KemperLesnik

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.

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

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

• Public relations services
• Event marketing services
• Esports marketing services
• Content marketing services
• Marketing communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core 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

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KemperLesnikminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKemperLesnik 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kemperlesnik
• Instagraminstagram.com/res_publicans
• Xx.com/kemperlesnik
• Facebookfacebook.com/kemperlesnik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KemperLesnik