Things we’ve learned in 2020
It’s been quite a year at The Canopy, two weddings, two babies, two puppies, too few tacos and too little time spent together. There have been challenges, but also opportunities, and there’s so much to be excited about into 2021 and beyond.
Well that wasn’t quite the year that anyone had expected. Like so many others we had big plans, grand ambitions, hopes, dreams and expectations. And although things haven’t worked out quite the way we planned, it’s been a memorable year for all sorts of other reasons. So let’s celebrate some of the good stuff.
We’ve seen two weddings in 2020. Actually we didn’t see either, but we heard they were both lovely, but then I suppose the people getting married would say that. The studio has grown by another five people, or 25%. That’s something to celebrate all things considered. We’ve added further strategic insight, artworking artistry, production savvy, VFX genius, and studio management might, to our ever-expanding skill set.
We’ve welcomed one baby into the world, with another to follow early next year. We’ll also have two new puppies shortly; Bodhi and Yellow Girl, who’ll be able to keep Bobby company in the studio next year.
We’ve celebrated our fifth birthday as an agency. Not in the way we imagined perhaps but you’ve got to take the small wins when you can. Against all odds we’ve continued to grow, to attract new clients, and to find new ways for creativity to thrive effectively.
We’ve learned a load of new words and phrases such as furlough and social distancing that we hope will soon fade again into relative obscurity.
We’ve seen the demise of the tea and coffee round. Which is probably a good thing as it was getting a bit unruly as the studio grew. A round would take most of the morning.
So, tea rounds aside, what has been the key takeaway from this strangest of years?
Well, if we’ve learned one thing over the course of the year, it’s that close collaboration has been key to successful client-agency partnerships. We’ve always taken pride in our approach to the client-partner relationship. Clients of The Canopy are never just work friends, but instead are relationships built on trust, mutual respect and open-minded co-working.
We had a number of collaborations underway prior to the pandemic, and although things may have slowed or been put on hold, we’ve continued to maintain close working relationships. These have encompassed video calls, emails, client-agency slack groups and socially-distanced meetings, post lockdown.
We believe it’s this closely collaborative approach that has been key to maintaining confidence amongst our clients. Several projects that were in the pipeline prior to lockdown where given the green light as soon as physically possible. It’s been a tough time for everyone, but there has also been an opportunity for many businesses to rethink, reset and re-energise their approach, and this will be key to a continued revival in 2021, both for agencies, and for their clients.
In our next post, we’ll look ahead to 2021, our plans for the business, and hopes for the future.