Bill Byrne
Owner, BBPR

Bill Byrne
Bill Byrne Public Relations
Owner, Principal

group Y: When did you decide to start up your own agency and why?

Bill: I’m going to reference one of the latest over-used marketing words of the moment and say the start of BBPR was very much an “organic” process.

When I was still living in New York, Greg Waters (now of Zoo York) referred the guys from Rome SDS my way. They were looking for help on a very small project and I had been eager to work again in snowboarding again, so the fit was perfect.

About a year after my small project with Rome had ended, I was living in San Diego and about to resign from my position as director of PR for a tech startup. Rome had expressed interest in working together again and also referred some other potential brands my way, one of which became BBPR’s second client, eesa. With eesa and Rome on board, I decided to give consulting a try and formed BBPR.

Three years later BBPR has grown beyond just me to include a team of consultants with backgrounds in snow/surf/skate, as well as some former big agency talent who know how to get the job done in other areas. Brands we partner with regularly have expanded to include lifestyle brands such as IPATH, project BLUE and Maku Furnishings, in addition to consulting work for brands in automotive and consumer tech.

The value that BBPR has come to represent is pretty simple to explain. For action sports brands, we can help them authentically tell their story to the non-endemic media. For more mainstream brands, we’re typically asked to help them engage the youth market or better utilize social media. Regardless of the client, the team they get is top-shelf talent (with at least 8+ years experience, usually more) at a very competitive rate.

How long have you been involved in public relations?

More than ten years. My first job was working at a major firm in Manhattan as they helped one of the top snowboard brands prep for the Nagano Olympics (you can probably guess which one). I owe a big thanks to a woman by the name of Ann Pechaver for giving me my start there.

Working at that firm gave me my first taste of the dealing in action sports from a professional level, but since then my career has led me to working on such projects as launching an Internet enabled refrigerator and focus-grouping a new cologne scent by a major mens brand.

Looking back, it’s the non-action sports work that really helps me add value to my action sports clients’ programs. Having a background that involved products that didn’t necessarily scream “cover me” or weren’t as media friendly as an ultra-light snowboard has helped me a lot in developing strategies to differentiate potential clients from the masses.

There are a few people I know of right now that occupy internal PR roles at some of the bigger brands in action sports and also have professional backgrounds outside the industry. These people all represent competitors of my clients and honestly, it’s these same guys and girls that I feel do the best job… or make my job harder, depending on how you look at it.

What did you do before that?

I’ve worked in public relations since I graduated college, but a big part of what made me comfortable with the field goes back to a job I had when I was 20.

The summer before my senior year of college, I was a telemarketer for a major gas company’s MasterCard. It wasn’t necessarily a fun experience, but having to build relationships with people over the phone from a cold start is a skill that’s absolutely necessary for media relations. Being able to take rejection from a reporter and keep looking for ways to get a client coverage is a mandatory part of media relations.

Depending on the client or the outlet, you may not know the person you’re pitching at a particular news outlet and picking up that phone can be a daunting task. Just because you know someone at Men’s Journal or Wired, you may not know the right person to cover your client, so many times’ you’re starting fresh.

How do you think advertising on the Internet will change the field of communications and how will this change the role of PR for corporations?

There are good and bad points as to how tech has changed the ad/PR game.

New marketing programs are going to require a better mix of strategic online and social media initiatives, not just a fancy Web site and the occasional Twitter post. At the same time, traditional media outlets are still very relevant… their numbers are declining, but they still have significant numbers.

On the bad side of how the Internet has changed the field, there are a lot of people and PR firms that just blast out press releases hoping for coverage. These releases clutter inboxes and make it harder for good story ideas to get pitched. Recently though, some journalists are starting to call out PR people that blatantly pitch off-target, which will eventually make the good PR people’s jobs easier. Anyone that’s familiar with how Wired’s Chris Anderson called out PR firms and employees for poor execution will think twice about pitching the wrong product to the wrong publication.

On the positive side, compelling content will rise to the top and due to the relatively low cost of entry, there’ll be more targets to choose from. The smart PR people are building relationships with the influential online outlets and making sure these sites plugged into their brands/clients. Since it’ll be nearly impossible to target every site/blog/Facebook fan, it’ll be important for marketers to get strategic about who they interact with and how they execute. It doesn’t have to be the most read online site to generate the best reaction for your brand.

Action sports, tech, motherhood and cars are just a few areas where online editorial content is exploding, but other areas are gaining momentum too.

Why are you interested in action sports?

Maybe it’s minor A.D.D., but I’ve never been that interested in activities where I had to wait a long time to participate. Even in traditional sports, I preferred tennis and volleyball to baseball. Waiting around the outfield for a ball to be hit my way is not my idea of fun. When I started skateboarding, I was able to be constantly engaged and for the most part, on my terms. There were no rules, no waiting period, no time-outs.

How old were you when you first started (surfing, skating, moto-x, snowboarding)?

Besides cruising down my neighbor’s driveway on my knees with one of their skateboards when I was four, I really got into skateboarding around sixth or seventh grade. I vividly remember seeing my cousin ollie during a family get-together and there was no turning back after that.

My folks weren’t big skiers and there aren’t any mountains on Long Island, so I rarely made my way to the slopes to ski before I was 15 or 16. At that time, I was skating with some older guys that could drive, so once they started heading to Vernon Valley in New Jersey, I was along for the ride and snowboarding started sucking money out of my wallet.

Surfing didn’t happen for me until much later in life. I think I started around when I turned 30, heading to Manasquan with my girlfriend and some buddies that decided life wasn’t frustrating enough on dry land.

Where did you go to college and what did you study?

I went to Ithaca College in upstate NY and majored in Television and Radio Communications, with a concentration in Advertising and PR. Ithaca’s a great school for disciplines such as film, TV, advertising, etc., and it was only 40 minutes from some really small and icy mountains you can lap all night long.

What are you listening to most on your ipod/car/at your desk right now?

That’s a scary thought. A mix that includes The Hold Steady, some country, Bad Religion, Less Than Jake and maybe a little hair metal.

What is the best advice you’ve ever heard?

Don’t come to me with problems. Come to me with solutions.

What is the worst advice you’ve ever heard?

Cool kids don’t run stomp pads.

If you could plan a group Y event, and there were absolutely no limitations–not money, location, activities, speakers, etc.–what would you do?

The last couple of group Y events have been great in terms of combining networking and education. What would be ideal, but probably unrealistic, is something similar to what SIMA puts on, where we have a multi-day event off-site at a location where people could surf, ski, etc., but also come away with some solid knowledge.

In terms of topics and speakers, I’d like to see a mix of those tied directly to the action sports world and those totally removed from it. Perhaps merchandisers from mainstream brands, product developers, marketers, etc.

If you could pack a bag and get on a plane right now, where would you go?

Tie between exploring New Zealand or seeing some old friends in New York.

What was the biggest life lesson you learned the hard way?

Everything is on the record.

Finish this sentence, if I could do it all over again I would____.

…have made some better investment decisions in the 90’s.

What was one of the best things that ever happened to you?

Can’t pinpoint it down to just one. I’ve got a great career, some awesome friends on both coasts, an understanding family, a great group of client-partners and I am relatively healthy for a guy with questionable dietary choices.

Tell me about your daily routine–what would be a typical work day for you?

Some days start around 7:30 because of clients and media on the east coast, but they all tend to have a mix of the same elements.

My morning begins with coffee and then checking email, probably not much different than what a lot of other people do each day. The rest of the morning I try to reserve for outreach to media over the phone and through email, checking-in with clients on both coasts, research into new editorial partners and general business administration that is never fun to handle.

Tell me something random about yourself?

I placed second in Suffolk county in men’s doubles badminton my senior year of high school. We lost to a team that’s in the Guinness Book of World records. I still have my Yonex racket and I think they spelled my name wrong in the paper too.

Name a guilty pleasure?

Beer. Many kinds, from PBR to CA micro-brews.

Do you have a routine that you are superstitious about?

I create checklists for almost everything, personal or work-related. If I don’t use them, I feel like I’m forgetting something.

Do you rock out while driving in your car? If so, what song gets you going?

Of course I rock out in the car! Right now the Hold Steady is on heavy rotation, but that could change at any given moment.

Suggested Reading:

1. Bill Carter
2. Inside the La Jolla Group - Bill Bussiere