The Romans History, MMXX

Hiya. You ok?

Maaaaaan, I feel ten years older.

Whatever your year was like, however dispiriting, however desperate, let’s all just collectively agree right here not to write trade pieces about “What 2020 Can Teach Us About PR”. Let’s just forget about it.

I’ve written one of these little summaries every year since we launched but this year I’m especially, exceptionally, achingly proud of every little triumph and every hard-fought result the team has won over the last 12 months. Here’s what The Romans, got up to in 2020:

JANUARY

• PR Week asked me to predict what 2020 was going to be like for PR. I wrote something really upbeat and optimistic. LOL. ?? ?? ??
• We promoted Roxy to MD. We took a photo on the smoking step outside Shoreditch House to celebrate. The PR industry loved it.

• Josie channeled Steve Jobs to give a talk about winning the 2019 Young Lions competition. 

FEBRUARY

• Ottilie did a talk about being a creative in PR.

• We win Campaign Magazine’s Agency of The Year.Honestly, 2020 is going brilliantly. Nothing can go wrong now. ??

MARCH

• We rehire top PR Tom Winterton. Again.

“Having first hired Tom as a brilliant grad, it’s flattering to be able to hire him for a third time (there won’t be a fourth).” - Roxy Kalha

• COVID hits, the world suddenly gets turned upside down and all of our summer campaigns get pulled. We decide not to furlough people. It's all rather stressful and the Zoom quizzes really don't help. The team pull together like never before.

APRIL

• Lucy Baker writes about what inspires her. ?? ?? ??
• We win all of Pernod Ricard's whisk(e)y brands. ?? ?? ??
• We start working with super cool lingerie brand Heist.
• We launch The CALM Comedy Club with Twitter. It’s named campaign of the month by PR Week.

MAY

• We start a trend for COVID campaigns at Piccadilly circus. This one with Badoo allowed Brits to send a giant digital love letter to the NHS. It’s named campaign of the month by PR Week.

• We welcome Kim as Account Director

JUNE

• Know that bit in The Big Short with Margot Robbie in a bath explaining the financial crash? Well, we reshot it but with Robbie Savage explaining bank fraud for Santander. You’re welcome.

• We say hi to Kandace as Account Manager.

• We say hi to Lauren as Account Exec.

JULY

• Our campaigns The Vagina Emoji (Twitter), Drag Cleans (Method), Refuse To Snooze (Eve Sleep) and The Invisible Look (Santander) all win Sabre Awards. ????????
• Our very own Indigo Le Fèvre is named one of PR Week’s 30 Under 30 and we collectively melt with pride.

• Kandace and Gabie win the PRCA’s Next Gen Creative Challenge (formerly, Young Lions. It's our third win in four years). ????
• We create The Munchy Trunks, with Ella's Kitchen. It's the first ever Eat Along Book, designed to help little ones enjoy mealtimes more. Ottilie wrote it. It's adorable.

AUGUST

• We lead the PR Week Awards shortlist with twelve nominations. ??
• We launch a campaign with Badoo to thank the nation for masturbating. It melts the internet a bit. PR Week name it their campaign of the month. One of our dads sees it on LinkedIn and calls us filthy.

• Something we're really proud of: we work with Twitter to create #ReadTheRainbow, its LGBTQIA+ literary festival.

?SEPTEMBER

• We create The Truth Flirts content series with Ella Eyre for Badoo. It attracts vast quantities of coverage.

OCTOBER

• PR Moment names us Consumer PR Agency of The Year FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW. ?? ?? ??
• Even better, they name our brilliant (and hilarious) creative Lucy Baker Young PR of The Year. ??

• Indigo talks about our approach to mental wellbeing at work on the PR Week podcast.
• We say hi to Joy as Account Exec.

• We pick up seven gongs at the PR Week Awards, including Best Integrated Campaign for Drag Cleans and Best Financial Services Campaign for Santander ??????????????

NOVEMBER

• Nadia *finally* joins us full time as Senior Account Director after freelancing with us for ages.

• We welcome Amy as Assistant Account Exec.

• We welcome Morgen as Assistant Account Exec.

• We welcome Helena as Account Exec.

• We completely clean up again at the Creative Moment Awards winning EIGHT, including Agency of The Year ????????????????

It makes us the most awarded PR agency in the UK, for the second year in a row.

• We start working with the awesome guys at Sports Direct.
• We start working with the biggest brand in sports entertainment: WWE. Good Morning Britain shut the lights off to celebrate.

DECEMBER

• Our campaign for OVO linking needless emails with global warming is discussed by the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
• We start working with Valspar Paint. Really looking forward to getting some great campaigns away with them next year.
• PR Week lists its campaigns of the year. Exactly 27% of them are ours.
• The Holmes Report ranks us as The Most Creative PR Agency In the UK in its Global Creative Index. What a way to end the year. ??????

And, just like that, we somehow managed to get through it. Tired but in tact. Testament to the incredible group of people I get to work with everyday. Want in? Shout us in the New Year on [email protected]

Until then, here's to 2020 becoming a distant memory. Here's to face to face pitches and journalist lunches and actual awards parties and No More Zoom Quizzes Ever Again.

Have a top Christmas.

Joe xxx