Kahle works marketing magic
‘Want to Make Your Competition Disappear?’

by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 19, 2006

In 2000, Brian Kahle disappeared.

After 22 years at WKBW Ch. 7, including 18 at “A.M. Buffalo,” the likable on-air personality called it a day, and vanished from local television screens.

However, like any good magician, he controlled his destiny and reappeared grander than before. The last year of his television career was the first year he worked fulltime at Magic Marketing, a publicity and public relations firm he founded in 1994.

Six years later, he has worked to garner national media attention for a multitude of clients using a few tricks he picked up while on camera – and working with professional magicians.

Speaking of which, it was in 1977 that Kahle, working at a Los Angeles television station, found himself one night at the Magic Castle, a performance venue and club. What he saw that night, “It blew my mind,” he said. “I became a huge fan of magic.”

So much so, in fact, that, “That was going to be my life after television,” he said.

In 1993, Kahle opened The Magic Parlor, a magic-themed supper club. Seeking to use his skills to promote his eatery, “I did a media kit to promote the Magic Parlor,” he said. “I was successful (promoting it).”

Despite that, “I wasn’t really good at the restaurant business,” Kahle said. While the Magic Parlor didn’t work to his liking, what was starting to take shape was Magic Marketing. Kahle picked up some clients and, like a rabbit from a hat, quickly pulled in local and national media attention for his charges.

“That was my first incentive that maybe I was good at this,” he said.

Today, his business has earned a reputation for fast, reliable, reasonably priced service.

“I’ve been happy with his company,” said Bob Scalzo of Striking Poses Portrait Studio in Niagara Falls.

“The concept of publicity as opposed to advertising” and Kahle’s economical fees have made the price right, he noted.

While Kahle works with a number of national clients, it is the mom-and-pop start-ups whose cause he champions. Since Kahle, himself, has operated three small businesses, he can relate to the struggles of starting and maintaining a company independently. That’s one big reason why he works on their behalf.

“I felt it was the small business that needed the help,” he said, adding, “They don’t have the resources or knowledge on how to do it.

“I related to the struggles of having a small business, and getting (the word) out there.”

Since Kahle is a one-man show, working out of his log cabin house in Lockport, he doesn’t carry overhead costs of staff or office space.

“I can make public relations affordable for a small business,” he said. “You’re just working with me.”

Kahle offers his clients write-ups, video packages and radio exposure – he hosts a weekly program, “Kahle and Company,” on WLVL.

“That really gives people a lot of exposure for their dollar,” he said.

What companies receive is not just a generic press release. The key to success, Kahle says, is finding a story to tell.

“A lot of people don’t know they have an interesting story,” he said.

One example is STB Productions. When Kahle met with executives of the stress relief tape-making company he found out that they had provided material to Judge Lance Ito and the jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial.

‘That’s a great story!” Kahle said. “People don’t realize they have a great story.”

In addition to Magic Marketing resources, Kahle’s clients also receive assistance from Discover New York West, a regional public relations initiative he co-founded, because “I really want to get up and shout this is a great place.”

His love of Western New York has kept him here, even as other businesses have moved down or out of state.

“I always said I would leave TV long before I’d leave Western New York,” Kahle said. “I’ve proven that.”

Some of Kahle’s current clients include the National Buffalo Wing Festival, the National Hamburger Festival, the Niagara USA Chamber, the Defend and Survive Program in North Tonawanda and Striking Poses Portrait Studio in Niagara Falls.

For more information, visit www.magicmarketinginfo.com or www.discovernywest.com.

What clients have said about Magic Marketing:

“I anticipated the National Buffalo Wing Festival would be the biggest thing in the city. That’s why I hired Brian Kahle and Magic Marketing. It was, indeed, the biggest thing, thanks to the publicity. Just ask ‘The Today Show,’ CNN, PBS or The Food Network.”

- Drew Cerza, Founder, National Buffalo Wing Festival

“Without the help of Brian Kahle and Magic Marketing, we probably would have wound up as a sad statistic – another failed restaurant.”

- Scott Shulock and Christine Yotter, One Eyed Jacks