2020 - the year that was

How are you feeling? If you are like me, this year has been a rollercoaster ride. From the lows to the highs. Exciting and exhausting. I feel like I have really earned the break over the coming festive season. But I have also noticed how this year has given me a reason to be reflective. Both personally and professionally. Strange that while at times I have been hard at the bilge pumps keeping the TrinityP3 business floating, I have also been thinking about my role, the company role and the role of the people in TrinityP3 for the year and years ahead.

Back at the end of 2018, I started sharing an email review of the week’s international marketing news. All the articles that made me go WOW! – What’s Outstanding this Week. It has evolved a bit since then. At the start, it was a collection of the various stories that simply grabbed my attention. With time it has developed into themes that have grabbed my attention or been top of my mind at the time. This year, as part of my personal reflection, I took a look at what I found myself writing about this year. So here it is. WOW! A year of marketing, media and advertising. A year of trials and tribulation. A year of issue, challenges, triumph and celebration. A year I want to thank you for being a part of with me.

20 years in business as a marketing management consultant - January 15, 2020

The start of 2020 was a celebration. TrinityP3 was 20 years old. A milestone for any business. Certainly, one for us. And this was a reflection and a recollection of the past 20 years.

Super Bowl a super time for sports sponsorship and advertising - January 29, 2020

The Super Bowl has always been a big deal for brands and their creative agencies. Possibly because I had spent so much time in the USA in 2019, it seemed to pay larger than ever before for me personally.

UK Advertising and Marketing Post Brexit - February 12, 2020

I was in the UK when the original vote was taken. The TrinityP3 business has been directly impacted by the uncertainty of the past three years. Earlier this year it was all over the trade news again.

When a virus goes viral – COVID-19 makes marketing headlines - February 26, 2020

By mid-February, news of the novel coronavirus out of Wuhan, China was global news. Fear, confusion and uncertainty reigned. None of which is great for business and marketing.

International Women’s Day - March 11, 2020

I had just arrived back in Australia to an email from Mumbrella Editor at the time, Vivienne Kelly highlighting the mixed response the industry had to International Women’s Day so it was worth reviewing.

Working from Home! WFH! WTF? - March 25, 2020

By the end of March, most enlightened markets were in lockdown and the trade media where reporting on the immediate impact working from home was having on the advertising industry.

Working and learning on-line - April 8, 2020

By early April it was clear the world was changing for the foreseeable future, and that the best value we could add was to share our knowledge and insights as widely as possible and for free.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Covid-19 - April 22, 2020

As life and business in the pandemic continued and the world was talking about a ‘new normal’, it was interesting to observe the good, the bad and the ugly in the industry response to COVID-19.

Pitching New Business During COVID-19 - May 6, 2020

We have been managing pitches all year, pre-pandemic and through the transition into lockdown and beyond, so it was interesting to see how others were handling the new way of pitching business.

It is always darkest before the dawn - May 20, 2020

Budget cuts, job losses, and an endless line of opinion pieces touting everything from “What we can learn from….” to why it is “The end of the world as we know it because…”, made WOW! feel more like WOE!

Did someone forget to check on the environment? - June 3, 2020

The planet’s response to COVID-19 has seen reduced CO2 levels. But this was also the time I was introduced to Comms Declare by Paul Connell, who has left Unilever to start Built on Purpose.

Cultural diversity and fairness in marketing, media and advertising - June 17, 2020

The death of George Floyd placed the issue of Black Lives and the lack of universal equality to the forefront globally, but particularly for advertising, where there had been much talk but little action.

With great power comes great responsibility - July 1, 2020

Traditional media owners understand the Peter Parker principle, but it seems that many of the new digital and technology robber barons do not.

The problems facing programmatic media - July 15, 2020

Hot on the heels of the PWC / ISBA report in May, this year, on the programmatic supply chain transparency, there is the outraged and shocked calling for greater accountability.

A culture of banning and cancelling - July 29, 2020

With a highlighting of the inequality in society, there have also been bans and a rise of cancel culture to punish those who are judged to be not following the accepted script.

The purpose of brand purpose - August 12, 2020

In the midst of all this, came an increase in conversations around the importance and relevance of brand purpose in the face of brands seen as talking too much and doing too little.

Influencing the influencers - August 26, 2020

A tweet in response to a tweet by mega-influencer Kylie Jenner got me thinking about the state of the influencer marketing segment, where more and more marketers were spending their budgets.

Old, white men in glass houses should not throw stones - September 9, 2020

A slip of the tongue or a faux par by WPP CEO, Mark Read on the average age of is employees raised the whole issue of ageism in advertising again.

Has the pursuit of creativity lost its way? - September 23, 2020

Nasty criticism of a new advertising campaign on a creative media outlet (of the same name) had me reflecting on how an industry that spends so much time champions creativity is so ready to turn on itself.

Another step towards the holy grail of cross-media measurement? - October 7, 2020

There was an important announcement from the WFA regarding cross-media measurement. This was, to use the words of their press release, “the holy grail” for advertisers and the advertising industry. 

Farewell, good-bye, adieu, aloha, adios, cheerio, and bye-bye. - October 21, 2020

All good things must come to an end. The past week witnessed a handful of retirements or departures from the advertising industry globally. Some appear planned. Others not so. Or perhaps they were.

As if 2020 isn’t scary enough – then there is Halloween - November 4, 2020

Again, possibly because of the amount of time I spend focusing on the USA, or because I have 3-year-old twin boys, Halloween loomed large this year, as did the industry response to it.

Now is the time for marketing to mentor itself. - November 18, 2020

During the pandemic lockdown, we successfully piloted a Marketing Mentoring program for the media, marketing and advertising industry in Australia. This week we announced it was about to be relaunched.

Ho, Ho, Ho! 2020 Is about to Go, Go, Go! - December 2, 2020

Season’s Greetings for the end of 2020. With the holly and the lights and the trees, it was time to review how the brands were responding to the Festive Season in a global pandemic.

So, that was my year. For the first time in 20 years, I am taking a long holiday from December 18 to January 27. But the team at TrinityP3 will be around. We are officially only taking from Friday, December 18, 2020, to Monday, January 4, 2021.

I hope that you have a happy and safe rest over the holiday break and enjoy and be thankful for everything you have. I know I am deeply aware of all of the thing’s life has given me. So, enjoy time with love ones and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon.

As always, if any of this has piqued your curiosity or you simply want a more confidential discussion on any topic and the marketing implications and advertising opportunities let me know.

And stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay sane.

Until 2021 - Cheers

Darren