Meet Morgan Kilmer of Red Bridge

Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Kilmer.

Hi Morgan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My career path is certainly less than conventional! I dreamed of working in the fashion industry from a young age. In 8th grade, I latched onto a family friend who graduated from the same small town and made a name for herself in NYC, working in fashion. I stayed in touch with her throughout the years and clung to any advice or connections she shared with me. After high school, I moved to LA to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). After a few weeks of living in LA, I stumbled upon an internship opportunity with a freelance stylist. I assisted in preparing for various shoots, steaming clothes, and shopping. After a few months, her assistant stylist bailed on a major project for Nickelodeon at the last minute. She suggested me for the job, and Nickelodeon hired me for the project (I was barely 18!). Although an amazing experience, I learned that styling wasn’t a career path I wanted to continue. I transferred to Mizzou to spend a few more years closer to home. Before my senior year, I landed an internship in NYC at a small boutique PR firm without knowing anything about public relations (PR). Growing up, I always loved networking before I knew there was a term for it. Coming from a small town with 0 connections to fashion, I knew it would be a bigger challenge for me to excel than those in bigger cities. My dad owned a small sports apparel franchise, and I would like to tag along to vendor appointments and take business cards from anyone we met, saving them for when I was ready for internships.

I landed an internship at a boutique fashion PR agency in NYC the summer before my senior year of college. After that, I was sold on PR and New York. After graduating, I returned to NYC and landed a job at a luxury fashion PR agency job. Funny enough, I secured the interview from someone I met at a bar the summer I was interning. I got her business card and followed up. She forwarded my resume to the luxury fashion agency, kickstarting my career.

I never predicted that I would leave the fashion industry behind, but the pandemic was a turning point that shifted my perspective drastically. I grew a desire to represent brands making a real difference by offering products and services to improve the world or individuals. The shifted perspective allowed me to diversify my experience. It opened doors to work in other categories, such as art, beauty, home, hospitality, health/wellness, social impact, and even space travel?! A week into January 2023, I was laid off from a job I took 8 months prior. It pushed me to leap a faith and continue PR as a full-time freelance consultant. I am grateful to have so many mentors in the industry who have supported me the past few months to get me on my feet. There are a lot of unknowns, but right now, I am happy to be my boss! 

Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely could have been a smoother road! After a few years of living in NYC, I became homesick, burned out, and tired of being broke. I moved back to KC towards the end of 2018, accepting that it might sacrifice my career path in public relations. PR jobs are limited in KC, especially for the national brands I wanted to work with. I had many people tell me I was making a mistake when I chose to move back closer to home. Although I questioned my decision many times in the first year or two, I am thankful that I trusted my gut instincts and took the road less traveled to honor my happiness.

I like to say that PR found me again. After moving back home, I worked odd jobs (substitute teaching, retail, nannying, bartending). While working a retail job, one of my former PR agencies reached out to have me freelance for them. Allowing someone to work remotely for NYC-based agencies was unheard of in 2019. This snowballed into 2020 when I took a leap of faith and returned to PR full-time. Although the pandemic was not easy on any of us, I can’t help but appreciate the doors it opened for me to “have my cake and eat it too,” aka stay in KC but continue building my career in PR. My number one struggle is and always will be proving that my location does not affect my ability to represent major brands in beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and wellness on a national/international level.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I love answering this question! Many people need clarification on what public relations means. It’s either what you see on TV or lumped with everything under the marketing umbrella. Even within public relations, there are sub-categories you can specialize in. I focus on media relations for consumer brands within beauty, health, fashion, home, hospitality, and wellness. In the simplest terms, my job is to secure “earned media coverage” for my clients. This means we do not pay a publication to feature the brand like in traditional advertising. There are multiple ways to secure earned media coverage, including product features (like “the best workout shoes to buy now”) or brand/founder storytelling through features, podcasts, and broadcasts where the founder shares their story on why they launched a brand or how they “made it” (like a founder being profiled in VoyageKC). I am the middleman between a brand/spokesperson and the media to help share a client’s story through different mediums. I am extremely proud that I have forged opportunities to work with brands nationally while staying put in KC instead of moving back to LA or NYC, as I’m often pressured (and it would be a much easier solution). Public relations is not an easy career path so having perseverance is the key to success. 

What’s next?
Right now, I am heading down to building out my services and clientele after going out on my own two months ago. I plan to build a strong roster of clients who are all putting good back into the world with diversity and sustainability in mind. As I build out my business, I plan to offer services on a smaller scale for local Kansas City brands. We have so much talent in this city, so I would love to play a part in sharing that talent with a larger audience. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgan.kilmer/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgannicolekilmer/

Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Bre Shawbaker Photography