Periodically we will pull from some of the best or more innovative work being done in sports communications and marketing. In the past we have looked at ESPN, Sports Illustrated, MLS, NBC Sports and others, but now we will start to look at some agencies and other entities. We start with the folks at Taylor…
This past Sunday, Tampa Rays Manager Joe Maddon was a guest on “Ed Randall’s Talking Baseball” on WFAN radio in New York, and he touched on the difference he sees in what is “old school” and what can be “traditional but changing with the times.” He remarked, “I see old school as being respectful and understanding of the past; I don’t see it as doing the same thing over and over because that’s the way we used to be successful.”
It may seem strange to hear one of the most successful practitioners in the tradition-filled sport of baseball liken past ideals with new age success. It is refreshing, nonetheless, and it is an element that should be seen in every business, in and out of sports; learn from the past and look to the future. Now many times in the instant ROI, get it done, be everything-to-everybody world that we live in, that is easy to talk about but hard to execute, especially in the fast-paced world of sports and entertainment media. Clients want results, and the results today may not be best for the long term, but they give you the opportunity to compete, or work another day. Building a long-term relationship with a client, a relationship built on trust, is a daunting and time-intensive exercise, one that is surely not for the faint of heart or narrow-minded. But in many cases, building that trust by delivering a high level of strategy and counsel – true value — that impacts a brand’s business far beyond traditional media coverage, can pay large and lasting dividends…
Such is the case with a professional service firm that is now 30 years old in structure but not in practice. Taylor, whose principals I have known and in some cases, worked with for that same period of time, still considers itself as a “ public relations” agency (with a long and deep legacy in sports), but how they got to their current leadership position in the industry and how they deliver business-building results for their clients extends far beyond the remit for most public relations agencies – especially those that play in the sports arena.
Taylor chief executive officer and managing partner Tony Signore is the visionary leader of his agency’s forward-thinking strategy, one which did not develop overnight. In 2004 Signore led a management buyout of his firm, founded in 1984. At the time, they had a roster of 70-plus clients and was viewed largely as nimble, hard-working – if not remarkable — sports publicity shop. What followed was a massive shift in philosophy about client service, akin to the “Jerry Maguire Manifesto” in the famous movie starring Tom Cruise in the title role. Taylor sought far fewer clients and deeper focus, aligning itself solely with category leading brands and properties that it could service holistically through an immersive approach that addressed a brand’s overarching business objectives, not simply its PR challenges. In effect, Taylor sought to be a “brand counselor” to its clients by providing what Signore calls “irreplaceable value.”
To that end, Taylor ventured far outside the traditional realm of public relations by recruiting talent and expertise from other marketing communications disciplines such as brand planning, digital strategy, consumer insights, and creative. They challenged their existing staff to take a step forward and evolve with this new way of thinking about their business. Instead of being everything to everyone and living on the immediate results of publicity as traditional firms did, they would take an immersive approach to understanding their client’s target consumer and develop programs that would help build engagement between the brand and consumer. Their work didn’t center on a singular event or product launch; it would encompass every aspect of a brand’s business to make sure all was aligned properly from discovery to conception of idea to measuring results. Increasingly, their work would be grounded in digital and social media, and less on traditional media platforms. This became the new normal in consumer PR and Taylor aspired to be at the cutting edge.
The result is that now, in 2014, as the company itself enters its fourth decade, Taylor is serving in the role of brand counselor to a very select list of just 15 blue-chip companies and ranks among the 10 independent PR firms in the country. They have a deep and diverse team, from its New York office to full service operations in Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and London, that works seamlessly together delivering award-winning programs in the sports, entertainment and lifestyle consumer space.
The transformation of Taylor was not easy, it was not a single event; rather, it was a long term process. Some talented executives did not fit in with the new strategy and change was in the offing. However, for the ones that stayed or arrived from other agencies, Taylor became a place to learn, to grow and to test the limits and capabilities of what could be accomplished in public relations, be it in sports or other categories.
“We fully understood that organizational change is an on-going process, and not an event,” said Signore, when we caught up with him recently. “For us, there were multiple phases that spanned nearly five years with everyone in alignment with our vision and business model. All executives needed to advance their own strategic performance to ensure Taylor was in a better position to ladder up to our client partner’s brand and business-building goals. Change can be uncomfortable and it’s certainly not for every professional. I’m pleased to say that most bought into our evolved approach and remain with the organization.”
Their prestigious roster of client partners today include Allstate, Diageo, Procter & Gamble, Nestle-Purina, NASCAR, Capital One, 3M, Nike Jordan and Taco Bell and a select few others, all of whom rely on Taylor for insights and strategy well beyond traditional execution. Signore’s leadership has not gone unnoticed. In 2011, Harvard University published a case study, “Transformation at Taylor,” which explored Taylor’s bold approach to enact organizational change. And this week, he was selected by The Holmes Group to receive an individual achievement SABRE Award for the way he turned the vision of Taylor into a reality.
“We must continue to take a more innovative approach in the development of global sports influencer campaigns,” said Signore. “Over the past five years, my colleagues have effectively utilized digital and social platforms to engage fans across the globe, and each day I marvel at the manner in which they capitalize on select advancements in technology to create social trends around our client partner’s alliance with major sports properties.”
Like Joe Maddon, Signore and his colleagues at Taylor draw from some “old school” traits, albeit in sports public relations vs. baseball. Teamwork, consistency, forward-thinking, respect and dedication to one goal. And like the Rays manager, Taylor is positioned to evolve in an era where the imperative is not just to survive, but to thrive. It’s not quite “Moneyball” for Public Relations, but it is a proven winning strategy, one that has made Taylor so successful as an agency – in some respects, like what Maddon has accomplished from the dugout in Tampa.
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