A Sowdens seasonal send-off… and looking to 2021

We give our 2020 lowdown as Sowdens lock up for the Christmas season, and look forward to a new marketing chapter in 2021.

If we can all agree on one thing this year, it’s that 2020 has been less It’s a Wonderful Life, and more Nightmare Before Christmas! And what better reason is there to have a good bask in the spirit of the yuletide season, and go out on a festive high.

It’s important to always smile

At Sowdens we’ve been making the most of Christmas. From decorating our home offices, sending doorstep deliveries to donning the funniest festive jumpers for #ChristmasJumperDay. As an agency we always try to look on the bright side of life (even if we didn’t get to have our usual Christmas party!!) and in business and marketing, everything is an opportunity, so we’re looking forward to a new chapter in 2021.

The Christmas spirit of 2020

Bringing the year to a close full of optimism and merriment sounds like a fitting strategy to us. But it also got us thinking about how we’ve raised our spirits in the face of adversity, how we’ve adapted, grown and formed stronger bonds than ever, reassessed and adapted to new and unfamiliar ways of working.

And it goes without saying that for many people, this year’s brought more than its fair share of challenges. But we’re all about ups, not downs, and this year the Sowdens team have got quite a few ups to be thankful for as we look back on the last 12 months.

Here’s a few things we’re pretty proud of…

Responsive marketing and communication strategies during a global pandemic

Being agile, strategic and creative to help support our clients on a wide variety of marketing campaigns during the ever-changing Covid crisis:

• Helped deliver the first-ever global online graduation ceremony for Hull York Medical School – which went live without a hitch!
• Launched a mass-market Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the Humber for healthcare clients the City Healthcare Partnership
• Achieved over-subscribed application figures for four virtual Open Events for education marketing clients across Yorkshire
• Spread national positivity for emergency-response key workers with an engaging internal comms strategy for APD Communications
• Helped regional businesses access vital Covid support through a targeted digital marketing campaign for the Humber Business Growth Hub
• Delivered a clever and cost-effective social media campaign to attract delegates to a series of flood resilience webinars for the Flood Innovation Centre

Growing our capabilities as an agency

Since January we’ve welcomed five brilliant team members through our virtual doors, including new experts in digital marketing, setting the stage for even more opportunities in 2021. These new faces have been a great help for our collective sanity too, creating fresh opportunities for conversation and even more team camaraderie.

Kick-starting the build on our brand-new home

But the big news has been that we’ll soon be moving into our new home, designed and developed just for us. A stone’s throw away from our previous offices, renovations are well underway and the new space is beginning to take shape, sparking a new chapter in our 40-year history as we look to the next 40 years and beyond.