An excerpt I wanted to share:
Issue Date: Daily Dog - January 3, 2008
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.”
Ronn Torossian
5W PR
