Robin Koval has been a driving force in the advertising world for over 20 years. A marketing strategist and new products expert, her experience spans almost every category from beauty and beverages to distilled spirits and pharmaceuticals. Her successes include the daring “Yes, Yes, Yes” of Herbal Essences and the AFLAC duck quack heard round the world. Simply put, Robin helps marketers get noticed.
Robin is the President of The Kaplan Thaler Group and is responsible for the general management of the agency, including client services and strategic and new business development. A founding member of the agency with Linda Kaplan Thaler, she has helped The Kaplan Thaler Group grow from a fledgling start-up to one billion dollars in billings.
The Kaplan Thaler Group is consistently ranked by industry publications as one of the fastest-growing New York agencies and celebrated for its breakthrough creative and immediate results. Its clients include Wendy’s, U.S. Bank, Continental Airlines and Pfizer, as well as Procter and Gamble’s Dawn, Cascade and Swiffer brands.
Robin is also a best-selling author. Her latest joint effort with Linda Kaplan Thaler is titled The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference, (Doubleday 2009) debuted on the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller lists and shows that in a big picture world, every detail counts. Her previous best-selling book, The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness (Doubleday 2006), was also coauthored with Linda Kaplan Thaler and demystified the notion that nice “guys” finish last. Following its debut, The Power of Nice was widely featured in the media on television programs like ABC’s “Nightline”, NBC’s “The Today Show” and in print publications including Time, Business Week, Newsweek, O, The Oprah Magazine, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. Linda and Robin’s first book BANG! Getting Your Message Heard in a Noisy World, a savvy marketing book, was also a national best-seller.
Robin earned a BFA from Syracuse University and an MBA from Baruch College.
In November 2008, Robin received the Compass Award from the Women’s Leadership Exchange for her work in shifting the paradigm of how women are perceived as business leaders. Robin was honored in January 2007 with the prestigious Advertising Women of New York’s Working Mother of the Year Trailblazer Award. And in 2002, she was inducted into the YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers. Robin has also served on the board of the Westchester Arts Council and is an adjunct professor at New York University.
When she’s not figuring out how to solve her clients’ problems, she takes to the ice as an accomplished figure skater. Robin lives in New York City and is married to Kenneth Koval, a senior administrator for the New York City Health and Hospitals Commission. Their daughter, Melissa, is an actress in New York City.
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