FAQ

How did you the founder of TransMedia get into PR?

I was punched into it. Literally! I was a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer covering a black protest rally one angry night. I was the only white guy in a room where tempers were flaring, speakers were inciting the crowd to violence and someone came up to me and coldcocked me like I was protester at a Trump rally during the inordinately nasty presidential election. The punch broke two of my teeth and put me on the ground. “That’s it,” I told my wife when I got home that night. “We’re changing careers.” Eventually I landed positions in PR, wrote speeches for many CEO’s and zoomed to highest levels at ABC and NBC.

 

What emerging trends are there in the PR profession?

The trend we see is worrisome. Many publicists do not communicate effectively. Young people are tweeting nonsensical, spur of the moment, off the cuff messages that masquerade as intelligent or insightful thought. What’s happening to writing, to expressing an idea? We’re all too hooked up on the medium instead of the message. We’re too quick on the draw. And I see ideas getting shot down. The good ones along with the bad. And don’t even get me started on fake news. This trend is literally lethal.

 

What industry opportunities or challenges are there?

Plenty! If practiced right, public relations can save the soul of our society from falling into the abyss of clutter, into the cacophony of political propaganda, righteous rhetoric and political correctness that’s confusing the hell out of people. Twitter attacks, social media slurs are only going to increase as they’re filtering down from highest levels. Effective PR presents ideas clearly and responsibly, factually and impactful, not always in just 140 characters. Effective PR helps clients to make lasting impressions, arrive at sound decisions and implement smart strategies. Good PR builds a reputation that’s deserved and helps a brand stand for something meaningful and noteworthy, which means something, stays true to something and resonates longer than a 30-secod TV spot, tweet or post on social media.

 

What inspires us and shapes our vision for PR?

What attracted many of us to PR was resolving crises. I found I had a talent for helping clients steer and navigate through rough waters. They call it crisis management. I call it fighting off an unfair attack, rapidly rising to the occasion and responding forthrightly and persuasively. I’ve helped some of the largest corporations in America to vanquish enemies and in the process regain respect, customer confidence and brand integrity. Something the process requires is media training, teaching executives how to come off the floor as I did one day in Philadelphia and tell it quickly like it is and how it’s going to be from this time forward.

 

What's next for the PR Business in the near future?

We believe we’re going to see more strategic partnerships among PR firms, ad agencies and digital and mobile marketing firms. Our firm recently established Lois TransMedia in New York City by teaming up with advertising icon George Lois, who heads the creative wing ofTransMedia Group and extends our communications capabilities to high levels. George is a legendary adman who created brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Lean Cuisine and I Want My MTV.We are working together right now on Fashion Week Brooklyn, which we’re going to make the biggest fashion event of the year, and making other events such as The Palm Beach International Film Festival, the US Open Cricket Tournament in South Florida the preeminent events in their respective fields. We also see our helping small businesses to protect their websites from hackers.

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From where do we see more success coming in PR?

At TransMedia Group, we’re believers in globalism. Today PR firms must be multi-lingual like us and able to serve clients worldwide, which is where we see the growth. Based in Florida, the key languages are English, Spanish and Portuguese, but we also have staff who speak Russian, German, Italian and Hebrew Two years ago, I traveled to Moscow and brought back business and we have served many international clients from Israel to Latin America. Ole!

 

What’s the ultimate benefit of being a TransMedia client?

The ultimate benefit from our service is the positive effect our PR has on our client’s bottom line. If our PR services don’t positively affect that bottom line, we’re not earning our fee and we’re skating on thin ice, which we’re loathe to do. Sure publicity is impressive and ego stroking, but is it driving sales? Contributing to profitability? Winning more respect and appreciation for your band? That’s the ultimate barometer, and that’s the benefit we deliver over and over.