Ian Johnson, Class of 1986

Ian left Trinity in 1986 to study English literature at the University of Leicester. He was actively involved in the drama club at school and performed in many school productions. He wrote, directed, and produced the winning house play in 1986 for Canterbury.

He is the founder and Managing Director of IJPR, a PR agency for some of the biggest TV shows in the world.

In his previous work at the BBC, Ian was Head of Publicity for Drama, Entertainment, and Film from 2001-2004 and was Head of Special Projects in Publicity from 2004-2006.

Can you tell us about your time at Trinity and how it influenced your career path?

I joined Trinity in January 1980 aged 13. It had never occurred to my parents that an independent school would be a possibility as no-one in my family sent their kids to public school. It was only after the Surrey County Council ran a scheme for “bright” kids to get subsidised to go to fee-paying schools that they became aware of bursaries and scholarships. I won a full bursary, based on my dad’s income, and joined a term late in the first year.

I have to say that I largely loved being at Trinity. In retrospect, it was a perfect place to both flex my creative muscle and have some discipline to get up to speed on the subjects I was less focused on. I was always on the lookout for something exciting to do, which could get me into trouble, but I now realise the incredible privilege of having the support, budget, and space to experiment with photography, sculpture, drama, or writing for the school magazine.

I was something of a pop obsessive, reading from Smash Hits to assembled classmates in the corridor and going to gigs in Croydon and beyond when we were (almost) old enough to do so. I’d always wanted to be a music journalist since the age of 13, and it was the creative freedom and encouragement I experienced at school that allowed me to go to university, continue with my extracurricular activities, and ultimately have the confidence and belief that I would work in the creative industries in some capacity.

You were involved in drama productions during your time at Trinity. How did this lead to your involvement with the Mitre Players?

I had an incredibly supportive drama and English teacher in Walter Swan. I found out recently that he had passed away and never got the chance to say how important he was to my education and development. He was funny, enthusiastic, and creative, and he knew just how to harness a pupil’s ideas and steer them towards something more concrete. He directed me as the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist (a part some would say I was born for) and, from my recollection, one of the other cast members was also a member of the Mitre Players, which is how I ended up joining.

The Mitre Players are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Can you share some of your favourite memories from your time with the group?

I was in the chorus of Mr Cinders (I can still sing the score to this day), and just before the opening night I decided to bleach my hair bottle blond. It didn’t really work (even though the hairdresser friend who did it has just been nominated for a BAFTA!) and I had a Belisha beacon orange hairdo that didn’t really fit with the period costumes...

You became the second Trinity alumnus to appear on Blind Date with Cilla Black in the late 1980swe want all the details!

The full story is that I went along because I thought it would be funny. They then offered to pay my expenses to come down to London from university, and all I could think about was how to get to London for nothing and then keep the money! When I turned up, there was an improvisation, with my old English and drama teacher from school, Walter Swan, in charge.

I then went back to do my finals, and the day after they finished, I received a call asking me to go back to London. I thought it was another rehearsal or improvisation and I turned up in the clothes I was standing in, only to realise I was going to be on the show. The next morning, I was flying to Florida. They’d asked me to bring my passport, but I didn’t think I would actually be going anywhere.

Can you tell us about the challenges and highlights of founding IJPR, and what inspired you to start your own PR agency?

I didn’t really give much thought to setting up an agency. I was leaving the BBC after five years as head of drama and entertainment publicity, and it just felt like the right thing to do to allow me to get back to being hands-on with PR campaigns for TV shows rather than being a manager. From there, it just grew, and a lot of the executives who I had worked with at ITV and the BBC were setting up their own indies. Shows like Call the Midwife, Wallander, and Rev were all being made by people I enjoyed working with, and they wanted a safe pair of hands to look after the publicity for the series in the UK and internationally. That coincided with the new government tax incentives for high-end drama and the rise of streaming platforms, so producers had the budget to make shows like The Crown, Killing Eve, Sherlock, and His Dark Materials. It’s all been quite organic, and I’m lucky to have clients who have stayed with me for several years.

How do you balance creativity and strategy in your work as a PR professional?

With difficulty. I veer towards creative ideas and implementing them on a global scale with multiple stakeholders can be a challenge. Often, it’s easier to be innovative and creative when a small number of people are involved. The Killing Eve key art photo with Jodie Comer putting Sandra Oh into a headlock was an idea dreamt up by myself and the executive producer. We got Phoebe Waller-Bridge on board with the idea and just ambushed BBC America at the marketing shoot with it. Probably the most memorable and effective photo-shoot I’ve ever been involved with.

How do you stay up to date with the ever-changing world of media and communications, and what advice would you give to someone starting out in this field?

Ravenously consume the medium you are involved with. If you want to work in TV, you need to be fully immersed in it. I love working in TV and with writers, directors, and actors. Going to see a play or film written or performed by someone I am working with isn’t work; it’s fun. And as much as it’s important to stay up to date with the latest TV or technology, there’s also space to keep your eyes and ears open for interesting things happening in theatre, opera, or pop music. Being open to new ideas is everything.

Can you share a particularly challenging or rewarding project you’ve worked on during your time at IJPR?

A challenging project was being given five weeks to launch the TV station London Live after a previous agency pulled out. The team never quite forgave me. Rewarding work has included being involved in Killing Eve from the very first read through to becoming an international success. The Crown probably encapsulates the most challenging and rewarding. When you’re having to deal with a global news story about the gender pay divide on the first series, it can be quite difficult to manage. But a few months later, you’re watching it win Golden Globes and BAFTAs.

How has the PR industry changed since you founded IJPR, and how do you see it evolving in the future?

It is now very much a global job, rather than being restricted to just the UK. The budgets for promoting series on Netflix or Apple are significantly bigger than when working for the BBC or ITV. And yet, sometimes working for a big streamer can diminish the personal creativity that makes the job enjoyable. In terms of evolving, we are currently working on a new project to ensure that broadcasters and streamers can still reach younger viewers and let them discover new shows. Young people love watching TV, but they have often never even heard of traditional media outlets like the Radio Times, and they use social media to find all their content. Watch this space.

What’s next for you and your company? Do you have any exciting projects or plans in the works?

Inevitably, we’ve started to move further towards social media than traditional print publicity. Getting the cover of the Radio Times or Sunday Times Culture is still important, but younger viewers are increasingly using social media to discover TV content. Ultimately, we come up with ideas to bring an audience to a show, whether it is through radio or TV appearances, magazine covers, or talent interviews, and social media is the new frontier.