MarTech360 Interview With Ronn Torossian, Chairman and Founder, 5WPR

“Every industry needs PR, including MarTech, to assist in building and maintaining a reputation while also strategically building strong relationships with your customers.”

Q. Hi, Ronn, can you walk us through your professional journey so far?

I founded 5WPR in 2003 in one room alone. Today, the agency has grown tremendously with an office on Park Avenue, 300 employees, and hundreds of clients spanning various consumer industries, B2B businesses, technology start-ups and disruptors, in addition to a growing dedicated digital practice. Today, I serve as Founder and Chairman of 5WPR and we continue to experience growth as one of the leading independent agencies in the world.

Q. What inspired you to establish 5WPR? And what sets 5WPR apart from the competition?

Early on in my PR career, I knew the exact type of agency I wanted to work for and realized it would be up to me to create it. I have always had a natural sense of business and an entrepreneurial side to me. What has always set 5WPR apart from our competitors is we have always competed with ourselves. We are always looking for ways to outperform ourselves which leads our teams to get creative. We are often among the first to work with emerging industries or tackle new trends and technologies. And being the first to do these things creates a competitive edge that others might struggle to catch up with.

Q. According to you, where does PR fit into the MarTech landscape?

Every industry needs PR, including MarTech, to assist in building and maintaining a reputation while also strategically building strong relationships with your customers. The marketing technologies industry is vast and filled with competitors—a strong PR strategy will assist you in breaking through the noise and ensure that current and potential customers know everything they need to about your brand.

Q. What are the recent trends in PR and what are your tried-and-tested best PR strategies for enterprises?

Among recent trends in PR is the continuing influence of social media and new and emerging social media platforms. While you can argue that a long-standing platform like Instagram has become a tried-and-tested platform, new changes, algorithms, and integration to these platforms like Instagram Reels keep PR professionals working to discover what content will perform best.

And then of course you have new platforms like TikTok, which is all the rage right now, but what is the staying power of the app? The best, tried-and-tested, PR strategy is media relations. Earned media allows you the opportunity to share your story, whatever it is, without many of the limitations a trendy social platform places on you.

Also Read: MarTech360 Interview With Brian Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer, IntelePeer

Q. In the last two decades, technology has seen dramatic growth and the number of technological tools used in marketing and PR has increased too. Are these tools really increasing marketing efficiency or leading to diminishing returns?

Like with any tool in life, they have a goal of making your life easier but you still need to know how to operate it. If you know how to use these tools to your benefit, you will see an efficient increase in results. But if you think the tool is going to do the work for you, you might not be impressed with the results.

Q. What impact has social media had and will have in the future on PR?  What opportunities and challenges has it brought about?

Social media has been an incredible addition to many brand’s PR strategies, giving both brands and consumers a fun and engaging outlet to get creative. Social media has also broken barriers between brands and their customers, making communication more frequent and easier than ever before. Challenges are plenty. You must be incredibly careful and thoughtful with what you post. Sometimes the ease of social media can trick a brand into getting comfortable rather than maintaining a professional profile.

Q. Public speaking is a great communication tool in PR and highly useful to connect with the audience. What are your 5 best tips to master Public Speaking?

My five tips to master public speaking include:

1. 1. Practice – Practicing in front of acquaintances and co-workers is a great idea. Also, accept as many public speaking opportunities as you can. You’ll get better with time.
   2. Know your audience – It’s important to know who you will be speaking to ahead of time, and craft your speech with them in mind. Is the audience already knowledgeable on your topic, or should you take the extra time to inform them of important background details?
   3. Memorize – No one will believe a word you’re saying if they’re aware you’re reading a script. It’s important to memorize your talking points and use bullet points only to guide your speech.
   4. Eye contact – Make and maintain eye contact throughout your speech, really make the members of your audience feel as though you are talking directly to them and making the effort to connect with them.
   5. Pace yourself – Nothing screams confidence like a well-paced speech. Make sure each thought and point stands out, articulate your words and remember to breathe.

Q. How has thought leadership evolved in the last 10 years and how can brands use it today to their advantage?

Ten years ago, there was a misconception that thought leadership should be reserved for the CEOs of well-known brands because those are the only individuals anyone is interested in listening to. Today, thought leadership is a valuable and necessary tool for all professionals to use to their advantage. Thought leadership is an incredible opportunity to set yourself, your brand, and your services, aside from the competition. If you can convince potential customers through your thought leadership that you are the expert, then your brand will be the go-to option.

Q. Do you think using thought leadership content as a PR strategy has the power to change public opinion and viewpoints?

I do. Thought leadership isn’t solely a tool to inform, but also to persuade. There is incredible power in language, and when done correctly and distributed through the right channels, thought leadership can be the single best tool to change public opinion.

Q. Do you think that brands today have forgotten that PR is a relationship-based business that should not rely on controversial publicity, alone?

No, I don’t think many brands would agree with the adage “all press is good press” anymore. I think modern brands have seen so many examples of when controversial moments and bad press were simply that—controversial and bad. I do however think many have forgotten that PR is about building and maintaining relationships rather than creating a viral moment.

Q. Could you name some platforms/tools that you use for marketing?

Our teams use a variety of PR and marketing tools such as Cision, Muckrack, Qwoted, Salesforce, Constant Contact, and Falcon.io, just to name a few.

Q. Do you have any words of wisdom that you would like to share with the budding entrepreneurs out there?

My advice to entrepreneurs at whatever point of their journey is to learn from others. You are not the first to undertake this journey and you won’t be the last. There are incredible resources out there from successful entrepreneurs, from interviews to books. Take the time to read these materials and let them better your practices.

Thanks, Ronn!