Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce need your attention

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's official: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce posted one of the most liked Instagram photos of all time. Also, they're officially engaged.

Swift and Kelce are no strangers to the spotlight, but we still know very little about their relationship aside from what they are willing to share. And Molly McPherson, a public relations expert, says that's no accident.

In this episode, Brittany returns to a conversation she had with Molly back when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce first started dating, and Brittany and Molly discuss why Swift and Kelce need your attention to fuel the business of their relationship and meet stakeholders's (from fans to the NFL) wants and needs. Plus, Brittany and Molly get into how you can use Swift and Kelce's strategy in your own life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from 48 hours. The seemingly random murders of a beloved couple left the
0:06.0	town of Davis, California, paralyzed in fear. Join correspondent Aaron Moriarty for 15 inside the
0:12.5	Daniel Marsh murders, available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:19.3	Hello, hello. I'm Brittany loose, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.
0:35.9	You know why we're here. Let's just come out and ask it.
0:39.4	Molly, are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey in a PR relationship?
0:42.8	Yes.
0:43.5	That was fast.
0:44.7	But there is a follow-up question to that.
0:47.8	Is it also a real relationship?
0:52.3	For all you longtime listeners, you may remember I asked public relations expert Molly McPherson that question back in the fall of 2023 when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey started dating.
1:04.2	Fast forward to last Tuesday.
1:06.3	In one of the most liked Instagram posts of all time, Taylor and Travis announced they are officially
1:12.5	engaged. But does that change Molly's answer? Are Taylor and Travis still in a PR relationship?
1:19.2	Well, here's what she said on TikTok. I stand by it. This is going to be the biggest PR marriage.
1:24.9	This will be like a PR marriage of a lifetime. Think about the album sales.
1:28.5	Think about the podcast when it comes out. Oh my gosh. The brands. Think, oh my gosh, the wedding.
1:34.4	Oh my gosh, the money. The money, the money. Molly McPherson is a crisis public relations manager
1:39.2	who has for a long time analyzed celebrity PR moves. The definition of public relations is the mutual benefit between an organization and
1:48.8	its stakeholders.
1:49.6	So in other words, an entity and their audience.
1:52.6	So for Taylor, it's Taylor's fans.
	...

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