Kwittken & Company
Company: Kwittken & Company
Company Description: Kwittken & Company works with blue-chip and emerging brands in the media, publishing, travel, luxury, fashion, retail, healthcare, financial services, technology, telecommunications, business-to-business and consulting sectors to help them realize critical business goals through the use of intelligently designed, results-oriented communications strategies.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Public Relations Agency of the Year
Nomination Title: The PR Agency Is Dead, Long Live The Ideas Agency!
Tell the story about what this nominated agency achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
During 2010, Kwittken & Company grew its revenue 15% year-over-year to $3.4
million, posted an impressive 25% profit margin, retained 95% of its agency of
record clients and entered into a partnership with iconic advertising and
marketing conglomerate kbs+p that The New York Times said was “a deal that is
indicative of the growing recognition along Madison Avenue of how much more
interested marketers are becoming in using public relations to reach consumers.”
Agency co-founders Aaron Kwittken and Jason Schlossberg had astutely observed a
fundamental shift in the public relations industry and worked to move ahead of
it for the benefit of their clients. Social media and digital technologies,
they reasoned, have already become “must have” public relations capabilities,
but at most firms they were bolted on. Not strategic and not core capabilities.
The move to kbs+p puts Kwittken & Company among a constellation of specialist
agencies covering mobile, social, search engine optimization, media buying, and
digital and direct capabilities. It has greatly enhanced the ability of clients
to effectively integrate a diverse number of tactics to influence target
audiences and allowed Kwittken & Company the ability to create a new agency model.
As a full-service, “multi-specialist” firm, NYC-based Kwittken & Company (KCO)
has always taken an industry-agnostic approach. Working within a variety of
sectors helps its 20 staffers achieve greater creativity for clients and better
insulates the firm from the effects of a broad-based recession. As certain
industries suffer, KCO can credibly branch out into new areas of opportunity.
As such, its client base spans the healthcare, publishing, financial services,
real estate, technology, professional services and retail sectors.
Capping off 2010, Kwittken & Company expanded internationally and opened an
office in London on December 1 which has already had need to add additional
staff in 2011.
Finally, the agency took the coveted PR Week Boutique Agency of the year Award
in 2011 and the 2011 Holmes Report — Multi-specialist Agency of the Year
designation.
Client Testimonials:
“I love KCO! When you launch a national real estate franchise in the midst of
the worst housing market ever, you need to communicate a clear value proposition
to make an impact. Kwittken has moved flawlessly from programming that
resonates with our core broker/agent audience, to engaging messages and
campaigns that generate buzz and brand awareness among home buyers and sellers.”
Sherry Chris, President and CEO, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate
“We retained KCO to develop a thought leadership campaign for American Express’
Business Insights group. We needed a team that understood our business
objectives and could adapt to a constantly changing business environment. From
the start, Kwittken impressed us with their intelligence, professionalism,
creative thinking, media expertise, and ability to deliver results. As a result,
we have given them several other high profile assignments.” Christine Elliott,
Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Communications, American Express
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/business/media/09adco.html
http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/10189/Holmes-Report-Names-Specialist-Agencies-Of-The-Year.aspx
http://www.kwitco.com/press-releases/detail/and-the-2011-prweek-award-for-boutique-pr-agency-of-year-goes-to-kwittken-c/
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this agency:
During Aaron Kwittken’s 20-year public relations career, his expertise and
performance have resulted in a rapid ascent through the industry, ultimately
culminating in his founding of kwittken + company (KCO). A vice president at
Fleishman Hillard by 25, an executive vice president of GCI Group (now Cohen &
Wolfe) managing 250 people by 29, a president handpicked to resurrect Internet
PR agency Euro RSCG Middleberg by 31, Aaron has enjoyed spectacular success and
was recognized by PRWeek in 2007 as one of the nation’s top 40 public relations
professionals under the age of 40.