News & Opinion

    At Bob Gold & Associates, clients are given personalized attention, valuable communications counsel, and streamlined strategic execution. For our clients who range from Fortune 500 firms to startups, our goal is to educate media and analysts about their agencies, establish their executives as thought leaders, ad demonstrate the effectiveness of their products or services. Our over 20 years of experience means our team has the experience, track record, and contacts to ensure our clients succeed. By providing more bang for our clients’ budgets, we have been recognized as a leading public relations firm in the media industry.   Clutch awarded Bob Gold & Associates a leading public relations agency in the media industry! Through our relationship with Clutch, we have not only garnered recognition as an industry leader but also new clientele:   By creating a Bob Gold & Associates profile and submitting frequent client reviews, we’ve been successful at highlighting our successes which has translated into securing new business.   The ratings and reviews platform based in Washington, D.C. connects business. Annually, the team awards companies ranked highly on the platform. Clutch determines rankings based on market presence, project histories, and verified reviews.   One satisfied client spoke with a Clutch analyst to provide the following review:     The Manifest expands upon the success of our client relations. The B2B buying guide lists Bob Gold & Associates as one of the top 25 boutique PR agencies. To support informed hiring decisions, the platform lists industry leaders with relevant business information including details about a notable project, company size, and location.   We look forward to expanding our relationship with Clutch by developing a presence on their second sister site, Visual Objects, which features the portfolios of industry leaders. The site connects buyers with B2B service providers with visual content to encourage effective collaboration.   The entire Bob Gold & Associates team appreciates the award and the time our clients have taken to speak with Clutch.   Ready to tell a great story? We can’t wait to hear from you.

PRSA Los Angeles’ Board Selects Bob Gold to be Honored at the 2019 PRism Awards in Los Angeles Bob Gold, President and CEO of Bob Gold & Associates, a Southern California boutique public relations and marketing agency, has been voted by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Los Angeles Board of Directors to be honored as the 2019 Communications Professional of the Year to be presented at the Los Angeles PRism Awards celebration on October 15 at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood.   Bob Gold was selected for the program’s most distinguished individual accolade, Communications Professional of the Year, for his outstanding leadership and management skills, innovation and creativity, and unparalleled impact and outcomes for clients, as well as his commitment to important causes, charities and mentorship of young professionals. His award will be presented by longtime friend, KTLA-TV News anchor, Glen Walker. “To be recognized by peers is the ultimate compliment for every professional,” said Gold. “This honor is entirely unexpected, and deeply appreciated.” With over 30 years of experience in public relations and marketing, Gold’s impact on the industry and results for his clients are internationally recognized. The firm has recently been on a tear, adding new clients, staff and partners around the world. In the past year, the company has been recognized as the #2 Boutique PR Firm by Clutch, #13 PR firm in Los Angeles by O'Dwyer's, #2 B2B Advertising and Marketing Firm in Los Angeles by Clutch, and one of the Most Innovative and Attractive Work Environments by Cablefax. Bob Gold founded and manages Bob Gold & Associates, one of the premier independent integrated communications public relations agencies in the country.  The agency’s specialty is being experts at the nexus where video content meets technology and distribution. He has also helped raise millions of dollars for charities, taught hundreds of students and helped further strategic business plans for numerous businesses and associations. Throughout his career, Gold has helped launch dozens of companies, re-branded many others and created countless successful campaigns for companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Gold is also the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Hemisphere Technologies Inc., a Nevada corporation, which is dedicated to investing in publicly traded and privately held technology companies. Gold has extensive experience in small and large-scale transactions and works as a key member engaged in all aspects including sourcing, evaluating, structuring, monitoring, and, where applicable, harvesting investments. Gold is also a published author of a popular children’s picture book, The Shiny Penny. Gold holds many honors including being inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers along with Comcast’s Brian Roberts, CNN’s Ted Turner and other notables. He holds a Master’s degree in Communications Management from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California, where he also sits on the Alumni Board of Directors. When he’s not helping others, Gold can usually be found more than 60 feet underwater on a scuba diving “mancation” with his three sons. PRSA is the world’s largest and most reputable association for public relations professionals. For 55 years, PRSA-LA has been hosting the PRism Awards — the Los Angeles region’s premier awards program recognizing excellence in public relations strategic campaigns and tactical programs. The Los Angeles Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is comprised of nearly 600 agency, in-house and independent public relations professionals representing LA-area corporations, academic institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

WASHINGTON, DC – September 24, 2019 – The best creative and design agencies understand the specific needs of the markets they work within. What works well in the retail industry may not succeed in the legal field. Clutch, the leading B2B ratings and reviews platform, released a new report highlighting the top-performing creative and design agencies in 14 specific industries. These industries are: automotive, business services, dental, ecommerce, education, financial services, financial technology, healthcare, hospitality, legal, media, nonprofit, real estate, and retail. The full listing may be found here.

By Roxanne Leone, Director, Marketing & Communications Did you know that the B2B trade show market in the United States was valued at $13.7 billion back in 2016, and is forecasted to grow to 16.8 billion by the end of 2021? If you’re competing for butts in seats at your next curated conversation event, you might want to consider your audience first. Remember, success is not based on what you want to tell them, but what they want to hear!   Year after year, people attend our very own events at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) and SCTE·ISBE’s Cable-Tec Expo to listen to the most diverse thinking on the technology they care about. As I see it, event curation is about creating an open dialogue with highly prepared speakers to discuss timely topics from the industry. For Bob Gold & Associates, the key is selecting the right speakers and preparing topics ahead of time, so it supports an overarching story.   After years of using sticky notes as wallpaper in our office, we’ve learned a thing or two about planning a worthwhile event for our guests. And our strategy can be adapted for almost any event.   We first determine the overarching story, or theme, 6 months in advance and ask ourselves these five key questions:             1. Why are we hosting this event?          2. What do we want the audience to take away from this event?          3. Do we want the audience to learn something, be inspired, or take some action?          4. Who are my ideal speakers to share relevant content to help tell the story?          5. What content flow will tell the most compelling story?   We tend to spend the majority of our time on selecting speakers and hosting prep calls to ensure participants are on topic and that everyone has the opportunity to weave in their own relevant key messages.   Questions 4 and 5 can make or break an event. For our upcoming curated conversation this fall, we are evaluating potential speakers in cable and telecommunications that have a compelling story to tell and have an engaging personality and presentation style. Plus, it’s equally important to consider gender, age, and academic background to showcase diversity. To brainstorm content, we discuss the current situation in the industry. We share personal stories and case studies to showcase various successes and challenges. Then we open the conversation to predictions for the future, recap key points and solicit questions from the audience. Once our brainstorm session is complete, we draft questions for the moderator, share with the panel and fine tune 2 weeks before the event.   The only way to keep an overarching story intact to meet the needs of your audience is to prepare your speakers to think BIG PICTURE while strategically incorporating messages they wish to get across.  

According to a Fractl report, most top-tier writers receive 100, 250, or even 500 pitches a week for an average of 5 story spots, so you have a few seconds – not minutes - before a journalist gets distracted if they’re not engaged from the get go. It’s also important to note that once you’ve issued a press release, the news becomes a less valuable commodity to your company and reporters alike. Therefore, it’s important to smartly write your announcement and deliver it at the best time. Here are some essential items that can make or break a press release: Choose the right topic: A B2B press release can address many topics, including original research, awards won, new c-level appointments, public appearances, philanthropy initiatives, a new product/service launch, and a new client or partnership. Whatever you’re announcing, be sure that the release is clear, punchy and to the point. Put the newsworthy angle first in a catchy headline: The goal is to break through the clutter and to be read alongside Apple and conglomerates in the same space. This requires a newsworthy hook and a concise description of the story. Include imagery: The right image can boost visibility. Stock art is not ideal. It’s better to get an action shot of your subject or an appropriate original image that is informative and interesting. Additionally, provide the highest resolution you can- high resolution is 300 dpi or above for anything in print. Consider video: A video can be more effective than images or text. If you’re creating it, try to keep the video under four minutes. To show you’re professional, make sure the quality of the video is high, at least HD, and not shaky. To get the attention of viewers, draft a compelling script and storyboard, and place a call to action at the end. You can host it on YouTube or Vimeo, so people are comfortable opening it. Place the most important summary information upfront: Readers may only look at your release for a few seconds, so writers should put the most important information first followed by more details down below. Use value-added quotes: Quotes must add value to content. Some ways to do this are connecting quotes to an industry’s larger issues, explaining why the news is important, summarizing a problem and how it’s being fixed, using a good analogy, or using emotion and humor to express a strong opinion. Look at examples of other quotes and try reading your release without your quote in it to gauge if it’s adding value. Ensure the boilerplate is well crafted: Journalists rely on boilerplates for basic company information. Avoid jargon and make sure to clearly describe key services and products, customers, size, location, accolades and mission. Additionally, you should add key words for SEO and a call to action linking to your website. Target the right audience: In a recent study, 500+ journalists voted that receiving an irrelevant pitch was the most offensive thing a PR agent could do. Therefore, research the beats of reporters you want to contact. Concisely tell interesting and positively angled news: Per a survey of over 500+ top-tier journalists, “most writers (58%) prefer to receive a pitch between 100 and 200 words.” Therefore, word count is limited, so communicate fully. Timing is everything: Scheduling a release at the right time helps avoid getting lost in clutter. Avoid Fridays or weekends because journalists may not read work emails then. Also consider scheduling just before or after the stock market opens. Also be weary of time zones. Ideal times may be different for different industries, so learn the important dates and times of your vertical.   Journalists’ inboxes are overfilled, so it’s critical to make sure every piece of the release is exceptionally well crafted. This could make the difference and make your news stand out.

By Chris Huppertz, Vice President, Communications   Data. It’s everywhere. It’s around us, between us, connecting us. And with each passing day, the amount of data generated increases exponentially. IBM, for example, says that 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years – that’s 2.5 quintillion bytes of data a day! But until recently we haven’t done a great job of monitoring it, let alone knowing what to do once we have. That’s especially true in PR, where many will call it quits once they’ve gathered a few basic stats like story counts and potential impressions. Be warned: change is coming. In fact, it’s already here. The lines between PR, Marketing, and data-scientist are quickly blurring. And whether you’re a seasoned PR pro or a budding star, just understanding data will no longer cut it. To be a compelling storyteller, you need to know how to use data. How to create data. And how to make data talk. In fact, I would say that data should be the golden arrow in every PR pro’s quiver.So what do I do with data, you ask? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer for what data can do for you. But there are a few places every communications professional should look before kicking off their next campaign: Reporting (more than just coverage) One of the easiest – but often overlooked – ways to show off your fancy data skills is in your reporting. Here, the data you gather is just as important as the story you tell with it. I think everyone reports on the number of story placements they’ve secured – but what does this really mean for your client’s bottom line? If coverage volume is only concern, then simply counting stories might be adequate. But looking deeper, you’ll likely uncover trends in what stories and pitches working best, which outlets cover you’re the most, if your message is sticking and what needs improvement. Tell your story with #s Anyone can say they’re the “leader in ________”… but how do they back it up? Data is the key to substantiating a claim – but it also helps paint a bigger, more meaningful picture. Or it can paint different picture altogether. The important thing is that your data (and claims) have been properly researched and are intellectually defensible. The last thing you want is to lose credibility or be perceived as disingenuous. Create your own news In today’s internet-connected, tech-driven world, almost every company is sitting on a goldmine of proprietary data. And it’s just waiting for a PR savant to tap into it. When facing a lull in hard news, consider exploring your data for new trends or insights to pitch media. For example, maybe you have a trove of info on purchasing behavior, device usage or consumer frustrations. A quarterly data dump can position your executives as true experts and thought leaders in their field. And if you don’t have data already, you can always generate some at a nominal cost by creating your own consumer survey. Comment on others’ news Rather than creating a news story of your own, consider using your data – and expert opinion – to weigh in on others’. We’ve had tremendous success positioning our clients as authorities in their fields – it just requires a unique and relevant data point, and a compelling point of view to explain what it means. Have some thoughts on Facebook’s new feature? Have some data that relates? Pitch it to the folks who cover Facebook most, and soon you’ll become the go-to source for any Facebook related commentary. PR is changing… and that’s a good thing. But don’t get left behind in the days when press releases were physically mailed, or when social media was “just for kids.” Let data be your secret weapon to a winning strategy and you’ll soon become a more compelling storyteller.

By Roxanne Leone, Director, Marketing & Communications You can either work at developing a company’s culture, or leave it evolve on its own. The problem with allowing culture to take its own course is that it can go drastically off course!In my experience, a positive culture always stems from leadership. At Bob Gold & Associates, a boutique-sized PR and marketing agency, we have leadership demonstrate our values through action rather than words. In fact, our company’s culture has earned us the honor of being names in the Work Culture List for Community Connections by Cablefax. Our fearless leader is Bob Gold. He sets the tone for the agency and when he’s smiling, we’re smiling. Aside from being the PR guru that he is, he’s the individual that sets process and policy to stay on course. Yet, he also makes unique perks available to build camaraderie. The office opens at 8:30am and after servicing our clients’ immediate needs, distributing news releases, and screening high-priority emails, the staff meets in the lounge at around 9:30am for our ‘productivity’ walk. The office line is forwarded to a mobile phone, and we are off on a quick jaunt to Peet’s Coffee just two blocks from the office and the beach. There’s no better way to demonstrate respect for your colleagues than by being a good listener, helping problem solve a client issue or discussing a new biz opportunity, and it’s an expense that hits the BG&A tab!Our VP, Communications, Chris Huppertz, has ownership of hiring, training and mentoring employees. Huppertz has been able to build trusting relationships with our team, has formalized training, and created an environment where collaboration and teamwork are crucial for success. To keep our creative juices flowing, one of his favorite team-building initiatives was hitting the beach for some sun and bodysurfing. Huppertz is an amazing role model and was the recipient of both a Bulldog Award and PR News Rising PR Star Award.At Bob Gold & Associates we all share a growth mindset. We invest in nurturing our team members personally and professionally, so we’re able to pull together our unique talents and deliver impressive results for our clients while sharing some laughs. After spending countless years in corporate communications roles for Fortune 500 companies, I can tell you this - don’t hire an agency, hire a culture. Understanding our core values including collaboration, innovation and proactivity will help you gauge what kind of partnership we will have.

World Wrestling Entertainment was my entire world as an adolescent. Little did I know then that I was learning invaluable lessons that would prepare me for my future career in PR.   Growing up attending a Catholic grade school, I was always told pro-wrestling is a sin and the staff urged parents not to let us watch. In fact, our teachers once thought they could eradicate our fascination with wrestling by informing us it wasn't real. Au contraire… we would incorporate the storylines during morning prayer. "My cousin Steve (Austin) was hit by a car recently, and I just want to ask that he have a speedy recovery." Pretty soon we all had a cousin “Steve.” Luckily the teachers never caught on – they just thought our families had horrible luck.   At the time, I didn’t think that watching wrestling would prepare me for the business world, but after working with our client, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, which owns Impact Wrestling, it’s clear to me that I’ve been applying lessons learned long ago.   Although the action-packed fights, larger-than-life personas and drama-filled storylines aren’t real, the lessons learned, however, are practical. Here are the top three lessons I learned from watching WWE that have helped me in my public relations career. Be prepared to accept failure (and grow from it) My first phone pitch was a failure. The reporter asked me a minor detail about the client I was pitching him and I stumbled…badly. The reporter smelled blood and told me if I can’t explain the value to his readers in 30 seconds or less, why was I wasting his time by pitching him. Instead of letting this experience bring me down, it drove me to come in well prepared for all future calls. Adapt or perish Like a wrestling match, working in PR requires you to react quickly and confidently, otherwise you’ll get knocked down. One of the first media interviews I set up for a client wasn’t going as well as planned – the reporter was going off topic, asking hard-hitting questions that the client clearly didn’t anticipate, and I had to react quickly to pivot the conversation, highlighting recent wins in order to keep the conversation positive. It takes teamwork to make the dream work Working in a collaborative workspace is very similar to tag-team wrestling because no matter what kind of beating work hands you, there’s always someone in your corner to have your back. For example, I was recently tasked with compiling a dense report on a very quick turnaround.  Although the task was daunting and somewhat overwhelming on my own, my colleague had my back and not only assisted with the report, but also gave me tips to speed up the process while improving the quality.   These three life lessons have shaped me into the professional that I am today. Professional wrestling is more than just oiled up actors wearing speedos in a reality-tv drama fake-fighting in a ring. It's a way of life and taught me very “IMPACT-ful” lessons along the way.    

Bob Gold & Associates (BG&A) is a results-driven, boutique-sized agency headquartered in Southern California with a trusted global PR network supporting international campaigns. The BG&A team specializes in public relations and digital media to craft persuasive communication strategies that ensure your message is delivered accurately, at the right place, at the right time. With more than a 20-year history of relationship-building, our agency brings instant credibility to your business and provides unparalleled services to tell your story and generate results that you’ll be proud of. Whether you are a start-up, Fortune 500 firm, or content creator, we will enhance your unique brand story and secure more buzz for your budget. BG&A is proud to announce that we have been named by Clutch as the 4th best crisis communications PR firms and 3rd boutique PR firms in the Industry. These rankings come from their 2019 report in which they featured only the highest performing companies on their platform. Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews firm that ranks companies according to a number of criteria including how well they’re reviewed by their past clients, market share, and ability to deliver. The web platform at Cluch.co is intended to allow users to see how businesses and solutions compare in a specific market and discover industry insights from thought leaders. This recognition carries a heavy weight, as we have achieved a position in the top 15 firms out of over 800 on each list, thus placing us on the Clutch leader’s matrix. The leader’s matrix is based off of a company’s ability to deliver and industry focus. Ability to Deliver includes the company's client reviews, past work, market presence, and prestigious awards. Focus is a company's level of specialization in a given service. Of all the methods used to evaluate a company, Clutch places the most emphasis on conducting verified interviews with former clients. These reviews take place over the phone to ensure the integrity and honesty of responses. Once the clients share their feedback, Clutch Analysts compile the information into a clear and concise fashion and then publish the review to the company’s profile page. This type of feedback helps our team identify what our clients appreciate most about our work, or in other words, what practices we should continue in our daily processes; and what behavior needs improvement. Our reviews have been positive so far; however, we are excited to see what our clients will share with us in the future and are eager to improve our methodologies. Our team is thankful to have a platform like Clutch to help promote our business and convey our competence and honestly to potential clients. We’re excited to receive more constructive feedback with every subsequent review published on Clutch and our team will continue to operate with complete transparency to ensure your success!