Simply an unbelievable day…

1: As I have stated before, jobs and daily tasks have changed for all, including me.  I am spending more time pitching clients to the media every single day.  I want and need to be more connected than ever before to hands-on activities core to our business.  Paramount to achieving success in media relations is often positioning clients in individual spaces as experts.  This builds credibility and ensures that they get quoted on a regular basis.  Today, I received an amazing one-line response to an expert pitch from a major business reporter I deal with regularly at a top-tier magazine:

“There is no such thing as business or financial experts.  They are all liars.  I will not read any ‘expert’ pitches.”  Verbatim.  WOW.

2:  I grew up without much money.  I started working 40 hours a week at age 11 in a Bronx pizzeria.  I kept working at that same pizzeria, sometimes 40 hours a week and sometimes 80, up until the age of 23 or so.  My family never received any help from the government, nor did we expect any.  I was blessed to start a business in January 2003 after working very hard at other PR firms, and since then, I have thank g-d built that business up from working even harder.  Every day is a struggle; every day as an entrepreneur is challenging.  I consider myself an entrepreneur – involved in a number of ventures, I assume accountability for risks and outcomes.  It’s difficult. As such, I don’t ask, nor expect help from the government.  I increasingly learn that they don’t make it easy to succeed.  Today, I was shocked when I learned of the government’s intrusion into my small business, via the stimulus package, which we have heard endlessly about.

We learned that 65% of COBRA payments, which we offer to laid-off employees (and gives former employees the right to continue group health insurance benefits for 18 months), will now need to be paid for by 5WPR (and in some shape, form or manner supposedly reimbursed via tax subsidies). Of course, everyone has the right to health insurance, but this stimulus package’s 65 percent COBRA subsidy is paid for by the employer (me), adding significant bills to the small business owner (whose business is already down and suffering from lower cash flow). 

I couldn’t say it better than this article on MSNBC:
“…employers have to pay the subsidy upfront….  Employers…have to give the government a short-term loan.” 

So, the reward for the small business owner is that he now has to subsidize the employee that he presumably couldn’t afford to pay, or who wasn’t performing up to snuff.  Furthermore, “the employer must reach out to both those who took COBRA at that time and to those who didn’t take it.”  Once again, they’re forcing small businesses to spend time on non-revenue generating activity.  A capitalist environment?  At 5WPR, we are focused on servicing our clients and bettering our business – Should we focus at this time on non-revenue generating activity ?

I also don’t understand where the government thinks this money will come from.  Most likely, employers will have no choice but to increase healthcare costs and contributions from current employees. The answer in this economy isn’t taxing small businesses, but providing us with incentives, growth and opportunity, which we have always passed along to our employees.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

Media baron Rupert Murdoch issued an urgent internal document late Monday, warning his staff: “We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered….  Many people will be under extreme pressure and many companies mortally wounded….  Let me be very clear about our company: where others might step back from their commitment…we will renew ours.”

I agree.  Anyone who doesn’t understand this, at any level of work and at any size of company, will be on the sidelines for a real long time.  Urgency now.  Immediacy and passion.

Truly amazing times.  Realize it every day.
Ronn Torossian

5WPR

As a follow-up to my previous post, there are and have always been quotes hanging all over my office at my PR agency. I wanted to post some of these — I use them for inspiration!

The Chabad Rabbi of blessed memory in difficult times would continuously quote this saying: “Tracht Gut Vet Zayn Gut: Think positive and it will be positive!”

Jay-Z : “I refuse to lose.”

Roger Ailes  (Fox News): “If you run into people who are negative and always telling you that the cat got run over, and you couldn’t get the car started, and you’ve got a cold, the suits are idiots, and life isn’t fair, you know, you need to get away from those people because they will suck you under and hold you down and drown you.”

Phil Knight:  “Just Do It.’ This has become a legendary mantra of self-sufficiency, rugged individualism, and fearlessness. If you look deeply enough you can see that there is much more to the statement than meets the eye. Often in life we just have to face our fears and do it (whatever “it” is) anyway. Phil Knight had fears just as most people do when it comes to starting something new, but Phil Knight did it anyway.” 

Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”  The power of positive thinking.
 
Ronn Torossian
5WPR

As difficult as it is to keep one’s chin up during these trying times, this week’s article from AdAge sheds light on a major issue that makes today’s environment even harder for small and mid-sized agencies: late payments. One of the hardest parts of running a business and being an entrepreneur is extending credit to companies and managing cash flow. To this day, in our seventh year of business, when I look at my accounts receivable and see seven figures outstanding, it’s simply terrifying. It’s one of the biggest differences for me between owning a business and having a job.
 
Anyone who owns a business has been stiffed. The question isn’t “if”; it’s “how much and how often.” As AdAge says, asking agencies to wait “as long as 120 days to be reimbursed” is “putting a painful burden on some shops.” There’s not much one can do, other than understand that cash is king, and good clients pay their bills. (And bad ones seem to complain only when you ask where the past-due money is.) Agencies are being squeezed now more than ever before, and there has never been a harder time to own a profitable PR agency.

I believe many agencies will continue to merge, as they simply can’t keep their doors open.  We are in discussions with quite a few PR firms who are having trouble managing manage cash flow (or the lack thereof), which inspired me this past weekend to reread an old friend’s book, “How To Ruin A Business Without Really Trying.”   While revisiting it, I remembered a few seemingly basic cardinal rules that seem simple but shouldn’t be violated, especially during these unique times: Don’t spend what you don’t have (cash is king, not credit), sweat the small things, don’t hide, and don’t be afraid.
 
In this economy, and always, confidence is absolutely key, particularly for entrepreneurs. People have to keep themselves in the right state of mind, as hard as it is, be able to move quickly, have urgency, and focus on positives.
 
URGENCY, URGENCY, URGENCY.  All must be done, and must be done quickly. Keep it in mind.
 
Ronn Torossian
5WPR

I had lunch today with a group of junior employees, preceded by a meeting with a star former intern looking for advice on his career quest (he lamented, “Could there ever be a harder time?”).  Contrary to public opinion, I think now could be the ideal time for young people to succeed.  Certainly, they are in a better spot than older people who are struggling.  Young people have energy and can go and do endlessly.  Now is the time to use that edge.  There’s less pressure at home, no pre-conceived notion of how to do things, and hopefully not as much debt (or bad mortgage).  If it truly is a new economic world, young people have the best opportunities to succeed in it.  Albeit untraditional opportunities, but opportunities nonetheless.

I had the chance today to attend a class with my Rabbi, who spoke of people taking vacations to deal with the pressure during times like these.  As he said, now more than ever isn’t the time to take vacations.  Will the pressure and problems be solved after vacation?  No.  In reality, the problems and pressure will be twice as bad upon your return.  Now is the time to work twice as hard. Vacations will only compound the problems.  

Similarly, as an entrepreneur, I understand that there is no such thing as a business idea that is 100% right.  People doubting you at times is a healthy thing.  There will always be some opposition, because one who has no enemies has never done anything.  It’s not easy to succeed, or everyone would be successful.  Right now, it’s more important than ever before to keep your head down, focus, work hard and refuse to give in.  Do better and don’t accept failure.

Here at 5WPR, we have actually hired a new full-time recruiter simply to pursue employees who are willing and able at times such as these to do the extraordinary.  Have a client you need serviced properly, but your agency’s falling apart? Call me… Have a small agency but can no longer pay the bills? Are you someone who can get a media hit an hour? We firmly believe these people exist, and we are actively seeking them out. 

This isn’t the time to make short-term mistakes, which harm one’s long term success.  Short-term solutions with a long term vision are the way to victory.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Yesterday, I spoke with a group of 40 MBA students visiting from France who came to my office.  As we spoke about job opportunities in the new market, the similarities between the new financial realities of the U.S. and the socialist system of France became readily apparent, as Newsweek in fact recently noted.  While I don’t usually blog on politics, I can’t resist the opportunity to refer to this brilliant letter on how the current political system is adversely affecting entrepreneurs, which has been making the rounds on the Internet and which a number of entrepreneur clients have forwarded to me.  I absolutely agree with the sentiments of it, and I think we are living in tremendously unique financial times. 

As I remarked a few months ago in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the era of trust in the U.S. simply doesn’t exist these days.  As the era of lies and liars emerges – Bernie Madoff, Bear Sterns, A-Rod – brands that can manage to communicate authentically can win in a major way.  I believe marketing in the short term is best done on a personal basis with niche marketing or hand-to-hand combat. Targeted strategic communications and PR plans will win a lot better in the short term.  It’s a sniper rather than a machine gun (and yes, this economy remains a war). 
 

It’s remarkable that things are so bad these days in the newspaper business that shares in the New York Times Co. on Friday slumped to a low of $3.99, less than the price of the Sunday paper. 
 

While many people often speak about the value of social media, there are also dangers that we must be aware of.  A competitor recently “friended” me on facebook, and then contacted nearly all of my friends in an attempt to send them information on his agency.  Similarly, LinkedIn and other networks are dreams come true for recruiters, competitors and the like.  So be careful with your public contacts.  Risks and reward should both be considered when participating in new social media platforms.
 

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

An interesting story appeared in yesterday’s USA Today on public relations.  While I admittedly haven’t yet read the book that is referred to in this article, I simply don’t understand why Public Relations continually gets the short end of the stick. PR is such a small industry; there are maybe 200 PR agencies throughout the U.S. (5WPR was #21 in last year’s ratings). It’s a tiny pool, so why the obsession with this relatively small industry?  Perhaps it’s because public relations is exceedingly effective.

Quotes like these which were in the article often get so little attention: A 2008 study of news stories in U.K. newspapers found that more than half contained mostly PR material. A study in the Columbia Journalism Review found that more than half the stories in an edition of The Wall Street Journal “were based solely on press releases.”

Positive PR has so much value for so many people.  We communicate important information to editors, prospects, clients, and investors.  The media placements we secure build reputation, increase sales and generally enhance credibility.  We are in the C-Suite.

While I am a doer and not a complainer, PR is a great business which drives a ton of value in every industry, so stop beating us up.
Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Public relations is often seen as the bastard step child in a variety of industries: real estate (where people spend millions and millions to build but only a few thousand to market), apparel (hundreds of thousands of tossed samples, but only $6-10K a month for PR), and apparently governments and wars.  Media outlets regularly express concern about the U.S. government’s lack of outreach to media outlets, and The Associated Press just ran this article with a subhead about “raising concern about propaganda.” In today’s world, there are many factors at play in a time of war, and governments must spend to influence the public once decisions are made.

I echo those who say money spent on media during war is necessary.  I agree with Rep. Adam Smith, who chairs the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee when he says, “We have got to be involved in getting our case out there, telling our side of the story, because believe me, Al-Qaeda and all of those folks… that’s what they are doing on the Internet and everywhere else.”  If the other side is doing it, how can we not reply?  As Rep. Smith said “Every time a bomb goes off, they have a story out almost before it explodes, saying that it killed 15 innocent civilians.”

As I stated about a different war, but on a related topic, in another op-ed: countries need to invest in the PR battle as much as they do on the ground for military battle.  Public Relations is a big business, and millions should be invested.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Public Relations is a very difficult business.  It’s a business that is hard to measure; people pay us a monthly retainer in the hopes we will produce results.  It’s tough.

There’s been recent news of ABC firing 5 percent of their staff, and Bloomberg, for the first time ever, cutting 100 jobs, on top of daily reports of publications folding and editorial staff being consolidated.  For us, that means that we need to pitch media much longer to get the right person on the phone.  It means we have to spend a lot more time explaining to clients why their segment was cancelled or their filmed interview was postponed (less staff to interview/film).  There’s simply more confusion in the news room, with less staff to cover the same amount of news (the news isn’t stopping).

It’s a tough business, and it’s certainly not getting any easier.  Here are a few quick (free) top-line suggestions:

Write shorter and more to the point pitch letters to reach the media.

Include quotes in your releases and pitch letters which can be plugged into news stories (not self-serving)

As a PR firm, offer multiple experts and try to say yes as often as possible.  For example, this week a producer needed three experts for a story and we had two clients immediately available.  In order to make the segment work, we did the legwork and had a competing friendly PR firm find the third expert for us.  We presented it as a package to the producer – all available with one call, back to back scheduled interviews.  We effectively eliminated the back and forth time that would happen with three different PR people.

Be flexible with your schedule – the media only has so many cameras and so many reporters on staff right now.  If you wait in a newsroom (as I did, unexpectedly, this week for an hour), have your blackberry/laptop with you and prepare to be working.

Be media trained – to the point, easy to understand and quotable.

Make more phone calls than before.  Many Reporters & Producers are reading less email since the emails from laid off editorial staff are forwarded to the inboxes of the people still employed.
 
Oh, the joys of a PR agency.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Every single time a reality show ends, or a contestant is kicked off the show, my phone rings with the next want to be superstar on the other end of the line with the idea that millions are awaiting them.  They often have no PR budget in mind at all, nor any idea how to pay the bills.  How many times I have heard about the one time Donald Trump called them a genius, or Tyra Banks called them hot… so surely millions are awaiting them… if only it could be so easy.  (Not to say that some of them cant and don’t make it… they can, but it takes money time and effort.)

This week, I appeared on Anderson Cooper CNN 360 discussing the mother of the California octuplets who thinks a reality show, diaper endorsement and hefty paycheck are waiting for her, so she hired a publicist.  As I said then and will say now, she won’t make millions from this, and I think her claims of millions being offered are false (to be kind and speak mildly).  The reality is if this PR agency is paid even $5K to manage this project, it’s a lot… I doubt they are being paid much.  They will spend hundreds of hours chasing deals… and end up making minimum wage working this project.

I am sure it’s accurate that she is “the most sought after mom in the world right now,” and “everyone wants to talk to her.”  However, the reports that she’s “carefully reviewing offers which have reached $2 million” are nothing short of complete unadulterated hogwash.  While I have no doubt that the media is courting her for (unpaid) interviews, she won’t be getting any offers for endorsements.  A few weeks from now, no one will remember or call, and certainly, no one will give her a diaper endorsement deal.

What many often learn is that just because the media is interested, doesn’t mean wealth is around the corner.  No one will buy a product just because she had a bunch of kids.  She’s not a sudden child-care expert simply because she became a mom of eight.  Media’s a business – will anyone care that much?

Whether Joe the Plumber or the latest reality show star, attaining quasi-celebrity status may mean the necessity for basic lifestyle changes, like a car with mirrored windows or a driver (which you pay for yourself) rather than a subway (and it’s a lot more expensive… but wealth isn’t coming).  But fame doesn’t necessarily mean wealth.

Now, if I am wrong (and I am not), and this woman does indeed get even $500K, allow me to predict a slew of women having octuplets all over the world, especially during times like these…. But I am not wrong…

Ronn Torossian
5WPR