Our highlights of 2018!
Is it that time already? The new year is just a couple of weeks away, so this seems like the perfect time to stop, take a breath and look back at the last 12 months. To do that, we asked our team to share some of their highlights of 2018.
While our ‘potatoes in tights’ challenge proved unexpectedly popular, in reality this has been a year full of fantastic project work and a whole heap of teamwork.
A big hello to Hastings and Facebook
This year saw us work on projects for two huge organisations. In the Summer, we began working on an extensive social campaign for Hastings Direct, and since early-Spring we’ve been working on and delivering a number of high-profile copywriting projects for Facebook IQ.
It’s always great to win new work and we’ve loved being able to test our mettle with two instantly recognisable brands. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put some case studies together soon to share more about the work we’ve done.
Animator in the house
Cara joined the team this year as our animator and it’s been fantastic to see her creating some top-notch work for clients. Working alongside Content OD stalwarts, Dave and Rich, we now have an in-house creative team producing stunning visual work that we are really proud of. It’s a big deal for an agency our size to be able to deliver the kind of video and animation work that we do.
“To end the year we got to see another of our animations for the NCA hit mobile screens (and national news!) This is latest in a series of difficult subjects we’ve tackled this year, but it’s also a creative piece that has connected with thousands of people over the past couple of days. And while that’s really important in marketing terms, it also means there’s a chance it will help someone, which is even better!”
Freelancer frenzy
At the start of the year, we made a conscious decision to work more with freelancers who specialise in their field. And it feels like it’s really paid off, as we’ve been able to react and be flexible as different work has come in to the business. The people we’ve collaborated with have been great too, breathing new life into projects and really adding to the office culture.
We come recommended
One of the most satisfying things for us this year was the number of projects that came our way via recommendation. When clients are telling other organisations that they should be working with Content OD, it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling and shows that we are doing something right. We’ve also seen internal teams spreading the word about our work, which has has led to more projects from specific clients.
“I’ve loved the variety of work we’ve done this year. In terms of format, we’ve written copy, created animations, produced video and much more. But topic-wise, we’ve also tackled diverse areas including sextortion, software, boilers, new homes, drug dealing, and big data. Quite the mix – it’s been great!”
Creating our own Clever Content
2018 was also the year we decided to start creating and publishing more of our own content. That started with the launch of a new website in March, followed by our first newsletter and podcast. It’s always tricky to balance this kind of work with client projects and we have certainly felt that challenge. But it’s also important that we are part of the content conversation and constantly learning.
If you haven’t read the Clever Content newsletter or listened to an episode of the Clever Content podcast yet, please do give them a try. They are a good way to learn about what’s going on in the content industry, but also to hear what we are thinking about and working on. In fact, you can sign up the newsletter right here and now using the form below 👇.
Looking forward to 2019
And so that’s almost it for 2018. Bring on the new year, when we plan to continue working with big-name brands and helping all our clients produce better content. We have a new Head of Digital joining in January too, who will strengthen our core team and ability to work on a wider range of projects. And I’m sure we’ll be creating even more Clever Content for you to read in your inbox or pop in your ears. Have a good break and see you on the other side.