As 2018 rolls to an end, it’s time to reflect on what the past year has brought the Loom team. And it’s certainly been an eventful 12 months. We’re now the biggest team we’ve ever been, we have the most clients we’ve ever had – and I couldn’t feel further away from where Loom started 9 years ago on my kitchen table. It all makes me incredibly proud of our amazing team and what we’ve achieved.
New Team Members
This year we’ve welcomed four new team members to the ranks. This means there’s now twelve of us.
In January, Westley joined the PPC department, supporting Tommy to enhance our PPC services. In April, Matt came on board as the Head of Client Strategy, giving us yet extra resource to support our clients. And in the last quarter, we welcomed Alice as our social media exec.
New Client Wins in 2019
2018 was a massive year for client wins. In fact, we on-boarded 20 new clients this year! To name just a few, these included:
- Cheltenham College, an independent boarding and day school in Gloucestershire
- Touchwood, who design and install natural play environments for children
- Jelly Belly Air Freshener, the makers of deliciously scented air fresheners
- inniAccounts, online accountants
- BFT Automation, who manufacture and sell automated gate systems
Five 2018 Award Nominations for Loom
I’m delighted to share that Loom was nominated for five industry awards this year – a real record for us!
These nominations included two Bristol Business Leaders Awards, two Wirehive Awards, and one BIMA award. Although we didn’t win this year, being nominated for such a range of awards really highlights the talent we have at Loom – and for this, I couldn’t be prouder. And despite not taking home a trophy – we still partied in style!
The Expansion of DigiSkills in 2018
We started the DigiSkills initiative in 2017 as a way to give back to the local community and help young people get into marketing. This year however, things really got warmed up, and I’m extremely proud of what the team has achieved in 2018.
Firstly, we hosted four work experience interns for a total of 5 weeks. Our account manager Claire managed the placements to make sure each intern got exactly what they wanted from their time with us. The interns then supported the team working on tasks related to SEO, PPC, Content creation, Social Media and more.
Following on from last year’s success, Thom and Alice delivered this year’s BIMA Digital Day to a group of sixth formers. The day provided the students with useful insights into digital careers and advice on how they can break into our ever-growing industry. Thom and Alice led the group through the basics of digital marketing strategies and methods.
Vicky and Tommy also helped out with DigiSkills, attending the free digital marketing strategy training for charities. They took part in a question and answer session, offering their expert marketing advice to charities looking to enhance their digital strategies.
And last but not least, Karen has been mentoring BAME students at UWE who are looking to get into marketing. The positive action scheme is aimed at home students of UWE who are from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. The scheme feeds into UWE’s wider Bristol Equity Programme.
New Loom Digs for a Bigger Team
With the arrival of more at Loom came the need for more space. So, this year we hopped down the corridor at our home in Temple Studios and moved into bigger offices to accommodate our growing team.
We also gave our new digs a bit of a facelift, employing the talents of local artist Jon West to add a splash of colour to our walls. Combined with lots of lovely plants, the team and I now enjoy a bright, spacious office that we all love.
Digital Marketing Training and Learning in 2018
This year the team attended more conferences and training events than ever before. This included our annual trip to the Brighton SEO conference, the Social Media Week conference, a Facebook Ad training day with Ayima, and various training sessions with Jellyfish in London.
In 2018, we also implemented our Friday Knowledge Share. Every Friday afternoon, we get together and listen to a team member present a topic or theme that they’ve researched in depth. This has been a really fun and social way to keep everyone up to date with industry news, while also allowing each team member to enhance their area of expertise. (There’s also beer and snacks!)
Industry Talks & Thought Leadership
2018 also saw Tommy take to the stage as a guest speaker at an industry event run by our friends at C3 and Partners. We’re already super proud of Tommy’s immense knowledge of PPC and Biddable Media, so it was great to watch him be able to share it with our industry.
Fundraising for Our Charity of the Year: Bristol Mind
This year we chose Bristol Mind as our sponsored charity. For the team and I, mental health is something we all take very seriously, and we wanted to support a local charity that helps support the community in this way.
So, this year we got together to raise as much as possible for Bristol Mind.
Firstly, the team dusted off their trainers and ran the Bristol 10k. Vicky also took this up a level and completed the Royal Wootton Bassett Triathlon! Through their combined efforts we raised a whopping £710!
To balance things out, we also got our bake on, raising more for Bristol Mind by selling our homemade tasty treats in the Temple Studios break out space.
Loom’s 9th Birthday
2018 marked our 9th birthday – something I thought we needed to celebrate in style. So, what better way to celebrate than hiring a chartered yacht to take us to the Isle of White for lunch?
We drank, we played games, we ate – and we swam! Some Loomies were even overheard saying, “It’s been one of the best days of my life!” Safe to say we had a good time!
Looking ahead to 2019
So, that’s been 2018! It’s wonderful to be ending the year on such a high, and next year looks set to be just as busy and just as exciting.
So, watch this space for updated service propositions, new branding, and even more developments. I really can’t wait.
Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity say a huge thank you to our amazing clients, partners, and friends – we couldn’t do what we do without your support! Wishing you the happiest of Christmas’ and all the success into 2019 and beyond!
