Now ranked among city’s top 25, Butler Associates continues to expand
By Michelle Friedman
When Butler Associates opened 12 years ago, they secured a small office on the third floor of the Uniformed Firefighters Association’s headquarters. At the time, the UFA was their only client. Today, they are the nation’s second fastest-growing independent public relations firm and ranked among the top 25 in New York City, according to O’Dwyer’s PR report, commonly used as a standard in the industry.
Their home office remains at the UFA, a commitment which they say belies their focus on relationship-building and quality over expanding their client-base.
“We’ve turned down a number of clients that we don’t feel are the right fit,” said president and founder Thomas Butler. “I like to come to work every day knowing there will be a challenge. That a client is going to come to us with a problem and we are going to give them a solution. It might involve media, it might not.”
“I never want to be in a situation where I’m not dealing with the media,” deadpanned vice president Stuart Miller
The two met in the early 1990s at Howard J. Rubenstein and Associates, where they remained officemates even as desks were continually shifted around.
They both transitioned to PR after starting off in other fields. Miller spent the early part of his career on various broadcast news desks, and made the switch when he became tired of waking up at 3 a.m. to go to work on the early- morning news shows. Butler started out in the City Council’s communications department while Ed Koch was mayor, after which he decided to cross over to the private sector.
Their backgrounds in politics and media have enabled them to influence the political conversation despite working with underdog clients.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the firm represented the UFA in a vicious fight with the city to stop building at Ground Zero that was to include a performing arts center, theatre and other facilities. In six weeks, “The Truth About the World Trade Center Memorial” campaign put an end to a project endorsed by the Governor and Mayor and backed by the New York Times.
The two also dedicate a significant amount of time developing opinion and editorial pieces for clients.
“I learned from my days in City Hall that if you are an elected leader, you look at what’s on the front page, and next you go right to the editorial page to see what the leaders are saying,” Butler said.
C. William Jones, president and executive director of BellTel Retirees Association, said that the firm has helped them grow from 3,000 members locally to over 100,000 members in all 50 states.
“We never would have been able to reach people in the magnitude we did if it wasn’t for their work,” he said. “They helped us grow from seven members to what we are today; all of the media coverage we receive is a result of their work.”
More recently, the firm has ventured into English- and Spanish-language marketing and advertising campaigns aimed at reaching the increasingly diverse demographic of the city. They also continue their work with the UFA on campaigns to promote a favorable image of New York firefighters.
UFA President Steve Cassidy said that he consults with Butler on a near-daily basis.
“Having Tom in the same building,” Cassidy said with a laugh, “is very beneficial to us.”