Mike Einstein began his media career at legendary KPOI radio in the late 1970s, spent four years as a business development specialist with CBS affiliate KGMB TV, and six years as Creative Director of KHNL TV (during which time the department he managed was crowned “National Champion of Local Production” by INTV Journal) – all in Honolulu. He moved to Seattle in 1989 to assume a new position as King Broadcasting Company’s Director of Business Development, then returned to Hawaii in 1991 to conceive, own, and operate Room Service Hawaii, a 24/7 in-room cable TV network offering a variety of guest services to upscale visitors in Waikiki hotels. Room Service Hawaii was acquired by Time Warner Cable in 1996.
Later that same year he developed Smart Syndication, an integrated media concept involving the production and leveraged-barter distribution of sponsored vignette programming for spot radio, television and cable. On the heels of his first successful series, Great Humanitarians, Mike co-ventured – and produced – a 26-episode Spanish-language series, El Orgullo de las Américas (Pride of the Americas), with the Telemundo Group. He also lays claim to a long list of commercial production credits, including an extensive image and branding campaign for the University of Hawaii.
Mike has lectured at high schools and colleges and before various business and civic organizations. At KHNL, he was instrumental in developing the largest local television sports-marketing program in NCAA history through his work with his Alma Mater, the University of Hawaii. In conjunction with that effort, he produced The Rainbow Sports Connection, a cable sports-programming venture underwritten by the Hawaii Visitors Bureau and distributed throughout 1987 and ‘88 to more than 12,500,000 homes via Oklahoma City-based Tempo Television.
Among his numerous awards for creative excellence are a first-ever Hawaii Association of Broadcasters “Habbit” Award, several American Advertising Federation “Pele” Awards, a Retail Advertising Conference Award, and the Grand Prize in both the first and second years of the Television Bureau of Advertising’s competition to produce an industry-standard commercial promoting television as an advertising medium. His 1982 winner, Man Eating Lemon, bested a field of 109 entries and was ultimately distributed to more than 400 TVB-member stations.
A serial entrepreneur, Mike presently comprises one half of the Brothers Einstein, a very small, very contrarian digital brand strategy boutique. He is also a regular featured contributor to jackmyers.com, an industry-leading media blog.
In 2004, Mike traded the shores of Hawai¢i for the shores of Lake Michigan where he now resides with his ersatz home-office managers, felines Mr. Snidely and Kapaka’i.
