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In a year dominated by Brexit and yet another General Election, it’s safe to say that 2019 will stick long in the memory. This is especially true for Guerillascope, but for very different reasons.
To begin with, we’ve welcomed some wonderful new brand partners into the family over the past twelve months – including Tide Bank, Norwegian Cruise Line and PeoplePerHour – as well as managing the media activity across TV, press, out-of-home, digital and radio for existing clients such as Watchfinder, Protect Your Bubble, Newmarket Holidays and Amigo Loans.
2019 also saw Guerillascope voted the second-best place to work in the UK advertising industry by Campaign Magazine. We are absolutely thrilled with this; such recognition is a testament to the time and effort that goes into ensuring workplace wellbeing lies at the centre of everything we do and stand for. After all, a happy team means happy clients.
This growing team was supplemented by the arrivals of Lucy McCulley and Tom Currey in 2019 – we look forward to seeing them build on extremely promising starts to their Guerillascope careers over the year ahead.
Elsewhere, we were delighted to win the Best of Use of TV category with Teletext Holidays at this year’s Travel Marketing Awards, as well as being one of two agencies nominated for Media Agency of the Year at the UK Agency Awards.
And that’s not all: 2019 saw us become a verified carbon neutral organisation, with 35 trees being planted in close proximity to schools across South London.
So, what else can we look forward to in 2020? Well, where else to start but Brexit? With the new UK government confirming that Britain will leave the EU on January 31st, it’s still not clear what form of exit we’ll see or what will happen in the ensuing months. What we can expect is businesses to be given considerable support in mitigating any disruption.
For those that adopt a confident attitude during the negotiations ahead, the rewards could be substantial. Investing in brand awareness during uncertain times allows businesses to demonstrate their value, communicate messages of reassurance and build relationships that will prove fruitful when consumer confidence returns. It gives you a head-start on the competition; the advantage of being front-of-mind when things heat up.
From a media perspective, we believe the landscape will continue to atomise, with the likes of voice, podcasts, TikTok and augmented reality delivering new ways of reaching tech-savvy, 21st-century audiences.
As for more established channels, TV’s move towards full addressability will be ongoing, with Channel 4’s adoption of the Sky Adsmart platform likely to see others follow suit. Expect TV viewing figures to remain strong, with a raft of exciting new shows highly anticipated. One area of interest is Premier League football rights, with Amazon’s entry something to keep an eye on.
2020 will also bring new and immersive ways of melding the online and outdoor advertising spheres. We predict that spend in digital out-of-home will outstrip traditional OOH next year, with an explosion in screens nationwide adding scale to the tactical capabilities already available to advertisers. Greater collaboration between media owners may also streamline the buying of DOOH.
Press and radio will continue to play important roles as part of integrated media strategies – their unique strengths complementing the likes of TV, digital and out-of-home. Media agencies will be required to think more ‘bigger picture’ than ever before, connecting the dots of a fragmented market to create coherent strategies underpinned by optimisation and flexibility. With nobody quite knowing exactly what 2020 will bring, our expertise will be more valuable than ever before.
Finally, the advertising industry has a responsibility to ensure diversity remains at the top of the agenda in 2020: as inclusive as we like to think we are, it’s clear that work needs to be done to level the playing field when it comes to opportunities for women, the BAME community and people with disabilities.
From everyone at Guerillascope, we wish you a very prosperous start to the new year.