Wanted to share my 2 most recent reads:

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• “Running the Gauntlet” by  Jeffrey Hayzlett – I enjoyed it a lot as it shared read details about how to build business, grow business and the need to adapt. I know Jeffrey (and he quoted me a few times in the book), and he’s a seasoned executive who has succeeded in sharing some of the things he has accomplished in corporate America.

• Re-read the legendary book “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell – I find great books are worth re-reading every year or 2 – and I always gain something extra when I re-read a great book.

And if you haven’t yet bought the book I wrote, “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations”, here’s a link you can buy it at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-immediate-release-ronn-torossian/1102047620?r=1&ean=9781936661169&cm_mmc=Google+Product+Search-_-Q000000630-_-For+Immediate+Release-_-9781936661169

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

One of the most exciting aspects of my business is the successful and interesting people we meet or come across – Some random thoughts:

• I run a lot – and have been contemplating training for a triathalon but wonder if I will have the time – until my client Real estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld reminds me that he’s done 75-plus triathlons in my lifetime, and at the age of 61 finished his last one in under 3 hours. I am just going to call him Inspiring Elie Hirschfeld.

• Mark Birnbaum & Eugene Remm whom Forbes refers to as “The New Kings of New York Nightlife” by Forbes- They seem to be in perpetual movement with success – expanding on their already fabulous empire, they have decided in the last few weeks to open Catch Miami, and a 18,000-square-foot restaurant on the Lower East Side.

• Michael Malik who never stops working and is a pioneer in the casino development industry, including big projects in California, Michigan, and New York. He has been  involved in bringing gaming to multiple communities, and continues to seek investment and development opportunities in the entertainment and gaming industry. Mr. Michael J. Malik is another one who’s always looking for more positive action.

• Interestingly, Sumitomo Corporation  closed on a joint venture deal that gives Unicharm a significant stake in the common share of The Hartz Mountain Corporation (Hartz), parent company who makes many pet products, including Hartz flea and Hartz flea & tick.

• NY Russian Real Estate Attorney Edward Mermelstein in Time Magazine this week discussing the fascinating London lawsuit between 2 oligarchs -  Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich.  “This lawsuit is a public relations nightmare for Putin and his country,” says Edward Mermelstein, an international lawyer and an authority on commercial deals in Russia and Ukraine. “The financial aspect is not as material here as is the press that is being generated. It puts all of the Russian government and its business people in a bad light.” Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/01/20/londons-six-billion-dollar-trial-how-boris-berezovsky-has-already-triumphed/#ixzz1kEkGlTXz

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

Public Relations Tips from Ronn Torossian

“Publicity geniuses are different from you and me. They have the stomach for it. This temperamental combination of imperviousness and egomania that allows them, compels them, to dominate the media . . . means, too, that they dominate reality, that’s their world and we just . . . well you know.”

—Michael Wolff, writing in Vanity Fair

10 rules for success in Public Relations:

1. Attention is the most valuable form of currency in PR and marketing. Getting the right attention must be done strategically and consistently.

2. Digital media and self-created content give everyone a voice. For good and for bad, self-created content is tremendously important—and realize with today’s media world everyone’s opinion counts. Blog, comment, and join

the conversation when it suits your purposes and goals.

3. PR works best with evolution rather than revolution. If you gradually take two steps forward, you might fall back a step. That’s okay. It’s easier to recover from one step backward than it is if you hurry and take four steps at once and then another four. You might trip and fall three or six steps behind—

It’s much harder to get back up to speed from that point.

4. PR has been and will always be about building relationships. In an earlier era, you needed only to worry about a few beat reporters, gossip columnists, or talk show hosts. Today it’s also about knowing bloggers, Twitter communities, influential Diggers, Facebook groups, or other collectives.

5. Everyone loves a great storyteller—become one. Your story is your ticket to people’s hearts and minds. A great story can motivate a person to go from passive to participant. Participate in media training and then rehearse and

prepare. It matters.

6. Write well. Understand the value of communicating properly, particularly in press releases, because they will often be used verbatim as news stories—it’s called “churnalism.” Yes, there’s a name for it now.

7. Gossip is information delivered personally. Make it work for you and not against you. Think strategically: how can you use what you hear to do better, be better, and serve better?

8. Success and media attention come with a price; learn to accept it and adapt accordingly.

9. Don’t try to be something you’re not: authenticity may mean saying no to opportunities that may not fit your brand or work against your core mission and values. Politicians need 51 percent of a market to succeed; brands can

win with a much smaller market share and become very successful.

10. Don’t expect privacy. Privacy doesn’t exist in today’s open

social media world. If you post something on Facebook, employees, clients, and the media can see it.

Writing my book was a major accomplishment of which I am very proud and I hope many more read it. The book can be bought at www.forimmediatereleasebook.com, or any major book website or bookstore.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, a Top 25 US PR Agency.

The concept of authenticity is tremendously important in public relations and marketing – ultimately, honesty and respect, and how you express that to your audience is the essence of authenticity and of the personal aspect of any brand. Every decision related to marketing authenticity should start with the question: “If I were the person on the other end looking at this, what would make me feel welcome and included?” Clearly Paula Deen has been oblivious to the concept of authenticity and trust – she’ll do whatever it takes to make money.

Deen, a celebrity chef has built her brand around fat-laden recipes – and today’s announcement that she has had Type 2 diabetes for about three years and has signed on to be the spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk AS, which makes diabetes drugs leaves many of us in the marketing world in shock. Obesity increases people’s risk for Type 2 diabetes, and Novo Nordisk is now launching a marketing campaign around Ms. Dean and healthy recipes. Dean has built her brand around recipes like “Fried Butter Balls”, and “Deep-Fried Mac and Cheese”, pushes cookbooks filled with fatty foods – and her brand is the definition of un-healthy foods according to countless medical experts. What’s next? Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan hosting Sesame Street?  Philip Morris selling cancer drugs?

Marketing campaigns work best when they are authentic and consumers trust – which this campaign is the exact opposite of. I predict this will anger and confuse consumers. Will she continue selling her old recipes at the same time as hawking the new products she’s endorsing? Is Deen going to change all her shows and recipes – and if we listen, so was she wrong then or is she wrong now ?

A spokeswoman for Novo said it chose Ms. Deen because she “resonates with people” – and while she resonates with people and is well known, that doesn’t mean her brand will resonate with healthy eating.  It’s the definition of hypocrisy. Anthony Bourdain, the Travel Channel’s resident chef said today: “When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you’ve been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you’ve got Type 2 diabetes … it’s in bad taste if nothing else.” Of course, he previously called her our as “the worst, most dangerous person to America” because “she revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is f***ing bad for you.”

Bourdain may not have known just how right he was about the unholy connections. Shame on Paula Deen – and at least 1 PR firm owner is asking Novo Nordisk what are you thinking? Is there no other way to get attention? Shame on Deen and shame on Novo Nordisk.

Ronn Torossian is the CEO of 5WPR, a leading NY PR Agency. He’s also the author of recently released PR book “For Immediate Release” – and a chapter in his book is devoted to Authenticity and entitled “Authenticity: Your personal calling card.” The book is available at: http://www.amazon.com/Immediate-Release-Deliver-Game-Changing-Relations/dp/1936661160