Great cover story today in The New York Observer entitled, “Convention Pits Texting vs. Press.”  Amid the buzz surrounding the Obama camp’s intention to release the VP choice via text message, the article focuses on how print journalists at the DNC just aren’t getting many exclusive (or good) stories that aren’t being told elsewhere.

Gail Collins of The New York Times was quoted as saying “There’s 10 million people watching TV, and if we can’t find something that’s not on the TV to be useful about, then what the hell is my paper paying me to be here? I feel morally obliged to be running around futilely trying to find something.”

In today’s new world of instant communication, it’s that much harder for print reporters to find good stories.  As the article states, “For journalists being powerful in the arenas they cover is as significant as being powerful in their own industry. A political reporter wants to cover politics.”

The New York Times’ chief political reporter, Adam Nagourney said, “If you come here and David Axelrod came walking down the aisle over there, there’d be 500 people around him, and you’d be getting the most boilerplate quotes. So what’s the point?”

I don’t believe print journalism is dead (as some have surmised). But the old medium is a mess.  Every aspect of the world has changed, and journalists and media have to learn to deal with it.  There’s much more competition and instant communication and much less exclusivity.

PR people need to continue to nurture relationships and feed media stories, but also learn to function differently as well.  This article is interesting reading for all of us concerned with spin and what media is thinking, and how they are continuing to evolve.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I came across a great quote today while doing some reading: “Marketing after all is really theater. It’s like staging a performance. The way to motivate people is to get them interested in your product, to entertain them, and to turn your product into an incredibly interesting event,” said John Sculley, former president of Pepsi and former CEO of Apple.
 
It’s a very insightful quote for many reasons. Truth be told, although very few brands allocate the sorts of budgets that Sculley had access to, marketing is theater in many ways. As we come up with pitches, guerilla marketing events, and other tactics for all kinds of companies, we realize if we can elicit laughter or positive emotions from reporters or consumers, we are more likely to get coverage — positive coverage.
 
Ronn Torossian
5WPR

So, had a lunch with a handful of staff members today.  We had an interesting discussion about social media and how they use it: 

Someone made a very wise comment about using Twitter and the value of passively reading comments and thoughts of reporters and writers. He said, “If you had the chance to sit at a bar and silently listen to 100 Reporters talking, would you? That’s Twitter.”

Also we had a discussion on using Facebook to research Reporters’ personal interests and other issues to better tailor pitches and approach.  Facebook, seemingly, can help break down barriers and stereotypes that reporters may have about PR people, as people with common interests are more likely to easily relate to one another.

People do business with people they like. Reporters are easier to pitch when better understood.In essence, there are many ways one can utilize social media today to become a better PR pro.

Food for thought.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

When I graduated from college in 1995, wearing a tie to work every day topped my list of things I wasn’t looking forward to.  Even though it was the norm at the time, I always felt constrained in a tie.  During my first agency job, I was constantly scolded by my supervisor for not wearing a tie every day and to every single client meeting. 

Then, slowly during the dot-com era, no ties became the norm.  For many, and certainly for me, the defining moment was the AOL-Time Warner merger, when the CEO of Time Warner didn’t wear a tie during the press conference.

Watching the presidential “non debates” the other day, I instantly noticed that neither candidates, nor the host, wore a tie.  I was struck by how the world has changed forever in this manner. The Wall Street Journal in an article dissected the phenomenon and doled at advice on how to pull off the no necktie look to a tee. 

I may even venture to say that today I encounter more jeans in serious meetings among big and small company CEOs than I do neckties.  While our office dress code is still business casual (no jeans except on Fridays), and while I have a closet full of neckties, if I wear a tie a few times a year, it’s a lot.

In many ways, this can be viewed as the continuous break down of not only formality in communications, but also society in general.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Sunday’s New York Times article entitled “How to Erase That Smea…” is a good read not just for politics, but also for real business.  Business these days is very aggressive, and that’s life.  One must often respond to half-truths.

As the article states, “the very notion of viral marketing, a phrase that describes the exponential multiplication of e-mailed campaign messages sent to one network of people who send it on to another, reflects the answer that has emerged from that debate: Never wait. Everything is moving at warp speed.” During meetings, it’s often necessary for me to check BlackBerry messages multiple times. We live in an era in which people – both clients and the media — demand and expect instant answers, and on numerous occasions when I haven’t been able to respond very quickly for whatever reason, I see stories in which my client hasn’t yet responded, or hasn’t been included, or has missed opportunities because we didn’t respond quick enough.

I subscribe to the thought that rapid response is a very necessary component of winning in PR, and as I have blogged about previously,  great business leaders should read IT’S NOT THE BIG THAT EAT THE SMALL…IT’S THE FAST THAT EAT THE SLOW  by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton. Our PR agency absolutely believes in working quickly.

I’ll end this post the same way the New York Times did. How often is Mike Tyson, of all people, quoted in a New York Times business story? In his heyday, however, Tyson answered pre-fight interview questions about his opponents’ strategies this way: “Yeah, they all have a strategy — until they get hit.”

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

Admittedly, I haven’t watched much of the Olympics, but I have read a number of articles that I found interesting regarding unofficial sponsors of the Olympics. Athletes and sponsorships are big business, and it is often entrepreneurial brands that (attempt to) find less expensive ways to capture the public’s attention at high-profile events.

These two were some of the more unique instances:

* In an official team photo of the U.S. men’s basketball team, member Dwight Howard’s footwear was obscured, as he won’t wear Nikes. I think the picture that Nike released allowed Howard’s foot to be invisible in what was probably the easiest way possible.

* Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of sunglass company Oakley attracted a ton of attention.

At the end of the day, sponsors pay athletes a lot of money and have to insist on pushing their athletes to do all they can do to protect the brands’ investments.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

As a PR professional who started his PR career in politics, I remain consumed and fascinated with the art of the spin, particularly in the political sphere. Today’s reality is a McCain vs. Obama race, but the real story is the PR behind the campaign. From how Rudy Guiliani ran his race — focusing on Florida — to the way Hillary Clinton conducted her campaign, handling political public relations is often the most intense, serious, and challenging work a PR professional can have.

This article in The Atlantic is a necessary read for anyone interested in learning from mistakes. Although, as I often say, it’s easy to criticize and harder to do, and in business and life, hindsight is always 20/20. Nevertheless, the number of documents leaked at this extremely high level was amazing, and, as stated, “Everything from major strategic plans to bitchy staff e-mail feuds was handed over.”

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Being an entrepreneur is always exciting, challenging and a real endeavor.  And it’s harder than anything you have ever dreamed of doing.

This week was a particularly tough one.  Each day brought new challenges that kept me at the office, out with clients or at media events until at least 10 p.m.  To maintain sanity during weeks like this one, I wake up early (5 AM’ish) just to run.   Before I turn around, it’s suddenly 3 p.m. and I haven’t eaten at all day.  Yes, a tough week.

I really love what I do, and I think any great entrepreneur has to love his work in order to maintain focus.  There’s such a rush of excitement when things are good.  I love the high highs. This week is one of those weeks where the energy is nonstop.  And now, as it begins to wind down, there’s only one last thing to worry about – the rain forecast for tomorrow’s 5W summer party.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Last night I had a fascinating dinner at an NYC hotspot with a very close, successful friend and two of his business colleagues, both CEOs who run major corporations (corporation names anyone would recognize).  Throughout a very fun, fascinating two hour discussion on China’s impressive opening ceremony of the Olympics, we attracted many different people to our table.

As this incredibly networked restaurant, we made a few very important contacts each of us hadn’t known previously.  From the owner of a major NYC retail chain to a celebrity’s right hand man to a major tech CEO – between the four of us we racked up a ton of contacts.  All by being in a certain restaurant at a certain time, we ended up expanding networks, enjoying and ultimately building businesses.

The instance reminded me of a recent discussion with the CEO of a publicly traded company, who spoke of a certain place he dined for breakfast anytime he visited NYC.  He said his stock rose or fell depending on whom he was seen having breakfast with.  His stock literally would move depending on how he greeted certain analysts, or bigwigs.

I often speak to young professionals and college students, and one of the most important messages I can impart is to surround yourself with the people you want to be.  Put yourself in the line of fire.  Surround your personal and professional being with people who are successful and well-connected, and it will benefit you in many ways.

I host a series of different networking events every month for clients, colleagues, and friends.  My tagline is always “Put smart successful people in a room together, and they will figure out a way to make money.”

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Had a fascinating discussion with a tremendously successful young entrepreneur yesterday for whom I hold deep respect.  He spoke to me about the very important need to effectively manage one’s eighteen waking hours (on average I sleep 5-6 hours).  Long story short, he spoke of making me 20% more effective if I let him oversee my schedule for 60 days, and I plan to let him do so.  While I have long believed the more hours I work, the more successful we become, as responsibilities increase it’s about being more effective during the hours that we work.

Here are some keys he suggested to me, which he claimed would add hours of effectiveness per week:

 ·        Bring clothes to the gym so you don’t need to commute home  

 ·        Rather than reading the paper at home before you leave, read in the car or subway (once you are at your desk, your odds of down time is lowered)

 ·        Schedule as many meetings as possible in your own office (minimizing travel time)

 ·        Schedule open hours with staff during a set time every day (rather than coming and going all day, you can simply schedule back to back to back)

There were many deeper ones than this which I don’t want to share… but time, especially in the service business, is all we have… and maximizing one’s time is key.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR