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

It is essential that businesses know how to communicate quickly, often preemptively, and effectively to survive—and at a cost that is far lower than comparable marketing and ad campaigns. The first book by the owner of a top 50 PR agency, For Immediate Release, Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR reveals how public relations can do just that—while also defining brands; helping companies and individuals court the press or avoid it; growing business without alienating loyal customers; resolving crises quickly; and improving first page results on the most powerful search engine in the world (Google).

For Immediate Release will show you how to:

• Frame the debate and control the conversation
• Use new and old media in tandem to find your audiences and create highly personal, relevant impressions tailored for them
• Promote the interests of your brand or business; deter or potentially stop what is not in your interest
• Build on great press, and avoid or minimize bad press
• Ensure the first thing people see about your business or brand during an Internet search is exactly what you want them to see
• Handle a crisis in the most effective and efficient manner

Stay Connected with Ronn Torossian

During these dog days of August wanted to take a few minutes to share some quotes about the PR industry….

 

“If a young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is — that’s advertising. If the young man tells his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is – that’s PR.”   -S. H. Simmons

 

“Publicity is the life of this culture.  Without publicity capitalism could not survive and at the same time publicity is its dream.” –John Berger

 

“What kills the skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” –Abraham Lincoln

 

“Publicity is a great purifier because it sets in action the forces of public opinion, and in this country public opinion controls the courses of the nation.”  –Charles Evans Hughes

 

“Without publicity there can be no public support, and without public support every nation must decay.” –Benjamin Disraeli

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

 

 

So I have always been a junky for great quotes, and wanted to share some great quotes about Public Relations I had come across recently (Part 1 of 2):

–“Businesses used to have a small suggestion box near the door that mostly housed dust bunnies and an occasional piece of gum. Rarely would someone get back to you. But people can now make a post from an iPhone or a BlackBerry while they’re sitting in your restaurant. -Charles Nelson

–“The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” -George Carlin

–“What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” -Abraham Lincoln, quoted in R. Fitzhenry, The Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations

–“All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.” -Harry S Truman

Owning a PR Agency, I can never get enough quotes about Public Relations – I enjoy it and like it so wanted to share them with you.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

 

 

Been a really tough day professionally. Received this message via an email list I subscribe to www.friendsofjeff.com which I joined at the urging of a client of ours who is on the Forbes 400 list.  Today was a day I really enjoyed it…

“Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until they are seventy five.”-  Benjamin Franklin

Do you remember the sense of awe and inspiration you felt with the world as a young child?  Perhaps you cannot remember simply because it has been forever and a day since you have felt that way.  In this case, observe the small child chasing butterflies or playing with an empty box.  They squeal for joy and entertain themselves for hours with such trivia that we say to ourselves, “I wish I could be that easily entertained!”  You might have outgrown the box and the butterflies, but life is still a daring pursuit and a hilarious adventure, if you will let it be so.

There are two things that will keep a person young and alive- the fire of a burning dream, and the ability to laugh at life. The dream that burns the brightest in my soul is for my message of optimism and hope to reach the world at large; for my suffering to have a positive reason for being.  If you’ve quit dreaming and quit laughing, you’ve quit living. Resurrect yourself. Rekindle the fire and laugh until it hurts. Otherwise, they might as well start shoveling the dirt on top of you now.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR