I heard a very wise statement today about keeping things in perspective. There are really only two hard days in life, and they both provide contrasts and growth points.

The day you are born, you cry because you leave the warmth of your mother’s womb, and everyone around you laughs and smiles at your arrival.  The day you die, you smile at the thought of entering the world to come, and everyone around you cries.

If one takes these statements at face value, even during these difficult economic times, everything can be seen as an adventure and every day can be seen as a growing point.

It’s important to keep a positive focus on life.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Today we held a press conference for a client, and we were very pleased with the amazing turnout, about 10 reporters or so.   Our client was thrilled as well.  Press conferences are always so much fun: they’re risky because you never know how many reporters will show, but they have the potential to be hugely rewarding.  They’re also a lot of fun to set up.

During the press conference, one very young looking “reporter” from a major news outlet was present.  Although he had credentials around his neck, he clearly wasn’t of drinking age.  I was concerned he might be a fraud.  He asked questions during the press conference, and afterwards, my clients’ first question was, “Who is that?”  I had the same question, and sure enough, the “reporter” was, in fact, an intern, who was reporting on the story.  Budget cuts?

A reporter’s accuracy is very important, so I was surprised that a leading news outlet would send an intern to cover a major story.  Especially for a major publication.  Food for thought.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

This week, I had separate lunches with two colleague CEOs of Public Relation firms.  Both firms are larger than us, and I respect both CEOs.  I can’t say I often dine or spend time with industry colleagues. Generally, my time is spent with clients, employees, journalists or hunting for business.  Given the pure chaos which exists in the market, it’s necessary to hear (and share) with industry colleagues.

An interesting topic that came up was the definition of Public Relations in 2009.  Not the textbook definition, but the actual definition vis a vis what clients will pay for and what agencies can ask to be paid for.  (As I often say, it’s easy to say, much harder to do.  Running an agency isn’t an experiment or concept – it’s reality).  Particularly in times like these, agencies need to be clear on what they do.  Clients rightfully demand responsibility for every penny spent, and PR firms need to know what they are tasked to deliver (and what can they deliver).

A key question for agencies remains: Do we define Public Relations as PR/marketing, or is PR centered around media and media relations?  Or a combination of the 2 ? I ask this question not as an academic, but more as a practicality of running a business.  It’s very challenging to charge a media relations client $50K a month, whereas agencies who look at PR primarily through marketing eyes can often charge that and more.  Conversely, it’s often a challenge to find senior talent who will call the media (as we at 5WPR expect). The skills to succeed at creating PR marketing programs are often antithetical to the skills required to thrive in media.

It is very, very much unknown just how small the PR agency world is.  There are fewer than 200 independently owned PR firms in the US, and that number is sure to shrink in 2009 with the recession.  Of course, the above list doesn’t count the many 1 or 2 person “PR” businesses, which I really wouldn’t characterize as agencies.  And there are also the 20 or so mega agencies owned by publicly traded holding companies.

As the CEO of the 21st largest independent firm in the US, I am often amazed at the small size of PR retainers.  As I often state, a $1M (or even $500K) PR client is one that any PR firm in the US would chase endlessly, whereas a $1M advertising client is one that very few top 100 ad agencies would pay a minute of attention to.  It’s a disparity that I very much hope will change in the future.  But for now, PR simply remains the overlooked bastard step child.

While reading about the recent scandal surrounding Brunswick, a highly-specialized financial public relations firm, I wondered why PR firm employees don’t earn what bankers earn, despite the fact that PR professionals shape messaging, create public perception, and move stock markets en masse.  It’s because the fees corporations pay PR people simply aren’t in the millions.  (Although a firm like Brunswick does charge a stiff hourly rate, compensation doesn’t come anywhere near to what a top lawyer or banker makes).

Despite The New York Times’ statement that financial PR agencies “are often as deeply embedded in deals as the bankers and lawyers who negotiate them,” PR firms simply aren’t huge businesses like banks or law firms.  For anyone who wants to work at a PR firm, there simply aren’t more than a handful of options.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Friday morning, as part of our ongoing speaker series, 5WPR hosted Rev. Al Sharpton.  Although I disagree with him politically, Sharpton has influence and access, and he brought a new view to our conference room.  He’s clearly a messenger with a voice in politics and the media, and someone we can learn from.

As a PR agency, we host a speaker series for our clients, friends, contacts, and the media.  In the past four months, our speakers have included Hank Sheinkopf (a friend and very smart political consultant… daily on CNN), Roger Stone (political genius), two Israeli MK’s, including Gilad Arden (a probable Minister in a Netanyahu administration) and Yoel Hasson, a longtime friend and Chairman of Kadima (current ruling party), among a slew of others.  It’s beneficial for our clients, interesting and exciting.

Sharpton’s topic was Race & Business in the Obama Administration.  He spoke quite eloquently, acknowledging that while a significant glass ceiling has been broken, there is still a ways to go.  “We’ve made a lot of progress, but I don’t think we should stop until we make it all the way,” he said

When asked how far he thinks he has moved the Civil Rights movement, he responded, “We have made enormous progress, [but] Martin Luther King used to say ‘you gotta measure things from the bottom to the top.’  So we made a lot of top progress, but the bottom has to be on the same progressive curve as the top.  You can’t just have Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, but double unemployment in Harlem and act like it’s not important.  That’s where the challenges still remain.”

Sharpton’s entire presentation can be heard at 5W Public Relations’ YouTube page.
The presentation is broken into three segments:
Part -1:
Part -2:
Part -3:

Sharpton’s most resonating words for me were, “This isn’t the end of grievance politics.  There will be grievance politics as long as there are grievances.”  Working with a ton of politicians on PR issues, I agree that as long as there’s politics there will be grievances.

It was an all around exhausting week, so I’ll end with a quote from an investment banking friend, who said: “Most people DON’T have a clue what they’re doing and the ones that do work their asses off – right?”  I concur.  It’s not easy being a business owner.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

Owning a PR agency makes the second half of December an incredibly busy and difficult time for me.  Every year, the last few weeks of this month are absolutely hectic, without fail.  I admit that this year I thought it might be different, with the economy what it is.  But the week is barely three days old, and I haven’t left the office before 10 p.m.  Exhausting.

Separately, I had lunch yesterday with a colleague from the Public Relations industry at a well-known, mid-tier midtown restaurant.  When the bill ($100 for lunch for two) arrived, we were surprised to find a simple $10 gift card along with it.  No explanation – nothing other than the card.  It’s a very clever marketing tactic to use during a time when many are cutting back on dining out.  Essentially, for the price of an appetizer, this lunch venue may secure my repeat business.  Smart marketing (and both of us noticed it).

Ronn Torossian

5WPR