Taps Jim Lee, Veteran PR Executive and Former Florida TV Reporter, to Run Miami Office and Spearhead Growth
NYC, 10.01.12 — Quinn & Co., a powerhouse PR firm headquartered in New York City, is opening an office in Miami this month. The firm, ranked top 10 nationally for travel and real estate, as well as in the top 50 for food, wine + spirits, has tapped Jim Lee as senior vice president to lead the new office.
“Now is the time to be doing business in South Florida,” said Florence Quinn, president, Quinn & Co. “Travel is sizzling; real estate is red-hot, and Miami is on fire. And South Florida is the doorway to the Caribbean and Latin America.”
Jim, a veteran PR executive and business-development expert, is scouting Miami office space and spearheading Q&C’s growth in this market. Q&C’s Miami office is targeting clients in travel, real estate, food and beverage.
Formerly a South Florida TV reporter, Jim most recently grew the Chicago PR office of Wagstaff Worldwide to a team of 15 specializing in hospitality, restaurants, food and beverage with clients including The Palmer House Hilton, JW Marriott Chicago, Fairmont Chicago, InterContinental Chicago, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, McCormick & Schmick’s and SUSHISAMBA.
Prior to that, Jim worked at Development Counsellors International on campaigns for Hong Kong Tourism Board, Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Basketball Hall of Fame and Premier Tours.
“I am loving being back in Florida,” said Jim Lee, senior vice president, Q&C. “I am eager to grow Quinn & Co. in Miami, bringing the firm’s culture of strong results and signature creativity to Florida clients.”
Until now, Q&C has served Florida clients from New York. These have included The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, Harbor Beach Marriott, Loews Miami Beach, Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin, Wyndham Grand Orlando, Renaissance Vinoy and Orlando, Hilton Caribbean, Club Med, Occidental Hotels & Resorts, Trump International Hotel & Tower, NEO and Wind.
Jim is reaching out to prospective clients and media for meet and greets. Jim can be reached at: jlee@quinnandco.com; tel: 786.465.2840
Jim, a graduate of the journalism school at the University of Illinois, now happily resides in Miami Beach.
Quinn & Co., headquartered in NYC, combines strong strategic thinking and passionate media relations with its signature creative to develop highly effective integrated PR programs that help clients in Travel; Real Estate and Food, Wine + Spirits achieve their goals. The firm of 35 staffers was recently recognized by O’Dwyer’s as ranking among the top 10 U.S. travel PR firms, #8 for professional services (real estate) and #46 in food & beverage.
Q&C was the U.S. PR firm behind the blockbuster The Best Job in the World (Tourism Queensland), a viral phenomenon that generated $11 million in media and 6 million website visitors. Q&C’s travel client roster includes: Affinia Hotels, AKA Luxury Serviced Residences, Aruba Tourism Authority, Caribbean Tourism Organization, Denihan Hospitality Group, EL AL Israel Airlines, Etihad Airways, Finger Lakes, Fly.com, JW Marriott Resorts, Langham Hospitality Group, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and hotels and brands that fly under the flags of Hilton, Kimpton, Marriott, Starwood and Wyndham. Accolades: HSMAI Best of Show (best travel campaign in the world) two years in a row, HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Award, Greater New York Chapter HSMAI Hospitality Professional of the Year Award, the cover of the HSMAI magazine, two HSMAI Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality & Travel Sales & Marketing Awards.
Q&C’s 15-strong team, one of the largest real-estate PR groups in NYC, has served clients including Albanese Organization, Alchemy Properties, The Centurion, The Corcoran Group, Cushman Wakefield, Extell Development, Glenwood Management, Houlihan Lawrence, Jamestown Properties, JD Carlisle, Kaufman Organization, The LeFrak Organization, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, RealDirect.com, Related Companies, Robert K. Futterman & Associates, The Setai Residences, St. Regis Residences NYC and Singapore, The Sunshine Group, Taconic Investment Partners, TF Cornerstone, Time Equities and Trump SoHo. Accolades: Mann PR Person of the Year, the cover of the Mann Report.
Food, Wine +Spirits is Q&C’s newest practice area. For Levy Restaurants, the firm secured in one month more than 250 TV spots and placements in Food & Wine, Hemispheres, OK! Weekly, USA Today and WSJ. The firm handled the opening of Gordon Ramsay’s first restaurant in Japan. Q&C represent La Pergola at Rome Cavalieri, The Waldorf Astoria Collection, Italy’s first hotel restaurant with three Michelin stars.
Q&C has created globally recognized firsts, such as: The search for the first Chief Beer Officer (CBO) (Four Points by Sheraton), the first Beer Sommelier (Four Points Los Angeles LAX), the first outdoor urban guestroom (AKA), the first frequent flyer program for pets (EL AL Israel Airlines) and Procreation Vacation (Starwood Caribbean hotels). Q&C invented Martini on the Rock, the $10,000 martini at The Algonquin Hotel that was featured as a question in Trivial Pursuit.
Q&C is the U.S. PR firm behind The Tourism Queensland’s The Best Job in the World, considered the most successful social-media campaign ever. The firm created Luxury Manifesto, a 12-part video series in which John Vanderslice, head of Hilton Luxury, interviews other luxury pundits. For Occidental Hotels & Resorts Q&C developed a social media communications policy, set up online ambassadors, trained the staff of 13 hotels and led them through a social-media action plan. The firm handles day-to-day social media for many clients. One hotel guest posted the following: “You have one of the best social media responses in the industry; big props to your Twitter team!”
Q&C handles regional U.S. and international PR needs through a proprietary network of media, PR firms, freelancers and media-service companies in major U.S. and global cities. This allows the firm to retain the right alliance partner for the client, the industry and the scope of the work, large and small. Q&C also spreads clients’ messages through creative campaigns that are so compelling they get covered around the world.
