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Ronn Torossian
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Ronn D. Torossian (b. 1974) is an American public relations executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder, president and CEO of New York City-based 5W Public Relations.
He was named to the PR Week "40 under 40" in 2007, and Advertising Age "40 under 40" in 2006. The New York Times called him the "New Yorkiest practitioners of this quintessentially New York profession.".
PR Week that his "real notoriety comes from his relentless quest to promote himself and his firm along with his own clients," and that he made more media appearances as PR expert and drew more attention from reporters "than many PR executives twice his age." He is known for his aggressive and self-promotional style of both his clients and his firm.
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Encyclopedia
Ronn D. Torossian (b. 1974) is an American public relations executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder, president and CEO of New York City-based 5W Public Relations.
He was named to the PR Week "40 under 40" in 2007, and Advertising Age "40 under 40" in 2006. The New York Times called him the "New Yorkiest practitioners of this quintessentially New York profession.".
PR Week that his "real notoriety comes from his relentless quest to promote himself and his firm along with his own clients," and that he made more media appearances as PR expert and drew more attention from reporters "than many PR executives twice his age." He is known for his aggressive and self-promotional style of both his clients and his firm. His style has been both cited as integral to his success, and criticized."
Torossian specializes in corporate, technology, crisis communication and celebrity representation. He is one of the youngest CEOs of a PR firm.
Personal
Torossian was born in Midwood, Brooklyn but grew up in Riverdale, The Bronx. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1992 and afterward attended the State University of New York at Albany. Torossian was national president of the Israeli youth movement Betar, a Likud-affiliated youth organization that counts some of Israel's most well-known political leaders as former members. His childhood rabbi, Rabbi Avi Weiss said of Torossian: “He is probably the greatest young Jewish political activist I have encountered in the last many years.”
In an interview with El Al magazine Atmosphere, Torossian credited his involvement with Betar for connecting him to his Israeli and Jewish roots. It also fostered professional ties, as Torossian's clients have included the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Likud party itself, amongst others.
Career
Early
Torossian began his career in public relations in 1998, helping then New York City Council speaker Peter Vallone, Sr.'s trip to Israel. In 2002 he was the media director for the Christian Coalition of America. He was Vice President/Group Director for MWW Group, one of The InterPublic Group’s largest PR agencies. At IPG he worked on large corporate accounts, including Clinique, Fox News Channel, DHL and others. In 2003 he founded 5W Public Relations in a rooftop shack with one telephone and an unpaid intern.
5W Public Relations
Torossian has represented a diverse client base, including Evian Water, EDS, Anhueser Busch, Pamela Anderson, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Snoop Dogg.
In the past, additional clients have included the Christian Coalition of America, Bad Boy Entertainment, the State of Israel, Binyamin Elon (the former Israeli government Minister and Knesset member of the Israeli right-wing National Union Party), and Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis. Torossian has said the seemingly contradictory clients' common thread is that both religious groups and hip hop artists have been been unfairly characterized as extremists.
On generating news stories for his clients, Torrosian expressed his preference for provocative stories. His orchestration of the product placement of client Belly Maternity's shirt on Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt made the shirt famous after People magazine put the newborn wearing it on the cover.
Inc. ranked 5W Public Relations No. 153 in its 2007 Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America annual survey, and ranked it No. 11 in the New York City metropolitan area.
Reputation
A New York Times feature called him “brash and aggressively outspoken", "the consummate scrappy publicist", and "one of the New Yorkiest practitioners of this quintessentially New York profession.” Referred to as a publicity guru with scrappy determination, Torossian is particularly known for his aggressiveness and success at a young age. Calling him "The Bad Boy of Buzz", BusinessWeek wrote that "even in an industry fueled by hype, Torossian stands out," and that for it, "few seem better equipped to navigate a celebrity-obsessed culture." Torossian has described the importance of aggression and focus in his work, and he considered Antoine de Saint Exupéry a strong influence on his philosophy.
Clients have cited his "unlimited energy" and his unique approach to public relations as reasons for hiring Torossian. Jameel Spencer, former CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment-affiliated Blue Flame Marketing and Advertising, called Torossian "one of my most trusted business counsels." New York Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove said "Ronn is somebody who gets it." Democratic strategist and former Clinton Administratino advisor Hank Sheinkopf said “I respect Ronn Torossian immensely. He gets it and knows how the game is played. He wins.” . On the other side, Republican strategist Roger Stone said “Simply there is no one today better at PR than Ronn Torossian,” and Israeli billionaire Moshe Gaon said “Hire 5W and Ronn. No one will work harder.”
Of 5W's growth, Torossian has said "One of the reasons I've grown so quickly is that I'm bright. Another is that my competitors are not so bright." He has taunted rivals, dismissing famed publicist Howard J. Rubenstein as "old and tired", promising to take Rubenstein's storied place in public relations. His style has caused him some problems. After criticizing competitor Lizzie Grubman, attorney Benjamin Brafman dropped 5W as his publicists in 2005. However, a former client reportedly complained, "I saw more press releases on him than any work for my firm" , while Atlantic Monthly writer Jeffrey Goldberg called him "the most disreputable flack in New York" and in particular criticized his representation of what Goldberg called the "lunatic fringe" of Israeli politics.
Conversely, Morris Reid, former President Clinton advisor has said "I love Ronn Torossian. The reason I'm with the firm is because he represents the same energy and passion that I try to bring to my own business...He's a 24-7 type of guy, just like I am." Similarly, Jameel Spencer said "[Like] Dennis Rodman: Everyone hated to play against [him]. But if he was on your team, you loved him" As The Forward feature concluded: “His aggressive style may not always be pretty, but the results speak for themselves.”
Recognition
External links
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