Welcome Talia French, our fab new Digital PR Director

Thank you! I'm really pleased to have joined the team.

I started out in radio and broadcast journalism, working for some of the UK's most popular commercial radio brands including Heart, Capital and LBC. From there I moved into government communications and digital PR, before spending the last few years working in international global health, leading on communications strategy, campaigns and partnerships.

In a lot of ways, this role feels like it brings all those experiences together. I've always loved storytelling and understanding what makes people pay attention, whether that's listening to a radio show, engaging with a campaign, or supporting a cause.

I'm particularly excited about working alongside the incredibly talented people at Fresh Egg. It's rare to find a company where so many people have chosen to build long-term careers, and I think that says a lot about both the culture and the quality of the work.

One of the things that stood out to me was that Fresh Egg seems to know exactly who it is. A lot of agencies can try to be everything to everyone, but Fresh Egg has a really clear vision of where digital is heading and the role it wants to play in that future.

I was also genuinely interested in the conversations around Intelligent Experiences. There's a lot of noise in the industry now, but Fresh Egg's approach is thoughtful and practical rather than jumping on the latest trend. I really appreciate the idea of using AI to help people do better work, rather than replacing the people who make great work possible in the first place.

The culture was another big factor. The retention rates, the employee happiness scores and the emphasis on high performance all stood out. Ambitious people do their best work when they're trusted and supported, and that was something I picked up very quickly during the interview process.

The role itself was also a huge draw. Digital PR is evolving rapidly, and there's a real opportunity to help shape how Fresh Egg builds its profile, shares its expertise and contributes to some interesting conversations about where digital is heading. That's exactly the sort of challenge I enjoy.

I think Digital PR has grown well beyond being just a link-building channel.

At its best, it helps people discover, trust and remember a brand. It supports SEO, builds credibility and helps organisations demonstrate expertise in the areas they want to be known for.

I also think PR is becoming more important as the way people search continues to change. Whether someone is using Google, AI Overviews or asking questions through AI tools, brands need to be visible and understood in more places than ever before.

That's why expert commentary, trusted media coverage and genuinely useful content are becoming increasingly valuable.

I think there are some exciting opportunities around AI search and discoverability, thought leadership with substance and proprietary data. As more content becomes easier to generate, genuinely expert-led commentary, original research and unique insights are only going to become more valuable.

I also think there’s a growing opportunity for Digital PR to become more commercially integrated overall. The strongest agencies will connect PR directly to SEO, CRO, content strategy, AI visibility and measurable business performance, rather than treating it as a standalone function.

There are a few brands and campaigns that stand out to me because they're doing very different things, but all of them understand how to get people talking.

I really admired WWF's campaign highlighting the impact of illegal coffee farming on endangered wildlife. It combined investigation, powerful visual storytelling that showed gorillas, tigers and other animals hidden within coffee imagery, and a clear call to action. For me, it's a great example of Digital PR, using a compelling story to help people see a familiar issue in a completely different way.

More recently, I loved seeing how organisations responded to the AI action figure trend that exploded after a Forbes spotlight, with users uploading selfies into AI tools to create toy-box-style action figure portraits. Dementia UK did a great take, showing a box with a missing action figure. They demonstrated that you don't always need to create a campaign from scratch. Sometimes the smartest approach is recognising a cultural moment, finding a relevant angle and joining the conversation in a way that feels authentic.

Duolingo is probably one of the best examples of personality-led Digital PR. They've built a distinctive brand voice that people instantly recognise. What's impressive is how they've managed to become part of internet culture without losing sight of the business behind it.

What all these examples have in common is that they're memorable. Whether it's humour, emotion, creativity or cultural relevance, they're giving people something worth talking about and sharing.

I think the brands and agencies that are winning right now are the ones that own a clear story rather than trying to say everything at once. That's one of the reasons Fresh Egg's positioning appealed to me. The focus on Intelligent Experiences and helping clients create genuinely useful digital journeys gives the agency a distinctive perspective and a strong story to tell.

Some of my work has taken me to places I never imagined I'd end up.

I've spent time in remote communities in Africa, sometimes three or four hours from the nearest road, working with filmmakers, photographers and local partners to help people affected by neglected tropical diseases share their stories.

My role was often to bring the right people together and create the space for those stories to be told and heard. It was a real privilege to be involved.

What stays with me isn't the travel, it's the people. Many had faced extraordinary challenges and yet were incredibly generous with their time, sharing very personal experiences in the hope of helping others.

Song: Somebody To Love by Queen. An absolute belter. If that comes on, I'm singing whether anybody asked for it or not.

Podcast: Here Comes the Guillotine. Three very funny comedians talking complete nonsense in the best possible way. If you like Frankie Boyle, you'll probably enjoy it.

Playlist: Headspace Lobby. Even I need to stop talking occasionally and breathe in for four.

I briefly considered saying whichever egg generates the strongest engagement metrics, but truthfully, my favourite way to eat an egg, or any meal, is in good company.

Scrambled, fried, poached, boiled with soldiers... I'm not particularly fussy about what's on the plate. What matters to me is who's sitting around the table.

One of the things that struck me in my first week at Fresh Egg was being taken out for a team lunch and made to feel genuinely welcome. Great food is always nice, but it's the people you share it with that make the difference.

So, I suppose my answer is: any egg, as long as it's in the company of good people.

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