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2021, bring it on!
Phew! What a year it’s been. 2020 is almost over and here at The Think Tank, we’re all looking forward to a little festive break and a lot of festive food before we hit the ground running in 2021.
There have been plenty of things that will live long in the memory but – focussing on the highlights – we recall some of what’s been keeping us busy over the last 12 months.
JANUARY
If you’re anything like me, you’ll hardly remember last January. Back in that simpler time when most of the world had barely any inkling of the COVID maelstrom that was coming, The Think Tank were recruiting new team members (enter Ralph), winning new business and having lots of fun filming corporate videos for Oscar Acoustics.
FEBRUARY
In February we could still hug our grandmas (miss you, nan), enjoy a simple pint down the pub (sob) and squeeze ourselves onto packed commuter trains (don’t miss that so much). And speaking of nice, typical, expected things, The Think Tank picked up a nomination for Best B2B Digital Campaign at the Digital City Awards.
MARCH
Cue mayhem, childcare issues, virtual meetings and the popularisation of the phrase “YOU’RE ON MUTE!” Unfazed, The good ship Think Tank keeps sailing through choppy waters and picks up the first of many awards for our Asendia 7 Destinations campaign. Our clients are keeping us very busy, so we recruit Archit Chopra to help out in our PR department.
APRIL
April was eventful. We picked up another nomination for 7 Destinations (I might as well copy and paste that phrase); we flexed our PR muscles, prompting governmental action and helping to extract some stranded Brits; and we had lots of success with our wonderful client Shine.
MAY
Lots more recognition for our Asendia work, lots more new business (welcome One.site) and lots more great work out the door – including this campaign for Jackson’s Fencing and this whitepaper for OKI.
JUNE
The pandemic made conditions tough for most sectors, not least construction, where many of our clients ply their trade. Our PR director, Jo Wilmot, was asked to share her considerable wisdom and foresight on the subject in an NBS webinar. And Sticking with construction, we launched Leica Geosytem’s latest range of techy products. The other notable June highlight was the resumption of football for the UK’s top two tiers. OK, that doesn’t have much to do with The Think Tank but it did help us all feel a bit more normal.
JULY
By July, the debate was really raging as to whether or not COVID had proved that office space was obsolete. Working from home seemed to be working well for lots of companies. Seizing the opportunity to wade in and gain some valuable exposure for our client, Bishopsgate Financial, our tenacious PR department secured several high-profile interviews for the firm’s CEO, Mike Hampson. Meanwhile, we secured another batch of award nominations and celebrated our 27th birthday!
AUGUST
Come August, we’d normally all be flitting off on our sunny summer holidays. Alas, this was a year like no other. Four nominations at the Global Agency Awards and three at the UK Content Awards helped cheer us up no end.
SEPTEMBER
Our MD, Liam Bateman, was approached by BBC radio in September to provide an expert dissection of the government’s approach to messaging throughout the pandemic. Meanwhile, we helped Saint Gobain with two global product launches and (at the risk of sounding repetitive) picked up another 6 nominations, this time at the Global Marketing Awards.
OCTOBER
Nominations, nominations, (more nominations) and wins! Lots of wins. October sees plenty of recognition for all our hard (and brilliant) work, while Liam is once again called upon to share his expert insight; this time on how the latest recession is likely to change the media landscape.
NOVERMBER
Taking our tally to 39 for the year, we pick up another 5 nominations, this time at the Global Content Awards. We end up with 6 trophies in all, capping off a hugely successful year for the Think Tank. Busier than ever, we need more hands on deck so Michele Omini joins the team as Digital Account Director.
DECEMBER
And that takes us to December. The fun never stops and there’s no time to rest on our laurels as the RFIs, pitches and briefs keep rolling in.
I started this piece assuming it would be quite a quick thing to knock together… how wrong I was. It’s been a hell of a year.
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All that’s left for us to do is wish everybody warmest Season’s Greetings and a joyous, prosperous New Year.
We can’t wait to get going in January and help you reach new audiences and grow your brands.
2021 - bring it on.
Bye for now.
