Craig Kaplan

Craig S. Kaplan is a Philadelphia-area promotions and marketing agent who has been in the industry since the late 1980s. He specializes in creating unique, creative content, utilizing both digital and traditional media, for his clients.

Kaplan secured celebrity guests to attend the Camden Aquarium’s grand opening gala in 1992.

Kaplan was the Director of Marketing for the Irving Fryar Foundation from 1997-1999. During his time there he ran the charity golf event which raised six figures for the organization. He also orchestrated three cigar dinner fundraisers which raised a total of five figures for the organization.

Kaplan began working with the Variety (Children’s Charity) in 1998 when he secured their first celebrity spokesperson, Irving Fryar; he went on to secure Jon Runyan as a celebrity spokesperson in 2000. He has since contracted celebrity bartenders and various celebrity spokespersons for the Variety (Children’s Charity). In November 2009, Kaplan helped create the Celebrity Bowling Classic; the evening was hosted by Ryan Madson and Brent Celek and raised five figures for the charity.

One of Kaplan’s largest athlete clients has been Jon Runyan. Kaplan was Runyan’s manager during his career in Philadelphia, starting in 2000. Kaplan has worked on Runyan’s charity golf event, Jon Runyan’s Score for the Cure, which has raised half a million dollars in the five years since the first event. Along with securing Runyan as a contributor to Daily News Live, in 2004 Kaplan sold Runyan’s Rockin’ With Runyan radio show to Y100 and secured a deal to sell Rockin’ With Runyan T-shirts in Modell’s sporting goods stores. Kaplan also helped create Runyan’s Reserve Beer with Iron Hill Brewery in Media, PA, where Runyan would go after each Rockin’ show; a dollar from every beer sold was donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

In 2001, Kaplan ran the Allen Iverson Summer Classic Celebrity Softball Game. Kaplan also secured corporate sponsors and celebrity spokespersons for the event, including Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury.

Kaplan secured a major donor to fund the creation of a new treatment room for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Kaplan has also brought six different athletes into CHOP to in bring gifts, and talk to the children. In 2008, Kaplan also orchestrated an event with Liscio’s Bakery where people could take a picture with the World Series trophy for donations to CHOP.

Kaplan secured corporate sponsors from 2009-2012 for MANNA’s event, "Shut Up and Dance." Kaplan also produced a promotional video for MANNA’s 20th anniversary "Shut Up and Dance," as well as a promotional video about the benefits of MANNA.

After securing Hunter Pence as the celebrity spokesperson for Liscio’s Bakery in 2012, Kaplan produced a commercial for the bakery starring their new spokesman. The commercial, "Liscio’s: ‘Let’s Go Eat!’," features Pence demonstrating the different uses he finds for Liscio’s Bakery rolls. The commercial received immediate response on Twitter. Metro Philly had this to say of the commercial: "The Liscio’s Bakery ad featuring Hunter Pence, with his catchphrase, ‘Let’s Go Eat!’ is priceless, also a TV commercial that is equally hilarious." PhillyBurbs, a Philadelphia based blog, wrote, "Something tells me the guys in the clubhouse are going to have some fun with this. Might I suggest a kayak and a crate of delicious Liscio’s torpedo rolls waiting at Pence’s locker in time for his arrival Monday morning?" In what may be the most prominent review of the commercial, Philadelphia Magazine’s Dan McQuade states, "This might be the greatest commercial in TV history... How does he keep such a physique by lifting Liscio’s roll?!" Kaplan strengthened the Pence-Liscio’s relationship by creating a bi-weekly web series airing on YouTube, "Liscio’s Bakery: Weekly Bites", which features a different shop that serves Liscio’s Bakery bread.

Kaplan produced the 2012 Philabundance Public Service Announcement TV-spot, "Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation." Kaplan secured Hunter Pence as the Philabundance spokesperson and Liscio’s Bakery as their corporate sponsor; Kaplan went on to use Pence in a billboard campaign he created for Philabundance, underwritten by Liscio’s Bakery.

Kaplan has worked with the Great Chefs Event for the past five years. In addition to promoting, coordinating, and securing corporate sponsors and celebrity spokespersons, Kaplan has produced promotional video’s covering the event the past two years. In 2012 the Great Chefs Event raised one million dollars, and in 2013 the event raised $1.1 million.