PR Professional: Kenneth Kracmer

PR Professional: Kenneth Kracmer

By: Courtney Clark

Kenneth Kracmer is the Managing Partner and PR Director of HCK2 Partners in Dallas, Texas. As the namesake of the latter initials in HCK2, Kracmer confidently leads the PR side of the business and manages new-business efforts. He is approaching his 20th year of working in the PR industry, and credits his journalism experience for leading him to where he is today.

After graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s in journalism, he attended Dallas Baptist University where he earned his M.B.A. degree in management. Kracmer spent his first five years out of school at the largest PR firm in Dallas, Temerlin-McClain, which has since changed to Weber Shandwick. He gained valuable experience working with many different markets, and then decided to go corporate, where he worked another five years at Excel Communications. Kracmer then took another corporate job, working for a security software company called Entrust. After two years there, he was given the opportunity to become an owner of HCK2 Partners.

Having been with HCK2 for seven years, Kracmer is a huge part of the firm’s success. Combining his corporate experience with his passion for account service, Kracmer is able to provide value for his clients and continues to earn their respect. He is an active member in the exclusive business knowledge network called Dallas Roundtable, which helps him to grow his networks while maintaining his business and leadership skills.

Kracmer considers strong writing as one of the top skills necessary for this industry. “You have to be a good writer at the very core, I don’t hire many people that aren’t journalists first,” Kracmer said. He believes that it is also important to have a good understanding of business and how businesses operate, as well as any marketing skills.

According to this industry veteran, future PR professionals should first gain as much experience as possible on the agency side. This will teach aspiring practitioners how to work across a number of companies and a number of roles in the PR profession.

“Once you get the agency experience, you can choose what you want to specialize in,” Kracmer said. “If you specialize too soon, you box yourself in and may get stuck for awhile.”