One of Miami’s top PR firms is embracing disruption to create innovation.
After almost 30 years of representing Miami’s hotels, banks, law firms, and real estate developments, Kreps DeMaria Public Relations & Marketing announced that it will spin off into two new agencies: Cultivate PR, led by Sissy DeMaria-Koehne, and Israel Kreps PR, led by Israel Kreps (both pictured above).
“The pandemic has become a punctuation mark and pivotal point in our lives. It accelerated our decision to forge new paths with a nod to the nostalgia of our great memories together at Kreps DeMaria,” says Sissy DeMaria-Koehne, who joined Kreps DeMaria in 1997. “We are both committed and invested in our clients and to offering them a smooth and seamless transition.”
Cultivate PR will offer clients an integrated, disciplined and strategic approach to the ever-changing public relations business, blending data with creativity. From offices in Miami, New York and Los Angeles, and through its WorldWise PR Affiliates global referrable service, the agency will offer services such as consulting, branding, digital marketing, social media, media planning, and crisis management. The firm will also specialize in the real estate, automotive, luxury retail, wealth management, and hospitality industries.
Ansley Campbell, previously vice president of Kreps DeMaria, has been appointed partner and president of Cultivate PR. She is joined by Laura Acker, a prior senior vice president at Kreps DeMaria, who will serve as president of the firm’s New York office. Sofia Borges, formerly of Royal Caribbean, has been named director of digital Marketing, working in tandem with social media director and firm partner, Stephanie DeMaria Rosado.
Adds DeMaria-Koehne, “With the formation of Cultivate we don’t intend to carry the torch, rather we want to light it. Social media is the new public relations and public relations is the new social media. We wanted to break the mold and create a new fresh, energetic and data + creative lifestyle agency that blends both of those best practices.”
Socially active in Miami’s civic and social circles, DeMaria-Koehne is a sought after publicist best known for imaginative PR stunts like high-rise flying car Skyports, orchestrating A-list social affairs, including the annual Coral Gables Community Foundation Gala, and for guiding clients’ through a number of high-profile crisis management issues. A life-long equestrian, she founded the non-profit 501C3 Give Back for Special Equestrians in 2013 to provide therapeutic horseback riding for children with disabilities and serves on the board of Miami Cancer Institute.
Cultivate PR, a Sissy DeMaria + Campbell + Acker Agency will be headquartered at 300 Sevilla Ave. in Coral Gables and will continue to operate its Manhattan office at 232 Madison Ave.
