I am still flying high from the news that 5WPR was named the 13th largest independent PR agency in the US for 2009 by Odwyers PR, a leading PR publication.  With over $11 million in revenue in its 7th year of operation, the agency continues to grow within the industry.

This honor ranks alongside 5W Public Relations being named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the US, and being named fastest growing PR firm in the US 3 years running. It’s an absolute highlight for our company – Numbers and  results count.

On a personal note, 13 has always been my lucky number. It served as my jersey number from my beginnings as a little league player throughout my high school (and ongoing recreational) basketball career.

As always its been a crazy week:

I gave a lecture last night at NYU to a group of graduate students

I hosted a charity fundraiser with a friend and client this morning in my office.

Tonight, I am attending a client event where we are expecting 40+ Reporters

Since we were just named one of the 15 largest PR firms in the US, I wanted to reassert that we will keep growing, and continually realize that this is just the beginning for our company.

Credit is due to our hard working staff and our clients for believing in us and being great partners.

I wanted to end with a quick quote:

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Bigger and better, onward and upward.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

This past week was a 7-day work week. Saturday night and all of Sunday, I was glued to my desk dealing with end of month activity reports, client crisis matters and general catching up. All of this hard work has me tired to the bone.

This weekend for some reason I was reminded of my days and years sweating away at a Bronx pizzeria, where I worked straight through from 1986 at the age of 12 making $2 an hour, until my post college rate of $6 an hour (although with tips often came out to more than $20 an hour). I worked a few months full-time to my mother’s chagrin as a college graduate delivering pizza.

When I reflect upon that experience, I realize the many life and business lessons I learned while working in this immigrant-owned, local Italian Bronx pizzeria, including:

• If you were on the schedule, you showed up to work no matter what because the team depended on you.
• I learned the value of hard work by sweating next to an oven for hours and hours - There was no task too big or small. If it needed to get done, I made sure to take care of it.
• During the Pre- Giuliani NYC Era, I always needed to be alert and move quickly amidst the hysteria of the Bronx.
• My boss taught me at a young age that the customer isn’t always right. He used to tell me “if they can’t pay, tell them to get out.”

I could go on about the many things I learned from the thousands of working hours I logged at a young age, but what it really boils down to is …there is nothing like hard work, and that translates to the success of our PR agency as well.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I am undoubtedly addicted to my blackberry, but it is a mandatory addiction for anyone who works in the Public Relations industry.  As I often tell clients, there are a million other tasks that need to be attended to simultaneously, making it nearly impossible for me to go two hours without checking email.

For example, if I miss a call from the media or my client misses their interview, “not available for comment” will be printed instead of our commentary. Like it or not, checking emails every few minutes is a necessary evil that prevents such an occurrence in the PR business.

Recent Book Recommendations

It is rare to find a successful Public Relations pro or business person in any industry for that matter who does not read regularly. With this in mind, I want to recommend two great books I have recently read – one focusing on professional development and the other personal development.

· For great business lessons, It’s Not What You Say… It’s What You Do – How Following Through at Every Level Can Make or Break Your Company by bestselling author Laurence Haughton is a must-read.

· For amazing lessons in personal growth and development, Garden of Emuna: A Practical Guide to Life is a book that “once you get your hands it, you won’t know how you ever lived without it.”

http://www.1800eichlers.com/Books-and-Sefarim/Emunah-&-Bitachon—Believe-&-Hope/Garden-of-Emuna-A-Practical-Guide-to-Life/p-388-1931-5230/

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Kudos to the public relations team at Apple for doing things their way. I read this article over the weekend, which discusses how Apple has closely guarded their message and brand, refusing to open up to the media.

I admire them for playing by their own rules and refusing to succumb to the pressure of outside sources.  Clearly, they realize that the media isn’t always a friend and can easily spin information negatively to create a titillating story that will sell.  Kudos yet again Apple!

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

This article ran in The New York Times over the weekend. It speaks about the MLB rookie camp, which brings together professional baseball’s brightest prospects for three days to prepare them for “life under the lights.” It is a must-read for all CEO’s and company leaders as there is also much non professional athletes can learn from this article – Success requires change and attention.

In today’s tech driven society, any speech or even off-handed discussion can be captured by a camera phone, or recording device, posted online, and then instantly registered on the Public Relations machine known as Google. These simple sound bites that may not have been intended for public viewing can easily be misinterpreted and distributed online where they will live for many years.

Among the lessons to be learned from this article — leaders across the board should be well-trained and prepared to speak publicly.  As a general rule, always ask if you are being recorded when making a public speech, and remember, in the world of PR, people who are paranoid will survive far longer.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

It has been said, “Articles are often more valuable after they are published than when they were first published.” So, it is important to showcase media placements long after the initial “hit.” Since I am often asked by clients of our PR Agency how to do this effectively, wanted to provide a few ways to increase the value of articles:

1. Create a publicity book with articles that can be shown to editors, clients, investors or at trade shows

2. Publish articles on your website

3. Frame feature articles and display them prominently in your reception area of your office/personal office

4. Mail copies of the placements to past and present customers, vendors, bankers, public officials, employees, opinion leaders, etc.

5. Include articles in your sales presentation book, and as part of direct mail/e-mail campaigns

6. Use articles as examples to counter sales objections

7. Use the articles to establish credibility

8. Use published articles to open doors when key prospects will not see you

9. Use articles to lure key staff away from your competitors

10. Use articles to convince prospective buyers to pay your designated price

11. Send articles to authors of books on subjects related to your industry

12. Use your articles to get more articles published in other publications

13. Use your articles to stimulate buzz around your business

And my final tip – HIRE 5W PR!

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

The first two weeks of 2010 have been crazy and hectic.  I don’t see this as an indicator of economic recovery, but I do think people have finally woken from the two-week holiday hibernation… and apparently they are thinking Public Relations.

Amazingly, I have left uncompleted work on my desk at the end of the day.  It is a lot of work, but amazing, fun and rewarding… PLUS burning off steam at the gym always makes it easier.

Here are this week’s highlights:

• Last night, had dinner at Nobu 57 with a client, the CEO of a $10 Million company, for whom we serve as PR Agency of record, who verbatim told me, “No individual person or company has had the effect on his business’ valuation like 5WPR.  From media coverage to raising the brand to strategic business introductions, you and your company’s energy knows no boundaries. Thank you.”

• I meet with Laurence Haughton, the author of one of my all-time favorite business books, “It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow - How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business.” While chatting in my office, he shared fascinating stories of success with me—stories that transcend the traditional teachings of business schools.  If you haven’t read the book yet I urge you to read it immediately.

• This week I spent a significant amount of time pitching clients to the media, which I do every week because I strongly believe you can’t tell a client’s story if you don’t personally interact with the media.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

With the recession still upon us, we, like most PR firms, are overwhelmed with resumes, particularly entry-level personnel eager to embark on their public relations careers. I was pleased to read a recent study that ranked PR one of the best jobs to look for in 2010.

So, here is a word to the wise for young professionals looking to begin their careers– Public Relations is multifaceted, so do your research. Be sure you understand and explore the differences between in-house and agency as well as the various types of PR under those umbrella terms.  To say, “I want to work in PR” is like saying “I want to work in the medical field” – You need to be more specific.  Do you want to pitch media primarily or want to work on only one account? These are things you need to be sure of before applying and interviewing.

Working in Public Relations is very hard work with lots of long hours.  You need to be a confident, intelligent, well-rounded, well-read communicator.  Successful PR people are quick on their feet, able to make decisions at a moment’s notice, and are not afraid to sell. At our NYC Public Relations agency, we are looking for qualified employees with agency experience.

Since 5WPR is hiring at all levels, please feel free to email us your resume at careers@5wpr.com

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Celebrity Endorsements

In the wake of Tiger Woods scandal, there are many lessons to be learned regarding celebrity spokespersons. Although I am not interested in naming names, I will provide this bit of insight based upon my own experience managing celebrity personalities: it is necessary to find out who a celebrity really is and not solely rely on their manager/agent.  There are ways to do this… and we’d be happy to discuss it off-line, as we regularly do with our clients.

As a PR agency CEO who spends a lot of time with both celebrities and brand managers, we are intimately familiar with this world.  Like it or not, the media closely follows celebrities, therefore tremendous opportunities exist in leveraging their fame to maximize public interest for a product/service. Can it be a risk? Yes, but I don’t see celebrity endorsements going away any time soon.  In fact, in today’s economy, the amount of celebrities asking for endorsement deals has increased significantly. We do many deals each month where celebrities hold products or appear at parties in exchange for a check…and this trend will continue.

Entrepreneurial Insight

As someone who thrives when busy, the last 10 days of December are trying. Many are very complacent during the holiday season and it bothers me tremendously. Rightfully, clients still demand work product, and bills still need to be paid, so we as a PR agency continue to put our best foot forward even during the slower months. We continually realize that urgency is the key to our success and we are far from complacent. We are hungry for it and want to win.

During this time period, I make an extra effort to do the little things: go to the gym every single day, thank our clients for their devotion, and our employees for their hard work.  All in all, we at this PR firm are quite pleased to say it has been another profitable year. We are also proud to say that every single employee received a bonus, unlike many of our industry peers.  Our numbers are great, and continue to deliver a consistent and high quality work product.

As we prepare to end the 7th calendar year of 5WPR, we are proud of our accomplishments.  Even though not everyone loves our style we are quite ok with it. In fact, there aren’t many successful people or organizations who don’t have critics and opponents. Jealousy always exists, and its easier to criticize than create. We don’t let that drag us down, and to the contrary, use it as motivation to continue forth.

Onward and upward, we say thank you all the time for the great work and clients we have had over the years.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Here are some random musings of a PR firm owner:

· Every year, I say the same thing right about now – as long as newspapers are published, TV stations are airing, and news is being reported, we as a PR agency will work during the holiday season.  In fact, with snow causing extensive flight cancellations, there are now many more opportunities available for guests who would not otherwise be booked.

· The beauty of working in Public Relations is you really wont know what your day looks like until you arrive—this is even more true at a PR agency.

· There is a consensus amongst reporters that they have the right to inquire about whatever they want. I agree, they do. But, on the other hand, people/companies have the right to push back and say “No, we will not allow you access to this information.”  Here at 5WPR, we do a tremendous amount of crisis communications work for companies, brands and individuals. Most of these clients we cannot name and we often turndown requests from reporters, knowing they will run negative stories…

For example:

To assume, as this article does, that allowing a reporter access to privileged information will result in a positive outcome is not only inaccurate, it’s naive.  It seems more likely that the organization mentioned in the article realizes they are doomed to negative coverage, and therefore they see little value in disclosing more information to an individual with malintentions. Oftentimes, I agree with this approach.

As an example: There is a producer who has hounded a client of mine 3 years or so in an effort to get an interview. Finally, 3 months ago, he called me and said, “If you don’t give me this interview, I will never contact you again regarding this client”….and my response was, “Promise?”  We all understand that reporters have to try and secure the story. But, why doesn’t the media understand that PR people have to serve and protect our clients in times of crisis?

It’s a real winter day here in NYC…. And we toil away at our desks here at this PR firm.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR