Paul Kurnit

EDUCATION

MA, Queens College, City University of NY, Queens, New York - Communication: Theory and Media

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Paul Kurnit is an internationally renowned marketing, advertising and entertainment executive with diverse experience in all facets of the marketing industry. He is founder and president of three consulting businesses, PS Insights, Kurnit Communications and KidShop through which Paul extends his marketing expertise in customized consulting engagements in brand innovation and ideation, new product development, brand strategy, marketing planning, and communications solutions. He works with established businesses and brands, new business start-ups and pro social cause related marketing initiatives.

Advertising

Paul began his advertising career at Benton & Bowles and Ogilvy & Mather, where he managed classic brands for Procter & Gamble (Charmin, Crest, Pepto Bismol, NyQuil), Kraft/General Foods (Post Cereals, Beverages, Maxwell House Coffee), American Express (Travelers Cheques, American Express Card and Corporate Card, Amex Travel Services) and Hasbro Toys. As President of Griffin Bacal, a DDB advertising agency, Paul played a major role in the dynamic growth of Hasbro into a leading international toy and entertainment business. He has led a vast range of client businesses in virtually every consumer and service category.

Entertainment

While at Griffin Bacal, Paul served as Executive Vice President at sister company, Sunbow Entertainment, a leading producer of award winning children's television programming and film. At Sunbow, Paul's credits include three after school specials for ABC and CBS, two network children's series, “The Mask” for CBS and “The Tick” for Fox as well as hundreds of syndicated and international programs for properties including Transformers, GI Joe and My Little Pony.

Trends

Paul is an expert in social, cultural and youth trends in marketing. He designed and taught an innovative Trend Tracking course at Pace University. He has also been a trends pioneer in the communications business, having created specialty business units dedicated to a diverse range of marketing areas. These include LiveWire: Today's Families Online®, Kid Think Inc.™, Licensing Works!™, and Trend Walk™.

Media and Conferences

The media frequently call on Paul for his unique points of view on the state of the kids' marketplace. He has been interviewed for television, radio and print media and has appeared on ABC (Good Morning America), NBC (The Today Show), MSNBC, CBS Evening News, CNN, Fox, WOR, NPR and in American Demographics, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Barron's, Ad Age, AdWeek and on numerous local broadcast stations and in newspaper articles.

Consulting

Paul has shared his marketing expertise in consulting work for Bayer, ConAgra, Dial, Disney, Educational Testing Service, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Golden Books, Good Humor, Harper Collins, Hasbro, Hatfield Meats, HBO, Heinz, Kraft, Lipton, L'Oreal, Mattel, McDonald's, MeadWestvaco, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, PBS, Pepsi, Playtex, Pillsbury, Polaroid, Procter & Gamble, Quaker, Reader's Digest, Schwab, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Sony, Toys 'R Us, Unilever, Universal Studios, Velcro, Yahoo, and other blue chip and start-up companies.

Academic

Paul is a full-time faculty member as clinical professor of marketing at Pace University's Lubin School of Business, teaching courses in Marketing Planning, Advertising and International Advertising. He serves as university advisor for the American Advertising Federation (AAF) National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Paul has also taught at the New School for Social Research (where he developed the school's advertising curriculum) and at the City University of New York at its Hunter, Queens and LaGuardia campuses, teaching Communication Theory, Mass Communication, Film and Theatre. He has been a guest lecturer at Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Hartford, Ithaca, Lafayette, Michigan State, Ramapo, Rutgers, Tufts, University of Chicago, UConn, University of Massachusetts, South Carolina, Texas and Alma Mater University of Wisconsin.

ANA Instructor

Paul is an instructor for the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) the world's largest marketing association. He is subject matter expert in Customer Centricity, Integrated Marketing Communications, Marketing and Marketing Planning. He runs workshops and consulting engagements with ANA membership in all of these areas. On average, he works with more than twenty ANA companies each year. Recent company engagements have included St. Jude Children's Hospital, Navy Federal Credit Union, Constellation, ARS Rescue Rooter, Cinnabon, Choice Hotels, Benjamin Moore, Consumer Reports, Bloomin' Brands, Yamaha Music, Bissell, Constellation and La-Z-Boy.

Boards

Paul is a long-standing board member of The Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF) and is deeply involved in the organization's Visiting Professor Program, talent, digital and speakers program committees. He is a member of the AEF Academic Review Board and runs the annual AEF Symposium at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference. He also serves on the Editorial Board of Advertising and Society Quarterly, AEF's online journal. He is a member of the editorial board of Young Consumers: The International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children He serves on the advisory board of The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau where he has been at the leading edge of drafting self-regulatory policy for children's Internet privacy, 900# telemarketing, Advergaming and more.