268: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce: Dissecting the PR Relationship Rumors - My Definitive Take

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce: Dissecting the PR Relationship Rumors explores the theory that their relationship might be a strategic PR move (or not) by comparing it with previous relationships Swift has had, and discusses the mutual benefits and implications for both their careers.

The episode also explores: 

1. The fascinating nature of PR relationships and how they serve as strategic moves in the celebrity world. Ever wondered why certain celeb relationships seem to pop up out of nowhere? Now you'll have an idea. 

2. The NFL's attempts to woo the female demographic. Can a high-profile romantic link-up between Taylor Swift and a football star actually make the sport more attractive to women? It's a big question and this episode has  a unique perspective.

3. Finally, after all the questions, comments, and dragging - is Taylor's relationship with Travis Kelce genuine, timed for maximum publicity, or just a clever strategic move to further their brands and divert media attention?

In my PR Confidential Patreon page: BONUS: Decoding the PR Dynamics: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the Rio Tragedy.

Episodes mentioned:
267: Blind Gossip: PR Trick or Truth? With guest, TikTok's Kyle Marisa Roth
263: Celebrity Unplugged: Magazine Writer Vanessa Grigoriadis on Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, & Justin Timberlake

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Transcript

Speaker A [00:00:07]:

Is the latest buzzworthy romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey a true love story? Okay, I'm gonna do that. Over. Is the latest buzzworthy romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey a true love story or a PR masterpiece? My definitive answer that is, if you want to talk about it. Are you sure? Travis Private welcome to the Indestructible PR podcast. I'm Molly McPherson, your crisis communication strategist and your guide through the world of breaking news and popular culture. Join me as we analyze the juiciest moments to extract valuable PR lessons. Let's go behind the headlines this week, the number one comment, question, and reason for people attempting to ban my TikTok account, the Swifties. They take this question to heart.

Speaker A [00:01:05]:

Taylor and Travis, is it real or is it PR? I'm tackling a topic that has sparked intense debate among swifties everywhere, including TikTok, including my account. And that's the nature of the relationship between Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift. Now, some fans take exception to the suggestion that some make that it might be a PR strategy, and they passionately defend the authenticity of Swift's romantic life. So in this episode, I'm going to share my perspective on whether the relationship is a PR move or not. And also let's unravel the complexity and often misunderstood world of PR that is public relations. Let's explore what it really means. Let's talk about perception and why understanding what it means can explain why people analyze their relationship the way that they do. They meaning me.

Speaker A [00:02:07]:

All right. The definition of public relations now defined by PRSA, the Public Relations Society of America. I'm a member. I'm an accredited member, which means I had to take a test, and it was a very hard test, and you have to present things, and then you have to keep up with your education. You have to do a continuing education for years to keep this accreditation, which I have, not to mention my decades of work and what I do every single day. Okay, how is that for my bona fides? I feel, as someone who studies it and also has three daughters, that I am more than qualified to answer this question. So here we go. As defined by PRSA, PR is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.

Speaker A [00:02:54]:

If that sounds familiar, if you follow me, on TikTok, I did a post about the definition of PR, and I did it wearing a hoodie over my head, under my blankets. If that sounds weird, it was because I was tired, and it was a Sunday, it was football Sunday, and the Chiefs were playing that day. And I was watching, and I was absolutely ag with all the marketing and publicity and the posts and, oh, my gosh, my phone dinging all over the place. And I also know it wasn't a Sunday. I take that back. It was a Monday night because I was exhausted. Yes, because Sunday was football. But Monday was the day that all the reporters reached out to me.

Speaker A [00:03:41]:

It was constant. And reporters who I'm close to, like, they know my phone number, so they're just calling me. So I was inundated with Taylor and Travis, and I had so much work to do that day. I just said, nope, across the board, I cannot talk to anybody about this today. But then that night, I just couldn't take anymore. So I went to TikTok, and that's where I went into my hoodie and went under the covers and then gave my opinion on it. But I started it with the definition and these important words in it. Mutually beneficial relationship.

Speaker A [00:04:12]:

The podcast could end right there. If you want to stop listening, all you need to know is right there in those three words. But at its core, PR. It's about influencing, engaging, and building a relationship with your stakeholders, key stakeholders. It also contributes the way that an organization or a brand or a person is perceived. Now, I talked about this in a TikTok that I did over the weekend about Taylor Swift. Now, let's give perspective here. Now, here are some of the reasons that I want to go into answering the question, whether the relationship is PR or not.

Speaker A [00:04:55]:

I'm going to give a series of explanations here, and then at the end, you can determine if you agree with me or if you think I'm full of bunk, or maybe you've learned a PR lesson. Whatever it is, I would love your feedback on it as well. Just don't ban my account for the love. Come on. All right, so what I did is, on Sunday, the Chiefs bye week, they were not playing. That meant Travis Kelsey had to get on a plane and head down somewhere. So let's take a. It's Sunday.

Speaker A [00:05:32]:

It's a bye week for the Chiefs, the Kansas City Chiefs. That means Travis Kelsey is free to do whatever he wants to do. And what did he do? He got on. Let me have Travis explain it. Travis. Okay, so that's clip two. Now, I know you've heard all about what he was talking. Okay, I'm going to do that over.

Speaker A [00:06:00]:

Yeah, he went down to Argentina. And if you didn't know that Travis Kelsey went down to Argentina, you do not own or watch or listen to any form of media whatsoever. It was impossible to get away from that story. Absolutely impossible. You don't even have to be a Taylor Swift fan. You could not escape that story. That is the level of intensity surrounding this couple. And all of the buzz naturally led up to a moment.

Speaker A [00:06:30]:

It has to. That's what these types of moments, these zeitgeist relationship moments culminate to this. Take a listen. Oh, can you stand it? So Taylor Swift switched the words, and she was referring to Travis Kelsey, who was in the audience standing next to her dad. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's my age. It looked a little bit awkward. Now I want to talk about the dad for just a moment.

Speaker A [00:07:05]:

If you listen to my podcast last week or my interview with Vanessa Gregoriatis, I will include both in the show notes. Vanessa is a long form glossy magazine writer. She has interviewed countless celebrities. In the podcast, we discussed her interview with Taylor Swift when she was young. And she said in that podcast, she told me that family is a strategic family. Now Taylor Swift gets credit. I'll be the first to give it to her. She is the most strategic artist out there by far and away.

Speaker A [00:07:42]:

I mean, Beyonce, Jay Z, they're strategic. There's a lot of them out there who are very, very good, but no one bests Taylor Swift. She is better than anyone. But we cannot give all the credit to Taylor Swift. Her parents have been strategic from the very beginning. That's where it started. Taylor Swift learned it from her parents. They were strategic.

Speaker A [00:08:04]:

They moved, I think, from PA, I think. Yeah, because wasn't she a Jets fan? Moved from Pennsylvania down to Nashville to start her career when she was young and she was in high school down there. That's how young she was. So strategy, her career has been a conversation point for a long, long time. I also think, because now you're not going to hear this a lot, and I'm never going to say this on TikTok, I'm only going to say this here, but Travis. Travis, Taylor Swift moved when she was in high school and she was young. And you know how, like, big moments, you hear about this, like kind of good and bad, that people sometimes their maturity and their growth kind of stop at A level when something significant happens in their. I.

Speaker A [00:08:51]:

This is just my theory. I've not read it anywhere. I am the only person that I've ever heard think this theory. But I've been watching it. I feel that part of Taylor Swift's strategy and why she's so good at building this army. And as Kyle, Marissa Rotham, I guess last week said the Swifty Bureau of Investigations. Why she's so good at building this base. Because she can get into the hearts and the minds of a young teenager.

Speaker A [00:09:21]:

Because I think she still has so much of that in her. Not an immaturity that I am dunking on her and saying anything negative, but I think because she rose to fame when she was young, not to the height she is right now, but she was experiencing that level of professional maturity and songwriting and recording and just navigating Nashville and the music industry. You have to be really savvy to do that. In a way, it almost stunted a part of her maturity that she still can connect to that. And I've always wondered, did she date when she was in high school? I don't think she did. And was she able to have a lot of friendships and do a lot of normal things that normal teenagers do? I don't think she had that. And because that's missing from her life, I think that's a reason why she can tap into it so well. Does that make sense? And it's not an insult.

Speaker A [00:10:19]:

It's not to disparage her in any way. It means she was so focused on her craft and she was so focused on her career and her parents were as well, because they saw talent there that she still can grab onto that. And that's why the swifties connect with her so well. And romance and fairy tale romance and friendship bracelets, they're all a part of that kind of time period. So it all kind of feeds into it. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying there. Okay, so anyway, so now when we get into this kind of narrative about are her relationships real or not? Her relationships feel like a fairy tale sometimes. And that's what this Travis relationship is all about.

Speaker A [00:11:08]:

It feels like a fairy tale. Now, Swift has a history of public relationships. Go back to Joe Jonas, 2008. They dated for three months. He dumps her. She writes a song about it. Okay. John Mayer, she writes a song about it.

Speaker A [00:11:24]:

Jake Gyllenhaal, toothy tile from last week, writes a song about it, also gets a video about it. The Red Scarf. Remember the Red Scarf? Oh, my goodness. I did all the posts on that. I have been asked for years about Taylor Swift's relationship being real or not for years. But there is something about this Travis Kelsey, one that rings different. And the reason why is because there are so many other people and organizations involved. Now, before she was dating people like all these other Healy, you know, they're all people who are either musicians, they have their own careers in their own light.

Speaker A [00:12:04]:

Now, I think where the first time where people would talk about Taylor Swift being in a fake relationship or fomance was with the actor Tom Hiddleston. Like, if you google that, I think a lot of people know that that wasn't a real romance or maybe it was set up. There's also Harry Styles, some of those. So I am not the first person to bring this up. I mean, I'm far from it. Everybody's been talking about it. But this one with Travis Kelsey is different. Now, the intensity of it, just as an example of it.

Speaker A [00:12:30]:

So on Sunday, this past Sunday, I recorded a TikTok. I filmed it. And right now, a couple of days later, right now, it has 298.4 thousand views. I just want to make sure. Did you hear that? 298,000.4 views. When I wake up in the morning, it will be at 300,000 views. Now, I went into my bedroom to record this TikTok because someone was in my living room watching meet the Press, and I did not want to do a TikTok, not only in front of them, but I also didn't want to do it when the TV was on. So I went into my room.

Speaker A [00:13:13]:

But the problem was with my room is I had hard floors. So I went into my closet to record this. Now, 298,000 viewed TikTok. I didn't have notes or anything. I was just riffing because everybody was talking about Argentina and the karma and the song and Travis putting his hands up to his face and standing next to the dad. So this was a question that if you make someone makes a comment on TikTok, you can pull it and do a video. So here's the question verbatim, okay, quote, I don't understand why Taylor would need a PR relationship. She on top of the world right now.

Speaker A [00:13:53]:

Question mark. So I confuses me with an emoji shrug, end quote. All right, so I'm answering that question because I get it constantly. So I attempted to answer why PR relationships kind of exist by explaining PR. Now, I did not go on in this post and talk about how she's fake or manipulative, but I talk about how things are mutually beneficial. And one of the examples that I gave is when someone's in a relationship, and let's say it's like high school, and a girl gets dumped by the forward on a basketball team, and what are all her friends going to tell her to do? Okay, you have got to go out with that hockey player because he's better looking and he's a better athlete. And everybody knows that hockey players are better than basketball players. I'm just kidding.

Speaker A [00:14:50]:

Take that out. I don't even want to put that in there. So if all her friends are telling her to date the hockey player, how many times do you hear about that person dating the hockey player because they want to make the basketball player jealous? It happens all the time. Like, that's an example of a PR relationship. Now, it doesn't mean that the hockey player and the girl can't get on and have a great relationship, but there's a mutual benefit to those two getting together. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. Think about all your relationships. Think about the relationship that you're in.

Speaker A [00:15:23]:

What is the benefit about being with that person, being married to that person, dating that person, being a partner to that person? Is there something that's mutually beneficial to it? Right. And is it something that affects your life or your job or how people perceive you? There's nothing wrong with being in a relationship like that. It's just seeing the benefit of dating someone else or being with someone else or marrying someone else. So this post, 298,000 views. So I guarantee you by the time this podcast happens, it's going to be well over 300,000. Now, what's funny about it? Some of the comments in here, most of them agree with me. For example, this relationship has felt meticulously crafted and wildly performative, especially coming from someone that formerly said they wanted to stay private. That would be Travis.

Speaker A [00:16:15]:

Kelsey, if you don't know why she's in a PR relationship, the PR is working. I like that the PR keeps her front and center. As Grammy voters votes, it matters. I'm going to come back to that. Know PR doesn't mean fake, but it does mean beneficial. And I think the relationship is incredibly, mutually beneficial. Thank you, Shannon Thomas, for saying that. That's exactly what it is.

Speaker A [00:16:40]:

Oh, actually, I believe Shannon was in my live last week and we talked about it. Also beneficial to all of us. Swifties. Absolutely. Living for them, so we all win. That is the perfect answer right there, Shannon Thomas. And I swear, Shannon, if you're listening to this, I think you were in my live and we talked about this. That is the nut of it right there.

Speaker A [00:16:57]:

So my post has 297,000 views. Okay. To it. I did this post in the closet because the sound was better, right? The acoustics were better. What's funny is how many people noted that I was in the closet and some were saying it in all caps like Molly is in the closet. What does this mean? Molly? Are you trying to tell us something? Because Taylor Swift has been accused. I don't want to say accused. I don't want to say that word.

Speaker A [00:17:26]:

But some people have speculated that she's, you know, a lot of lavender talk out there. That was big, I think, last year, if I remember correctly. So people were thinking that I was dropping like a digital Easter egg and telling people that I was in the closet, that I was gay because I was doing this post in the closet, which I got to tell you, I absolutely love that. You want to know why? Because that's damn clever. But no, I was in the closet because of the acoustics, and I am not gay because the person outside of the closet, who was sitting on the chair was a guy. And this guy happened to be watching Meet the Press. So on Meet the Press, if you want to get a sense of the power of media attention. So meet the Press, for example, puts out a press release touting that they're the number one Sunday news program.

Speaker A [00:18:26]:

So they're averaging. So look at the viewers here. Now, total viewers we're talking about, they average 2.7 million viewers in September. So that's the month of September. Now you're going to break it down. So in adults 25 to 54, it says, meet the Press average 493,000 viewers in the key adults 25 to 54 demo. And that demo is like a big advertising demo. So they want those numbers.

Speaker A [00:19:01]:

Now, they lead ABC by 58,000 viewers, which is nothing in TV land, and by 14,000 to CBS Face thE NATiON. Now, when you get into those types of small numbers, 56,000, 17,000. Okay, let's go back to what I said, my post from the closet. Now, I'm sure by the Time this podcast comes out, it's 300,000 views. Do you see the difference? Now, meet the Press. I mean, obviously it's a full program, but you see what I'm saying? So someone sitting in my living room is watching a television program, and they need to sell advertising. So they need as many viewers as they need. I'm getting the same views as television stations.

Speaker A [00:19:44]:

That is the power of social media. And I'm just riffing in a closet. And it was just a closet. So the media and public interest is crazy. Now, there's also this history of the public relationships that she had back in 2008. Joe Jonas, that was three months. John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, the Red sweater. Not the red sweater, the Red Scarf.

Speaker A [00:20:13]:

The video that came out in May 2017, Joe Alwinch. So she was him with him for a couple of years. And then Maddie Healy. That was in 2023. Do you know how many people asked me about Madie Healey? And was it fake or was it not fake? I mean, my goodness, there is so much there when it comes to her and guys who she dates because she ends up writing songs about them. She gets people talking about them. So now we're in this dating era, the era tour of Travis Kelsey. Now we have is a.

Speaker A [00:20:47]:

He plays for the Chiefs and he is. Oh, my gosh, what is Travis Kelsey? Travis Kelsey, I believe, is a tight end for the Chiefs. NFL. The NFL is all over this relationship. It's all over the relationship. His jersey, big time sales. He's getting ad deals, he's getting influencer deals. He has the podcast with the brother.

Speaker A [00:21:13]:

The game viewership has jumped all over the NFL. The NFL is jumping all over this. Their social media is all over it now. I mean, NFL games are already the most watched TV programs on anyway. Now, geez, it's like off the charts. Why does the NFL need to do this? The NFL needs to do this because they want the PR, they want women. They want more women to like football. They want more moms to like football because moms are usually the people in charge of their kids playing sports.

Speaker A [00:21:44]:

And a lot of kids are not playing football anymore because they're worried about injury, particularly head injuries, concussion. There's a lot of negative, negative, negative PR around that issue with the NFL. Something that they're dealing, you know, just behaviors, injuries on the field. The NFL is really trying to escape that. So what better way to do that than to bring more people, more women into the fold? Also, they're trying to bleed into Europe now. They look at the money, know all the soccer. Well, technically, football over the. A lot of people in the US, my goodness, my son Conor, the amount of money I've spent on jerseys and merch for his Celtic and arsenal, I mean, that is a US sport.

Speaker A [00:22:35]:

European soccer is a US sport. Definitely. The NFL wants to see that same return. That's why the Chiefs were in Germany. That's why the Patriots and the Colts were in Germany last weekend. And also when the Chiefs were in Germany. The press calls I got from Germany, all these reporters wanting to talk to me about Taylor Swift. I did not have it in me.

Speaker A [00:22:57]:

And I did not have it in me because I didn't take German in high school. I took French. So both languages don't serve purposes for me as well. Okay. So that NFL piece is really valuable. Also, there was someone in my DMs on Instagram. I read this today, and she provided a really good summation of the NFL and why they want to jump on board of this whole Taylor Swift thing. So she was touching on the PR relationships, and really, what do people have to gain? And that's the question that comes up.

Speaker A [00:23:38]:

Like, why does she need PR? She's on top of the world. PR is about perception. It's not advertising. Advertising is paid marketing is, like, the process and the planning of advertising and campaigns, and you can tie it around PR if you want. Like, sometimes I do. I have clients do marketing around PR issues. But that's different. PR is not about selling tickets.

Speaker A [00:24:09]:

It's not about selling albums. PR is about perception. So Taylor Swift getting all this buzz when Grammy voting is happening. Buzz. Okay. She is living on the top of the world. Right know. And I love what I'll call her, Sean.

Speaker A [00:24:33]:

I'll give her first name because I have to give her due because let me read what she said. So my understanding of the swifty problems with this is if it's a PR relationship or she gives three points. One, she wouldn't do that to her fans. There's too much trust and she wouldn't break it. Great point. Absolutely. She would not manipulate her fans. Two, what does she have to gain? She's already at the top, and she doesn't want more fame.

Speaker A [00:24:59]:

Great point. Get it all the time. And three, she's at the top, so she's finally living freely and gives zero F's on what people think. Love that. Thus the public kiss, which is what she did with Travis when she ran off the stage and jumped into his arm. And four, it's real, so it can't be PR. Both can't be true. So she brings up that point, right? That's the big Swifty conundrum.

Speaker A [00:25:19]:

So Taylor Swift, she is brilliant. So the question that she has for my podcast is this. What is the definitive payout for her? Okay? And that is a very, very good question. What is that definitive payout? And this is what I think it is. And it all comes down to this. I believe that Taylor Swift is in a public relations relationship. I'm saying it definitively, definitively. If she weren't in a PR relationship, she would be dating her local grocer or someone she went to high school with or a contractor or someone nobody knows and nobody would ever know about it.

Speaker A [00:26:08]:

And she would say, I keep my private life private. That's just it. That would be it. Okay, so every relationship you're going to find, what's the benefit of dating someone now, again, anybody can be in a PR relationship. It doesn't have to be Taylor Swift. Anyone dating can be in a PR relationship. Anyone. If there is a mutual benefit between you and that other person that comes out of it, that's PR.

Speaker A [00:26:36]:

If two people are together and people look at that couple and go, wow, that's a Couple, that's PR. There are people who get together and think, wow, we compliment each other because me knowing you, this helps me, and you knowing me, this is going to help you because people are going to think, oh, my gosh, you're dating a great person. The other person is going to say, you're dating a great person. That's all PR. All of it is. It's no different. That was my post in the closet. That was my post in the closet to say, we all think like that.

Speaker A [00:27:10]:

We all live like that. Okay, I was in the closet because my mutually beneficial relationship was in my living room. Do you see? I'm no hypocrite. I am no hypocrite. You can be madly in love with people and still be in a PR relationship. I do genuinely think that Taylor Swift is absolutely gaga over Travis. Kelsey, is it love? I don't know. Could be in the limerance phase right now where everything feels like love, but she absolutely gives those vibes that she really, really likes Travis Kelsey.

Speaker A [00:27:47]:

I mean, why not? He's cute, he's a football player. He's popular, he's goofy, he's funny. Who wouldn't like the guy? Even his tweets are dopey, right? He's tweeting about squirrels and bread and Chipotle. When I first heard those tweets came out, I thought, oh, boy, this will be bad. But no, it's because Travis. Travis is such a simple guy. So I believe 100% that she absolutely loves this guy. But the indicators of the PR strategy, her relationship with him, is perfectly timed.

Speaker A [00:28:19]:

All these milestones in her relationship are synced up to things happening in her relationship. Like the heiress tour. That was all summer. I'm sorry. I believe tree pain. Her. Someone came up with, we need you to date someone in the fall who is going to be most beneficial for you to date in the fall. That people are going to love.

Speaker A [00:28:39]:

What happens in the fall? The Olympics. No, she doesn't want another artist. There was a writer strike. There was the SAg. I mean, that was like a summer thing. But there aren't movies out, so that type of celebrity wasn't going to do her any good. She had to do something that was active in the fall NFL. Let's look out there.

Speaker A [00:29:02]:

Who's single? Who wants brand recognition? Who can play the game? Who looks good? Who's safe? Who's got all of it? Well, let's go to Kansas City. Let's go in the heartland. Let's find Travis. Kelsey. He's perfect. So the whole. Well, okay, wait. Okay, good.

Speaker A [00:29:23]:

Okay. Sorry about that. I was going to go to something else. Okay. I mean, the friendship bracelet. Come on. Come on. Now, that could have been think.

Speaker A [00:29:39]:

I'm sorry. I still think it was cooked up by publicists saying, hey, I got someone that might work out. I'm going to reach out to their publicist, which is Papia. Listen to last week's episode about Pia. Go ahead, listen to it. I think it was like a publicist to publicist type of relationship. It's like a setup. It's no different than hinge or bumble or people setting up other people.

Speaker A [00:30:05]:

It's okay. Doesn't mean that it's manufactured. It's people setting up other people do. I think that Travis Kelsey, on his own, just got a ticket to her show with a bunch of friendship bracelets to give to her, and that's how they met. No, come on. No one meets that way. But it's okay. I think it's a little stunty, but I still think there's something there.

Speaker A [00:30:27]:

Now, if you look at the timing of it still. So we have football, we have the heiress tour, but now we have a different swing of the Heiress tour right after she's been to a couple NFL games. The timing of everything. The NFL is gaining so much from this. We have the Super Bowl. We have everything leading up to the Super Bowl. We have the Grammy knobs. We have so many things happening strategically, and that's always what happens with Taylor Swift.

Speaker A [00:30:57]:

If you look at the timeline of everything that she does, there's usually, like, albums, releases, whatever it is. Even Jake Gyllenhaal and the Red scarf in the video, the red album came out. So now she had to resurrect the Jake Gyllenhaal thing. Now, she wasn't dating him, but she still was using that relationship. She's been doing this for years, writing songs about guys. Whatever it is, she uses love and relationships. The good and the bad. The bad boys.

Speaker A [00:31:27]:

The good boys. The only one that I think might be a little. That probably wasn't, but no, even this one. Connor. Connor Kennedy, Conor, the only way to spell it. I remember when she started dating Connor Kennedy. That was an unusual I thought, hmm, she's trying to get into the Kennedys, but Connor Kennedy's just like a regular kid. RFK's son, Junior son.

Speaker A [00:31:54]:

But that was the time that she bought the big mansion in Watch Hill in Rhode Island. But she's done this forever. Okay. So I think that there is strategy behind that. Okay. And then also there is that fan engagement. I mean, we have all the swifties online. We have all the social media.

Speaker A [00:32:13]:

We have the podcast with the brother. We have the NFL changing the Twitter background. We have all the Taylor themed videos and social media content, not just from the NFL, but all the NFL teams. Even when she didn't go to the Minnesota Vikings, she wasn't going to the Vikings. It was getting chilly that weekend. Even the Vikings did posts about Taylor Swift, and that went viral. One of the games peaked to 29 million viewers. That's crazy.

Speaker A [00:32:42]:

So everything has strategy to it. Now, when we think about PR stunts, think about fomance. There's so many celebrity fomances out there, and I'm sure you're familiar with a lot of them. Like, a lot of celebrity couples. Some might be real, some may not be or know are just convenient. Like Harry and Meghan, for instance. I mean, they're real. I mean, they're married and they're real, but they absolutely have crazy buz around them and Netflix deals and all this other stuff.

Speaker A [00:33:19]:

There's also, like, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde. They were likely a relationship. I mean, she broke up with then, but they were working on, don't worry, darling, together. And now they're broken up. But I mean, all the buzz around it. Even Jennifer Lopez and Ben affleck. I'm coming back to them later, by the way. There is more there, but JLO, oh, my goodness.

Speaker A [00:33:45]:

She only goes from people to people who can make buz around that. Like Alex. Oh, God, Alex Rodriguez, the worst. And not just because of the Yankees. But why does she do that? Because she gets buzz. Kim Kardashian with Pete Davidson. Those two are in love. Come on now.

Speaker A [00:34:05]:

Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker, who she's married to. They're married. They have a kid, but still they get a lot of buz around it. Even Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds. They're married. Love buzz. See what even going back to Hollywood times, like, if you think of the lavender, I had mentioned this, like, the lavender relationships go back to, or lavender marriages of, like, Rock Hudson. He was gay, he was homosexual.

Speaker A [00:34:37]:

But that could not come out in Hollywood. So the studios set him up with secretary, a woman who was employed by his agent, Phyllis Gates. And it was said that she had no idea that the marriage was anything other than legitimate. Oh, my gosh. Can you imagine? But this idea of beards or know these faux relationships have been around forever. That's different. Okay. That's not what I'm saying about Taylor Swift at all.

Speaker A [00:35:08]:

I'm not saying it's fake. I don't think it's faux, but I think it's beneficial. All right. There is a mutual brand enhancement from those two being together, but it also diverts media attention from other stories like Israel, Hamas, celebrities talking about it. A lot of people have asked Taylor Swift what she thinks about what's happening pro Israel. Do you support Israel? Do you support Palestine? Are you concerned about the human factor in Gaza? Is it more about the humanitarian crisis? That's Taylor. Anything? Nothing. She's saying nothing.

Speaker A [00:35:51]:

She doesn't have to say anything because everybody is so caught up with her. And Travis, the same thing about the flight. Know about how she's the number one celebrity who was considered to use the most fuel when she flew. How does she deflect that with all these other stories that she can clutter up the Internet and social media and discourse with all this other stuff? It keeps bad news away because everybody is so focused on her. So in the question that the Instagram follower had asked, what is the end game out of there? I think that's what the end game is. She gets so many uses out of these types of relationships. It keeps her from bad press. It keeps her from having to speak about issues that she doesn't want to talk about because she's too wrapped up in it.

Speaker A [00:36:46]:

She's too busy. She's also untouchable. She's deep into a box up at the Kansas City's game or the jets, whatever it is, you can't get to her. She's not doing interviews. Look at how much press she has. No interviews. None. None.

Speaker A [00:37:02]:

Travis Kelsey. He's on a podcast. Travis Kelsey. We kind of hear from them, but no one's really going to ask Travis Kelsey about Israel and Hamas and Palestine. I mean, they might, but then they got to ask everybody else in football and sports. Reporters aren't doing that because they're asking questions about football and Taylor Swift. That's the end game. There is so much to benefit when you're in a relationship like that.

Speaker A [00:37:27]:

So not just from a strategic point of view, but also financial point of view. My goodness. Ticket sales, album sales, Travis jersey sales, merch sales, his net worth, his dollar amount for being an influencer. It's all going up, up. Now, the twist that I think is, what's the end game for Travis Kelsey? Because I had said in the beginning of the podcast, like, I thought that there was something here. I believe that Taylor Swift is 100% in this relationship, and I believe that she is into Travis Kelsey. It's a fairy tale, right, for her. But Travis Kelsey, based on his tweets, I mean, not the brightest guy.

Speaker A [00:38:10]:

I mean, I'm not going to say he's not smart. I'm not going to say that that matters. He's charismatic. He's cute as can be. He's a great athlete, a little bit of. Somewhat of a checkered past, but just all around, I think everyone agrees he's a pretty good guy. And Taylor Swift, oh, boy. He had that guy vetted.

Speaker A [00:38:27]:

So she had that guy vetted. Bad things are not going to come out about this guy. We definitely would have heard about it by now, probably. But Travis Kelsey, I see him wanting to be like a Tom Brady level of a spokesperson, like a gronk. Probably more of a gronk. That's what he's going for. Because you cannot play an NFL forever. You can't.

Speaker A [00:38:50]:

And there's nothing to do after the NFL. I mean, you can do color, you can do commentary, but other than that, what are you really going to do? You could be an actor, I suppose some people. But you go into marketing, you go into influencing, you go into sponsorship. You get paid to show up places. That's what Travis Kelsey's after. Now, do I think he's madly in love with Taylor Swift? I mean, based on his previous dating experiences, doesn't seem like she's his typical gal, but I think he's enjoying it. I think he's having fun. I don't get vibes that he's madly in love, but he might go all in.

Speaker A [00:39:26]:

He might just marry her. He might just feel like, I got to get know. And there are worse people to marry in the world, right? Why not marry billionaire? So that's what I have to say about that. I think Taylor's all in, Travis. I think he's in. He's dancing around it, but it will be interesting to see. All right, so now, moving forward, what does this mean for you? I think as you look for any type of celebrity branding, anything that really I talk about on TikTok, if you follow. I'm always looking for the intent behind things.

Speaker A [00:40:01]:

That's why I love behind the headlines, and I love my Patreon is called PR confidential for a reason. I go off the record a lot there, by the way, too, because I like to speak in a more freer space, because, you know, anyone is at risk of being canceled at any time. But when you look at intent on people, that's what you want to look for. Like, why are they doing it? And there's plenty of reasons to do things, but not everything has to be black and white, because public relations. So if you're a swifty, you're listening right now. I'm with you. We both love Taylor. But remember, it's about perception.

Speaker A [00:40:40]:

Public relations is perception. And the end game is that Taylor SwiFT wants to be perceived as, like, the greatest artist of all time. The greatest female artist of all time. She wants to be Beatle, Marilyn Monroe, like, icon level. She wants to be an icon. That's the end game for her. She wants to do everything and be everything. And God love her.

Speaker A [00:41:03]:

Why not? Why not? And if she needs to date people to do it, I'm all for it. I'm all for love. I'm all for people being happy. So let's do this. So I just mentioned my Patreon slash PR confidential. I have a poll in there for the podcast. Do you think the Taylor Swift relationship with Travis Kelsey, PR or not? Yes or no? So head on over to my Patreon. Anybody can take the poll.

Speaker A [00:41:36]:

I will share it on my social media as well, and I will let you know the results. All right, everyone. In every episode, I like to leave you with one indestructible PR tip. It's that practical takeaway to help you build that indestructible reputation. And here it is in the world of celebrity, in the world of branding, in the world of people, in the public eye. If you want to get involved in the discourse of any of it, look beyond the surface narrative, because there's usually an underlying strategy. And if there is, it doesn't mean that the strategy is negative. Because if there's something that I want to dispel is that public relations is negative, because it's not.

Speaker A [00:42:25]:

Public relations is a practice. It's the practice of perception. Some people might use it for spin and negativity, but PR is very positive. It's proactive. It's publicity. It's pro, it's all the P's. So let's stop dragging PR people and stop dragging me while we're at it. We all have the same goal.

Speaker A [00:42:51]:

We all love Taylor. We all admire Taylor. We're all on board. I would love to see these two together because I love love. That's all for this week on the podcast. Now, be sure to chime in with your takes on social media. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and, of course, TikTok. But please don't report my account because you do not like my summation of Travis and Taylor.

Speaker A [00:43:16]:

And also, head over to PR confidential on Patreon. I'm going to have a bonus segment of the episode in my Patreon. So if you are listening to this, let's dive into the Taylor and Travis Kelsey just a little bit more. That's all for this week. Bye for now.