Bruce Wawrzyniak on journey from Summer Olympics PR leader to agency founder, using press releases as 'common tools'

From internships to leadership positions in communications, Wawrzyniak’s career covers professional sports, media, and client-focused PR, with key roles in the NHL

In the world of sports, there are champions on the field and off it — sometimes even behind a desk.

Bruce Wawrzyniak is one of them. A public relations leader, he spent nearly a decade handling communications for two professional teams, one in the National Hockey League and another in indoor lacrosse.

But that was just one part of his public relations career.

Wawrzyniak went down memory lane, telling EIN Presswire how he has worked across different corners of media. He’s involved in podcasting, worked in radio, even served as a DJ — and he’s earned credits on international television.

Fast forward to today, he has grown his PR agency, Now Hear This, from a one-man band into a team with a dedicated staff.

His agency, where he is founder and president, serves clients across the United States and works with a wide mix of industries, from music artists to actors, book authors and more.

Not long ago, Wawrzyniak added to an already impressive portfolio by becoming a member of the Recording Academy.

He is no stranger to the grind, though. After moving to the Sunshine State (Florida), Wawrzyniak took on freelance roles with PR agencies, which eventually led him to a leadership position for two Summer Olympics.

“In the Olympic Movement, I worked for someone who would fly halfway around the world to sit in a meeting for a few hours and then come back,” Wawrzyniak said. “His attitude was basically ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ I’m a big networker and so his example made a big impression on me, and I travel quite a bit so I can meet people.”

And his story doesn’t stop there. Wawrzyniak is passionate about building strategic communications campaigns tailored to each client, knowing that every industry requires a different approach.

He stumbled upon EIN Presswire while looking for an effective platform to pitch his clients to the media; and he says it has simplified the process by helping them see real-world results through placements on several online platforms.

Press release distribution, when it captures something newsworthy, is still one part of his PR toolbox, Wawrzyniak said in a phone conversation. He and his staff rely on other tools as well.

According to his bio, Wawrzyniak is a member of the American Marketing Association, the Social Media Marketing Society, the Podcast Academy, and he runs the Florida Podcasters Association.

In an exclusive interview for EIN Presswire’s Substack, Wawrzyniak shares his inspirational story, opening up about his career path and what drives his work in public relations, which he says leaves him with no days off — though he loves what he does.

Q: Tell us more about your journey into the industry and what inspired you to start helping clients build their brands.

A: I began in PR as an intern in college and saw that turn into ten years working for a National Hockey League team, the last six of which I served concurrently as the director of public relations for the pro indoor lacrosse team in the same arena (proud to have gotten three world championship rings along the way). From there, I was the first hire at the league office, serving as vice president of public relations for the National Lacrosse League.

I then moved to Florida and spent a year-and-a-half freelancing for three different full-service agencies before getting hired to work in the Olympic Movement, a position I held for ten-and-a-half years, including a position as chief press officer at two Summer Olympics, but left to focus full-time on Now Hear This.

When I started seeing more and more results I was getting for clients (and the struggles they were having) and the potential not only for the agency but for these individuals, I knew that was what I wanted to put all my time and energy into.

Q: Were there any personal challenges you had to navigate along the way in your career?

A: As an entrepreneur, a small business owner, I’m not sure you’re ever fully prepared for the financial demands of building your company and your brand, but here I am today all these years later having weathered that storm. Additionally, I still to this day work ALL the time, seven days a week – because I love what I do and I always challenge myself to get more and better results for our clients. But I don’t think I knew when I started all of this how important time management would be, and that when it’s yours, you’re going to sacrifice a lot of recreational time that others in traditional work environments have the luxury of. And let’s face it: you also don’t know what you don’t know when you’re first starting out.

Q: Describe your firm and the industries and clients you serve.

A: Ironically, when I first started Now Hear This, the focus was entirely on serving music clients. Today, we still have folks in that category, but the current client roster also includes authors, a filmmaker, an actor, a nonprofit, and someone who I like to refer to as a ‘wildcard’ because he is none of those.

Q: Take us down memory lane. What moments stand out — either big wins for yourself, your firm or client milestones?

A: There are some really nice reflections here. On the client side – back when booking was part of what Now Hear This did for music clients – I was so proud to see a client performing at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas strip (booked by me). To this day, I still get real satisfaction from book signings that I put author clients into at Barnes & Noble stores and TV interviews that I get for any client. As for the company itself, the moments that stand out are having to build a staff! Having started all those years ago as a solopreneur and now having a team around me has been a tremendous highlight for Now Hear This. And personally, having all my years of hard work recognized by being chosen to become a member of the Recording Academy has just been tremendous. I’m so truly grateful for that. One or two of my big speaking engagements come to mind here too, though.

Q: Given your work across industries such as music, sports, and book publishing, how do you tailor communications strategies for a particular client? To what extent have press releases contributed to visibility and outreach?

A: Needless to say, these are very different categories, very different clients, and very different audiences we’re serving, although some of the fundamentals of PR are woven throughout. It has been interesting to work in reactive (pro sports) versus proactive (indie authors and music artists) environments.

Press releases have very much been one of those common tools used across all these different applications. I remember sitting in the general manager’s office getting details on a trade to go write about for media send out versus present day ‘sprinkling my Now Hear This dust’ – as a music colleague has said about me – over announcements we send out on clients’ behalf relative to a new film, a new book, a new single, EP, or album, and other similar proclamations. Yes, that’s just one action on a long list of services we provide, but still very important nonetheless, especially as it relates to giving a client an EIN Presswire link and the accompanying reporting to punctuate that work that we did for them.

Q: You had a stint in sports communications and the radio industry. Can you elaborate on those experiences and how they shaped your understanding of the media landscape? Do they help you better serve your PR clients today?

A: I got a full view into radio because I did everything from being a DJ to working in a news environment to doing sports, play-by-play. Regarding the latter, I have also done some of that same work on TV, including internationally. And then being on the sports PR side, it was really a full 360˚ view of deadlines, demands, knowing the media side of the equation, and then going full speed within those parameters. (I’ve always talked about a four Ps approach that I take with my business: patient, polite, professional, but persistent.) And so, with our Now Hear This clients, as a result, I can better show them the importance of why certain steps have to be followed, why they’re important, how they’re helpful, as well as bring my experience of walking them through the related timelines, all relative to coverage we’re working on securing for them. And as a speaker – still with my publicist hat on – I can often tell audiences, ‘Think of a newscast as they throw it to a break.’ That teaser that keeps you through the commercial for when they come back to tell the full story is how you have to think (when you’re putting together your pitch) in terms of what will get the media’s attention and not just, ‘because it’s a great story.’

Q: Anything else you'd like to share about your journey?

A: I’m also fortunate in that I really like what I do. I recognize that that’s a rare thing. My encouragement is to make sure you’re having fun in what you’re doing. You can work hard but enjoy the ride. And then equally important is to be seen.