SI Partners advises creative PR firm Taylor Herring on sale to Publicis Groupe UK

Tristan Rice of SI Partners advises on sale of boutique PR agency Taylor Herring, to Publicis Groupe UK.

The acquisition of Taylor Herring will bring the unique brand of eye-catching creativity to Publicis Groupe UK, adding to the Groupe’s existing capabilities in earned and owned media. Publicis Groupe UK has also acquired Taylor Herring’s in-house production company, St. Mark’s Studios.

The agency will join the UK Influence Practice, led by Chris McCafferty, alongside MSL, Publicis Groupe’s full service PR consultancy, and sustainability and ESG specialists, Salterbaxter.

“Clients are looking for transformative creativity that can spark anywhere – whether that’s through advertising, through experiences or in earned or owned media. By injecting a second agency that specialises in ‘earned first creativity’ into our business, we believe there’s a great opportunity to increase growth for our clients. Taylor Herring is the best in the business when it comes to innovative PR campaigns, and a great cultural fit.”

Annette King, CEO of Publicis Groupe UK

Taylor Herring was founded in 2001 by wife and husband team Cath Taylor and James Herring. Peter Mountstevens joined in 2003.

One of the most famous agencies in the PR and social media industries in the UK, Taylor Herring has won more PR Week awards in the last decade than any other agency.

The agency has won all the most prestigious awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD wood and yellow pencils, the Grand Prix at The Drum Marketing Awards, being named Campaign’s PR Agency of the Year twice in the past three years.

Taylor Herring clients include Samsung, Subway, Iceland, easyJet, Kellogg’s, Disney, Quorn, UKTV and YouTube.

“We’ve worked with SI Partners for many years. In the very early stages of company growth they advised us on growth strategy, financial modelling, forecasting and staff incentive packages. We’ve kept in close contact ever since and when we had the approach from Publicis Groupe we were able to hit the ground running with a team that knew us inside and out. SI know the intricacies of the marcoms industry and the M&A scene backwards and I couldn’t recommend them more highly.”

James Herring, CEO and Co-founder of Taylor Herring

(Cath Taylor, James Herring, Chris McCafferty, Annette King and Peter Mountstevens)

As well as MSL and Salterbaxter, Taylor Herring will work closely with creative agencies Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Digitas, BBH and others and media agencies including Zenith and Starcom.

About Publicis Groupe UK

Publicis Groupe UK is a marketing and digital transformation business, with 5,000 people working across 22 agencies. Around the world, Publicis Groupe is present in more than 120 countries employing more than 83,000 people.

About Taylor Herring

Taylor Herring is an award-winning, PR, Social Media and Influencer creative agency that delivers solid business outcomes for consumer brands through smart thinking, creativity and innovation. The agency is famous for its eye-catching, creative campaigns – which generate headlines, crash social media timelines, capture the imagination and inspire people to action.