Eliot Kang is the founder of K & L Advertising, the nation's leading multicultural marketing consulting and communications agency specializing in reaching Asian Americans.
Eliot Kang founded K & L, formerly known as AMKO Advertising, in 1985 to help corporations effectively reach Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese consumers in the U.S. Under Eliot's leadership, the agency has grown to be the leading Asian American marketing consulting and communications agency in the U.S., with its headquarters in New York and over 50 full-time multicultural and multilingual advertising and marketing professionals.
A nationally recognized authority on the Asian American market, Eliot is frequently sought after as a speaker at events and has been prominently featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Advertising Age. Eliot has also appeared on WNBC-TV and graced the cover of Success Magazine, which highlighted his accomplishments in their April 1999 issue.
Among his numerous accolades, Eliot is a recipient of the 2002 Diversity Achievement Award in the category of "Trendsetter" from the American Advertising Federation (AAF). He has been inducted into the AAF Hall of Achievement and, in 1995, was selected by Crain's NY Business as one of New York's "40 Under 40." Eliot has also been honored by the Asian Business League of Southern California as Entrepreneur of the Year for his achievements and contributions to the Asian American business community, and commended for his professional achievements with The Asian Businessman's Award by former New York City Mayor David Dinkins in 1995.
Eliot has actively participated in various trade organizations promoting the Asian American perspective. He was a founding member and the first president of the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF), the Asian advertising industry trade group. He headed the Asian Task Force for the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) Diversity Action Committee, and has been a board member of the American Marketing Association. In addition, Eliot also served as board member and advisor to various trade organizations including the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Marketing Association, and various community organizations.
Eliot studied at Cornell University where he majored in Social Psychology, following which he began a career as a social worker. Prior to founding K & L, he was a translator in Asia where he was introduced to marketing and advertising. Eliot Kang was born in South Korea and moved to the United States at the age of 11. He grew up in Los Angeles, and then lived in Brighton Beach Brooklyn, and Staten Island before he settled in Astoria Queens, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country that contains residents from 72 different nationalities.
For a list of Eliot's authored articles, please visit the Newsroom section of our website.
