Q&A with Roni Rimon, Co Founder and CEO of Rimon Cohen & Co.
Today we are talking with Roni Rimon, one of Israel’s most senior media strategists with more than 30 years of experience advising senior politicians and leadership of industry defining companies and social organizations.
Roni is Co-Founder and CEO of Rimon Cohen & Co., among Israel’s best-known media strategy consulting and crisis management companies. Since 1995, Rimon Cohen & Co. has served every field of business and political communications. From local startups to leading multinational organizations, high profile individuals and executives, politicians, government agencies, educational bodies, and NGOs.
As someone who has been working in the PR industry for more than three decades, have you seen big changes in the field because of Covid-19?
“As a crisis manager, crises are not foreign to me. I always say that while every crisis gives rise to concerns and uncertainty, it also provides new opportunities. Since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have worked with clients who had to adapt their work methods, others in the travel industry who fought for compensation, and up-and-coming clients who used today’s unique circumstances to increase their market share. As media consultants, we always listen, map the challenges and the opportunities and provide the best strategy and services to help our clients achieve their goals, regardless of circumstances. Covid-19 has changed everyone’s reality but there is always a way to succeed and we are there every step of the way to help them achieve that.”
As an Israeli-based PR agency that works with global organizations, has the pandemic changed the way you operate?
“Public relations revolves around human interaction. This is something we always keep in mind, especially amid a global pandemic. Although some face to face meetings have moved online because of flight restrictions, most of the work has remained the same. We continue working closely with our clients, whether they’re in New York or in London, and apart their strategy to the Israeli market. In recent months, we have led some of our best campaigns for Dropbox and Fujitsu in Israel. With tools like Zoom and WhatsApp, our international department is also able to continue working with international media despite travelling restrictions. Through two lockdowns, we continued helping Israeli businesses adapt their PR strategy to the market they operate in or plan to enter and gain top-tier international coverage.”
You have worked with some of the top political figures in Israel, most notably Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Given the challenges many politicians and public leaders around the world are facing, have their public relations strategies changed in the wake of Covid-19?
“Covid-19 has certainly put more pressure on public figures, because in moments of crisis, the public needs clarity, transparency and consistency. For a while, some leaders struggled to adopt clear and coherent messaging. Instead, we could see discrepancy between their public statements and inconsistencies. This does not project confidence but instead leads to frustration, unrest and in some places – protests. As public relations experts, our job is to prevent that. Our unique ability to provide unfiltered feedback and use it to develop a clear and suitable media strategy is vital, especially during these challenging times. In fact, some PR teams are playing an important role in how well their governments are doing during this crisis.”
