Some PR professionals market themselves through Substack, LinkedIn and even TikTok. Others — specifically Lawrence Rosenberg, founder and chief executive of Rosenberg.Media — find a platform on a major national television show.
Starring as a current candidate on the 20th season of BBC’s The Apprentice, Rosenberg has taken a self-proclaimed “huge risk” as he attempts to manage his own personal brand, put his media training into practice and show off his PR skills; all while trying to impress Lord Alan Sugar.
“It’s a huge risk, because you’re advising clients on their PR or what to say to the media,” says Rosenberg.
“As an industry, we do a lot of telling people what to say and how to say it; but we don’t do a lot of it ourselves. [And that’s] because there's a risk with it. If you made a mistake… It could destroy everything that you’ve worked towards.”
@bentv343 Flat cap on, Cockney accent flowing, carbonara selling 💯 #TheApprentice #Market #FoodMarket ♬ original sound - BenTV
One of the first names Rosenberg mentioned when discussing his own PR personal brand inspiration was Andrew Bloch, long-standing PR adviser to Lord Sugar and The Apprentice winners.
Rosenberg says that many PR professionals don’t make a conscious effort to do “their own PR”, and don’t “actively put themselves out there regularly as a commentator”.
Last year, he found himself at a networking event run by former The Apprentice candidate Tre Lowe, and was able to talk to other candidates about their experiences on the show.
After attending a few more and meeting an “amazing group of people”, he decided to take a crack at the season 20 auditions. Despite singing to the producers, Rosenberg landed a spot.
The risk
But, the hard work was just beginning as Rosenberg was having to apply his interviewing expertise multiple times a day.
“At this point in my life, I have had more interviews and more questions to answer in front of a camera, than a presenter on national television,” he says.
“What you don't see on The Apprentice is the cutaway interviews, which you’ll do over 20 mins per day. They cut them down so only one or two people are being shown for five to ten seconds at a time.”
Rosenberg says that his background and media training meant that “actually a lot of what I said either wasn't used, or wasn't useful to production, but it serves my own purpose”.
“I got to say what I wanted to say. I said it in a way that wasn't going to make me look like a d*ckhead on national television which was a massive priority for me in terms of being my authentic self, because I'm not like that. I don't cuss out people in the workplace.
“I knew it was a big risk because I knew a lot about what goes on with The Apprentice and I'd done my research about it. It is a show that can make you look almost any which way, depending on the storyline whether you fit into that. It's completely out of your control.”
The reward
When asked whether he has seen any uptick in his future business pipeline, Rosenberg says: “The Apprentice is a platform. No one gets famous just because they are on The Apprentice.
“This gives me the platform to now be in conversations with national TV and radio talking about the things I'm deeply passionate about. I will always be tremendously grateful.
“I've got to create something from it. You’re kind of naive.. if you think being on The Apprentice is going to make you a millionaire overnight.”
But he also reminds, that just as PR need to with clients, that the ROI from this isn’t fully measurable.
“Some coverage does create a direct ROI, let's not make any mistake. I'm not trying to pretend that doesn't happen.
“If I sit on my ass every day and say ‘wow, no one's booked me through my website yet. then that's my fault because I haven't promoted it. People aren't gonna say ‘I’ve seen him on TV and now I’ll follow him on Instagram’, it doesn't work like that.
I asked if Rosenberg was worried about any online trolling or backlash, and he explains that he was curious about how thick his skin is.
“It’s really easy to say that mean stuff won’t bother me, but actually I haven’t [had much]/ There’s been a couple of things [I’ve seen] that aren’t very nice. But, it is what it is. You can't make everyone like you, no matter what you do.”
The next episode of The Apprentice season 20 is on tonight (5 March, 2026) at 9pm and is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
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