Alison Relf, Director, Taylor Alden reminisces:
In today’s throwaway, disposable society, I, for one, take great pleasure from stamina, longevity and loyalty in an ever-changing world. And 60 years on from the conception of Taylor Alden, we look back at this timeless gem of a
company.
Taylor Public Relations was founded in 1959 as a small division of the well- known industrial advertising agency, Taylor Advertising. Based in Gloucester Place in London’s West End, the new PR division occupied a couple of rooms at the top of a gracious five-storey town house. The handful of PR clients was passed on by Taylor Advertising, operating in the engineering and building product sectors. Brian Corthine joined in 1968 as an assistant account executive reporting to managing director, Dennis Cunningham. The owners of Taylor Advertising, so sure the separated independent PR company would not last long, insisted they changed the name. Taylor Alden was chosen and the company moved out to Wimbledon – where it still resides today.
The client spread, still dominated by engineering and building clients, was offered new services – from press relations to activities such as event organisation and customer relations programmes that included House of Commons lunches hosted by newly appointed director, Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith MP.
A Newbury office was opened and, in 1986, Alison Relf was appointed bringing a new focus on business-to-business and business-to-consumer campaigns. The work continues today with a focus on media and social media in the lifestyle, building and construction arenas; storytelling is still at the essence of the company. We now have so many more channels to enjoy so there’s no fear of us going stale!
We have new clients and old – three go back over 25 years! – and are still loving every minute!
Brian Corthine retired in January 2019 and Taylor Alden is now wholly owned by Alison Relf.