2021 has been a vintage year for Always Be Content.
So, indulge us while we get comfy in our favourite chair, put our slippers on, and reminisce. From winning awards and bringing in new clients to publishing a book, there’s a lot of enjoyable moments for us to look back on. Join us and take a trip back in time with our 2021 highlight reel.
The second wave of the Covid pandemic was taking its toll at the start of the year. The North West of England was badly hit and youngsters were often being blamed. We were tasked by a coalition of the NHS and 9 local authorities to develop a strategy to help encourage covid compliance and vaccine uptake among young people.
Our campaign ‘Spread The Facts’ used highly targeted digital media and achieved a 20% click-through rate. In the wake of the campaign, Covid rates among young people reduced by 42%. This is even more impressive when you consider that over the same period, Covid cases in the public fell by only 32%. Especially when all the evidence suggested young people would fare worse. These results didn’t go unnoticed, with the campaign being nominated for a number of awards.
In May, the agency picked up several nominations at The Marketing Society’s Star Marketing Awards. We also helped support numerous awards and events throughout the year as proud creative partners of The Marketing Society. It’s always a pleasure to be involved in such events and play our part in supporting Scotland’s vibrant marketing community.
At Always Be Content we subscribe to a sustainable philosophy and believe we can create a better future for our planet if we act now. That’s why in August we published ‘Dare to Care’, a book all about how doing good helps business do better. It featured a host of compelling case studies and in-depth analysis of how sustainable practices can increase profit margins. With the COP 26 summit taking place in Glasgow only a couple of months later, it was a timely intervention that garnered much positive feedback from those who delved into its pages. The book is now sold out, but you can check out the online version here
The start of September also saw members of the team ‘Take on 21’ for Edinburgh Business Beats Cancer, which our co-founder and Content Producer Lou Kiddier is a board member of. The challenge saw us climb the 7 hills of Edinburgh, which meant walking 21 kilometres across 600 metres of elevation. As creative partners we also crafted branded social and promotional content to boost fundraising efforts. This all paid off, as the fundraising target was achieved before anyone even set foot on a hill! In the end, we achieved 180% of our original target, raising a whopping £18,000 for Cancer Research UK, read more here.
In October, our ‘Your Water Your Life’ campaign helped Scottish Water reach a significant milestone, saving the equivalent of 1 million plastic bottles since the introduction of their Top Up Taps. The first Top-Up Tap was installed beside the Scottish Parliament in 2018 and now sixty have sprung up across the country, allowing the public to refresh themselves when they’re out on the go. To top it all off, in October the campaign won a Marketing Week Masters award, ousting strong competition from all over the UK.
There was further awards success to come in November, as our very own Pete Martin was awarded a UK Marketing Society Fellowship. The fellowship was handed out at a glittering ceremony in London and recognised his contribution to the industry. He was in good company, with fellowships also being awarded to such luminaries as Cheryl Calverley, the CEO of Eve Sleep, and Tamara Littleton, Founder & CEO of The Social Element.
As the year ended, we decided to do something a bit different for our agency Christmas card. While social distancing restrictions mean we have been spending more time at home than we would like over the past couple of years, the sad truth is that not everyone has one. That’s why we decided to keep our card simple this year, donating money to Shelter to help the homeless over the Christmas period.
That wraps-up our look back at a busy 2021 for Always Be Content. With a new sustainability themed TV and Cinema campaign in the pipeline and a fundraising dinner planned for May, this year looks like it might be even better. Here’s to 2022!
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