2024: We persevere
I really enjoy summarising my years with a keyword. It helps me to encapsulate everything that’s taken place and sometimes allows me to be aspirational. 2024’s keyword is perseverance.
It hasn’t been an easy year in many aspects, yet we continue. Like many, living in such a turbulent world has left me questioning my contribution to society and how I can do good. Part of that, in 2024, has been considering what communication can mean.
Marketing is usually associated with selling products, but when our planet is dying due to over-consumerism, is that an ethical industry to work in?
The answer can be yes. Yes, by pivoting to work with brands driven by purpose. It's better to lift up a charity needing to improve fundraising than back a fast-fashion brand producing waste. Yes, by focusing on communication over marketing. Encouraging people to come together instead of being driven apart.
And here, we come back to perseverance. My goodness, you have to persevere to succeed with an ethically driven business. The more that we become separated and ostracised from each other, the more words like kindness and community feel radicalised, and the more we must continue to uphold them.
Sounds pretty deep for a brand strategist, right? But I truly think we are responsible for looking out for each other, regardless of our career paths.
And with that in mind, let’s get down to business. Here are some of my highlights of 2024.
Bits and bobs
You did what?
Sometimes, when I speak to people, they say, “You really do some unusual things in your job,” and that award this year goes to a conference stand I made with Chairsyde.
Chairsyde creates state of the art technology that improves patient education so they can understand their treatments and make better decisions about their oral health. Their challenge for the stand was to create something that created a real impact in the room, building brand equity while offering an experience people would walk away from remembering. We created the story of an overwhelmed dentist struggling to tell the story of his patients’ treatment needs through hastily scribbled papers. On the conference journey, he and any visitors were introduced to Chairsyde as the solution. It was something different, experiential and fun for people engaging with the conference.
Wrapping my head around Web3
I love new technology, so when Europe’s leading web agency Flight 3 took me on as brand strategist for a few months, it was a really exciting opportunity to flex my strategic muscles to understand the future of tech. Web3 is a space where good quality brands have only recently infiltrated, meaning many products (such as cryptocurrency) are cast in a confusing light with negative connotations. I learned a lot during my time there, particularly about how much digital currency can help underbanked nations spend more securely. I am looking to understand brands who are trying to carve out a niche in Web3 that genuinely benefit the world, and I think (and hope!) there’s a place for them.
Helping individuals get started
One of my favourite things this year is the influx of freelancers looking to better communicate their business. There’s loads that can be done with a small budget, and these journeys have brought me great joy. From Holly Ball, a brilliant career coach who is now smashing social media, to Jess Donn, who will be launching their brand JSD in the new year, this work has been super rewarding.
Looking to the new year
You’ll notice my website is being cleaned up a bit at the moment as my lovely collaborators and I refine our messaging and consider what we will do in 2025. As we frequently collaborate, we’re taking a ‘pick and mix’ approach to 2025, where we collaborate on projects that really bolster our skill sets.
New year, new you
I’ve just launched the first Pen and Think product, a strategic planner for 2025. This is an opportunity for you to look back at the year that has just passed and think about your goals. It uses much of the methodology I use with businesses when looking at evolving their brands—and it’s reduced to a fiver! A pound from every transaction goes to Medical Aid Palestine. So look to a better future for yourself, support a small business, and better the world.
The Creative Hour
What most of my creative friends have in common now is a lack of time to come together and create their stuff. With slashes to budgets left, right, and centre, many of us are in survival mode and don’t get to offer our work the time it deserves. So I’ve set up The Creative Hour - a space for people to come together once a week and create - whether that’s writing, drawing, or pottery! Come along to our Zoom, let us know what you’re up to and off you go!
