ronn torossian

In a city of 30 thousand dollar a year private schools, 800 dollar (or more) a week kids' camps, and $15 an hour babysitters, the New York City Public Library system is such an amazing tool for parents – and NY’ers of all walks of life.  It is a great, free, resource - and one which remains as awesome today as it was years ago. Growing up as an ‘80’s “latch-key" kid, I have fond memories of hours in the Spuyten Duyvil (Bronx) library with my younger sister before walking home. (As my mother insisted we go there so we... Read More >

Last week, the Critics’ Choice TV awards announced its nominees and winners in several categories. Typically, there were some familiar shows among both the nominees and the award recipients. And, of course, there were some surprises. Orange is the New Black beat out network giants like The Big Bang Theory and cable stalwarts such as Veep for Best Comedy Series, underscoring the streaming entertainment revolution, and the fading relevance of the major networks. However, Author and Public Relations Executive Ronn Torossian says, in these contests, winning is hardly the only thing that matters. In fact, sometimes winning is not the... Read More >

You may have the best message in the world, but you still cannot get people to buy in. What gives? Well, as Founder of 5W Public Relations I  regularly advises clients, "PR is as much about HOW you say it as it is what you say." In fact, in most cases, how you communicate is vastly more important than WHAT you communicate.How can your methods turn a dead message into a vibrant PR masterpiece? Here's three recommendations from me, to help you transform your PR into content that captures and creates clicks. #1 – Make them curious: Human brains are wired... Read More >

From a public relations perspective, it has been a busy 2014 so far for the shoemaker Skechers.  Recently, their logo was spotted all over Triple Crown candidate California Chrome but the impressive Public Relations run by Skechers began long before they put their logo on a high-priced horse. [caption id="attachment_49425" align="aligncenter" width="949"] Courtesy Skechers Facebook[/caption] The effort is calculated to help the company promote its new high-performance line - called GoRun. Consumers got one of their first high profile looks at the GoRun line on the feet of a genuine athletic superstar. Meb Keflezighi, a long distance runner, wore the... Read More >

As big data continues to grow in the business community, a conference will be held in Israel entitled “Big Data Everywhere” on June 22nd – and hosted by HP Vertica at the HP Software offices in Israel. Approximately 200 corporate attendees are expected, and the event will feature tutorials & presentations on practical applications for big data. Speakers will include Ted Dunning (at left), committer to Apache Mahout, Drill and ZooKeeper projects and chief application architect for MapR who will lead sessions on “Practical Machine Learning: How to Build a Recommender” and “Building HBase Applications with Examples.” “Events like this... Read More >

Lots of folks love Chevys. They are the hero of countless songs and millions of NASCAR fans. But, the maker of the famous Chevy brand has been suffering a horrendous first quarter, at least from a Public Relations perspective. The bad news began trickling out when a simple malfunction was blamed for the deaths of many GM drivers. Then, worse reports surfaced saying that GM knew about the problem, and failed to act in time to literally save lives. Initially, the company said the mechanical failure was a terrible tragedy that they had no advanced warning of. Later, they were... Read More >

In one of the more “interesting” public relations moves in recent history, the CEO of Fiat-Chrysler recently told the world not to buy his product. Yes, you read that right. The product in question was the Fiat 500e, and Sergio Marchionne is not real high on people purchasing one. But… why, exactly??? According to Marchionne, even with its high price tag, Fiat has to sell the 500e at a loss. He is quoted as saying: “I hope you don’t buy it, because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000.” This latest admission by a major international manufacturer underscores... Read More >

Right out of the gate they told you “this might not be the best idea.” That may have been exactly the right tone to take with the PR for Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. One of the biggest hurdles any comic book movie faces is attracting non-fans to the theaters. Marvel has scored well in this regard in recent years. But, is it enough for them to take the biggest risk yet? Betting the farm – or at least a big budget movie – on a little known comic book about an even lesser-known team of cosmic outlaws... Read More >

With the removal of Clippers owner Donald Sterling, both the NBA and fans coast-to-coast were waiting to hear from “other owners.” That group has been the constant focus for the “rest of the story” during the entire debacle about an owner making racist comments, which were recorded in private and then broadcast to the world. As the story broke and then as it played out and snowballed, media continually reported that it would be pressure from other owners that would eventually push Sterling out of the NBA causing a Crisis PR situation. But, for the most part, there was little... Read More >

Hashtag PR campaigns can go either way. It’s a reality you have to embrace before you ever decide to embark on a very public conversation in a very flippant, off the cuff context. But, brands try it all the time. Some with great success, including Adidas UK, the WWE, Starbucks, and Taco Bell. Some, like JetBlue can look at their social media forays as a bit of a mixed bag. Others go completely off the rails. Looking at youMcDstories. The NFL’s #AskCommish campaign fits squarely in the latter. Understanding these points can help your business keep from making the same mistakes.  #1... Read More >