Mark Smith
5W Public Relations is a top-ten full-service PR agency in NYC known for cutting-edge programs that engage with businesses, issues and ideas. With clients spanning corporate, technology, consumer and crisis, in addition to digital marketing and public affairs capabilities, 5WPR is regularly recognized as an industry leader and has been named “PR Agency of the Year” by the American Business Awards on multiple occasions.
Tell us about yourself?
I am a public relations professional with over 25 years of experience. I have always had an interest in psychology, law, and journalism, but none of those industries were able to draw me in completely. When I realized that PR was a mix of those three interests, I knew I had found my career.
I started 5WPR in 2002 and now serve as Founder and Chairman. Throughout my career, I have worked with some of the world’s most visible companies, brands, and organizations.
My strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, Metropolitan Magazine’s Most Influential New Yorker, a 2020 Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, and a recipient of Crain’s New York 2021 Most Notable in Marketing & PR. I have lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appear regularly on CNN & CNBC, am a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer, and have authored two editions of my book, “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations,” which is an industry best-seller.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Listen more. Talk Less.
What problem does your business solve?
Our agency offers a host of services to businesses looking to amplify themselves through the media. We work with clients spanning corporate, technology, consumer and crisis looking to boost their sales, share their mission, or solve an issue.
We’ve also recently launched a dedicated digital division to aid our clients’ growth through social media as well.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
The inspiration behind our agency is communicating stories. 5WPR is named for the five enduring and universal principles of effective communication—who, what, where, when and why. At the heart of our agency’s work, we look to communicate the answer to these questions on behalf of our clients.
What is your magic sauce?
What sets us apart from our competitors is we do not have a go-to recipe, or one-size-fits-all approach, to working with our clients.
We know it’s necessary to tailor our approach to each client and their specific needs because each one has a unique story they’re looking to tell. We never assume what worked in the past will always work in the future. We recognize the need to adapt.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Right now, we’re focusing on expanding our practice areas across both our consumer and corporate teams and taking advantage of new opportunities arising because of the changing times.
We just had a client launch into space—five years ago I never would have thought this is where we would be today. We want to continue our growth and executing incredibly creative and strategic work on behalf of our clients.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Our agency is heading into its 20th year of business, I myself have been in public relations for 25 years, and without a doubt the biggest challenge we’ve faced is the uncertainty of 2020 and the challenges of navigating a business through the pandemic.
There was so much uncertainty with clients worried about their businesses, the media landscape and news cycle completely shifting their focus, and for myself I had to navigate transitioning my business to adjust to these changes and lead my employees through a new work-from-home environment.
Never before in my career have I had to change my business in such drastic ways overnight, but we learned a lot from the challenges we faced and overcame. We definitely came out a stronger and more dynamic, agency because of it.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We want to work with companies who are looking to make an impact, are looking to disrupt their industries, and make history. We want to execute campaigns that do more than get our clients’ names in the news; we want to strategize through an issue we’ve never been presented with before; we want to implement work that will be remembered.
