It’s been one hell of a year!
As we get ready to turn out the lights on 2020, there’s one thing we can all agree on: it’s been one hell of a year!
It seems like such a long time ago now that we were sat enjoying a last beer outside the Millowners Arms near our studio in Kelham Island, and pondering the impending lockdown.
At the time, we were thinking that this would all blow over sooner rather than later, and it would be back to ‘business as usual’ before too long. How wrong we were. Little did we know, the two cancelled exhibitions we had been working on (in Dubai & Koln) were the first sign of things to come here in the UK.
Branding pitches, project launches and website projects were all postponed, many of them until 2021. But we know we’re not alone in that – like so many other industries, creative agencies have been hit hard during this pandemic.
We were lucky really. In between the Joe Wicks workouts (and his extensive geography lessons), homeschooling, painting rainbows, banana bread, queuing at supermarkets, sanitising everything in sight and endlessly washing our hands, we thankfully managed to keep our business running remotely.
We are eternally grateful to have several clients who fought their way through this - some of whom we actually still managed to see during the summer months.
We were thankfully able to complete various photography, video, branding, animation, website projects alongside marketing literature and product catalogues. We’ll share more detail on those projects in the new year.
We helped our clients think differently about their marketing, and brought some innovative ideas to life, including:
• A virtual map to showcase our client’s new manufacturing facility remotely
• A rewards brochure to recognise the hard work of hospitality staff during strenuous times
• A series of informer videos to promote product ranges across social platforms
We of course had the inevitable technical hitches as we all tried to get used to Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams meetings but joking aside, they’ve been a great tool to help us through this.
Another godsend has been Gaard café, below our studio. When we did make it into the office, they provided much-needed sustenance and a socially-distanced chat. It was great to see a steady stream of customers through their door. Now, more than ever, it’s so important to support our local independent businesses.
2020 has also involved a fair few celebrations along the way. Our Creative Director, Stephen Delaney got married, with a (mini) socially-distanced ceremony (part 2 to follow!)
Another of our Directors, Chris Hudson MBE, was delighted to be crowned the Master of The Worshipful Company of Pewterers in London.
And last but not least, we celebrated 4 years in business on the 1st August, thankfully during a time in the summer when things were a little more relaxed allowing us to meet up and celebrate.
We’ve experienced both highs and lows this year but we’ve also learned some valuable lessons along the way which will undoubtedly help our business thrive and move forward.
As for next year, we’ve already got some exciting ideas and plans in the pipeline, and we’re ready to take on the world when it (fingers & toes crossed) finally reopens....hopefully followed by a celebratory end of week beer outside the Millowners Arms once again?
