KemperLesnik
KemperLesnik is a privately held Chicago-based public relations, event marketing, esports marketing, and content marketing agency founded in 1979, serving enterprise clients across entertainment, sports, healthcare, real estate, professional services, and education verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What KemperLesnik does
KemperLesnik is a privately held, full-service public relations, event marketing, esports marketing, and content marketing agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1979. The firm serves an enterprise client base concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area and operates across verticals including entertainment and live events (Lollapalooza-adjacent work, United Center, Sueños Music Festival), sports venues (Ryan Field, Rush), beverage distribution (Breakthru Beverage Group), healthcare (CountyCare, Highland Park Hospital), real estate (Sterling Bay), professional services (Aon Programs, White & Case), technology/education (1871 Chicago Tech Hub, University of Denver), and consumer brands (My Shot). The firm's service portfolio spans strategic communications, brand partnerships, community engagement, audience outreach, campaign-driven marketing, and crisis communications for high-profile venues and events. The agency maintains a referral-based service ecosystem relationship with Res Publica Group (a public affairs and crisis communications firm at the same 333 N. Michigan Ave. address), which extends its capabilities into crisis management and public affairs without adding direct headcount.
The firm is led by CEO Steven Skinner with Founder and Chairman Steve Lesnik, CFO Jim Lawler, SVP of Business Development Doug Manning, and EVP / Managing Director David Prosperi. Business model mechanics are not publicly disclosed; pricing is not listed on the website, and revenue figures, funding history, and detailed headcount are not available in the source material. The go-to-market motion is direct enterprise sales, primarily inbound via the kemperlesnik.com website and LinkedIn presence, with regional concentration in Chicago and adjacent Midwest markets. There are no disclosed technology platforms, APIs, proprietary software products, patents, or AI/ML capabilities — the offering is services-based and relationship-driven rather than product- or technology-led.
The company has remained private throughout its 45-plus-year history, with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or public-market transactions. The combined client roster of major festivals, sports venues, healthcare systems, real estate developers, and global professional services firms indicates positioning as a mid-sized, senior-counsel-oriented agency rather than a high-volume, production-led shop.
KemperLesnik firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- KemperLesnik
- Legal name
- Res Publica Group
- Website
- https://kemperlesnik.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- KemperLesnik is a privately held Chicago-based public relations, event marketing, esports marketing, and content marketing agency founded in 1979, serving enterprise clients across entertainment, sports, healthcare, real estate, professional services, and education verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
KemperLesnik industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Relations Services
- NAICS
- Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Brand & Portfolio Strategy Consulting (MPAAAFAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)
Keywords
Where KemperLesnik is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
KemperLesnik business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
KemperLesnik product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KemperLesnik is a Chicago-based marketing communications agency founded in 1979 that delivers integrated public relations, event marketing, esports marketing, and content marketing services. The firm operates with 11–50 employees and provides strategic counsel and execution support to enterprise clients across multiple verticals. Its service portfolio spans traditional brand communications, live event activations, gaming/esports engagements, and branded content development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Public Relations
- Event Marketing
- Esports Marketing
- Content Marketing
Companies that use KemperLesnik
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
KemperLesnik technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
KemperLesnik partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- KemperLesnikminorKemperLesnik appears as a referral partner (ref=kl URL parameter) suggesting a marketing referral or lead generation relationship. KemperLesnik is a PR/marketing firm that likely refers clients to Res Publica Group for specialized services such as crisis management or public affairs.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
KemperLesnik competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- KemperLesnik: Chicago-based PR, event marketing, esports marketing and content agency founded 1979 — operates in the same Chicago PR and event-marketing category and shares a referral relationship with Res Publica Group.
- Golin: Interpublic-owned global PR and integrated communications agency headquartered in Chicago — directly competes for the same enterprise Chicago PR and integrated communications engagements.
- Zeno Group: Chicago-headquartered PR and integrated communications agency (part of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings) — competes for similar mid-to-large enterprise PR retainers with comparable brand-strategy and crisis offerings.
- Fenton: Independent social-change PR and communications agency with a Chicago/New York presence — comparable public-affairs, brand storytelling and campaign-driven offerings to Res Publica Group's strategic communications practice.
- Resnicow Schroeder Associates: Chicago-based public relations and strategic communications firm — directly competes for cultural-strategy, nonprofit and enterprise brand-storytelling engagements in the same Chicago market.
- Padilla: Minneapolis-based, privately held integrated communications agency serving enterprise and brand-builder clients — comparable in scale, vertical specialization and mix of PR, brand amplification and crisis work.
- 5W Public Relations: Independent mid-sized U.S. PR agency with comparable consumer, entertainment, and crisis communications practices — competes for similar entertainment-vertical and brand-amplification retainers.
Broad incumbents
- Edelman: Largest global PR firm (Chicago-founded) — same industry and many of the same enterprise verticals (healthcare, entertainment, financial services) but with vastly larger global scale and breadth of services.
- Weber Shandwick: Interpublic-owned global PR network — overlaps with Res Publica Group on enterprise corporate communications, crisis and public-affairs work but at significantly larger scale and geographic reach.
- Brunswick Group: Global advisory firm focused on critical issues and stakeholder communications — comparable crisis comms and corporate positioning services but operating primarily at the publicly-listed enterprise/board advisory level.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
KemperLesnik social profiles
Digital presenceKemperLesnik financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
KemperLesnik leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
KemperLesnik funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
KemperLesnik M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about KemperLesnik
What does KemperLesnik do?
KemperLesnik is a Chicago-based marketing communications agency founded in 1979 that delivers integrated public relations, event marketing, esports marketing, and content marketing services. The firm operates with 11–50 employees and provides strategic counsel and execution support to enterprise clients across multiple verticals. Its service portfolio spans traditional brand communications, live event activations, gaming/esports engagements, and branded content development.
Is KemperLesnik a public or private company?
KemperLesnik is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was KemperLesnik founded?
KemperLesnik was founded in 1995. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is KemperLesnik based?
KemperLesnik is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
Who are KemperLesnik's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are KemperLesnik, Golin, Zeno Group, Fenton, Resnicow Schroeder Associates, Padilla and 5W Public Relations. Broad incumbents are Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Brunswick Group.
Does KemperLesnik have an API?
No public API is recorded for KemperLesnik.
What industry is KemperLesnik in?
KemperLesnik's product category is Public Relations Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAFAB, Brand & Portfolio Strategy Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAHACAG, Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting. Its NAICS code is 5418 and its SIC code is 7310.