I woke up this morning curious if a marketing scheme was behind Disney’s latest “quintuple threat” Miley Cyrus’ PR “crisis.” Was it a scheme to expand the star’s audience and wallet just before she turns 16? A trick to make her just old enough to be marketed to adults? Maybe, just maybe the recent photo shoot for Vanity Fair magazine was a “coming of age” ritual designed by her and her team and not a mistake?

Generally, brand positioning for a mega brand like this is a machine of people (publicists, managers and marketing executives) planning every single move with the motivation dollars in mind. Like it or not, let’s face it, kids and tweens are more mature now than ever. They are exposed to body image, sexuality and violence every day, so a hot shot of their idol in a prestigious, classy publication such as Vanity Fair could be viewed by some as cool and independent.

Many will in fact be turned off, but the banning of Hannah Montana in households isn’t a reality, regardless of her changing image. Just last week I spoke with a friend/client who owns a very hip and trendy business, and he told me how upset he is that his 11-year-old imitates Cyrus by having a boyfriend. But she watches… and while Dad was insistent in trying to convince his daughter that he should be her only “boyfriend”… suffice it to say, he didn’t win that argument.

Could it be that Miley’s marketing machine just canonized her as a “big kid,”?

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

As the owner of a PR agency, I found Sunday’s New York Times blockbuster article “Behind Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand,” (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/…) fascinating. For me, it’s a given that all organizations (including the US military) attempt to “spin” what the public sees and educate and influence spokespeople who appear in the media. It’s not deception any more than the political candidates who are trained to respond in a certain way, nonprofit organizations that routinely use one set of statistics instead of another or CEOs who are media trained on a daily basis by their PR firms.

Reading this article, I’d urge all to leave their politics aside. Whether one does or doesn’t agree with the war, once the President decides the war continues, the military must use all their PR might to convince the public they are right, and that means educating (in their way) and influencing “talking heads.”

Some specifics on this article:
· It’s natural that many who appear on TV have a vested financial or personal interest in the industry they are discussing. When one turns on any business station to discuss the economy, is the talking head not someone affected by the stock market? Clearly these individuals can’t speak about specific companies any more than someone in the market can discuss a specific stock, but they have a vested interest all the same.

It’s not at all a surprise to me that the ex-military personnel in this article have ties to people and companies in the defense industry, and in fact, benefit from it financially. (How else would one retired from the military earn a living?) So too, do many people on CNBC regularly make money from the stock market. So too, do commentators on E! make money from entertainment, and so on and so on.

Does one expect that a successful, renowned individual is doing TV and media interviews as a public service? I imagine very few do. Nearly everyone who appears in the media these days has a self-interested purpose.

· “Over time, the Pentagon recruited more than 75 retired officers.” Is it a surprise that retired officers would tend to be pro-military? Is it a surprise that the Pentagon wants the most favorable experts on their side? That the most eloquent, best-looking individuals would be the ones the military wants front and center? Experts are regularly sought out by the media, so why wouldn’t these military experts be the ideal type for the Pentagon to try and “spin”? That’s quite simply again, PR 101.

· The New York Times wrote of commentators “losing access” if they spoke negatively. While that sounds sinister, in reality, PR 101 would tell anyone to grant access to individuals more likely to speak positively. (Think Hillary Clinton or Obama is granting a lot of time to Commentary Magazine? Think the New York Yankees are allowing a Boston Globe sports reporter unfettered locker room access?)

In reality, reporters and PR people have a give-and-take relationship. It only makes sense that “unfriendly” interests won’t be granted access. Why not grant access to someone more likely to say nice things? This is true in any business, and yes, war, government and politics is business.

I’ve heard the arguments for “complete transparency,” but it’s not fair to ask the administration to meet 100% of these requirements without also demanding the same from our political parties, nonprofit organizations, and profit-driven businesses on the same topic, all of whom have vested interests. Many of the groups that would oppose my opinion have considerably lower standards of transparency for their own organizations. In order to meet any agenda, it’s important to control and manage the flow of information.

Spin is part and parcel of PR (and most definitely crisis/issues PR). The job of a good PR professional, particularly on issues, is to influence and convince people your way is right. That’s done in a variety of ways, including continually training your sources, continually providing talking points, and even (on occasion) blocking access to unfriendly reporters or experts. That’s true for all levels of big business and big politics.

This statement makes sense to me: “The intent and purpose of this is nothing other than an earnest attempt to inform the American people,” Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said. It was, Mr. Whitman added, “a bit incredible” to think retired military officers could be “wound up” and turned into “puppets of the Defense Department.”

Spin, Spin, Spin.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

An inspirational daily message I get forwarded from a colleague/friend… and I wanted to share this one:

With your imagination, you can create whole worlds that have never existed before.

What’s even more amazing is the creations of your imagination are not confined to being just that. There are absolutely no limits and much of what you think of in your mind works its way into the rest of your life.

You can completely control it simply by choosing to do so. Imagine the very best for your world in rich detail and intensity, and they will begin to grow in the reality of your life.

For your imagination reaches beyond your thoughts and your mind. Its transforming power comes from the fact that it is connected to all you are.

Life becomes the way you most sincerely and consistently visualize it to be. What do you dare to imagine?

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

It’s rare that I excerpt (or agree with) others from the PR agency world, as I feel the majority are very outdated and out of touch.

That said, Richard Edelman (whom I have spent time with privately and have a high regard for), added a very accurate and interesting post to his blog recently.

He wrote:
“When we think about how the rich and famous meet, we generally imagine face-to-face gatherings over champagne and crudités at high society balls, country clubs or the Sun Valley Conference hosted by Allen & Company. The reality is now quite different as the bright line between professional, charitable and personal lives for the super-rich is now blurred and with the evolution of their own virtual communities. Just as MySpace and Facebook have created a parallel universe of communication along the horizontal axis to the mainstream media’s top-down vertical axis, there are other institutions doing the same with the super-wealthy.

For example, the World Economic Forum is organizing a global platform for member discussion that is closed zone to outsiders, called WELCOM. CORE: a by-invitation only club in New York City, with 1,400 members of average net worth in excess of $100 million, offers COREaccess.net, a portal which aggregates information for members’ business and lifestyle needs. This too is a closed environment for member discussion of private issues; a Zagat-like guide on favorite restaurants/hotels; and even an exchange for goods and services. So in effect, the wealthy are in gated online communities equivalent to their secure homes. How can those of us in PR reach those elite consumers?”

Business is becoming increasingly segmented among communities as the world becomes a global village. It’s important to recognize that each community demands its own level of commitment.

I do a tremendous amount of networking within certain communities – under-45-year-old entrepreneurs, Israeli/Jewish/Russian communities (via speaking engagements, etc.), my favorite Upper West Side haunts, certain overseas and NYC destinations, high level networking events and the like. It’s not enough to simply focus on one segment; to be successful, one must cultivate many different contacts which overlap many different communities.

To except from Richard Edelman:
“The reality is now quite different as the bright line between professional, charitable and personal lives… is now blurred…with the evolution of their own virtual communities.”
I agree with this statement wholeheartedly across many demographic lines. The world has changed.

The ‘80’s hit Cheers’ wish for “a place where everybody knows your name,” is increasingly a reality for business as well as for the world at large.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

It’s rare that the tremendous value of PR in an international campaign is highlighted on the front page of The New York Times business section. Today’s feature, “Tibet Backers Show China Value of P.R.,” shows how indispensable public relations has become.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/business/media/14adco.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=business

In addition to the reasons cited in this article, PR’s value can also be seen purely in economics. It’s simply amazing that a major RFP in the PR Industry is one with a $500 thousand annual budget. That amount would have every single PR firm in the industry chasing the account. Conversely, next to nothing can be accomplished with an advertising budget of less than a million dollars.

Because of this, among many other reasons, I expect the PR business to continue to experience tremendous growth.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

The Olympics is clearly a brand that needs to play close attention to its PR and take a few major steps in order to counter the current negative protests thriving in the media.

Thoughts:
· The Olympic Committee leadership should immediately come out front and center, separating itself from the tainted “China” brand. This needs to be seen as the worldwide Olympics, not the China Olympics.

· Despite politicized calls to the contrary, the Olympics won’t be moved, and I for one don’t believe countries will boycott the Olympics. The bottom line is that there are always contentious issues which exist. These protesters have just been very creative and are doing a good job of making their issues heard and noticed.

· Sponsors don’t spend millions of dollars for additional headaches (human rights in China, Free Tibet, etc.). They all have their own problems. Do you think Visa, or one of the other high profile sponsors, would have wanted their logo on the torch which had police surrounding it?

Quick action needs to be taken to protect the Olympics brand. The longer its leadership waits to address the issue, the more difficult it will become to uphold its reputation.

There’s been a lot of debate recently about the difference between bloggers and reporters. I, for one, firmly don’t believe that bloggers and reporters are synonymous. Bloggers are biased. (Although, reporters are also. Let’s remember that while both FOX News & CNN claim to be unbiased, one needs only to watch a political report for all of 5 minutes to see that they both clearly “skew.” Right or wrong…)

This morning I read an article where the VP of student affairs at Duke University was quoted as saying, “It’s a world where someone with half a brain, a computer, and an Internet connection can be a publisher.”

Now, clearly this isn’t true for all bloggers, and there are many different types with different levels of objectivity. However, social media, Web 2.0 and today’s blogosphere plays by a whole different set of rules, and public relations professionals who want to be relevant need to be prepared and equipped to handle client communications in this era of new media.

As an aside, yesterday’s New York Times included an article about the pressures bloggers face from a 24/7 news cycle, but failed to mention that many reporters now face these same pressures. The news cycle in every outlet – from broadcast to print to online – has become global and continuous, with every outlet competing to break each story the moment it happens.

That’s one of the reasons consistent public relations and communication with the media has become so pivotal. I tell my employees that a good PR professional never shuts off – with an endless stream of changing news coverage, there are countless opportunities to create relevancy.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

For many reasons 5WPR has been very focused on trying to establish a stronger foothold with Russian and Ukranian companies entering the U.S.. Personally for many years I have been very socially active with this community and of late have become more professionally involved with Russians and Ukranians, from this region, from Israel and from elsewhere.

I am thrilled that as of today, we have formed a strategic partnership to focus on the communications needs of prominent Russian & Ukrainian companies, and individuals, with Tri-Global Strategic Ventures (TGSV), a boutique, full-service strategic networking firm.

Our initial clients include some of the largest industrial groups and influential political and business leaders, including a number of members of the Forbes 500 list. We have already worked with including individuals referred to by the media as oligarchs, and publicly traded entities.

Both Vitaly Pruss (TGSV’s principal) and I believe that Russian and Ukrainian companies are looking west for their business opportunities more than ever. Having spent tremendous time personally and professionally with people from this region, I find them to be very direct, aggressive, focused and driven – Similar attributes to 5WPR, and cause for tremendous opportunity. Wealth is also rapidly growing there.

I look forward to visiting Moscow and Kiev in the near future, and believe that with the global economy changing this is an area of tremendous focus for 5WPR.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR