Spark 2022: A year in review

2022 has been a year like no other, we’ve had three Prime Ministers in No. 10, a new King and a winter football World Cup! Amid all that has unfolded, we have continued to pitch, write, and brainstorm our way through the last 12 months. On top of this we’ve had new joiners, plenty of social events and even our own Bake Off competition.

In what is a fast-paced environment, a period of reflection can do no harm. So, as we creep towards 2023, I wanted to share some of the Spark team’s highlights from the last year.

Back to normality (and Vegas)

Without stating the obvious, the last few years have been strange for all. So now that society has opened up, we’ve been able to embrace post-lockdown life by venturing back to the office, updating our clients in-person (instead of Zoom) and catching up with journalists for a bite to eat. Just like the good old days!

We were really pleased to return to some of our favourite events this year. Various Spark members spent time at events across London, such as Big Data London and Global MilSatCom. In fact, some of the team got to dust off their passports, with Rob attending Black Hat USA in Las Vegas, and Gus jetting off to Valencia for KubeCon. The event scene is great for networking, seeing cool product demos and discovering the latest industry trends, so we were delighted they were back in our diaries.

Creative campaigns

We love it when a good plan comes together, and there have been some brilliant creative campaigns running across the agency this year. Here are just three examples:

• The Pistoia Alliance launched its Women in STEM Leadership project pilot on International Women’s Day, which was covered extensively, making headlines in the likes of The Washington Post. Added to this, Phesi’s analyses of clinical trials data earned coverage in The Times, The Guardian and Fierce Biotech. • Our Poly team pitched its ‘Recruit, Retain & Grow’ research report looking at how effective hybrid work strategies keep employees happy, resulting in coverage with [City A.M.](https://www.cityam.com/businesses-fear-losing-staff-over-lack-of-hybrid-working-options/) and Computer Weekly. • When the price of energy began spiking, the Sagacity team used stats to demonstrate how consumer mistrust was being fuelled by energy suppliers’ poor use of data. Their consumer research project demonstrated people think suppliers are out to rip them off, not realising that suppliers can actually help when they’re struggling. Pitching these stats and sharing advice for consumers during the crisis led to a number of national newspaper hits including [Daily Mail Online/This is Money](https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-11099701/Energy-debt-three-times-higher-September.html) and The Daily Express.

Team highlights

At Spark we are always looking for ways to make the most of each team member’s expertise. A real case in point this year has been how Chris, who is our very own tech guru, recently transitioned into a new role which sees him as a digital specialist at Spark. Chris will be coordinating activity relating to longer form animations and podcasts for our clients. Marnie has been putting her event organisation skills to good use, plotting activities including a trip to an open-air cinema and an eagerly-anticipated journalist networking meet-up.

We’ve also been coming together to support a number of good causes. I found our ‘March Spark, March’ Challenge a great way of dusting off the cobwebs each morning, and we raised £650 for Prostate Cancer UK by clocking up more than five million steps between us. Meanwhile some of us donated blood as we raised awareness of the shortage of blood donors for Blood Donor Day. And in recent months, some of our team members have been facing off in a Spark Bake Off series, with donations to Macmillan being doubled by Spark.

Here’s to 2023

With so much going on, it’s been a great year at Spark. And to be honest, it’s just been great to get back to all my favourite lunch spots as well! It’s been amazing to see all the hard work rewarded with some excellent coverage, and we’ve also enjoyed getting activity underway with our new clients including PacBio, SaaScada and Secureworks. We’re excited to keep up the momentum next year and work on unique projects and campaigns. We can’t wait to get started – here’s to 2023!