Thoughts on the end of a year (and the start of a new decade)

There have been some awe-inspiring events that have driven me to summarise the end of this year at CommsCo. Amidst a crazy 12 months’ political upheaval, we’ve been quietly – or rather, loudly – building the profile of our portfolio of scaleup companies, and that at least is something worth celebrating.
2019 saw us add some fantastic brands, from six-man teams who are building technology to change the way the world works, to some of the largest innovators in industry. What our most successful campaigns have in common is a fundamental belief in the value of PR we can jointly create, and a dedication to building a story together. Sadly, it’s rarely a surprise when partners who keep us at arms’ length, as a supplier and not an extension of their team, don’t work out in the long term.
Our clients’ businesses and their success matter to us. If we pledge to deliver something, we will; and if we need to work together to change and improve things, then we see this as the next step and embrace the challenge eagerly. If a client has a business development challenge, that becomes our joint objective. Because their success is our success, and of course this is no more keenly felt than in scaleup businesses, where investment needs to deliver. We take our commitments very seriously indeed; although that’s not to say we don’t enjoy the ride.
It’s this magical mix of clients that value what we provide and the passion we share for their business which are the ingredients of success. It may sound obvious, but if I would advocate one piece of advice to industry, it would be to work in partnership with your agency. You just might see them do and give more than you signed them up to do because they feel motivated to do so.
We recently started working with a client who was so thrilled with the results they messaged me personally to “buy the team a round” on our agency festive trip to Ghent. What a lovely touch. Thank you to clients like this. It makes us love our jobs more than we already do.
And we really love our jobs. We really have a team of fantastic professionals here at CommsCo. I would say that they genuinely enjoy and relish the challenge (and the results), and working with one another. Of course, I would say that, but I know their hearts are in the work they do, and the prove it day in, day out. I’m as proud of all the new additions this year as I am of the team leaders – we seem to attract like minds. And I’m grateful to our freelancers who just feel like part of our team and our culture. They all inspire me and make daily work a joy over a grind.
What does 2020 look like? Well, agency life always has its bumps in the road and peaks and troughs, but I feel this coming year we have the team and tenacity to tackle any challenges the political environment throws at us. We have the team and customers to succeed, and we have some of the best advocates in the scaleup industry.
To both them, and our clients, I would say a heartfelt thank you, we find you inspirational to work with, and are committed to your success in 2020. Let’s make it a year to remember.