The Grossian formula for PR: Why Bill’s press is good press, even when it’s bad

On Dec. 31, I was in New Jersey on vacation with my family. While enjoying my morning coffee I happened across a New York Times article featuring Bill Gross.

There was certainly nothing surprising about seeing the founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC in the public domain. On the contrary, since Jan. 1, Gross has logged well over 300 pieces of media coverage — and that doesn’t even include PIMCO’s website or proprietary news — print and online copy, as well as broadcast and recorded video exposure.

But what jumped out at me in the article was that it contained a hint of negativity. Just a smidge, mind you. But after all, this is Bill Gross we’re talking about — a man so revered, so well respected, with a reputation so immaculate that even the slightest less-than-fantastic mention makes me do a double take.

To quote the offending passage: “Mr. Gross made a rare misstep last year, avoiding United States Treasuries on the plausible theory that the economy would strengthen and interest rates had nowhere to go but up.”

Indeed, PIMCO’s flagship fund, the $244.1 billion PIMCO Total Return Fund, had finished 2011 with an estimated $5 billion in net outflows — its first-ever calendar year of negative flows.

Granted, the article called his theory on Treasuries “plausible” and went on to say: “But few can rival the long-term record of Mr. Gross. Over five years, the Total Return Fund has outpaced 98%of its rivals, according to Bloomberg,” thereby putting the long-term track record of Gross and Total Return firmly back on its pedestal.

Jason Lahita: Do not be a
fair-weather source. Get in the game
with vision and voice.

Last laugh

And that, I thought, was that. But then, on Jan. 3, Bloomberg News ran a story with the headline: “PIMCO Total Return Saw $5B in ’11 Withdrawals.”

My initial reaction: “What?!?” Or, as my daughter might say, “OMG!” No, I’m not astounded at the news, it was an insane year for just about everyone. But the brazen calling out of Bill Gross in a piece took me aback. Would the rest of the media pile on?

As someone who represents financial services firms, if Gross were my client that thought would have me up at night, sweating, strategizing, mapping out a proactive plan to respond. But then I would pause and tell myself to relax because the fact is, Bill Gross is every public-relations person’s fantasy client.

Despite a heavy positive media presence that could, in theory, set lesser spokespeople up for a negative backlash, Gross seems impervious to bad publicity. The fact is, he’s a freight train of PR momentum so powerful that it would take Bloomberg, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, Forbes and The New York Times attacking him in tandem to derail him. Brooke Southall, founder of RIABiz, has called him “the most heavily quoted and least-questioned source of information about bonds, interest rates and even the economy in general.” See: Bill Gross’ commentary should be taken with a bigger grain of salt in this market.

My point was proven a couple of days later in a blog post in Barron’s.

“Lead manager and PIMCO founder Bill Gross seems to have wound up with the last laugh … PIMCO’s actively managed bond and equity mutual funds finished the year with $38.8 billion in net inflows.”

The right stuff

So what is the takeaway here? For me, it is that your PR program must be tightly in sync with your real-world credibility. If you build up credibility carefully and become a well-respected public figure, not only due to your thought contributions to the marketplace but also because you value the media and make yourself available to them, you too can attain Grossian heights in your PR efforts.

Gross has done so much right, has received such accolades for his accomplishments in the media, has been so available to the reporters, and most importantly, has been so honest with the media that he is presently the PR Teflon Don of Finance. The Grossian Formula: Strong Business + Credible Opinions + Proactive PR Strategy + Availability to the Media = Good Publicity. Look at PIMCO’s CEO, Mohammad El-Erian, getting out there as well — these guys have created a PR tidal wave.

My former boss, Joe Duran, himself a true PR disciple with whom I cut my teeth in this industry See: The 10 most influential figures in the RIA business going into 2012, Part 2, coined a term a few years back that I use to this day: PR is credibility marketing. It is simple. You have a message to put out to the marketplace and that message needs to be targeted, honest and in line with who you are as a professional. You need to be proactive in pushing out this message. You must make yourself available when sought out for comment. See: Your public relations horror story: It’s not as grim as you think.

What not to do

Southall coined another term to describe a client of mine from whom he was having a hard time getting a comment: A fair-weather source. While it may take you a long time to reach the Grossian level of PR prowess — because you need not only his publicity savvy and dedication but also the credibility that comes with running a successful entity such as PIMCO — I can tell you what NOT to do: Do not be a fair-weather source. Get in the game with vision and voice.

Yes, you may occasionally stumble and fall, but get up and get back out there — if you run an honest business and have a strong opinion and are committed to doing some good at a time when clients need guidance and perspective more than ever, do not sit on the sidelines. Start telling your story, and do so at a pace and tempo befitting your current business level and professional achievements.

And when you get to the PR pinnacle, give my regards to Bill Gross.

Jason Lahita is head of office at Cognito Los Angeles. Cognito is a PR and Marketing firm working exclusively in the financial services sector, with a platform specifically for financial advisors called The Cognito Advisor Program. He holds a BA from New York University, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. Jason can be reached at: Jason.lahita@cognitomedia.com. More on Cognito’s PR approach can be found at www.cognitomedia.com.