I have just returned from an intense 5 day business trip to Las Vegas, and while the time there made me remember how much I dislike the commercial impersonalization of the city (and hotels which take 20 minutes to walk through and lines and lines)… Nevertheless, this trip will remain in my memories for quite some time as a very unique cultural experience.

I was in Vegas to attend the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a few clients, and particularly to manage and run the launch of Pamela Anderson’s gaming site and the Doyle Brunson Appreciation party. In addition to having a private dinner with Pamela Anderson and Doyle, the whole trip was amazing. Truly an eye-opener.

While attending the WSOP I saw thousands upon thousands of people playing cards – From all walks of life, from college kids in frat gear and baseball caps to older Europeans in 3 piece suits and speaking French on their cellphones, from middle aged housewives to “muscleheads” in union shirts – Truly an unbelievable cultural experience that really can’t be described properly in words. All of this in a room the size of a football stadium with halls upon halls outside the main room of beautiful scantily clad women pushing various products on attendees.

Really amazed me how poker is a sport which truly transcends such cultural and ethnic boundaries.

I won’t forget for a long time what my client and friend the gdfather of poker Doyle Brunson said to me as people were approaching him for autographs and asking to take pictures with him “I used to run from the police for playing cards and people used to hunt me down – Now I sign autographs like a celebrity.”

As a New Yorker, I live and work in Manhattan… but trips like this always remind me of the need to continue to travel and witness the world from a business stand point – the world has so much going on and so many different ways to make money.

This week’s poker filled trip to Vegas was an eye opener.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

5WPR has their finger on the pulse of the ever expanding mom market, so much so that we recently launched an exclusive consumer lifestyle division focused on all things Mom and Baby. Why? Because we know that moms are taking charge of the family purse.

Moms around the globe are spending over a trillion dollars in consumer goods each year, and managing 80% of household spending with over 60% who say they are more likely to purchase a product if they read about it in the press. As the media experts, it’s up to us to employ the best tactics and strategies for our clients to reach these savvy consumers.

Just think, how often to you hear mothers comparing the quality and value of all things consumer goods, from groceries to diapers – to child friendly restaurants and hotels? If they like what they experience, or read, they pass it on. So what better way to get the word out than through PR?

From the Hollywood baby boom to Mompreneurs, 5W Public Relations, in both NY & LA, links its clients to culturally relevant trends and presents them in ways that resonate with the media. Connecting daily with the most influential editors around the globe, we provide stories to the press that are entertaining, useful and valuable to the savvy mom marketplace. As a result, all of our clients in the Mom and Baby practice have seen a significant increase in sales as a result of targeted and strategic media outreach.

Our strategy is to invent and execute various tactics that connect with moms from all demographics, integrating brands into editorial from top tier publications as well as connecting them to popular mommy groups, social networks, schools and family clubs. We use guerilla tactics to introduce products via PR to the mom market, where mothers see a product’s association within a community to which they belong and trust.

Yet another market we see and understand better than our peers.

In moms we trust.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

I just returned from Israel on Tuesday and wow, what a whirlwind change a few days can make. Last week I walked the streets of Jerusalem with a former client, and friend, a senior employee of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism who told me that he expected tourism to be at an all time high… This morning, 2 close friends told me they weren’t boarding their planned flights to Israel.

We do a tremendous amount of work in Israel, and I find the business people there to be among the most fascinating in the world – Hard working, smart, focused and aggressive…. Our kind of people. They show up to work no matter what the circumstances and in the face of difficulty. They are tremendously focused and driven – Whereas I have seen this city shut down by a simple transit strike, Israelis continue living normal lives no matter what the circumstances.

We are opening an office in Israel in the next few weeks to better serve the burgeoning technology and corporate companies which exist there. It will be 5W’s first global office and I am excited about it.

A few comments:

I view this as part of the continuation of what will soon be known as World War 3 – Western Civilization against Militant Islam. I pray and hope Israel will thrive.

America and worldwide business will be affected the longer this battle goes on in a variety of ways – From gas prices to stock markets and the very many products which originate in the region… Intel, Microsoft and countless others have offices in Israel.

Business in Israel is among the most advanced anywhere in the world outside of the US – These brilliant minds need to be watched very closely for their amazing wisdom..

Ronn Torossian

5W PR