Industry Watch: Financial Communications PR Agency
February 2006

Q&A with William J. Bongiorno, President, Blue Chip Public Relations Inc.

Q: Let's start with the shameless plug. Please tell us about Blue Chip Public Relations.
Blue Chip Public Relations, Inc., specializes in serving leading financial services firms: mutual funds, money managers, financial advisors, and authors of finance books. We create and execute media relations campaigns for clients that result in building credibility and awareness of products and services. We have been successful at landing financial print articles for our clients and TV appearances, which has led to increased business for our clients. Our client list and client results, as well as other information about the firm is available at www.bluechippr.com.

We have the relationships with influential editors and reporters at financial media outlets and bookers, and producers at financial TV venues. We continuously examine the PR plan and make sure we are achieving the desired results with target media through editorial opportunities. We focus on getting the right messages to the right audiences at the right time. This is all done with an eye towards growing existing client, shareholder base, and brand. We value client relationships and are devoted to client service. We listen to our clients and offer feedback along the way.

Q. Has your blog started yet? What could a reader hope to gain by subscribing to it?
The Blue Chip blog will be launched in February and will offer financial professionals a look inside the process of how financial experts make it into the financial press. They will be able to follow me through the ups and downs of media relations, whereby learning valuable lessons as well as tips, contact information for financial press, and do's and don'ts learned in real time. It will be a much more interesting way to learn as it will be in a story blog format, with my opinions and personality throughout.

Q. Are your services geared mainly toward information? Is there ever a need for crisis communications in your area?
My main service is helping financial professionals and companies be sources to the financial media to better help their audiences with their financial future by offering their best strategies and expertise to the public through the media. There has not been a need for crisis communication in my area for my clients. Financial services has had more than its share of bad news and scandals in recent years. Fortunately, none of my clients have been involved. As a matter of fact, they steer clear of those firms and keep their clients assets protected from the big firms.

Q. Had you always intended to focus on financial communications?
My background and 14 years of experience has centered on financial companies, so it was a natural progression to start a public relations firm to serve this industry exclusively. I wanted to be a professional golfer among other things growing up. I pretty much grew up on a golf course. I sort of fell into financial PR since that was the one job offer I got, and I had to teach myself about finance, which I always enjoyed. I guess it would be fun to do PR for golf companies, but finance companies probably pay better. When I offer advice to young people looking to get into PR, I have a few big tips. First, work for a small company. That way you really get your hands dirty quick and learn all aspects of PR. Second, focus on an industry you enjoy. It doesn't make much sense to work at a PR firm that represents fashion clients, if you don't care a lick about fashion. Lastly, have fun. Don't stress. The great thing about PR is that it's not life and death, although too many in PR treat it as such. Even if things go wrong, you have an opportunity to fix it. Not so, being a doctor.

Q. You started as an editor of a financial news wire and now have to pitch to editors. Which is more difficult? Kicking off or receiving? (Sorry, at press it's just prior to the Super Bowl.)
I'd much rather be the receiving team, even when it comes to PR. It certainly takes persuasion skills to be able to convince an editor or reporter to cover a story and client. A PR pro definitely needs a thick skin and to be able to handle rejection. More than that, you need to manage clients, their expectations and idiosyncrasies as well. For instance, I just landed a profile for a client in his local newspaper where his company is based, yet his wife doesn't want him to do it. This can drive a PR person nuts. Spending the time and effort and finally breaking through, only to have the client reject you. Yet, we have to let it go and move on to the next placement and client.

Q: What do your clients generally look for when they come to you? Which also begs the question, do they come to you or do you tend to seek them out?
Clients that come to me usually want the same things: to be in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, etc., on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox News Channel. I think this goes for every PR person, regardless of industry or focus. Everyone wants the big guys.

I was fortunate when I started Blue Chip that I was referred a few clients off the bat. Most of my business comes through referrals. However, I do all the same things that get my clients do to get business: public relations. I have a website as I mentioned, but I also do public speaking, networking events, participate in media interviews. Anything to get the word out and give financial professionals some insight into the PR process and my company as an option for building their business.

Q: Have you ever refused a client? If so, please give us the juicy details, leaving out the parts that might lead to litigation, of course.
I have refused several clients. One simply because he was a novelist and I don't represent novelists. Another one was a dentist. I wouldn't know where to start. I've also turned down financial companies when I just didn't think their PR expectations were reasonable or they didn't have a story to tell.

Q: Please describe the biggest challenge you've faced and how you handled it.
The biggest challenge I faced was getting my company off the ground. It had been a dream of mine for several years to start my own PR firm. Who doesn't dream of that? It took self confidence and a belief in my ability. I also have a very supportive wife that believes in me. It's true that behind every great man there is an even greater woman. In my case, I've had two. My mother who passed away this month, always told me to try my best, so I do. Her strong will and ability to overcome adversity are always something I will carry with me. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road, it's good to have angels on your shoulders, because you just don't know what's around the bend.

Q: Your biography says you lecture on public relations. Is that just on financial public relations or PR in general? What kind of people do you tend to find in your audience?
I've had the pleasure to speak about public relations at The New York Public Library and at Bloomberg TV. I don't know that I'm qualified to talk on much else, though I have opinions on most everything. I tend to find people who want to get ahead in my audiences. They are curious about PR and want to know what it can do for them and how to go about it. Almost any business can use PR in some form to grow their business. That's what makes it an exciting and growing field. I think most companies have come to this conclusion and realize they need to do PR. It's more cost effective than advertising and offers not only a marketing tool, but credibility.

Q: Sometimes, when I'm watching business news, I feel as if I'm listening to another language. Is business news strictly for businesspeople? Why should the average non-businessperson care?
Business news is for everyone really. With more than half the households in the U.S. invested in financial markets, it's important for people to be well informed. The number will only grow in the future and I believe business news will be even more popular than during the Internet bull market craze of the late 1990's. People will simply have to learn to invest to be able to keep pace with inflation and be able to tackle their financial futures for their families. It is not enough to just have an accountant or even a financial advisor, because this space is crowded and you have to know your needs and understand finance to be better able to choose the right advisor and financial path for the future.
My job as a public relations person advising financial experts as guests on CNBC, FOX and Bloomberg TV is to make it simple to understand for viewers and to give them solid advice they can use for their own financial well being.

Q: Looking at it from a more mercenary perspective (after all, many people come to WorkinPR to find work) does it take a business education to work in financial public relations? Can a solid communicator with limited financial knowledge succeed in your arena?
You do not need a BS in Business or an MBA in Finance to be successful at financial public relations. After all, I only have a BA in Communication. What you do need is an ability to understand basic finance and money. I was never good in math, but I always took an interest in money from an early age. If you are interested in the financial markets and mange your own finances well, you can be successful. If you are a regular reader of Money magazine and the Wall Street Journal and know and care about the difference between a stock and bond, this field may be for you.