MikeWorldWide (formerly MWWPR) is a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

firm. The company works in public relations and

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

, digital and

social media marketing Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for ...

, public affairs and

government relations In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, wh ...

, corporate communications, healthcare, sustainability, and visual branding. Michael W. Kempner is the company’s founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

. The firm's corporate headquarters is in East Rutherford, New Jersey; the firm's operating headquarters is in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

History

Michael Kempner founded MikeWorldWide in 1986. MikeWorldWide grew to the 4th largest independent public relations firm in the U.S. and Kempner sold the company to the Interpublic Group of Agencies in 2000. In 2010, Kempner led a management led buy-out. On January 14, 2014, the

Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and U ...

announced that it would review the expenditures for the

Stronger than the Storm Stronger than the Storm was an advertising campaign to promote tourism in New Jersey in 2013. It portrayed the state as being resilient and having recovered from the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which had caused severe damage in Autumn ...

media campaign, commissioned in mid-2013 by the

New Jersey Economic Development Authority The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent government entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base. The EDA creates public-private partnerships to provide acces ...

to promote tourism in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy; MikeWorldWide was the prime contractor. The audit found that the company had done "nothing improper" in the content of its marketing campaign. Governor Chris Christie later dismissed criticism of the campaign, citing that it contributed to record tourism dollars in 2013. In 2012, MikeWorldWide received media attention for a campaign on behalf of Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair, a former deputy commander of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thor ...

charged with forcible sodomy and sexual misconduct. The firm launched a website with publicly available documents in favor of Sinclair to discredit the prosecutor and accuser. MikeWorldWide nominated itself for a Platinum PR Award in the crisis management category for this work. The company acquired Los Angeles-based Macias Media Group, an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

marketing firm, in March 2014. In October 2014, MikeWorldWide received The Gay And Lesbian Victory Fund's 2014 Corporate Leadership Award for its LGBT practice and support of the LGBT community. In 2014, MikeWorldWide expanded into Britain with the purchase of Parys Communications, and also acquired the UK-based business-to-business PR firm Braben Communications in November 2014. The company was recognized as one of the Top Places to Work in PR and Best Places to Work in New Jersey. In 2016, the

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

, BDI and AMP Agency brought lawsuits against MikeWorldWide for alleged payment disputes. In 2018, the company launched a Sports and Entertainment practice and opened a new location in Charlotte, North Carolina. In April 2021, the company rebranded to MikeWorldWide and also acquired London-based agency, Chameleon. In June 2022, a

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...

report found that American automotive and energy company

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and electric truck, trucks), battery energy storage from ...

paid MikeWorldWide to monitor a Tesla employee Facebook group and to conduct research on Tesla union organizers on social media from 2017 to 2018. MikeWorldWide monitored discussions on social networks alleging unfair labor practices at Tesla and monitored discussions on a sexual harassment lawsuit. Former and current Tesla employees told CNBC that they believe the company continues to monitor its workers on social media.

References

{{reflist, 2 Public relations companies of the United States Mass media in New Jersey Companies based in New York (state) 1986 establishments in New York (state)