James Herring's guest appearances

James Herring

New Thinking: Leaders

PRmoment Podcast

Rachel Bell

Chris Lewis

Caroline Casey

Tom Blomfield

Ben Smith

Scott Wilson

Greg McKeown

Michael Dorf

Patrick McGinnis

Jake Barton

Nick Wheeler

Bruce Daisley

John Roberts

Mauricio Umansky

Therese Huston

OwlTail

Taylor Herring

From losing £500K of client fees in 3 weeks in Q2 2020 to selling Taylor Herring to Publicis in April 2021 - we get the inside track on perhaps the most tumultuous couple of years of any agency in recent historyOn the show this week we talk to James Herring about the story of the last few years of Taylor Herring. In Feb 2020 things were looking rosy and James and Cath were no doubt planning their summer vacation in the South of France. Then in 3 weeks, their agency lost £500,000 in monthly fee income.Today we talk to James about the turnaround job which resulted in Publicis buying Taylor Herring in April 2021 and how the agency reported a 40% increase in annual revenue in 2022 (£6.72m, up from £4.9m.) Recent client wins include Nintendo, Natwest, Iceland and McVities. The likes of Samsung, Easyjet and Disney are long-term clients.On the show, today James and I will also talk about where he sees the future of earned media within integrated communications.Thanks as ever to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors The PRCA.2.30 mins This is a story that starts at the beginning of the pandemic. What did the pandemic do to Taylor Herring?"For 6 weeks we spent quite a lot of time scratching our heads thinking about whether there was going to be a business at the end of all of this"4 mins During the worst depts of COVID - how many people were on the team, so those not on furlough?4.30 mins At the start of the pandemic, Taylor Herring lost £500K in monthly fees in 3 weeks. You’d spent nearly 20 years building Taylor Herring and seemed it seemed to be disintegrating before your eyes?8.30 mins Why did the PR market come back much quicker than we all anticipated?"We had a resoundingly good summer probably better than the summer of the year before…it was a boom summer in terms of spend"9.30 mins Did Taylor Herring approach Publicis or did they approach you? "I was mowing the lawn at 5:30 pm on a Friday afternoon and Chris (McCafferty) called"11 mins Why were they interested in a business that had so recently lost so many clients and fee income?12 mins What was the due diligence process like?"There were 2 bits to it, the informal due diligence process…and the harder end of the legal and financial due diligence - it was a full-time job for 8 weeks.""Cath runs an extremely tight ship when it comes to the organisational side of things""The process took about 18 months in all"14.30 mins Since the deal was done Taylor Herring’s fee income has increased by 40% - so the earn-out is going well? "Internally we called it the third runway, it was about putting that infrastructure in ahead of the growth""We've grown from 25 to 55 people over that 2-year period"16.30 mins Is this a rare example of a PR acquisition that has worked?"We've declined more pitches than we ever have before - because when you add up the money spent on those pitches it adds up to hundreds of thousands (of pounds) in terms of the hours""The blending of social and PR and content and brand and events means there is a much bigger playground"19 mins Do Taylor Herring and MSL share many clients?20 mins How does it feel for James not owning his own business anymore?21 mins In our pre-show chat, James said prior to the sale to Publicis he'd "basically run Taylor Herring as a lifestyle business for 19 years” James talks us through what he meant by that.23 mins What is the opportunity for PR-integrated briefs? "Integrated is the single biggest opportunity for a con

From losing £500K of client fees in 3 weeks in Q2 2020 to selling Taylor Herring to Publicis in April 2021 - we get the inside track on perhaps the most tumultuous couple of years of any agency in recent historyOn the show this week we talk to James Herring about the story of the last few years of Taylor Herring. In Feb 2020 things were looking rosy and James and Cath were no doubt planning their summer vacation in the South of France. Then in 3 weeks, their agency lost £500,000 in monthly fee income.Today we talk to James about the turnaround job which resulted in Publicis buying Taylor Herring in April 2021 and how the agency reported a 40% increase in annual revenue in 2022 (£6.72m, up from £4.9m.) Recent client wins include Nintendo, Natwest, Iceland and McVities. The likes of Samsung, Easyjet and Disney are long-term clients.On the show, today James and I will also talk about where he sees the future of earned media within integrated communications.Thanks as ever to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors <a href="https://www.prca.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The PRCA</a>.2.30 mins This is a story that starts at the beginning of the pandemic. What did the pandemic do to Taylor Herring?"For 6 weeks we spent quite a lot of time scratching our heads thinking about whether there was going to be a business at the end of all of this"4 mins During the worst depts of COVID - how many people were on the team, so those not on furlough?4.30 mins At the start of the pandemic, Taylor Herring lost £500K in monthly fees in 3 weeks. You’d spent nearly 20 years building Taylor Herring and seemed it seemed to be disintegrating before your eyes?8.30 mins Why did the PR market come back much quicker than we all anticipated?"We had a resoundingly good summer probably better than the summer of the year before…it was a boom summer in terms of spend"9.30 mins Did Taylor Herring approach Publicis or did they approach you? "I was mowing the lawn at 5:30 pm on a Friday afternoon and Chris (McCafferty) called"11 mins Why were they interested in a business that had so recently lost so many clients and fee income?12 mins What was the due diligence process like?"There were 2 bits to it, the informal due diligence process…and the harder end of the legal and financial due diligence - it was a full-time job for 8 weeks.""Cath runs an extremely tight ship when it comes to the organisational side of things""The process took about 18 months in all"14.30 mins Since the deal was done Taylor Herring’s fee income has increased by 40% - so the earn-out is going well? "Internally we called it the third runway, it was about putting that infrastructure in ahead of the growth""We've grown from 25 to 55 people over that 2-year period"16.30 mins Is this a rare example of a PR acquisition that has worked?"We've declined more pitches than we ever have before - because when you add up the money spent on those pitches it adds up to hundreds of thousands (of pounds) in terms of the hours""The blending of social and PR and content and brand and events means there is a much bigger playground"19 mins Do Taylor Herring and MSL share many clients?20 mins How does it feel for James not owning his own business anymore?21 mins In our pre-show chat, James said prior to the sale to Publicis he'd "basically run Taylor Herring as a lifestyle business for 19 years” James talks us through what he meant by that.23 mins What is the opportunity for PR-integrated briefs? "Integrated is the single biggest opportunity for a con

James Herring on the turnaround of Taylor Herring post-COVID and the subsequent sale to MSL

James Herring is chief executive and founder of PR agency Taylor Herring. The award-winning agency counts the BBC, Coca Cola, and Walt Disney among its clients and is known for its humorous approach to brand storytelling. The company often hits the headlines with campaigns such as transforming a supermarket into an ice rink and creating an hour long film about a Samsung washing machine. James is also founder of The Poke, a satirical website launched in 2002 known for producing humorous news content. He is also the editor-in-chief of famouscampaigns.com, and director of St Marks Studios, which creates news packages for online and broadcast media. In this in-depth conversation, James discusses how the Edinburgh Festival Fringe inspired him to start a career in media and entertainment, describes how he founded his company with his wife nearly twenty years ago as a creative agency promising to deliver fame and fortune to its clients, and reveals how he convinced Stephen Hawking to write a scientific research paper on the odds of England winning the World Cup Final in 2014.

James Herring is chief executive and founder of PR agency Taylor Herring. The award-winning agency counts the BBC, Coca Cola, and Walt Disney among its clients and is known for its humorous approach to brand storytelling. The company often hits the headlines with campaigns such as transforming a supermarket into an ice rink and creating an hour long film about a Samsung washing machine. James is also founder of The Poke, a satirical website launched in 2002 known for producing humorous news content. He is also the editor-in-chief of <a href="https://slack-redir.net/link?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffamouscampaigns.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">famouscampaigns.com</a>, and director of St Marks Studios, which creates news packages for online and broadcast media. In this in-depth conversation, James discusses how the Edinburgh Festival Fringe inspired him to start a career in media and entertainment, describes how he founded his company with his wife nearly twenty years ago as a creative agency promising to deliver fame and fortune to its clients, and reveals how he convinced Stephen Hawking to write a scientific research paper on the odds of England winning the World Cup Final in 2014.

Business Leaders - James Herring

This week on the PRmoment podcast. in the latest of our life stories series, I’m pleased to welcome co-founder of Taylor Herring, James Herring.  James started Taylor Herring in 2001 alongside his then girlfriend Kath Taylor.   Taylor Herring has had quite a 12 months, with work with Greggs, The Beano, Samsung, Diageo and Easyjet (and I could go on) grabbing attention.  Taylor Herring is one of a group of independent firms in London who seem to be pushing the boundaries of public relations - to a more integrated place, but it is doing that by unashamedly taking advantage of its understanding of what is required to make a story fly in earned media.  Taylor Herring Group has billings of around £4.5m and employs around 20 staff.   Here is the flavour of what James and I discuss:   How James ended up getting his first job in talent management at comedy agency Avalon 1.15 minsHow James ended up working on 10 Edinburgh Festivals 5.20 minsWhy James wanted to work in media and show business and didn’t intend to have a career in PR 5.45 minsWhy there two halves to James career - a talent management half and a PR half  5.40 mins How the humourous accent of work that James learnt on the comedy circuit still underwrites Taylor Herring today 6.40 minsHow James’ client portfolio used to include Frank Skinner, Harry Hill, The Mighty Bush and Chris Addison 7 minsWhy Fantasy Football and Baddiel and Skinner was James first big break 7.30 minsWhen James suddenly had to understand KPIs , a SWOT Analysis and Powerpoint 10.10 minsHow James' second big break to take him beyond comedy and into PR was Channel 4 and Big Brother 10.50 minsThe story of hows James’ and Channel 4’s plan of a decoy car and secret hotel for Nasty Nick failed 12.25 minsWhy that Big Brother Nasty Nick moment was a pivotal moment in James’ career 14.15 minsHow the launch of Taylor Herring came about 15.20 minsHow James met his now wife and business partner Kath Taylor 15.43 minsJames talks about why Taylor Herring has not an been an overnight success story and how the story of the business separates into two halves 18 minsHow Taylor Herring made the jump from working with media brands to consumer brands 26 minsWhy Paddy Power was a significant “stepping stone” client for Taylor Herring 27.30 minsWhy James loves clients like Paddy Power which makes him “run with scissors”  29.15 minsIn order to stand out you have to be bold in your thinking 30 minsWhy James believes technology is killing advertising 30.15 minsWhy advertising is losing its influence on society 31 minsWhy James believes PR firms are taking significant budget from advertising firms 33 minsWhy James believes we’re already past the peak of influencer marketing budgets 33.15 minsJames tells us about the Fuck me Doris test for The Sun’s editorial and why this matters to PR people 36 mins Why simplicity is key to creativity 38.20 minsJames talks us through Taylor Herring’s creative process 39 minsWhy a failed pitch to M&amp;S changes the way Taylor Herring approached new business, how they should work and what type of people Taylor Herring should hire 41 mins Why a procurement department’s involvement in a pitch tends to kill creativity 41.30 minsWhy James doesn’t think Taylor Herring is the right agency for luxury brands or high street brands 46.20 minsWhy Taylor Herring likes to take its clients on a jour

This week on the PRmoment podcast. in the latest of our life stories series, I’m pleased to welcome co-founder of Taylor Herring, James Herring.  James started Taylor Herring in 2001 alongside his then girlfriend Kath Taylor.   Taylor Herring has had quite a 12 months, with work with Greggs, The Beano, Samsung, Diageo and Easyjet (and I could go on) grabbing attention.  Taylor Herring is one of a group of independent firms in London who seem to be pushing the boundaries of public relations - to a more integrated place, but it is doing that by unashamedly taking advantage of its understanding of what is required to make a story fly in earned media.  Taylor Herring Group has billings of around £4.5m and employs around 20 staff.   Here is the flavour of what James and I discuss:   <ul><li>How James ended up getting his first job in talent management at comedy agency Avalon 1.15 mins</li><li>How James ended up working on 10 Edinburgh Festivals 5.20 mins</li><li>Why James wanted to work in media and show business and didn’t intend to have a career in PR 5.45 mins</li><li>Why there two halves to James career - a talent management half and a PR half  5.40 mins </li><li>How the humourous accent of work that James learnt on the comedy circuit still underwrites Taylor Herring today 6.40 mins</li><li>How James’ client portfolio used to include Frank Skinner, Harry Hill, The Mighty Bush and Chris Addison 7 mins</li><li>Why Fantasy Football and Baddiel and Skinner was James first big break 7.30 mins</li><li>When James suddenly had to understand KPIs , a SWOT Analysis and Powerpoint 10.10 mins</li><li>How James' second big break to take him beyond comedy and into PR was Channel 4 and Big Brother 10.50 mins</li><li>The story of hows James’ and Channel 4’s plan of a decoy car and secret hotel for Nasty Nick failed 12.25 mins</li><li>Why that Big Brother Nasty Nick moment was a pivotal moment in James’ career 14.15 mins</li><li>How the launch of Taylor Herring came about 15.20 mins</li><li>How James met his now wife and business partner Kath Taylor 15.43 mins</li><li>James talks about why Taylor Herring has not an been an overnight success story and how the story of the business separates into two halves 18 mins</li><li>How Taylor Herring made the jump from working with media brands to consumer brands 26 mins</li><li>Why Paddy Power was a significant “stepping stone” client for Taylor Herring 27.30 mins</li><li>Why James loves clients like Paddy Power which makes him “run with scissors”  29.15 mins</li><li>In order to stand out you have to be bold in your thinking 30 mins</li><li>Why James believes technology is killing advertising 30.15 mins</li><li>Why advertising is losing its influence on society 31 mins</li><li>Why James believes PR firms are taking significant budget from advertising firms 33 mins</li><li>Why James believes we’re already past the peak of influencer marketing budgets 33.15 mins</li><li>James tells us about the Fuck me Doris test for The Sun’s editorial and why this matters to PR people 36 mins </li><li>Why simplicity is key to creativity 38.20 mins</li><li>James talks us through Taylor Herring’s creative process 39 mins</li><li>Why a failed pitch to M&amp;S changes the way Taylor Herring approached new business, how they should work and what type of people Taylor Herring should hire 41 mins </li><li>Why a procurement department’s involvement in a pitch tends to kill creativity 41.30 mins</li><li>Why James doesn’t think Taylor Herring is the right agency for luxury brands or high street brands 46.20 mins</li><li>Why Taylor Herring likes to take its clients on a jour</li></ul>

James Herring on the PRmoment podcast