PR Week

Bitten by Entertainment

Honesty, passion for performing arts and a keen business sense add up to success for Keith Sherman.

By Larry Dobrow

A glance out of Keith Sherman's office window reveals the marquees of several Broadway mainstays and a big hole where Reuters is building its new fortress. His office is littered with colorful knickknacks. He is energetic but not boisterous or distracted in the way that many publicists are. He freely and eloquently expresses his passion for theater and film, but remains attuned to his responsibilities as a businessman.

On the surface, Keith Sherman & Associates has a lot in common with many other small agencies: the staff consists of a mere eight people, and billings have not eclipsed the $1 million mark. But Sherman is not your typical PR pro.

Much of what Sherman does and thinks flies in the face of traditional PR. He gives clients a list of characteristics that make the agency unique, including "we are fabulous," and gives employees a "KSA Doctrine," which includes client-relations tips such as "listen, even to what is not said." He's also a big booster of what he calls "the independent aesthetic" and has turned down several buyout offers from larger agencies. "I'm not interested in layers or bureaucracy, and I like being involved in projects from start to finish. Plus, I have a great boss."

A sincere, honest guy

This approach works for his employees. "They're usually pretty honest with me," Sherman says. "I think they'd tell you that I'm a sincere and honest guy. And if they don't, they're fired!" With its theater memorabilia and movie posters, KSA's office more closely resembles a rec room than a traditional, sterile corporate environment. Enjoying what you do, it seems, is a primary requirement for working there.

And it works for his diverse roster of film, theater, sports and corporate clients, which range from Varese Sarabande Records to insurance broker Marsh & McLennan to longtime client the Tony Awards. Listen, for example, to Olympic gold-medal skater Brian Boitano, who Sherman has represented for 11 years: "The three PR people I had after the Olympics were a little too LA for my taste, and I usually would up asking 'How is this helping me?' Keith doesn't believe in doing publicity unless you have something to talk about. He doesn't just say, "Do this.' He cares about being first-rate, and he's a great and trusted friend."

Indeed, Sherman seems alternately amused and bored by the direction in which the industry is heading. "PR is a trendy profession right now. It's taken on this kind of mythical stature, which I don't understand." He is also fascinated by the inability of many of his peers to "communicate like real people."

This candor might be one of the qualities that makes Sherman successful. He likes to listen and takes pains to ask clients what they want, rather than telling them what he thinks they should want.

The allure of Broadway

Sherman took a direct route to Broadway. He grew up in Wayne, NJ, 20 miles away from New York. Often, he would cut out of school and take the bus into the city to see Wednesday afternoon matinees. "I was reading Variety when I was 12. I used to wait for it at the public library," he recalls.

After receiving a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Washington, he went to work at the Roundabout Theatre Company. He served as director of audience development for a year before eventually moving on to Gifford/Wallace. He stayed there for three years, picking up one of his oldest clients, The York Theatre Company, in 1981.

Sherman reached what he calls "my turning point" in 1983, when he went to work for Solters/Roskin/Friedman. Clients included Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Whitney Houston. In 1989, Sherman branched out on his own. "I think everyone gets to a point where you say, 'It's time,'" he says. The office opened on Boxing Day. He brought several clients with him, including Boitano and the Tonys.

One of his early clients was the New York Marriott Marquis hotel, located within shouting distance of Sherman's office. "A lot of people said, 'It's just a hotel.' Well, it's a hotel in the heart of Times Square. Hello? New Year's Eve." Maybe Sherman taught the hotel's executives too well: a few years ago, the hotel brought its PR in-house.

The challenges of the Tonys

His work on behalf of the Tony Awards presents a never-ending parade of challenges. Among them are unexpected curve balls from beloved Broadway performers. One of the more trying incidents occurred a few years ago, when Julie Andrews, peeved at the lack of recognition for her show Victor/Victoria, turned down her Best Actress in a Musical nomination. Sherman went into crisis mode, but never panicked. He and the show's organizers expressed regret for her feelings but declined to take her off the ballot.

The location and host of this year's Tonys remain up in the air. It hasn't been a quiet buildup. Sherman and the show's organizers were recently blindsided when Rosie O'Donnell issued a statement that she wouldn't be returning as host. The story wound up on the front page of the New York Post - ostensibly on a very slow tabloid-news day. "We expected something in the papers, but the front page?"

As for the future, Sherman hopes to leverage his experience in the entertainment arena into other arenas. The agency recently set up an event for Zevco, a European-based company that manufactures quiet engines powered by hydrogen. Does he feel as comfortable in the boardroom as he does among entertainers? Sherman laughs. "I'm a total chameleon. You deal with a lot of larger-than-life personalities in any business."

"I like myself and I like what I'm doing," he continues. When asked if this is rare in the world of high-profile PR, he responds, "It's rare in life."