About the agency
Winger Marketing is a Chicago public relations and integrated marketing agency originally established in 1986 as Winger and Associates by Sherry Winger. Its company history describes how Sherry’s previous leadership of marketing and PR for Playboy Hotels helped launch a boutique focused on events, restaurants, luxury retail and hospitality. The firm later expanded into healthcare, legal services, business-to-business organizations and nonprofits.
Karolyn Raphael joined the firm in 1997, became vice president in 2004 and, with her husband Lance, purchased the business from Sherry and Doug Winger in 2006. Raphael now leads the agency. Its services encompass thought-leadership positioning, media relations, content marketing, social media, advertising and email outreach, with a published 'create, customize and cascade' framework for repurposing expert content.
The company’s case studies include Cinespace Chicago Film Studios and Nelson-Jameson, for which it reports improved share of voice. Those metrics are the agency's own results, not an independently audited financial effect. Importantly, its current history explicitly says **1986**, correcting an earlier draft that used 1985. The agency is distinguished by its long and detailed ownership history and corporate/industrial publicity portfolio.