Ronn Torossian is the founder and chairman of 5W AI Communications, the AI Communications Firm. He founded 5W in 2003 and has led its growth into a top U.S. public relations agency serving Fortune 500 brands and category-defining startups across consumer, corporate, technology, crisis communications, public affairs, and digital marketing.
5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and AI-visibility research, helping clients measure and grow Citation Share across the platforms where buyer decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, influencer, and digital channels.
Under Torossian's leadership, 5W has been named a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's, Agency of the Year at the American Business Awards (with multiple Stevie Awards including the Grand Stevie for Most Honored PR Agency), a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan, a Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year, an Inc. 500 company, and one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces.
Torossian himself has been honored with the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year (twice), an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist nomination, Business Insider's Top Crisis Communications Professional, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and Crain's New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Earlier in his career he was named to PRWeek's "40 Under 40" and Advertising Age's "40 Under 40."
He is the author of two best-selling editions of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations, used in university and graduate communications programs. He has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School and guest-lectured on communications and media strategy at other universities. His commentary has appeared in Forbes, the New York Observer, the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Adweek, PRWeek, and O'Dwyer's.
Outside of 5W, Torossian was a partner and chief marketing officer of JetSmarter, the private-aviation unicorn acquired by Vista Global, parent of VistaJet. He serves as a business advisor to and investor in multiple early-stage businesses across the media, B2B, and B2C landscape.
| • | The End of the Gatekeepers(Artificial Intelligence) Mon., May 18, 2026
|
| • | The Gambling Industry Is Spending $3.9B the Wrong Way(Entertainment & Sports PR) Thu., Apr. 16, 2026
|
| • | 2026 Crisis PR Failures: Boeing, Meta, OpenAI and United(Crisis Communications) Thu., Mar. 19, 2026
|
| • | Major Public Relations Crises of 2025 and What They Revealed(Crisis Communications) Wed., Dec. 31, 2025
|
| • | What is PR in 2025?(Media Relations) Thu., Sep. 4, 2025
|
| • | Crisis PR Done Well in 2025: A Playbook for Trust, Transparency, and Transformation(Crisis Communications) Thu., Jul. 31, 2025
|
| • | Dove, Lego & Spotify: Brands Doing Digital PR Well(Digital PR) Tue., Jul. 1, 2025
|
| • | Failed Crisis PR in Real Life(Crisis Communications) Mon., Mar. 31, 2025
|
| • | Target, Meta and Tesla: Crisis Communications Done Well in 2025(Crisis Communications) Fri., Feb. 14, 2025
|
| • | President Trump’s Communications Strategy: Possible Insight(Politics) Thu., Jan. 16, 2025
|
| • | PR in 2025: Thriving Amidst Disruption and Change(Artificial Intelligence) Wed., Dec. 18, 2024
|
| • | Cybersecurity PR: Building Trust Through Transparent Communication(Cybersecurity) Mon., Dec. 16, 2024
|
| • | The Shift Towards Influencer Marketing: Redefining Brand Engagement(Influencer Marketing) Mon., Oct. 7, 2024
|
| • | Building Trust in AI: How PR Can Bridge the Gap Between Innovation and Understanding(Artificial Intelligence) Wed., Sep. 4, 2024
|
| • | How PR Keeps Your Food Relevant(Food & Beverage PR) Thu., Aug. 1, 2024
|
| ||
The traditional press had already lost much of its status as a gatekeeper of information before AI came on the scene—and now its position is even more tenuous. In this brave new world, brands and communicators increasingly need to tell their own stories.
The U.S. sports betting and online gaming industries spent $3.9B on marketing in 2025. Two point three percent of that went to earned media and PR. Here's where the rest went—and what it did and didn't build.
Slow and procedural messaging without emotional resonance, fragmented leadership communication, overwhelming policy‑heavy language and a pervasive gap between words and observable action have repeatedly undermined corporate credibility.
In 2025, reputational crises were less about isolated missteps and more about how quickly leadership, clarity and proportional judgment reacted under pressure.
The media landscape has been radically transformed by digital acceleration, AI integration, the collapse of traditional newsrooms and an increasingly polarized public discourse. Against this backdrop, PR has shifted from a support function to a strategic core of organizational identity, resilience and trust.
Looking at the most effective crisis PR campaigns of 2025 with an eye to what they did right, offers lessons any communicator can apply.
Done well, digital PR drives visibility, shapes public perception, fuels search performance, and even helps close sales. But in the cluttered digital space, only a few truly excel.
Crisis management has reached a fever pitch. What was once a field concerned with managing occasional media relations has transformed into a complex, 24/7 practice in an era where social media and digital platforms amplify every mistake.
The modern crisis management playbook is no longer confined to issuing a terse statement or holding a press conference. Today’s successful responses rely on a sophisticated combination of speed, authenticity and technological tools.
With the rapid advancements in technology, Trump's second term will see a continuation of his unfiltered, no-holds-barred communication style—adapted to the changing landscape of media and technology. 
Cybersecurity PR, when executed well, is an essential tool for fostering transparency, promoting best practices and ensuring that the public feels secure in the hands of technology providers.
The shift toward influencer marketing reflects a fundamental change in consumer behavior, as people seek authenticity and relatability in their interactions with brands.
Strategic food PR efforts can help a food product stand out and create a lasting space in the changing culinary landscape.