About the episode:

Have you and your team defined the attributes of good clients?  In this episode, Michael Kempner, CEO of MWWPR shares how his agency builds and maintains relationships to deliver top-notch work. Since the definition might vary given where your business is, what’s the profile of a good client for your firm today and are there enough of them out there? Conversely, we discuss the incredibly high cost of bad clients.

About Michael:

Michael Kempner is the Founder and CEO of MWWPR, one of the nation’s largest independent public relations firms.  He is a nationally recognized authority on reputation management, crisis management, public affairs, business to business, consumer marketing and corporate social responsibility, and has counseled some of the world’s most prominent executives, organizations and companies. Michael is known for his candor, commitment to community service and personal attention to client needs.

He has been honored with several of the industry’s highest accolades, including PR Week’s PR Professional of the Year in 2015 and 2010.  Additional awards and recognitions include the PR Executive of the Year Award from the International Business Awards in 2014, 2013 and 2012; Grand Prize for Communications Professional of the Year from the 2013 and 2012 Bulldog Stars of PR Awards; Alumni Recognition Award from American University for 2013; PR Executive of the Year by the 2013 and 2012 American Business Awards. PR News also named Michael Agency Leader of the Year in 2013 and CSR Professional of the Year in 2012, and he was inducted into the PR News Hall of Fame in 2009.

Michael was appointed by President Obama to the White House Council for Community Solutions. He was also appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Governor of the Broadcasting Board of Governors/US Agency for Global Media.

Michael is the chairman of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, in addition to a current member of the Fulbright-Canada Scholarship Board and a founding Board Member of ConnectOne Bank, one of the nation’s most successful community banks (NASDAQ: CNOB).  Michael is a board member of the New York Coalition for the Homeless.

Michael holds a B.S. from the School of Public Affairs at The American University, where he serves as a member of the School of Communications Dean’s Advisory Council. He was awarded an honorary PHD in May, 2018

About the Host:

Kim headshot - colorKim Sample focuses on helping the PR Council’s 100-plus member agencies thrive and elevating the PR profession overall. Prior to joining the PRC in August 2018, Kim was the founder/CEO of Emanate, a $35 million, 100+ person international marketing communications agency. During her tenure Emanate was named PR WEEK Agency of the Year and CRAIN’S Best Places to Work in NYC, and the team’s work for clients was recognized with numerous industry awards. Kim also worked at Ketchum, Marina Maher Communications and Golin earlier in her career, and has served Fortune 500 clients across a number of industries, including financial services, travel and hospitality, CPG and consumer electronics.

For more information or to listen to other episodes of the Agencies of the Future podcast, click here.