Through the years, we have represented a slew of celebrities, ranging from Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, to Pamela Anderson, hall of fame athletes, and others. Whether or a major mega-star, or up and coming celebrity, universally celebrity PR campaigns are very demanding, time consuming and hard work, for many reasons.  (And of course that’s before the “colorful” (and I can tell a ton of stories, but wont am sworn to secrecy).

Adrian Grenier’s recent comments to the WSJ that celebrities wont need Public Relations representatives in the future: “I don’t have a publicist and never have.  I’m no stranger to self promotion. I find it first of all more authentic when you put a bit of your creative touch to what you’re trying to share.”

Public Relations is more than self-promotion for celebrities, its shaping and positioning a brand, its filtering requests, and many other responsibilities.  I agree with a comment I read made by a CEO of a PR agency “Dollar for dollar publicity is one of the great bargains left in Hollywood. If a celebrity makes $6 million a year, for example, they probably pay a publicist give or take $5,000 or $6,000 a month, or one percent of their net. When you compare the hours a publicist puts in to the ten percent a manager or agent gets…I don’t think agents or managers are overpaid, but I think publicists are underpaid.” As he further stated, a good publicist will drive their client to be themselves.

I am just returning to work today from a week in the gorgeous French Riveria (visited Monaco, Nice, Cannes and other areas), and the amount of wealth and high profile people there was amazing.  Who would handle the many celebrity mistakes made in places like this, or false sightings which are reported ?

Nearly all CEO’s have Public Relations pros, or PR agencies handling their needs, and so too should celebrities. Celebrities need PR specialists, much as they need lawyers, accountants, doctors and others who know their fields the best way.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Yesterday’s AdAge article, “Is the President’s PR Barrage Working?” can be summed up with the following quote: “In the past few weeks the president, along with his wife, Michelle, have easily been on more magazine covers and done more TV and newspaper interviews than Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears combined.” 

I wonder, could a Republican ever achieve this sort of positive media coverage ? Media is biased on many topics, including business and politics, despite all claims to the contrary.   As PR pros, we should remember this as we approach outlets.  As long as Obama remains loved by the media, he will get great press. 

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I spent nearly all day today with my staff discussing various issues, and one thing that’s always requested is my must-read list. I’ve yet to meet any PR pros that don’t obsessively read, so here’s the hot list:

Every a.m. at my door: The New York Post, Daily News, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The first is always the Post. It’s a quick read, five minutes out of the day. Sometimes more if I have time to get back to it. Then, generally, the Marketplace section of WSJ, followed by the Times – a more detailed read for 15-20 minutes in the cab or subway, depending on what time I leave my house on the Upper West.

On Tuesdays, I obsessively read The Observer (just a great read) at my house.

When I get to work, I generally jump on a number of different blogs and rarely have the time to read long articles. Instead, I print and read them at home on the weekend.

A day doesn’t pass that I don’t take a few magazines home. And, frankly, by Friday night they are all sitting in my living room. I take the weekend to at least scan them, or I’ll try and spend an hour reading in the steam room. Like what? Religiously: Ad Age, PR Week, O’Dwyers (PR trade), AdWeek, Rolling Stone, BusinessWeek, Fortune Small Business, Complex Magazine, The Jerusalem Report, The Jewish Week, INC, ESPN, Sports Business Journal, King and XXL (which now features my client Snoop Dogg on the cover)… I read these all very regularly, although not cover to cover, as well as countless articles which I print and read daily.

I also genuinely try to read two books at a time: one business and one fiction.

“When do we find the time to read?” is often a question I get asked by staff and industry folks.

Answer:
1: Read while you travel (something I unfortunately do too much)
2: Cut out the TV (I rarely watch television)
3: Sleep when you are dead

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

Adweek last week called consumers the “new brand managers” (http://www.adweek.com/aw/images/pdfs/ayir.pdf) and with Time Magazine naming “you” as person of the year, brands and the media have fully recognized the empowerment of the consumer like never before. The fact that the faceless American consumer played the largest role in shaping the past year shows the shift of influencers from the few to the infinite. The change in media (both traditional with 24 hour news networks abound, the Internet, blogs and the like) play a huge factor in this change.

Living in today’s information age, for every brand, celebrity and politician there is no line between public relations and media relations. That is part of the reason why 5W has been so successful as we have been one of the first agencies to think beyond the traditional media box that many of the larger more corporate agencies are still stuck in.

Time Magazine hit it right on the head as 2006 was the year that fully showed how consumers are in control— now brands must spend the coming years learning how to treat their new “master”.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

With the release of Rolling Stone Magazine today, I have done a bunch of media interviews as we are a leading entertainment PR firm in the hip-hop arena, having represented everyone from Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lil’ Kim, Ice Cube, DMX, Twista, The Source Magazine, leading producers, brands – All across the brand we do more Hip-Hop than any other PR agency in the US. We also work extensively in the Christian world, as I was formerly the media director for the Christian Coalition of America.

Interestingly enough, I have often said I find these 2 groups of people to be very similar – Very intense and focused, viewed as outsiders or extremists by the world, often misunderstood by the media (or characterized by their most extreme, misspoken members)… but once you get to know them, warm, intimate and great to their families… whether you agree or disagree with their point of view on life, politicis, etc.

Anyway… to get to the Kanye cover – From being critical of the Bush Administration on Katrina to creating songs like ‘Jesus Walks’, Kanye West has fashioned himself as a politically conscious artist not dissimilar to Rock & Roll’s coming of age era of the 1960’s and this Rolling Stone cover is all part of that image. He has successfully branded himself as the new voice of young America, one that does not shy from speaking their beliefs.

It’s certainly an interesting stance for an artist and will certainly help his brand visibility… but I am not sure it will help him in the corporate arena. In an era in which artists are making money from corporate America more than from record sales it’s an interesting stance for West to take… I for one will be watching his brand intently.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR