Emily Johnson

Emily Johnson

President
Taylor Johnson

This year marks a significant milestone for Emily Johnson as her firm, Taylor Johnson Public Relations, celebrates its 40th anniversary. By focusing solely on clients in the real estate industry, Taylor Johnson has created a legacy as the ultimate public relations authority on Chicago’s real estate scene, and is the go-to PR firm for real estate reporters as well as many national and international real estate companies.

Taylor Johnson was founded by Emily’s mother, Deborah Johnson, and for its first 30 years was primarily known for its work with private homebuilders. Today, while Taylor Johnson still has its very first client – Lexington Homes – the firm has expanded beyond homebuilders and is heavily involved in the commercial sector, too. The firm represents some of the Midwest’s most prolific apartments and condominium developers and operators, including Related Midwest, Fifield Cos., The Habitat Company, Draper and Kramer, Waterton and M&R Development.

“In an industry known for its ups and downs, real estate is ever-evolving, as is the media business — we’ve seen dramatic changes in how people receive their news over these past 40 years,” said Johnson. “During the last recession we saw clients cut back on advertising, but they stayed true to public relations and that commitment has paid off for them. The influence and third-party credibility that comes with PR is indisputable.”

Like many in the real estate industry, Emily was born into it, and would often tag along with her mother to grand openings. Emily still attends industry and client functions, but now Taylor Johnson also helps organize them through its event management department. The firm has also expanded its PR work to include social media services.

“Taylor Johnson has grown substantially since 1977,” she says. “We started with just two employees and a handful of local, private homebuilders. Now, we’re at 15 employees and growing, and we service more than 35 real estate companies across all sectors, securing them print, radio, TV, online and podcast news coverage at the local, national and international level.”

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