The PR team is enRiched: Meet our new PR Manager – Richard!

We are beyond excited to welcome our new Digital PR Manager to TAL Agency team! Overseeing big brand campaigns and working with our SEO agency team to lap up those links, Richard Greenwood joins us with a wealth of experience behind him. We threw some fun questions over to get to know him, and you won’t want to skip this… 

First (and honest) impressions of TAL Agency and everyone in it?

It feels like a really tight-knit group here at TAL Agency, and it couldn’t have been easier to settle in, thanks to all the guys here, from the top downwards. 

Describe TAL Agency in three words

Fun, focused, and friendly.

What did you do previously?

I’ve spent my entire career working in agencies, most recently, coming from a big agency in Manchester city centre. Across my eight to nine years in Digital PR, I’ve worked with a diverse range of B2C clients and industries, both big and small, with the likes of iGaming, travel, property and many others.

Thoughts on agency life so far?

I don’t know any other life. Moving to TAL Agency has been great following the pandemic, as they’ve been a supportive agency to move to. Having been used to brainstorms over Teams and all interaction through instant messaging, to be back in an office using whiteboards and actually talking to people is absolutely lovely.

So, what exactly do you do here?

So, I’m heading up the Digital PR output here at TAL Agency, and I’ve already been impressed with some of the work that’s been going on prior to my arrival. There are some really nice clients here, so some excellent campaigns are on their way. Watch this space…

What motivates you in your work?

Being part of the team. Nothing beats success as a group, and as I said, it seems a tight-knit group here, so I know good results are really going to be celebrated in style.

What’s the best part of your working day?

The best part of any working day is that feeling when you close your laptop at the end of it knowing you’ve achieved something. Whether that be being happy with a new proposal, a flurry of great links, or a fruitful ideas session. Job satisfaction, basically. 

What are you looking forward to at TAL Agency?

Firstly, I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and our clients a lot more. Secondly, the socials. I’ve heard they’re pretty good. So no pressure…

Who are your dream clients?

Probably Adidas. A brand with such a rich history across multiple sports would be an absolute dream. I’ve also had an idea that would be perfect for them for a number of years now. So even just to remove that from my brain and allow something new to enter would be a dream.

Who do you look up to in your industry?

Literally anyone who knows Excel functions inside out. I bow to your superiority. Now teach me!

Favourite TV show?

Only Fools and Horses. I’ve been obsessed since I was a kid, and I’ve even been to a convention. Getting to meet Boycie, Marlene, Mickey Pearce, Sid and Denzel was probably not every 15-year-old’s ideal birthday trip out, but it was for me, and as the great Del Trotter would say, “Fabrique Belgique.”

What does your work soundtrack look like?

It varies all the time, depending on what’s out at the time. At the minute, I’m absolutely caning Paul Weller after Fat Pop was released, recently. Even with his back catalogue, you can spend an entire day listening to his body of work, from his newest material, back through his solo career and The Style Council days; and then to The Jam. You can get almost every genre of music. Still waiting on the hip-hop though.

What’s one power you wish you had?

I wish I could make my football team win every week. Or maybe even just once a month would keep me satisfied. Such is being a Stalybridge Celtic fan though, that I have to put up with the once-in-a-blue-moon.

Have you ever met anyone famous? If so, tell us about it

I have met a few famous people. I have had a lovely chat over a beer with Colin Murray, a real hero of mine, but perhaps my most famous encounter is David Beckham ringing my house.

Becks was my hero as a child, and my uncle, David, also happened to be his bodyguard, so I have a number of birthday presents from him. However, he rang our house to speak to an 8-year-old me, but I was too shy, so I passed the phone to my mum.

My mum said, “Hello,” and Beckham in his soft, gentle voice spoke back. My Mum thought it was my uncle, David, messing around and proceeded to swear down the phone at ‘David’, calling him a number of names which are NSFW. It wasn’t my uncle and David Beckham never rang our house again.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A professional footballer. But not for Manchester United or Liverpool or Real Madrid. For Stalybridge Celtic. To be honest, it’s probably still a possibility.

What’s your favourite animal and why?

I’d probably go with a duck. Not entirely sure why.

Tell us something we don’t know about you…

I am a pretty avid collector of football programmes and have the best part of a thousand. All games I have been to.

What’s your brew order?

English breakfast tea, no sugar. A sliver of milk.

You’re having a dinner party with any three people from history, dead or alive, who do you invite?

Martin Freeman, Paul Weller, and a guy called Robin Friday. He was “the greatest footballer you never saw” and was an interesting character by all accounts. Story has it, he was once sent off for kicking Mark Lawrenson in the head, then on his way back to the changing room, went into the oppositions, where he relieved himself in Lawro’s kit bag. So I’d buy him a drink just for that.

You’re going to a deserted island, what three things do you take with you?

A cricket/tennis ball, a crate of beer, and a boat so I could sail away, once I got bored. 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Canal Boat Diaries. A night on the sofa, feet up, glass of red and good old Robbie working his way through the locks of industrial northern towns. 

Wait, you got presents off David Beckham?! Your uncle was his bodyguard? Well there you go, small world. Well, we hope our new Digital PR Manager (or Paul Weller mega fan) has settled in nicely, and we look forward to more exciting client campaigns to come!

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