he is back to doing what he was born to do. "Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football. Mr. Haggard needs to be leading a church."
Celebrities, too, are human beings, not lab rats. They make mistake, like human beings, but their image can be harder to manage. They possess a "brand personality" that's constantly up for scrutiny.
There is logic in a celebrity stating "this is what I do best, let me do my job." Some can and will recover a blunder with the media, while others will not stand the test. Celebrities are individuals with red blood. They're individuals with a wide public awareness and they represent something – bad or good. Working closely over the years with some of America's most famous people, I wont allow my children to worship someone who can dunk a ball, golf the best, win an Oscar; look up to people you know, not people on TV or movies.
July 15, 2010
Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR: OP-ED on "Why Apple and its Brand Can Endure A Crisis"
Why Apple and its Brand Can Endure a Crisis
New York, NY - July 15, 2010 – Much different than BP, Toyota, Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods and Dell, Apple can better weather negative media and afford a PR crisis (if such a thing is possible).
Let's keep things in perspective for Apple - the brand is so hot that there are waiting lists for their products, and they won't even take your money in their stores. Even with a massive, high-probability record-recall, Apple still will emerge unscathed in the big picture. They have made so many right moves for so many years that one misstep was to be expected.
In exploring the world of branding and marketing, people tend to lean on the mass marketing concepts taught in schools of business. They teach about power branding, co-branding, differentiation and loyal consumers following their brand preferences. As these are all valid concepts, it is a natural negligence of the power of the brand stemming from media coverage and public awareness. If not for PR management and buzz around innovation, none Apple's inventions of the last decade would have been as successful as they currently are.
Were people agitated by Dell only since its batteries burst into flames while working on your laptop? No, the batteries were one additional negative aspect of the brand stemming from the late 90s caused by reckless communication management instead of quality service.
As for the recent Mel Gibson fiasco, are the newly released tapes the only reason the public is asking to end his career? No, there is a recent history with poorly-considered statements and very unfortunate timing. This also applies to BP with the oil spill and the public opinion of corporate "Greed," goes alongside the jealousy and anger towards Tiger Woods¹ glamorous career, and concludes with Toyota, which simply wouldn't admit to mistakes and playing with peoples lives. They all paid the price, and will continue to, for miscommunication.
Apple has been innovating and determining the way consumers of all walks of life live, do business, and interact. It is a brand that applies to all industries and it reinvents itself all the time while dominating the markets of Telecom, Tech, and mass consumption. Just as Fed-ex defined overnight travel, how many people are walking around with "walkmans" these days? No one, now it's the iPod. Apple has amazing products, but all of them would mean nothing had Apple neglected the communications around its activity.
If IBM's Thomas Watson of the 50s is known for his statement, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers," then Apple is known for the exact opposite. The bi-annual Apple extravaganza in San Francisco is an unprecedented attraction of media attention. It is as if every single year Apple will and should introduce us to a new way to make life easier. Its CEO is a brand power that is reenergized by his quiet, almost "simple" character. The products enjoy a pre-sale rate that shows a blindly-directed consumer market, overachieving substitutes.
Today, Apple can afford the iPhone 4 recall because from the public's view they are almost vital to our "existence." The awareness this brand gained and maintained in the minds of the masses stands as a symbol of technological modernity. It defined mobility. It reads portability and integration. It defines social interaction through its apps. As a business, it acts as a generator of income for app developers and social media marketers, and let's not forget how it revolutionized the music industry through iTunes.
What Apple did that no other brand could do is integrate and harmonize all its sub-brands as leverage for a major awareness-building stunt known to us as "Apple." In contrast to Toyota, people will return the device and impatiently await its replacement, because Apple doesn't have peers, whereas a Toyota driver can easily drive a Honda, instead. In addition, Apple lures customers to the next innovation be it iPad 3, iPod 5 or Shuffle 8.
When Toyota cars were returned, it was a "Goodbye" wave from former drivers. The recovery for Toyota will require a regained credibility and loyalty on the consumer's end. On the other hand, the Apple case is so strong that loyalty remains intact.
The strength of Apple stems from its PR and brand awareness. The probable recall reinforces the public opinion of Apple that displays it as a highly-crucial piece of equipment in our daily lives. Apple described the possible recall as a "sign of its commitment to consumer quality devices," and that shows how well the PR machine works for Apple. For any other brand this would mean a disastrous outcome and a possible end to periodical success.
For Apple, it's a re-run of the suspense and sleeping bag phenomenon seen outside Apple stores worldwide. If they sold 3 million devices now, I'm thinking they will sell 5 million by the end of this epic.
April 26, 2010
5W PUBLIC RELATIONS FOUNDER & CEO, RONN TOROSSIAN, SELECTED AS A SEMI-FINALIST FOR ERNST & YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2010
New York, NY - April 26, 2010 – Ronn Torossian, President & CEO of 5W Public Relations , was selected today as a Semi-Finalist for the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, New York region. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Torossian has been recognized by Ernst & Young as a 2010 Semi-Finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year in the New York Region for his accomplishments in building 5WPR to one of the 15 largest independent PR agencies in the United States. An independent judging panel comprised of regional business, academic and community leaders evaluated nominees based on several selection criteria, such as management style/team building; corporate culture; personal and professional accomplishments; determination, ethics and drive; company profitability and fiscal resourcefulness; product innovation; and contribution to the local community.
“I am most thankful to our employees and clients - Those who make up the 5WPR family. This is an accomplishment of which I am very proud, and thankful. I am honored and humbled to be selected as a semi-finalist, amongst other accomplished entrepreneurs,” said Ronn Torossian, President & CEO of 5WPR .
The finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award will be announced on May 7th, 2010 followed by an Awards Banquet on June 15th, 2010.
February 21, 2010
Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR in Business Week regarding Tiger Woods’ PR crisis
Ronn Torossian, chief executive officer of 5WPR, which has handled crisis management for celebrity clients including Sean Combs, Pamela Anderson and Snoop Dogg, said Woods “didn’t look at all believable.”
“The Tiger Woods brand as we know it will never return,” Torossian said in a telephone interview. “From a PR standpoint, anything he said today could have been said 24 hours after this incident. While it’s all good and dandy that he’s saying he’s deeply sorry, is he deeply sorry for being caught or for having to make these statements? He looked like a robot.”
Notah Begay III, a friend and former Stanford University teammate of Woods who has played on the PGA Tour, said today’s apology was heartfelt.
“I’ve seen him give 100 public speeches in a variety of different settings, and the sincerity of his apology and the truthfulness in his message was very apparent,” said Begay, who sat in the front row during the address.
December 07, 2009 - It's not uncommon for celebrities to face a potentially image-killing crisis. It is, however, uncommon to see one handled as poorly from start to finish as Tiger Woods' recent wreck and subsequent sex scandal.
At each step, Tiger made missteps that could have been avoided, leading to stories along the lines of "Tiger's real crime? Not playing the media's game" and "Tiger Woods Dodges Cops for Third Time."
There's no excuse the behavior that led to Tiger's predicament, but the still-expanding fallout from his mishandling of these events provides lessons to celebrities, companies and anyone else who suddenly finds themselves at the center of a crisis.
Here are my top three crisis management rules:
Rule No. 1: Come clean and come clean quick. Instead of accepting his role in the spotlight and addressing the facts head on, Tiger ran for cover hoping it would all go away. But the fastest road to redemption in the public's eye is an early and honest mea culpa.
That's what Alex Rodriguez did earlier this year, when he stood in front of his teammates and the media and addressed his alleged steroid use head on. While certainly not an easy statement to make, it undeniably saved A-Rod's career from taking the Barry Bonds route, and served as a launching pad for the best season of his career and praise from many of his former critics.
Rule No. 2: Keep your message consistent. As Bill Clinton can attest, the truth eventually comes out. So be clear, be honest and keep the story consistent. When similar allegations arose regarding David Letterman and young staff members, Letterman immediately took to the airwaves, admitted his wrongdoings and the circumstances surrounding them, and saw no ill effect in his ratings.
In contrast, Tiger's only message for nearly five days after the accident was silence. And while he did eventually admit to his "transgressions," his promise to "strive to be a better person and the husband and father that [his] family deserves" seemed to ring hollow as information surfaced regarding a renegotiation of his prenup in an effort to keep the family together.
Rule No. 3: Leave no gray area. From the moment reports of the accident happened, the only color surrounding the facts was gray. How did Tiger sustain the injuries he did in such a slow-moving, low-impact crash? Was his wife chasing him with a golf club? Was he impaired? And so on until another round of questions surfaced regarding alleged romps with various women. Tiger then made his brief admission of guilt but still failed to explain how the accident happened, why he was reportedly snoring on the ground as the family waited for an ambulance, etc.
Fortunately for Tiger, most if not all of his sponsors remain by his side, and his mastery of golf will continue to wow fans for years to come.
But no one will ever look at him the same way again, and this distinctive trademark is tarnished. The days of invincibility are over, if not on the course then in relationships, honesty and integrity.
Let's hope others who make mistakes in life and business take a look at Tiger's self-inflicted wounds and choose a different path of redemption in the public's eye.
__________ Ronn Torossian is president and CEO of 5W Public Relations, one of the 25 largest PR firms in the U.S.
March 08, 2009
Small Businesses Aren’t The Stimulus Answer by Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5WPR
March 08, 2009 - As a 34-year-old, born-and-bred New Yorker, as I read the details of Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, many memories come to mind. A product of the NYC public school system, I have worked hard for my money, and according to government classifications am “rich”, as I have made many sacrifices to get to where I am. I’ve weathered a divorce, failed friendships, dwindling family time, and many others sacrifices entrepreneurs make, and I am sure these self-sacrifices will continue.
Growing up in a Bronx household where my mother worked very hard, we were “latchkey” kids. I worked 40 hours a week from the age of 11 in a local pizzeria run by a 30-something, hardworking Italian immigrant. This man saved his money to open the business and worked 90 hours a week there to send his two young children to Catholic school. My mom was the daughter of Holocaust survivors, who had instilled in her a unique endurance, but she was stubborn and refused to ever accept help from anyone. It had to always be her way, and she refused to lose. We never asked nor received any help from the government. My mother raised my sister and me to believe in ourselves, and she sacrificed herself tremendously so we could advance.
Prior to entering the field of Public Relations, I had one job. I worked in that same local pizzeria every day until I was 23 years old. Summers? Eighty hours a week doing dishes, mopping floors, and delivering pizza. Though it was grueling, I loved it and wouldn’t change it for the world. But from a young age, I promised myself my children would never want for anything.
I was blessed to be accepted to an elite NYC public school, Stuyvesant HS. I managed to avoid attending my local Bronx high school, described at the time as “one of the most dangerous high schools in the country,” by taking the subway system an hour and a half each day in the pre-Rudy Giuliani NYC. Those were the lovely days of boom-boxes, graffiti and muggings every minute. From the age of 14, I learned to navigate those causeways safely in order to reach school. In high school, I met driven, focused young people for the first time, and was inspired to work harder. Despite being accepted to numerous elite private colleges, I attended a NY State School, which I graduated from in 3 years after working hours and hours. Memories of my mother clipping coupons, always picking up pennies from the floor, having me return bottles for the 5 cent return (in the pre-green days), and never using credit cards because you never knew if you’d be able to pay the bills remain in my mind then and now.
I started my agency, 5W Public Relations, in 2003. Since then, it has grown to become one of the 20 largest independent PR agencies in the U.S., ending 2008 with nearly $12 million in revenue. We have no debt, pay all vendors on time, and have always had a profitable business, as we work very hard and deliver results. We don’t accept complacency; we demand and deliver. We have never had a line of credit, don’t carry credit card balances and pay our bills.
Government to date has affected my firm in many ways: we have footed the bill for jury duty for countless employees; we have matched Medicare tax rates (with little faith the system will exist when most of my employees will eventually need it); and as my firm grew, we paid extra commercial real estate taxes. Yet, we have always followed the letter of the law and kept forging forth.
Over the last few months, my firm, like many other companies across the world, has seen our business depreciate. We have lost clients due to finances, collections have become much harder, and we have had layoffs. Yesterday, the stimulus package arrived at my business. We learned that my firm will have to pay 65% of COBRA’s costs for each laid-off employee, eventually to be reimbursed in some form of tax credits (as a business owner I pay and pay and pay – and never seem to get credits). This stimulus package adds bills to my business, which is already down and suffering from lower cash flow.
I hear about New York’s governor proposing to raise taxes another 4 percent and Obama consumed with the popular tale of “taxing the rich.” Growing up in NYC, I always viewed the rich as elite folks who were billionaires – Rockefellers who ran humongous publicly-traded corporations – not my boss from 20 years ago, who owns seven local pizzerias and surely makes more than the $250,000 a year our President and Governor deem as the salary of the rich. These so-called rich are the people who create jobs and who sacrifice. People who work hard.
Today’s government is putting more strain on the hardworking entrepreneur. It is taxing energetic people who sacrifice every day to create opportunities for others as well as themselves. This is simply not the answer to the nation’s devastating problems. Countless small businesses are comatose and need stimulation; it’s not their responsibility to bail out individuals. The drivers of the American economy aren’t the poor and the jobless, but the entrepreneurs who create the opportunities for these jobless Americans.
The new government taxes will result in more job losses. They will penalize the productive and give needlessly to the unproductive. They will relinquish an entrepreneur’s motivation to work even harder to provide jobs. This political hurricane sweeping through our businesses will change the country’s landscape for the worse. It’s nothing more than un-American. (And by the way, don’t forget, when I die, my kids will be taxed another 50 percent on my money.)
Ronn Torossian is CEO of NYC-based 5W Public Relations, a Top 25 PR agency which was named to the INC 500 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S.
January 02, 2009
COMMUNICATIONS OF AN A.D.D GENERATION
Op-Ed by Ronn Torossian, 5WPRin Bulldog Reporter
COMMUNICATIONS OF AN A.D.D GENERATION
By Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5W Public Relations
January 02, 2009 - Yesterday, from 5 PM until 8 AM the following morning, I couldn't reach one of my closest family members; someone I communicate with multiple times a day via email, SMS, and less often, by phone. Contemplating a breaking and entering to her home after five of each, emails, texts and unanswered phone messages, and after a sleepless, worried night, she called and woke me with a simple explanation - "I didn't feel well and turned off my phone at 5 PM to rest;" simple and instant. Yet in today's age of communications within an Attention Deficit Disorder generation, untypical and scary.
Growing up in the Bronx in the mid-1980's, there was a corner public phone bank adjacent to the park where all of the local kids took turns manning the phones as our parents would call and demand us home for dinner, or our friends would call to see who was there and what was up. These calls were often our only communication for hours at a time. Today, walk into restaurants, meetings, movie theaters or otherwise, and people are typing away, blackberries in hand, on chatting on their cell phones, too often oblivious to the person in front of them with whom they can communicate without the technology.
Owning a PR agency, I am perhaps more cognizant of, and surely guilty of the instant communication bug. I often explain and even offer semi apologies to potential clients and new friends. I carry my blackberry and like an addiction, must check it every few minutes; not to do so can mean missed media opportunities, or worse, a newswire quote which reads "couldn't be reached for comment," - which occurred recently when I didn't call a reporter back within an hour. The journalist also expected instant gratification, and when I finally did call back, it had already appeared on more than 80 websites. Is this indeed life today?
People update their Facebook or Myspace statuses countless times a day instead of sitting face to face with actual friends. We create identities online and befriend people who in reality we may not actually want to sit with, chat up or share anything with. Is this authentic or flawed communications?
Similarly, as much of today's news originates from the blogosphere, much of what we see on blogs today is biased rant. The bloggers who make headlines are the ones who fancy themselves as progressive journalists, unbound from the conventions of traditional journalism, such as checked facts and arms-length objectivity. This has become acceptable only because of this A.D.D. communication generation. This communications generation now jumps so fast, fearful of being scooped or being behind the times; they accept the blogs, often devoid of facts, but indeed instant.
Along with those marketing-savvy bloggers come what is usually a small host of commentators who use pseudonyms, anonymous posts and the like without accountability in the comments section of these blogs. Some of these "followers" are not followers at all, but actually the hosts themselves, or shills planted by the host to say the things that, coming from the host, would damage his or her credibility. Yes, indeed it's instant; but accurate or ideal? No! However, that's not required for an A.D.D. generation.
In this Attention-Deficient world, it is much harder to validate or check identifies. The guilt is shared, whether it is the New York Times which last week ran a Letter to the Editor falsely blasting Carolyn Kennedy by someone thought to be the Mayor of Paris, or the teenager who killed herself because her teenage rivals' mom mocked her endlessly pretending to be a cute teenage boy. While today's instant communications of email, SMS, Facebook and the like is instant, I believe it's not authentic. It's raw but it's not real, on so many levels. It could be a husband texting a wife a quick answer to a simple question, or a client annoyed at an agency that doesn't instantly reply to an email.
In the earlier days of professional communications, or PR, mail forced people to plan ahead with care. It required thought, strategy and planning, something which today often is not available. Today it is hard to plan even a day, or an hour in advance, for if you don't reply instantly there can be mass panic. Instant gratification has become a double edged sword; what we do believing to be cutting edge, can also dull the sharpest blades.
One of my earliest bosses taught me to use the draft box for email when I was upset "Wait an hour or a day before you send that message" - I try to use that advice as much as I can. Perhaps one of the lessons of the current recession is to be wary of the uber-quick - There will be many false messiahs in times such as this - Just as one cannot "get rich quick", perhaps we should all try and slow down and be wary of anyone who requires instant communications. While instant communication can seem great, we must too be wary of only relying on instant rather than building longer, real bonds. Face-to-face, or extensive real phone calls are much more real and valuable than blog commentating and Facebook profiles.
Of course, had I heeded that message, or considered for that someone else might be heeding it, I may have slept last night. For tonight, I will only check my Blackberry two times during dinner instead of every five minutes - and dinner will hopefully last longer than ten minutes.
December 07, 2008
BIZ VOICE: Economy suffers loss of trust: Doors of opportunity wide open for more responsible entrepreneurs
OP-ED by Ronn Torossian - Atlanta Journal Constitution:
BIZ VOICE: Economy suffers loss of trust: Doors of opportunity wide open for more responsible entrepreneurs
By Ronn Torossian
It’s been a scary few months to be an entrepreneur. The basic principles of business are bleeding, major brands are being bailed out by the government and everyone is salivating for a handout.
In the midst of the madness, the pillar of capitalism has crumbled: Trust has disappeared from the system, from real estate to Wall Street to Detroit’s Big Three.
The “credit crisis” has turned into an “econolypse” because at the very heart of it, a problem with credit is a problem with basic trust. And trust, not just credit, is what powers everything from business loans to elections to everyday consumer decisions. Trust, too, is Marketing 101.
There is now an inherent distrust of the “system,” from the White House to local car dealerships. Trust has been broken in all facets of American business because for far too long, top brands have been making decisions in an environment where they stand to gain without personally taking on risk or responsibility. This atmosphere breeds recklessness, as it’s easier to play dangerous games with money that’s not your own and you aren’t responsible for.
Not since the Great Depression has the global outlook been so bleak. My solution as an entrepreneur and a marketer is to stress the importance of brands earning trust —- good old-fashioned entrepreneurial trust —- by working hard and taking responsibility, long term and short term. And no one knows how to earn basic trust more than the entrepreneur, an individual who takes significant responsibility for the inherent risk and outcome of his or her enterprise.
We’re now transitioning from a period when trust was taken for granted to one in which trust must be earned. Wealth will be redistributed based on who can make the best case for this “new trust.” What does this trust look like? It is relationship-based, person-to-person, peer-to-peer and unrelated to big-brand institutions that sail by on a name. (These brands are heading for a tremendous setback in the 2009 economy, with consumer backlash against big players in many sectors, I believe, seen as the purveyors of disaster.)
Entrepreneurs, those who work hard, make payroll and don’t expect a bailout, will lead the pack in establishing these new paradigms of trust. Main Street business people, who are in touch with their customers, can be reached at 9 p.m. and will do anything to properly service their businesses, are the ones who will come out of this crisis not just intact but even successful. The entrepreneurship of personalized service, boutique brands and hands-on results will grow, and one-on-one relationships will thrive.
The “cash and carry” mentality of the American dream will once again earn trust and re-emerge today.
While loans from banks may be scarce, the collapse of institutions creates opportunities for success. General market rules dictate that with chaos comes opportunity. Those who take chances and stand arm to arm with consumers will earn trust and prevail. A financial paradigm shift is under way, and the chances are there for those who seek them.
This week, a foreign entrepreneur, self-made and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, approached me and spoke of needing $10 million in cash within a week, providing a personal guarantee and tremendous returns within six months. Only a few days before, I received a call from an NYC real estate developer in a similar situation. Entrepreneur after entrepreneur I speak with says the same thing —- in the next few months there will be a major reallocation of assets. It’s an environment where millions will be made and lost in just a short time. It’s also a time of fear, when relationships based on trust will go a long way.
While $250 jeans, mink coats and cars won’t be purchased by consumers en masse this year, there is still tremendous opportunity in the long term. The economic times are simply more amazing than people today realize or understand. As Warren Buffet says: “Be greedy when people are fearful and fearful when people are greedy.” Brands that today establish good old-fashioned entrepreneurial trust by way of responsibility, hard work and commitment will thrive. Those brands can now afford to be greedy because so many others, who have not an ounce of trust left to their names, will be destroyed. (Hint: No private airplanes when asking for bailouts.)
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5W Public Relations, based in New York, one of the 20 largest independent PR agencies in the United States, named to the INC 500 list of fastest growing privately held companies.
November 11, 2008
Talking politics and PR with Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5W Public Relations
PR Will Win No Matter Which Candidate Wins the Election: Presidential Campaigns Offer Lessons for Communications Industry, Underscore Its Rising Influence
Talking politics and PR with Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5W Public Relations
"Whether Obama or McCain is the President tomorrow, I believe the PR industry is a winner in this election," said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations, when we called him on the eve of the election asking for his take on what many considered to be several weeks, if not months, of negative campaigning and high profile PR. "PR certainly was at the forefront this entire campaign season—and the PR business will benefit as a whole, regardless of who is voted in on Wednesday."
"PR was proven effective across the board," he continued. "Even something as simple as Obama using SMS texting to get out the message illustrates this. And don't forget that this election broke limits in terms of spending—both sides spent tons on messaging and advertising, and PR was at the center of it all. Mark Penn [worldwide CEO of Burston-Marsteller and president of polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates], who was Hillary Clinton's chief strategist, illustrates a trend I believe will continue of national high profile PR pros working front and center of campaigns."
So who, in Torossian's point of view, won the PR battle between the candidates? Which specific PR strategies was he impressed with this election year? And is there a role for negative PR in politics, despite all the public backlash? We posed these questions and more with the purpose not only of dredging up Torossian's strong opinions—but also your own during this polarizing election. To that, we welcome your comments on the following:
Who won the PR war—Obama or McCain?
I think there's no question that Obama won the PR war in a major way—and not just because of the bias of the mainstream media, which exists and is clearly pro-Democrat. Obama dominated that front from a PR perspective, even when his team had little or absolutely nothing to do with it. For example, the Tina Fey-as-Palin bit was a major PR victory for Obama. And so was the McCain-Letterman mishap, even tough those weren't part of any official PR strategy or effort.
Beyond that, Obama did some fascinating and successful things from a PR perspective. The campaign was very effective in fighting smears. They did an excellent job early on in avoiding his being called Barak Hussein Obama by his full name. It can't be denied that not being referenced as "Hussein" was a major victory in swing states with white, middle class voters.
How did McCain actively lose the PR war, then?
The campaign failed to define or speak powerfully to the issues which were important to him and that constituted the heart of the race in the last thirty days—namely, the economy. This became a one-issue race—and it surely wasn't about terrorism or the War in Iraq anymore. The McCain camp didn't make that shift effectively.
Is there a role for "negative PR" in politics?
Absolutely—it sticks in people's minds. It works. But I thought this election would be uglier. I think, to a degree, that a woman and a black guy running at the head of two tickets made it harder for things to get nasty. The race issue and gender issue may have precluded some of the bashing that otherwise would normally have gone on. Beyond that, I will say that the media itself engaged in some questionable things. They pulled so hard for Barack—even when he was against Hillary—that is was really evident. On the other side, you watch the cable networks and easily see that an independent Fox News is very different than an independent CNN. So, it's all "negative" and biased one way or another, and it's all built around building and playing to perceptions. That's the reality.
Can you think of any "negative PR" efforts the campaigns engaged in that worked?
I can think of efforts that didn't work. Everything McCain did in a "negative PR" light just didn't work. The whole does-Obama-wear-an-American-lapel thing went nowhere, really. There was no smoking Islam gun, nor link to Farrakhan, which were whispered for months. They really could have gone harder on certain issues, and certainly Bill Ayers or the Columbia professor vis-à-vis terrorism. So if there's a lesson here, it's that if you're going to go negative, you have to push hard and see it through.
Instant polls say "negative PR" doesn't work. But I don't buy it. You are shaping a voter's perception of a candidate one way or another—and if you do it right, it works. Some of these efforts just weren't executed well.
Do you think there will ever be backlash on the practice for "negative PR" efforts?
Nope—not in reality. Bloggers may write about it, but in the practical world, I don't believe it's an issue. You're not going to see any push back in reality, dollars and cents.
Ultimately, this election wasn't about "negative PR," however. It became about the economy. That's it. The only thing in the media today, for example, is the economy and the election. What's the last thing you heard about Iraq? How much news did other issues get in the last few weeks, really?
So your take is that PR has proven itself to be a power player in this election?
Yes. We'll be winners no matter what. PR's influence will only continue to increase in politics, and we will see more prominent PR leaders involved in major political campaigns moving forward, just like we saw this year with Penn. There will be no real backlash, and I feel strongly there will be positive forward results.
What final take away lessons does this election hold for PR readers?
Simple things like Obama's successfully fighting smears and their efforts to try new things like using SMS in campaign outreach shows us that there's plenty PR professionals can learn from watching the campaigns and their communications efforts. Political PR in general is a tremendous training ground for any PR person. It's PR at its quickest and at a level of highest impact. It's high stakes, state of the art work. Obama, in my opinion, ran a very smart campaign from a communications standpoint. Their use of social media only scratches the surface.
Brian Pittman
May 3, 2008
PR WEEK 2008 - 40 Under 40 – Ronn Torossian, 5W Public Relations CEO
Ronn Torossian Founder/president/CEO, 5WPR, 33
Ronn Torossian was known as a talented media hound in his early jobs at various New York City-area agencies. When he founded 5W in 2003 with one assistant, he put that nose for media to use. Today, his firm boasts 85 employees and 2006 billings of more than $9 million. Its client list is often described as "eclectic," ranging from government groups to corporations to music industry figures.
Torossian will undoubtedly be a fixture in the industry for years to come.
January 3, 2008
5W PUBLIC RELATIONS SIGNS FOUR NEW ONLINE TECHNOLOGY & ENTERTAINMENT CLIENTS TO ROSTER
Trends to Watch in 2008: Growth Guru Torossian Projects PR Changes, Challenges
Brian Pittman's spotlight this week: Ronn Torossian, President & CEO, 5W Public Relations
"One of the things that has fueled our faster growth rate compared to other agencies is our emphasis on media relations," says Ronn Torossian, founder of New York City-based 5W Public Relations, a 2007 Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Company that recently expanded to Los Angeles. "It's also a huge part of why we're going to be on that Inc. list in 2008 again, why we'll be a top ten independent agency in the next 24 months, and why we're projecting $13+ million for 2008 after an $11.5 million 2007."
Despite all the exciting things going on in new media these days, "We're not running away from traditional media relations as a staple of the practice," Torossian continues. "Media relations is a major reason why firms hire agencies. Everybody here pitches the press. That goes from account executives to me," he assures. "Once people hit the VP level in PR, they think they're immune from speaking to reporters. That's garbage. If you that's your mindset, then I'll grow and you won't. Clients like to see senior level PR executives rolling up their sleeves and doing the grunt work of PR. That's not 'consulting' or whatever you want to call it."
Torossian also attributes 5W's impressive growth to the agency's demographics. "We're a company with a lot of people under 50," he says. "Related to that is the reality that we all get new media and are willing to get our hands dirty in this area-in addition to our traditional media relations work. Clients now want agencies to get in the trenches with them when it comes to figuring out this new media mix. That was the biggest change I saw in the industry last year, and it's only going to grow in importance in 2008. In fact, I wouldn't even call it 'new media' anymore. It's '2008 media'-it's here and now. We're living in the day where blogs, MySpace and Facebook are part of the PR lexicon. Not getting that will kill any chances you might have at serious growth this year," he warns.
Torossian's additional take on growth opportunities for 2008:
Marketing and PR will increasingly morph together. "I think the biggest area of growth for PR lies in the way traditional advertising has changed. While I don't think traditional advertising is dead, the 30 second spot certainly has shifted. Everybody from magazines to TV is now insisting on ad-ons, co-op opportunities and things loyalty events. For PR, that means you're going to see more of a morphing together of marketing and PR to capture more of a consumer mindshare. PR firms who have a better understanding of marketing in general and where they fit into a marketing mix that is in flux will be well positioned to have more influence and a bigger piece of the budget."
Mid-sized agencies will increasingly challenge the bigs. "Mid-sized agencies are also going to see a lot of growth this year, since corporations are going away from AOR relationships and more toward projects across agencies. That offers hardworking agencies real chances to grow. Related to this is that PR is tremendously undervalued at corporations. They're spending millions in advertising and that's not translating to PR as much as it should, in part because, we believe, PRSA and others could be doing a better job of promoting PR and its value to businesses. The point is smaller and mid-sized agencies who can get out there, brand themselves and hustle to show they deliver that kind of a return are going to get a piece of the [traditional AOR business]."
The fall of the dollar may open markets for PR. People talk a lot about the fall of the dollar, but the rise of the euro actually creates great opportunities for PR. European countries are looking to the U.S. for PR. They'll spend $15,000 a month to retain stateside PR to make inroads here without batting an eyelash. So, we're looking to more European companies looking to enter the U.S. We're seeing sizeable growth in that-both for us and the agency business as a whole."
PR's talent shortage and shifting talent pool will inform growth. "This is going to be a big transition year for our firm, which has been viewed as a renegade, entrepreneurial shop in the past. Sure, we're expecting growth in our consumer marketing and public affairs practice, and we're also looking at the acquisition landscape. But this will likely be a year of 'stabilization.' We'll be aggressive-but our growth probably won't come at 100 percent."
Here's why: "We can't find staff quickly enough to sustain that-and I think this is the case across the entire industry. Everybody is having a harder time finding good staff than good clients. Expect increased competition for talent, and expect to see a generational shift in the talent pool. There are smart people out there. But for better or worse, there really are no mentors or visionaries. Burson and Father Edelman built their agencies thirty to forty years ago. Where are those types of leaders now? I'm a huge fan of Michael Kempner. He's a genius. But there aren't many others like him. So I think the industry is undergoing a change of generations. Any real growth is likely going to be driven by hiring smart, young people and enabling the ones you already have."
