It is not new news that 2024 has been a challenging year on all fronts for New Business and that keeping agencies top of mind for clients and prospects and maintaining a strong pipeline has never been more important.
But what has also been clear in 2024 is that identifying and delivering innovation in response to client (current or prospective) challenges has been key to staying ahead.
One such example has been production, which has been changing dramatically over the last few years and 2024 felt like a real escalation with clients demanding a different kind of output for their brand.
Production questions appearing in RFI’s and clients asking to meet heads of production during the pitch process were both clear indicators of a sea change in requirements, especially concerning cost effective production solutions.
So, we relaunched “Apostle Studios’, our in-house multi-media production capability, a team of creative collaborators with a ‘let’s do this’ attitude. Whether it’s low-cost social content deployed at speed, a reactive stunt, or an interactive build, we have built a proposition to make sure our clients can deliver rich content for its consumers at any touchpoint.
This also included our expanded (in 2024) branded content capability, spearheaded by TV veteran Andrew Hill, once the brains behind the Apprentice he is now working on a number of projects with St Luke’s and new clients, watch this space.
For our clients it has meant being able to implement incredible work at pace, from reactive stunts around Partygate and ‘Wagatha Christie’ for Butterkist, to highly crafted outdoor campaigns for Heathrow Airport, as well as rich BAU content for the likes of Ocado, Old Mout Cider and Abbott Lyon. Plus with over 20 years of experience in broadcasting, our director of branded content can deliver broader content ambitions, whether it’s a multi-part TV show or a YouTube channel.
For new business prospects it has shown a different level of capability and a willingness to respond to the demands clients face, which has roundly resonated.