People have always been at the heart of Popcorn, and when the country first went into lockdown in March, people power became more important than ever before; from front-line staff through to the people finding ways to continue providing their services to consumers as best they can.
Reflective of our Fix, Flex, Fly approach to businesses and brands all year round, we began and are continuing to implement a Review, Repurpose and React system. Proactively identifying real-time trends and insights to cultivate opportunities that allow us and our clients to do more good, as the nation continues to seek normality, practicality, solution and, also, entertainment, we’ve worked to support our clients as we deliver on these needs and navigate the ‘new normal’ together.
So, as we wave farewell to an unprecedented year, the team have shared their 2020 highlights…
“2020 has been a year of change for many but at Popcorn I felt that, if anything, it emphasised our agility, our resilience and our commitment – to each other and to our clients. Whilst our industry almost immediately went into its own lockdown, and many experienced furlough and redundancy, Popcorn continued. With no staff furloughed or redundancies made, we rallied and pulled together, as a team and with our clients. Retaining 100% of our clients, we also won amazing new names like BMW and MINI. We preserved our entire work force throughout both lockdowns, continuing to deliver simply great work. We even took on four new team members from Account Assistant through to Account Director level, and we continue to interview new recruits today.
This year we have been able to continue to do what we do best, which is to really listen to consumer conversations, monitor trends and read the mood of our audiences. We are so humbled that our clients, many of which have been with us five, six, even up to almost nine years (thank you Walker’s Shortbread!) – have such complete trust in us that they will not only completely change direction at short notice but will continue to proactively invest in new ideas in such uncertain times. We are always committed to delivering best-in-class results and loyalty by return. Thank you to all of the wonderful team and all of our incredible clients for making 2020 what it was.”
– Louise Lloyd, Founder
“To say 2020 has been somewhat of a ‘different’ year would be an understatement, but through adversity comes strength and it has been admirable and inspiring to see so many brands and businesses evolve and adapt in order to navigate these unchartered territories. I think under this context, I don’t have one singular highlight, but instead it becomes about the sum of all parts. The agility at which we have been able to adapt pre planned campaigns in a suddenly very different landscape, as well as react to opportunities it presented to connect our clients with their audiences in meaningful ways, has been a testament to our teamwork, our resilience and our valued and trusted relationships with all of our clients, both existing and the new we have welcomed this year. 2020 has for me, been a year of creativity, connection and camaraderie.”
– Sara Howard, Managing Director
“After such a turbulent year, it is safe to say that Popcorn PR has been my saviour and I can wholeheartedly say starting my role with the company has been the highlight of my entire year. Starting a new role during such unprecedented times is never going to be a conventional process, but the team have made it so much easier than I could imagine. It has been so incredible to have the opportunity to work on such amazing brands and alongside such inspiring people. Bring on 2021!”
– Melanie Wise, Account Executive
“2020 has certainly been unforgettable, mainly for lots of the wrong reasons, but my highlight has been the amazing team spirit, tenacity and creativity that has shone through. With the support and trust of our clients we’ve delivered some truly ground-breaking campaigns that have captured the nation’s imagination and driven brand relevance; partnering with Emily Atack to show that ‘It’s Better to Laugh’ we generated over 200 pieces of coverage for The Laughing Cow including three pieces of National TV coverage, with our bottlegreen Find your Flavour campaign we inspired and entertained with delicious new locktails and sip-rising serves that included a five minute slot on Sunday Brunch and we fed consumer appetite for Boursin with a captivating commercial partnership with Honest Burger. And, on top of all this, we became the retained consumer PR agency for BMW.”
– Kate Harris, Director
“After a tough year professionally, it is safe to say that my highlight has been joining Popcorn. Working as part of this agency has been a breath of fresh air with good natured, talented professionals who quite simply want to do the best work for their clients while continually looking for how they can add further value to their businesses. With an amazing ability to mobilise quickly and create campaigns out of what feels like thin air, there have been a few notable results since joining, including generating more than 160 pieces of coverage for the CN Buddy Network campaign and Panasonic Grooming beating their KPI by more than +7000%!”
– Christopher Fay, Account Director
“In a year where content became king, it was fantastic to be able to support across all client accounts on an array of varied projects. From personalised poems for celebrities and influencers which drove social stand out and cut through, to in-depth trade insight analysis, feature content, script writing, social content creation and more – this year we were able to really display the diverse content capabilities we offer as an agency. In addition, adding BMW and MINI to our roster, as well as welcoming new members of the Popcorn team, has shown our ability to grow and adapt as an agency.”
– Katherine Chambers, Content Manager
“This year has certainly been one to remember. I think the way we looked at campaigns with a COVID lens and were agile in activity and delivery was an immensely proud moment. When I look back and see the results that we delivered in that time for clients, it was absolutely amazing. It’s what PR is all about!”
– Laura Morris, Director
“My Popcorn highlight of 2020 was the THORPE PARK Fright Nights launch event in October. Unsurprisingly, there was much uncertainty surrounding whether the event would be able to go ahead, so to be able to proceed and for it to be such a success was a great feeling and brought some normality back to the year. It was also fantastic to be able to team up with another one of Popcorn’s clients, MINI, to create a picture stunt area at the event for the celebs, complete with branded pumpkins hand carved by myself! It’s safe to say the images shot went down a storm with the media.”
– Alexa Joel, Account Executive
“My highlight of the year was how, collectively as a team, we pivoted our always-on and campaign approaches for clients to react and repurpose in the face of COVID-19. The whole team faced challenges in totally new ways of working, together, and with our clients, while ensuring our very best work was still being delivered.”
– Victoria Coppin, Digital Director
“Despite 2020 being a challenging year, Popcorn has continuously adapted to fit the current climate, maintaining stand-out coverage and campaigns for our clients while being tonally relevant. A highlight for me has been seeing the shift from physical to virtual events, where we executed five media and influencer sessions across a variety of brands, each one delivering on KPIs and providing an engaging and fun experience for all attendees.”
– Lily Morris, Senior Account Manager
“My personal highlight has been working on the Walker’s Shortbread Advent Calendar activity, where the team and I were able to help sell out the advent calendar stock within a matter of weeks. Driving a continuous stream of editorial and social coverage across gold-tier national and consumer coverage in titles such as Evening Standard, Good Housekeeping and Pick Me Up, alongside stand out social coverage through our influencer gifting activity. In addition, the support from the Popcorn team has been incredible, helping me to learn on the job and develop my skills. They are always willing to give an ear for me to voice any queries to; the nurturing culture at Popcorn over the months I have been here is a real testament to the company culture.”
– George Baxter, Account Executive
“The biggest highlight of the year for me was the Boursin x Honest Burgers partnership going live –seeing it come to life and the fantastic results from celebs, influencers and consumers was amazing. It was the perfect showcase of our agility and knowledge of media and influencer spaces, and the results across the whole campaign were phenomenal. Equally, it was amazing to see everyone come together as an agency during lockdown, we all know it wasn’t an easy time but we found our feet and ensured campaigns and activity continued to not only hit but exceed set KPIs.”
– Sophie Collier, Account Director
“My highlight of 2020 has to be starting my degree in Graphic Design. Louise and the whole Popcorn team have been so supportive and my confidence this year has skyrocketed. I have loved creating digital and social assets for a breadth of our clients and having my imagery being used across the globe is such an achievement. I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings for Popcorn PR – I have a feeling it’s going to be the best year yet!”
– Megan Hughes, Account Executive
“A personal highlight for me this year was activating the ‘It’s Better to Laugh’ campaign for The Laughing Cow. The ideation for the brand was formalised ahead of the national lockdown, however by March it was clear that the original plans needed to be readapted to ensure it remained tonally appropriate and relevant. Instead of pausing activity, as a team we challenged ourselves to review and revise the campaign. We embraced this challenge and decided to tap into the mood of the nation, knowing from the research we conducted that Brits used laughter to help get them through lockdown and therefore were seeking lighthearted relief. We curated a dedicated Laughter Hub at the heart of the activity – a platform for consumers, full of funny and informative content to give them a little lift and partnered with comedian Emily Atack and laughter expert Stephanie Davies, securing over 200 pieces of coverage including branded national news pieces on Sky News and ITV lunchtime news. A wonderful achievement considering the challenges so many brands have faced this year and a campaign we won’t forget.”
– Hannah Brudenell, Account Director
“My favourite moment this year is hard to pinpoint – although it’s been such a strange year, there have still been so many wonderful memories and amazing achievements. Some of my personal highlights include getting offered the job at Popcorn to begin my career in PR in January, securing my first piece of coverage on my third day as a Popstar, and receiving the ‘Coverage Queen’ award at our virtual Christmas party. But, for me, what really made my year was receiving a promotion to Account Executive level. On top of this, making friends for life in my fellow Popstars has certainly made it one to remember. Roll on 2021!”
– Chloe Howman, Account Executive
“2020, where to start? Well, it actually started with a bang and by far one of the best and busiest starts to a year that I can remember with two big events kicking it all off. One was launching the Panasonic Grooming ‘Play with Style’ Trends Report and the other arranging and hosting a European launch event for top-tier beauty and food media for Panasonic’s Food and Personal Care launches. Needless to say, the year then took a COVID-shaped turn, but that didn’t stop the amazing work and Popcorn spirit. From teams working together to produce incredible results despite working remotely, to the agency sharing support at personal times, including welcoming my new little kernel (baby) to the gang. It’s been a truly memorable year that really showed what us Popstars are made of.”
– Sophie Durrant, Account Director
