After 28 years of working for the same public relations agency, as well as dealing with three separate name changes, Donovan Roche decided it was time for a change for himself.
When he joined The Olguin Company in 1996, Roche was the San Diego PR agency’s third full-time employee (Michael Olguin, now retired, founded his firm in 1992).
The agency became Formula PR in 1998, followed by an acquisition in December 2014 by Havas, a global communications agency, and another name change to Havas Formula.
As vice president, Roche managed clients in the consumer products, technology, travel and entertainment sectors. His roles at the agency included business development, media relations and crisis communications. He oversaw work on such clients as Guitar Center, Intuit, TurboTax and Panda Express.
He played a role in Havas Formula earning the coveted “2023 Large PR Agency of the Year” award from industry trade publication PR News. A mentor and educator at heart, Roche had trained countless professionals, elevating their skills and confidence while advancing the communications field.
However, a turning point occurred in June 2024 when Roche recalled, “It was time for me to do what I wanted to do on my own,” and so he left Havas Formula to establish On the One, a solo communications consultancy specializing in PR, brand storytelling and digital content development.
“Over the past year, during my first year as a solo practitioner, it’s been terrific to combine my deep passions for music, my desire to support noble causes and my expertise in PR and content creation,” Roche told Times of San Diego.
Roche’s latest addition to On the One’s client roster is Rhythm & Relief, a nonprofit umbrella charity that supports organizations harnessing the healing power of music.
Roche said On the One will lead strategic communications planning, message creation and media training, launch communications, and ongoing media relations and brand-building and awareness efforts for Rhythm & Relief.
In addition, the On the One will promote Rhythm & Relief’s fundraising initiatives, partnerships with artists and entertainment entities, and member organizations delivering music-based healing programs across the country. Rhythm & Relief’s fundraising efforts will range from private donor dinners and intimate performances to livestreams and large-scale concerts, Roche said.
“We retained On the One because they get what we’re about at the soul level, and they know how to capture people’s ears,” said Glen Ward, founder and president of Rhythm & Relief. “Their track record in media strategy, storytelling, and executive positioning, as well as their deep experience working with both nonprofits and music brands, makes them the ideal partner to help Rhythm & Relief inspire action and grow support for the transformative power of music.”
Ward, former chief executive officer of Virgin Entertainment Group North America and past chairman of the Music Business Association, founded the Los Angeles-based charity to address a growing public health crisis by funding organizations using music to improve the lives of people affected by trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, depression and other physical and mental health challenges.
“We’re honored to support Glen and Rhythm & Relief in their mission to make music-based healing more accessible, better understood, and a widely supported part of today’s health and wellness landscape,” said Roche. “As a music journalist and agency executive who spent years helping brands tell their stories, this collaboration brings everything full circle. There’s no better cause than one that uplifts people through the power of music.”
In 1990, six years before beginning his nearly three-decade career working in agency PR in 1996, Roche co-founded SLAMM, a San Diego lifestyle and music magazine. He served for two years as editor in chief of SLAMM, which was later acquired by San Diego CityBeat in 2002 (CityBeat ceased publication in September 2019).
“I freelanced for a number of publications in the early ‘90s covering music, entertainment, nightlife and culture,” Roche said. “It was great fun, but I needed a steady job, so I joined The Olguin Company and started my life in PR.
“With On the One, our mission is to help brands break through the noise, stand apart from the competition and establish a strong connection with target audiences. Our name is inspired by funk music’s emphasis of starting `on-the-one,’ the dominant first beat that drives the rhythm.”
Roche said legendary musician James Brown, known as the “godfather of soul,” was among the first in the modern music industry to emphasize “on-the-one.”
“The first beat of every measure, the one, is dominant,” said Roche. “It is the moment of impact and sets the groove for all to follow. I founded On the One as a communications consultancy where PR, digital content creation and editorial services all come together in a harmonious unit. Our attention-getting campaigns ensure the brand’s story and messages resonate with audiences and set the stage for our clients’ success.”
Roche also publishes D-Constructed, a digital music magazine available on Substack, a subscription-based, publishing platform. The magazine’s content includes industry news, artist interviews and concert coverage.
UC San Diego Athletics win marketing awards
The University of California, San Diego’s Athletics department reports it recently received a program-best seven “Best of” marketing awards from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators.
According to Todd Greenbaum, UCSD associate athletic director for marketing, the awards included three Gold awards for lead generation campaign, sport-specific brand campaign and sponsorship campaign, along with Silver awards for multi-platform branding campaign, membership drives, digital media engagement and branded static collateral.
In addition, the Tritons’ marketing staff was a finalist for Marketing Team of the Year in the Group II division.
“We are honored to be recognized for our achievements as a marketing team during the 2024-25 academic year,” said Greenbaum. “Receiving awards in seven NACMA ‘Best Of’ categories is a remarkable accomplishment that highlights the success and continued growth of UC San Diego Athletics marketing.
“These honors reflect our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and excellence, reinforcing our impact across the key pillars of revenue generation, brand management and fan development. I couldn’t be prouder of the marketing team for the incredible effort they put forth all year.”
After two decades in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program recently became a postseason-eligible member of The Big West conference in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships in Divisions II and III competitions.
Survey: Trust in the news media higher under Trump
Trust in the media has climbed higher during President Trump’s first six months in office, compared to the final six months of President Biden’s term and failed reelection campaign, a new poll has found.
An online national poll of 1,421 adults conducted by Issues & Insights and the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics found that 41% of respondents said they either had a lot of trust or quite a bit of trust in traditional legacy news media, such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, National Public Radio and CBS News. Some 51% said they had either little trust or no trust at all, and 8% weren’t sure.
Meanwhile, the level of trust of media while under the Trump administration represents “a dramatically improved picture for media trust over the past year,” I& I and TIPP said, as reported by The Washington Times.
Last year, from February to July 2024, when the Democratic Party hijacked Biden’s campaign, sidelining the sitting president in favor of a younger nominee, the TIPP Traditional Media Index, which ranges from 0 to 100, averaged 38.6 points for trust in the media, with a fluctuation between a high of 41.5 and a low of 36.7. During Trump’s first six months, the average rose to 44.7 points, a roughly 16% jump, surveyors said.
Trust in media increased the highest among Republicans, jumping from 25.2 to 41.1 points in the TIPP Traditional Media Index. Independents also made gains in the index, with a jump from 32.6 to 36.2 points. Democrats lost trust, falling from 56.8 to 55.4 points.
The Washington Times said that trust has risen because Trump and White House officials have called out the news media’s perceived bias reporting.
Another reason, said the newspaper, is that Mr. Trump regularly takes questions from the press, something that Mr. Biden failed to do during most of his term in office. Also, the White House has confronted the media it feels outlets misreport the president’s actions.
Meanwhile, the White House also credited the newfound trust to Mr. Trump holding the press accountable.
“Since day one, President Trump and his entire administration have been holding the fake news accountable on behalf of the American people, making it more difficult for the legacy media to get away with being scribes for the Left’s agenda,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
“While it’s a jump under President Trump’s second term, these numbers are still very bad,” Christina Bellantoni, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg, said to The Washington Times. “The media has lost the overall trust of the American public, and that’s one reason why so many news organizations are struggling.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
