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. Pu ...

firm. The company works in public relations and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, 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 b ...

, public affairs and

government relations Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

, corporate communications,

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

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

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. The firm's corporate headquarters is in

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

; the firm's operating headquarters is in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

History

Michael Kempner founded MikeWorldWide in 1986. MikeWorldWide grew to the 4th largest independent public relations firm in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, 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 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 acce ...

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 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 forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

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 LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

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, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

, 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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based agency, Chameleon. In June 2022, a

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

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, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from h ...

paid MikeWorldWide to monitor a Tesla employee Facebook group and to conduct research on

Tesla union Tesla, Inc., an American electric car and solar panel manufacturer, has more than 140,000 workers employed across its global operations almost none of whom are Trade union, unionized. Despite allegations of Occupational injury, high injury rat ...

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)