1. I spent the better part of this Memorial Day working.  Most of the day included sending targeted email pitches and client ideas to media and pitching breaking stories to news assignment desks.  Why don’t more PR people work holidays? Holiday or not, papers still get published the next day and TV stories still air.  The media business is 24/7. 

As 5WPR continues to grow in the years to come, I would love to have an office that opens at 7 AM to focus on international markets and closes at midnight for West Coast business.  I believe those days will eventually be upon us and can’t emphasize enough the importance of always pitching media.  It’s important to recognize the incredible opportunity present in pitching on days when the news cycle isn’t as busy and when there are fewer PR people competing for attention. It’s why my firm will never be closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

I am also quite proud of the fact that everyone at my agency pitches media.  It’s amazing to me that so many others in the industry feel “above” pitching media; how can one counsel clients on media and not actually pitch the media?  

2.  Brands that spend a ton investing in PR, marketing and the like should really pay attention to the basic blocking and tackling… the ABC’s.

A few Memorial Day examples:

*  Banana Republic (whose t-shirts I love): I went in to buy a few t-shirts, and for the second time this week, I waited on line 10 minutes before walking out.  Despite the promotions in the window and my admiration for its quality, the brand lost me as a customer.  Why?  Because it couldn’t pay the minimal amount required to have more than one cashier working in a high-traffic area.  With countless customers frequently walking out in frustration, does that make any sense whatsoever?  And it’s always the case at this Banana Republic.

*  Haru:  The food is amazing, but the location in my area fails to employ anyone who can coherently understand English.  Even though I order multiple times a week and always recite my phone number, I always have to repeat my order three times without fail.  For that reason alone, I recently switched the restaurant where I order my sushi from.

Good customer service is a basic necessity for businesses.  It doesn’t take a lot to hire someone to take and process orders correctly.  I proudly remember my first job at the age of 11 answering phones in a Bronx pizzeria for $2 an hour.  Any company which invests heavily in customer acquisition should make it a top priority to invest equally in customer retention.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

This is an academic study conducted by Jerry Swerling, Professor and Director of PR at the USC.

* In 2007, PR budgets increased on average by 7%

* Organizations remain reluctant or unable to allocate adequate resources to PR evaluation,

* Increasingly the PR function reported directly to the C-Suite at 64% reporting to human resources, legal, finance and strategic planning.  PR was ranked as the top contributor to success among respondents at government agencies and among all but the very largest not-for-profits, suggesting that one of the benefits of working in the government or not-for-profit arena is the extent to which PR is seen as an important player.

* The recommendation for best practices in PR are as follows:

* GAP (Generally Accepted Practices)

* GAP Best Practice #1: Maintain a higher than average ratio of PR budget to gross revenue (GAP PR/GR Ratio).

* GAP Best Practice #2: Report directly and exclusively to the C-Suite.

* GAP Best Practice #3: Optimize the C-Suite’s understanding of PR’s current and potential contributions to the success of the organization as a whole.

* GAP Best Practice #4: Establish an effective social responsibility strategy for your organization.

* GAP Best Practice #5: Establish an effective digital-media strategy for your organization.

* GAP Best Practice #6: Establish an effective issues-management strategy for your organization.

* GAP Best Practice #7: Optimize integration and coordination within the PR/Communications function, and between it and other organizational functions.

* GAP Best Practice #8: Encourage highly ethical practices across the organization, beginning with communication.

* GAP Best Practice #9: Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a long-term strategic point of view, beginning with communication.

* GAP Best Practice #10: Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a proactive mindset, beginning with communication.

* GAP Best Practice #11: Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a flexible mindset, beginning with communication.

* GAP Best Practice #12: Optimize the integration of PR and reputational considerations into top-level organizational strategies.

* GAP Best Practice #13: Measurably contribute to organizational success.

Check out the full study at USC.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

Today’s New York Times had an interesting article which my staff discussed at length in an AM meeting.  The article by David Brooks spoke about today’s geeks.  While I am not, and have never been a geek, I found it to be thought provoking reading… and reminded me of an interesting speech which Bill Gates gave years ago I have read about… which talked about how feel-good, and politically correct teachings, created a generation of kids with no concept of reality, and how this method was setting them up for failure in the real world.

He concluded by outlining the following 11 Rules:

Rule 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. However, the world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you start feeling good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school, and you won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers at McDonalds should not be beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping … they called it OPPORTUNITY.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own bedroom.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with recognizing that there are winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have even abolished failing grades, and they’ll give you as much time as you want to get the right answer on an exam. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. You are supposed to do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have
to leave the coffee shop, and go out and find a job.

Rule 11: Be nice to NERDS. Chances are you will end up working for one.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

This morning I was forwarded a brilliant article by a colleague regarding Zappos, the internet-based shoe company.  I found it simply inspiring.  Here’s the amazing concept: Zappos, famous for outrageously great customer service, trains their CSRs (customer service reps) for a week and then offers the representatives $1,000 to quit.  What does this process hope to achieve?  Very simple: the process culls the true believers from the paycheck players.

Any entrepreneur or business person in general knows how difficult it is to find dedicated and loyal employees.  I found Zappos’ concept fascinating.  Many great organizations expect dedication above and beyond 9 to 5 and are always searching for ways to increase employee commitment.

Kudos to Zappos, an industry leader for going a step further.  They have truly set themselves apart from the competition.  If someone is only about the paycheck, that someone won’t be a GREAT employee, and it’s worth the cash to find that out.

Ronn Torossian
 

2 observations from walking around my neighborhood today:

- Was very impressed with the brand experience at the Samsung store in Columbus Circle.  A large retail space, really dedicated to the brand experience of Samsung.  Comfortable couches throughout the store – 1 area had folks watching the NBA playoffs, another had a James Bond movie showing, and yet another section of the store had teenage kids playing video games.  Stores pay huge rent, it’s a warm welcoming environment and I am sure results in increased brand affinity for Samsung (as well as I am sure ultimately increased sales).  It’s smart and I never understand why more brands don’t do simple things which allow customers to spend more time in their stores (particularly pre-qualified high rent districts where I’d imagine the consumer demographic is high end and precisely the consumer brands are seeking to influence).

- Then spent 3+ hours doing one of my favorite leisure activities – Just hours in the bookstore.  Scanned dozens of magazines which I don’t read on a regular basis (from obscure watch magazines to niche technology trades – Literally dozens of magazines… Clearly a must for any PR pro… read read and read more.).  Then scanned about 5 different business motivation books… and gleaned a ton of knowledge and enjoyment.  Favorite quote of the day from a networking book: “The next year’s business success is about the people you will meet and the books you will read.” As I have said before, I have never met a good PR person who doesn’t absolutely love reading.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

On this rainy Friday afternoon in NYC, a friend forwarded some quotes I wanted to share (my office walls are adorned with great quotes)….

Be ready when opportunity comes…Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet: Roy D. Chapin Jr.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it: Lou Holtz

Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal: Vince Lombardi

Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them: Samuel Smiles

Don’t go through life, grow through life: Eric Butterworth

Ronn Torossian

5WPR 

Saturday night, while dining with a former client, a future client and a few friends, I met an acquaintance who owns a similar-sized business in the marketing space. We spoke about the challenges of handling 90+ employees and a few hundred clients. His casual remark stuck in my mind: “In the service industry, with a business this size, you can’t have a personal life. It’s just impossible.”

He said this on a Saturday night at 10 p.m. or so, when I was dining at Philippe, a client’s restaurant, with a former client and a future client by my side.

There are many things which affect the “entrepreneur” lifestyle, and certainly there are many changes that people need to consider before going off on their own.

I have never once regretted being an entrepreneur. It’s the greatest thing in the world. Although, I will say I have never understood the concept of a “lifestyle entrepreneur.” It is harder than anything I have ever done – all encompassing, all the time. But yes, there are many rewards…

Personal boundaries all change. There’s very little separation between work and personal life. My simple solution for this is to genuinely enjoy the people I spend time with professionally as much as possible.

As a young entrepreneur, I always strive for self improvement in all aspects of life, personally and professionally. I am blessed in my business to be surrounded by some brilliant clients from whom I can continually learn.

A senior employee asked me on Saturday afternoon (when we had lunch for an hour to review financials, staffing and the like) why I spend so much time with a certain low paying client. I responded, “His management style is so very different from mine, yet he’s so successful; while I completely disagree with many of his decisions, I like listening to and learning from clients.”

It’s true… but I also genuinely like him, so I try to spend time with him and learn whatever I can from him.

On Sunday afternoon I was in Brooklyn with a client, dining with our children. And there again I thought, from the gym to the dinner table to nightlife to vacations, in the personal service industry, as an entrepreneur, personal boundaries must change.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

Forwarded from a friend… and a great inspiration with which to start the week… There are those who do it, and those who watch it done…

Responsibility is not a burden. It is the key that enables you to exercise control over your own destiny. Only by taking responsibility are you able to move life in the direction of your own dreams and visions. Responsibility fully engages the best of who you are.

Responsibility can be difficult, time-consuming, unfair, inconvenient and uncomfortable. Yet it also brings you to a level of empowerment that cannot be reached in any other way. At the heart of true achievement is responsibility.

No matter what has happened, or who is to blame, or how it all came to be, choose to take full responsibility for your life. For that is the first step in making it great.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR