The Fifth’s 2020 round up
And what a year it’s been
This year really has been like no other.
In early March, we were told to leave the office and begin working remotely due to COVID-19.
Questions were immediately raised: how long would this be going on for? Would we be able to sustain our relatively new business with all staff working remotely? What would this mean for our current and future campaigns and clients?
A two-week WFH stint turned into a month; that became 10 months and counting. We’ve had to adapt, be agile and have learnt not to plan too far in the future. We’re immensely grateful that we’ve been able to continue working throughout the crisis and have seen the industry really pull together and achieve some wonderful things.
Here, we wanted to share with you a roundup of some of The Fifth’s top (mostly virtual) 2020 moments:
The Fifth Talent Launch
In February, we launched the second arm to our business; a talent agency. Before the pandemic hit, we were able to celebrate the launch of The Fifth Talent with a party for our talent, clients and brands. Something that feels so alien and surreal now!
The Fifth Talent values the voices that influence culture and we’re delighted to have built a roster of over 25 unique, highly talented individuals who don’t just create innovative and thought provoking content; they also stand for making real and active positive change.
The Fifth Talent from THE FIFTH on Vimeo.
The Fifth first birthday
We had planned to celebrate The Fifth’s first birthday together and had even ordered the cake, party hats and banners but alas, it was not to be. Instead, we toasted our one year milestone together in March, virtually, with yet another quiz!
Coping with the crisis
We’ve tried to keep spirits high and to continually check in with one another while at home this year – one thing is for sure, we certainly know each other (and one another’s children and pets) far better. It’s remarkable how needy cats can be!
Despite the fact that the majority of physical events didn’t take place, it was still important for us to continue the conversation about the true value and purpose for influencer marketing. In partnership with News Live, we hosted a series of specialist webinars for some of our clients. A couple of these can be viewed here: Reacting Tastefully focused on building sensitive strategies for using influencers in the current climate within the food and drink category. The New (In)Formal on how to engage young adults with financial services through influencer marketing.
We feel so privileged and lucky to be in an industry that is surviving when we are all too aware of what other industries up and down the country are facing right now. From the moment it was clear that we were facing a grave situation, we made the decision as a team to try to do our tiny little bit to help. Some of the team created leaflets that they posted through neighbours’ letter boxes, offering support to anyone who needed it. The WHO put out a call to us and fellow agencies to rally influencers and celebrities to share practical hygiene advice. So we put in calls to loads of our contacts, even managing to get the likes of Liam Gallgaher involved. We also joined a grass roots organisation of volunteers to create Frontline.Live; an open-data platform for frontline health care workers to communicate what PPE they need in real time.
Our first awards
We were over the moon to win the Best New Launch Campaign award at the Digiday Marketing & Advertising Awards Europe for our campaign with HUN Wines. And just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, later that evening, we won Silver at The Content Marketing Association Awards for Best use of Influencer Marketing for HUN Wines and Best Video Series for Lucozade Energy.
The #HUNDREDSOCIETY from THE FIFTH on Vimeo.
HUN Wines and Lucozade are two of those dream clients you love to work with. They put their trust in us and we’re truly humbled to have been recognised for our work. It goes without saying that we wouldn’t have found ourselves here if it wasn’t for the creative, collaborative and hard working team that makes up The Fifth.
The work
This year, we’ve had the privilege of working with talent and brands whom we truly admire and feel inspired by every day.
We would like to thank our clients for trusting us and allowing us to push the boundaries. And we’d like to thank each and every creator we collaborated with for bringing our visions to life in some of the most incredible ways. Whether it was a drag queen lip sync or a handmade Marvel Universe wall chart; running a money management webinar or scouring the country for Baby Yoda toys, this year’s work has been a blast and you guys have certainly brought it.
Roll on next year
Nobody seems to be able to predict what 2021 will look like right now, but we hope that we will take some of the learnings with us and continue building a better, stronger and kinder community around us.
On a personal note, three Fifth babies are going to be born in 2021! We can’t think of a more fitting and positive way to start the new year than that.
We hope you all have a well deserved break and look forward to working with you next year.