2016: The year of change

Well, 2016, it’s certainly been interesting.

The world is much changed since this time last year. There have been times when the news has left us speechless and astounded, other times sad (we’re still not finished mourning Bowie). With so much in flux around us politically, socially and economically, it has not been the easiest time for businesses in the UK. Budgets are being spent more tentatively than ever, particularly in marketing and sadly we’ve seen some great local companies lose their footing in the process. In times like these, positive change and an agile approach to business has never been more crucial to staying afloat in rough seas.

So what have we changed this year?

As an agency it's safe to say we’ve transformed. A few things we’ve gained include:

• A big handful of lovely new clients
• A brand new Promotional Gifts department
• A new team member, to run this department
• A new MD
• A new office in Shoreham
• A new company website, logo & microsite
• Flexible working hours and a 4pm Friday finish
• Affordable options for our clients
• Referral rewards for our clients
• Drinks and treats in the office
• Two converted cyclists
• One (nearly) converted vegan

So far, we’ve found that the changes we’ve implemented have brought a huge sense of positivity to the team and healthy fresh perspective on how we want to work. We’ve enjoyed having the freedom to make choices that feel right, then seeing the results of those choices bring their rewards in due course. As a result of our collective change of pace, as well as the support of our incredible client base, our year has turned out remarkably well.

As ever, Christmas came round far too quickly. Conversations soon started in the studio around how we were going to mark the season, who would we buys gifts for, what would we buy, yet somehow we couldn’t settle on something that seemed fitting with our new approach to how we run our agency. So we decided, again, that drastic change was required.

This year we haven’t bought a single Christmas card, nor a single present, box of chocolates, bottle of wine - nothing. And this is why…

Earlier this year an opportunity arose with the fantastic local charity Brighton Women’s Centre, to support their plan for a more strategic approach to their brand and marketing. We had in mind that we wanted to donate a small amount of our time to helping them in whatever way they needed most and as our discussions with BWC continued, a hefty brief soon unfolded. So it was decided from here that in honour of Christmas we would increase our proposed donation three-fold, investing the money we would have spent on gifts and cards.

Although the project is still at proposal stage, we look forward to honouring our commitment to Brighton Women’s Centre and sharing the progress of this exciting, creative project as it develops. Check out BWC’s website to find out more about their incredible work in our community www.womenscentre.org.uk but feel free to ask our team if you have any questions.

From all of us at Nexus, we hope you have a fantastic Christmas and may 2017 be a brilliant year! We’ll leave you with some photos of our festive office, which spectacularly failed to win our building’s office decorating competition (but we're not bitter)