Public Relations is an industry from which it is not easy to determine an exact ROI from – and there’s nary a PR Agency in 2012 that works strictly in media relations (which can be measured) -  many, like my firm 5WPR provide full service marketing and PR services. So what are some byproducts of PR that aren’t easy to provide an exact dollar figure to ?

INFLUENCER RELATIONS:  Malcolm Gladwell in his legendary book “The Tipping Point” called it “The Law of the Few” where he said:”The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” Economists call it the “80/20 Principle” – where 80 percent of the ‘work’ will be done by 20 percent of the participants.” Influencers move sales often times, and a good PR firm can connect clients to influencers – whether it’s the cool and connected moms (like we do for client brands like Bornfree), nightclub/entertainment mavens who can influence celebrities (i.e. Mark Birnbaum of EMM Group), or in politics rather than connecting to politicians, you reach their lobbyists or uber-influential attorneys like Jay Sekulow.

INTRODUCTIONS:  A Good PR Company introduces clients to one another and connects people together. I learned last week that a client whom we had represented for 3+years until the midst of the economic downturn forced the company to pare budgets had recently completed a major deal with another former client of ours. It took time – as many big deals do, but it’s not something which is directly measureable when one looks at the “ROI” of PR.

INFLUENCE – We have a client who we have represented exactly 1 year – their annual budget with us is around $125,000 and we have done absolutely amazing work as the client regularly tells me – but on off days he’s complained to me that the company web sales from PR aren’t exactly where he wants them to be (and he cited it when giving us a minor raise for Year 2 of our program). And he says PR should move the mark more. Low and behold at his industry’s largest annual trade show one of America’s largest wholesalers sought the company out at the show and bought a huge amount of product – and cited the outstanding publicity program and a specific placement we had secured.  Was thrilled to hear it – and yet another proof of PR’s tremendous ROI.

Of course, traditional and digital PR programs, media relations and all the rest are obvious ROI’s on top of the above bullet points. With Public Relations recently being named for the 2^nd year in a row as one of the most stressful jobs in America, all of us in PR have to do more to educate clients on the tremendous ROI which an effective Public Relations program has.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, a Top 25 PR Agency and author of Amazon best-selling PR book “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations.”

Work Ethic And New PR Book

A recent exciting feature story was published on Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR.

Entitled: “In My Business! Public Relations Pro Ronn Torossian Talks Industry Stereotypes, Work Ethic and New Book!”, the full story may be read at:
http://www.urblife.com/the-edge/in-my-business-ronn-torossian/

Article references my new book “For Immediate Release” which can be purchased at:
http://www.amazon.com/Immediate-Release-Deliver-Game-Changing-Relations/dp/1936661160

To start 2012 right heres a book excerpt from “For Immediate Release”, the new book by Ronn Torossian.  Owing a crisis PR agency, I found this to be a major success in the world of crisis PR. My book can be purchased at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-immediate-release-ronn-torossian/1102047620

Hit the Books and Get Rid of the Problem
Here’s a sordid story that you’ve probably not heard about on
CNN or Fox News. Philip H. Brown, a tenured economics professor
at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, resigned from
the school after the institution announced it was either that or
he’d be fired because he’d violated students’ privacy. What was
the violation? Oh, it’s a doozy—perfect for tabloid journalism.
On a trip to China in 2011, Brown placed a webcam in the bathrooms
his female students would be using. As they traveled from
province to province, the professor had apparently enlisted an
unwitting student to place a first-aid kit containing a hidden
webcam in the bathrooms.

The professor’s spying was uncovered when one of his students
discovered a photo of her unclad bottom in the trash bin
of Brown’s laptop, a computer that all students on the trip shared
with their teacher. She had been searching the computer’s hard
drive for a document she had inadvertently deleted.
Colby College president William Adams wrote to students
and employees in late January that Brown had resigned after college
officials told him they were prepared to fire him. Adams
didn’t wait until Brown returned from the trip; he called him
in China a day after receiving a complaint about the photos
and verifying the claim was true. Adams also admitted that the
matter had prompted an investigation by law enforcement, and
that the college was cooperating fully with police.

In his letter to students and faculty, Adams also stated that
the well-being of students was the college’s “utmost priority” and
that “we do not and will not tolerate behavior that is antithetical
to the fundamental values of our community. We take this
matter very seriously. We took prompt action to address it, and
we will continue to support the affected students in ways that are
respectful of their privacy.”

Adams acted swiftly to reassure students, cooperated with
the police investigation, and most important of all, got rid of the
professor despite the fact that he had tenure, which allowed
the story to stay local and within the academic community. It
went away fairly quickly and became a story of a perverted
professor, rather than a problem with the university. School
officials rightfully distanced themselves from the conflict and
made the issue about Brown.

Had the college dithered, the story would have had legs—lots
of them. The college’s actions would have aroused suspicion and
interest from outside journalists, and what has remained a shortlived
local story might have become a national story, as well as the
butt of the obligatory late-night jokes. It could have cost the college
significant fund-raising dollars and state and federal grant money,
and resulted in diminished enrollment. It would have affected not
only Colby College’s reputation but also the personal reputation
of its president; scandal tends to rub off on the people surrounding
it. And it would have, had he not done the right thing.

“For Immediate Release” by Ronn Torossian, 5WPR CEO

Happy Holidays! Ronn Torossian and 5WPR want to extend to you our most sincere wishes for a very happy and an even more successful 2012.  As a Top 25 U.S. PR firm, we are driving the marketing strategy for a number of businesses and making a bigger impact on the bottom line.

It’s no surprise that the key drivers for 2012 will be:

1. traditional publicity or “earned media” – the most cost-effective way to get brand awareness;
2. digital marketing with a special emphasis on social media or “shared media” – the gateway to managing your brand image and engage one-on-one;
3. experiential marketing – strategic sampling, in-store events, creative promotions, community-level engagement, mobile marketing, events and stunts;

As always, in true 5WPR style, our agency is already busting out of the gate with all hands on deck for you in the new year.  From Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR.

On January 1, 2012, we begin the 10th full year of 5WPR, which today is a Top 25 US PR Agency.  This is simply amazing to me.

The day I opened 5WPR, my office was located on the roof of a building.  I literally had to walk across the roof to enter the 5WPR “shack”.  Today, we are located in an A-class building, with nearly 100 employees and 24,000 square feet.

The success of 5WPR is due to the hundreds of PR professionals who have worked at our firm through the years.  I owe past and present employees a special thank you – they are amazing, hard working people who I appreciate every single day.  I am proud to know that there are so many PR pros throughout the industry who have worked at 5W Public Relations and know that the 5W attitude permeates throughout the industry.    In the words of a former employee who has excelled in the industry, “5W was PR bootcamp.  It was a stressful, demanding, learn on the fly environment full of fear and excitement of new business.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  You instilled in me a sense of hunger, entrepreneurial drive and eagerness to get ahead that has taken me to where I am today”.

As that employee so gracefully stated, 5WPR has a unique, exciting energy unmatched elsewhere.  I know this vivacity will continue to inspire as we enter our 10th year in existence. I am proud of the mark we have made upon the PR industry and will continue to.

We have had amazing clients through the years – from crisis PR clients to beauty PR, consumer brands to travel companies – we are so fortunate to have such a broad range of clientele.  5WPR has represented Fortune 500 brands and bootstrapping start-ups.  We’ve represented Microsoft, McDonalds, Whole Foods, Cantor Fitzgerald, Coca-Cola,  Barnes & Noble,  Evian, Anheuser Busch, Bad Boy Entertainment, and many, many more.  These clients allowed us to be named the fastest growing US PR firm 3 years in a row and to be named to the INC. 500 list of fastest growing companies in America.   Our clients are what makes 5WPR so great.   As we enter our 10th year, it’s invigorating to know that our growth and success has only just begun.

When people ask what we specialize in, I always say RESULTS.  We care – and it shows.  5WPR has played a huge role in many entrepreneur success stories. We’ve been hired by multiple governments, including Morocco, Serbia and Israel, and have represented consumer brands, technology giants, corporations, religious figures, and entertainment A-listers.   We’ve experienced the mandatory celebrity stories: Kim Kardashian attending the 5WPR Summer party in LA in 2007; spending the day with Muhammad Ali and taking him to the set of the Sopranos; hosting the biggest events at Sundance 2 years in a row and attracting Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sienna Miller, Nick Cannon, Paris Hilton, Harvey Weinstein and so many others to party with 5WPR until all hours of the night.

In the past 9 years, we’ve had to relocate many times.   Moving is bittersweet – the process is something I don’t love but it’s necessary due to our constant growth and continued success.

Personally, I am incredibly proud of the achievements of 5WPR.  Through our accomplishments, I have been named to PR Week and Advertising Age “40 under 40” list – and I’m still just 37!    In 2010, I was honored to be a semi-finalist for Ernst and Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year”.  Finishing off the year with a bang, my first book, For Immediate Release, was just published and it is already a bestselling PR book on Amazon.

Its simply amazing that all of this happened in only 9 years – and I am confident in knowing that we have just begun our path to more success.  5WPR will enter 2012 as one of the 25 largest PR firms, one of the few owned by anyone under the age of 40, and well on the way to more triumphs.

If you need a PR firm or are seeking a career at this exciting agency, email me Ronn Torossian at Ronn@5wpr.com.

Happy New Year!!!!

Ronn Torossian, 5WPR