Taylor Burke Communications, a boutique agency formed late last year by two veterans of the retail and fashion industries — Andrew Taylor and Robert Burke — is off to a running start.
The new firm, set up shop at 3 Park Avenue in Manhattan, has four clients from different sectors, and has formed an advisory board. The focus is on “strategic” communications, maintaining a selective roster of primarily fashion and luxury clients, and establishing “founder-to-founder” relationships whereby Taylor and Burke work directly with chief executive officers and founders. The firm lists its services as “digital-first, custom strategic solutions” including communications, public relations, brand storytelling, executive positioning, media and content creation.
“We want to be selective, really connect with brands, and we want them to have a strong identity and story,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to curate a collection of brands that have a compelling narrative, a strong heritage and unique qualities that could be crafted into authentic stories.”
“We have extensive backgrounds in the fashion and luxury sector. That is our sweet spot,” said Burke, adding that F&B and hospitality clients are also of interest. “We’re really looking at high-level communications and positioning. We’re not doing fashion shows. We’re not doing samples. If a client wants an event, we would advise on it but we wouldn’t produce it.” The agency also won’t be involved in damage control.
Taylor said the agenda involves developing seasonal and annual campaigns or “roadmaps” to bolster brand profiles, and strategies for how brands launch new collections that have been developed, as well as store opening strategies.
Taylor Burke Communications’ roster of clients includes the publisher Assouline, The Webster luxury retailer, Neapolitan tailor Cesare Attolini and Lalo Tequila. “We’re continuing to work on proposals with potential clients,” Taylor said.
The firm’s advisory board consists of fashion journalist and CFDA award winner Alina Cho, Wall Street Journal writer and author Teri Agins, and Edward Barsamian of the Michelin Guide Board and a former Vogue style editor. The board members will provide different perspectives on media and communications.
Taylor, a marketing and communications executive, has been on the board of Raise fashion since 2020. Recently he headed communications at the Neiman Marcus Group. Earlier, he was vice president of public relations and communications at Saks Fifth Avenue and before that, held the same title at Burberry.
Asked what strategic communications entails, Taylor said, “It’s really listening to the founder or the CEO to understand their business goals, their ambitions for the brand and developing a communication strategy that can help meet these goals. We would help them develop the messaging and the narrative to set them apart from their competitive set. We would identify media targets and story angles, and help them with those pitches and to secure the story and prep them for the interviews.…Our clients have a global footprint or have global ambitions. But you also [must] think through what that means at the local level, whether it be a key market like Los Angeles or Miami or London.”
While working with Taylor, Burke continues to operate Robert Burke Associates, which he established in 2006. It also operates out of 3 Park Avenue. Burke acknowledged that Robert Burke Associates and Taylor Burke Communications could share clients, furthering the growth of each firm.
Earlier, Burke served as the senior vice president of fashion and public relations for Bergdorf Goodman, where he was responsible for overseeing all luxury and fashion brands including women’s, men’s, accessories and decorative home. Prior to joining Bergdorf’s, he spent 11 years at Ralph Lauren in various managerial roles.
Burke said Robert Burke Associates does not handle communications or public relations. “We do business strategy for brands, or developments around the world seeking brands for their properties,” he said. “Robert Burke Associates continues to grow but one of the biggest requests from clients was for strategic communications. So Andrew and I saw an opportunity to create a boutique agency that’s very founder-led and more bespoke. Andrew and I have known each other so long, and I respected so much his reputation in the industry and his vast experience in communications and public relations. And so it was kind of a natural.”
“Robert and I have known each other for so many years,” Taylor said. “We have many colleagues in common and we became friends. Over the years, I would check in with Robert to get an idea of what was happening in the world of luxury and the world of retail and so we recently started to put our heads together to reimagine what a communications firm could look like, and we came up with this idea of Taylor Burke communications.”
