Owning a Public Relations firm, 5WPR, stress is always a factor. Public Relations is a 24/7 business and 1 never knows what comes next.

Some tips which allow me to cope:

• Take pre-planned vacations (preferably in another time zone so you get free time before office hours start – as even a vacation for an executive cant mean completely tuning out)
• Exercise – Sweat always helps…
• As I said in a recent Men’s Health article:  Have music available where you can listen to music for a few minutes to rebalance – http://news.menshealth.com/cope-with-stress/2012/01/19/

Different executives have different ways to defrag – Real Estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld has his triathlons and the gym he loves – Sports Club/LA (East Side) – Doesn’t hurt that he owns the building. Read more about Elie Hirschfeld favorite places at:  http://mia.hauteliving.com/haute-secrets/?cat=All&market=New%20York&guideid=270

As Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm who run a nightclub and hospitality empire recently explained in GQ they box multiple times a week. Read more at:  http://www.gq.com/style/ten-essentials/201112/emm-group#ixzz1lSAIGMBt

Of course, those who don’t live in NYC have many different options – Michael Malik, a gaming mogul has boats which allow him to defrag – and of course we can all dream of having our own island ala Richard Branson.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, and author of the recently released PR book “For Immediate Release”

Owning a Public Relations firm, a fundamental concept often ignored in our industry is the old concept of K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

Reading the papers this morning, we learn that for the first time ever, in anticipation of the Super Bowl, the National Football League (NFL) opened up media day to fans.  For only $25 fans could attend media day, sit in seats close to the field, eavesdrop via headsets they were provided and observe the interaction between players, coaches and media on a 1^st hand basis.

Big kudos to the NFL for this easy and great idea – It allows fans to feel more connected to the players (at an affordable price rather than the staggering ticket prices for the big game), and there’s very little downside for the NFL.  It’s a great simple idea, and in a world so open because of all the media outlets which exist, this is a great sports PR move by the NFL. It’s a win for all involved.

As an attendee, Mike Galford was quoted in countless newswires saying: “We’re the social media generation. We’re not going to wait for the media to tell us what happened on media day. We’re going to see it for ourselves. This is awesome.”

I agree – Kudos to the NFL.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Everyone talks about a defining moment in their lives – I vividly remember in my 9^th grade Junior High school public school class in the Bronx a teacher calmly, and clearly explaining to me – in front of the whole class how I’d never be anything in life and should recognize it now.  When I cursed her repeatedly with 4 letter words, I was sent to the Principal’s office.  When the school called my mom to tell her I’d been kicked out of class, she asked me why, and when I explained, she let the school know I was right.  And I was.

Words matter – and last night when I spoke at New York University in front of a Masters class, where “For Immediate Release” by Ronn Torossian is required reading, I thought of that teacher.

If you can’t fly then run.

If you can’t run then walk.

If you can’t walk then crawl.

But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

Onwards and upwards – To see some of the video footage of Ronn Torossian speaking at NYU please go to the 5WPR Youtube Channel.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Interesting article (http://article.wn.com/view/2012/01/13/What_Did_You_Expect_It_Makes_a_Difference/) I came across this weekend on the importance of setting expectations – and how important it is when it comes to managing a relationship.  The answer to this question is something which we at 5WPR, and any PR Agency comes across on a regular basis when pitching new clients.

For better or worse, we tell prospective clients the truth – and don’t overpromise, even if it means we don’t win a clients business. As I have told prospective unrealistic clients, we’d rather you hire us after you have hired another PR firm who overpromises you – and undelivers – and then when you hire us you will know that we are the hardest working agency and overdeliver.

As Business Insider said 5WPR is “one of the U.S.’s busiest, most effective PR shops” and as our founder Ronn Torossian says we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty “in the media sausage factory”, and are “enormously successful at doing so.”  As Business Insider said “Everything else takes a back seat when clients call 5W.” Its simply about working hard and delivering.

Concur with this great story on PR Daily about PR Agencies to avoid: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/BEST_OF_2011_5_types_of_PR_agencies_to_avoid_10425.aspx

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Received a pitch from Harris Interactive this week and wanted to share some of the information received:

A feature story regarding how stressed Americans are which ran in USA Today at:

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/mentalhealth/story/2012-01-11/Americans-are-stressed-but-were-getting-used-to-it/52485486/1

They utilized social media to distribute the findings and provided substantial content by twitter, Facebook and other means – this allowed for results to be shared in several ways – national results, gender, region, age and also 8 specific markets (NY, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and DC).   What also adds to the credibility of the survey is the packaging – they share the details from this survey along with the previous 4 years of surveys conducted as well.

This survey was interesting as was their press release – http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/index.aspx

For me, Ronn Torossian, every day at 5WPR is stressful – and reading about it may be interesting but doesn’t make it any easier. (Expect a story in a major men’s magazine this week on how Ronn Torossian copes with stress.)