2020 is certainly a year none of us will forget.

The past 12 months have seen many people and businesses experience previously unthinkable circumstances.

We’ve all had to find new ways of working. We’ve had to adapt to different restrictions. We’ve had to learn to be agile in fluid situations. On top of this, many of us have struggled with our mental health. There have been many difficult times, but through this, as individuals, as a PR and marketing agency and as a team, we’ve worked hard to remain hopeful and grateful when challenges have come our way.

As we look forward to 2021, we wanted to look back over the last year and shine a spotlight on some of our wins, because if 2020 has taught us anything it’s to celebrate the good things, no matter how big or small, and highlight some of the amazing work being carried out by our clients.

So what’s new with Voice?

Back in April Voice became B-Corp™ certified, becoming the first PR agency in Essex to become credited with B-Corp status and joining the growing B-Corp community in Cornwall.

A B-Corporation is a purpose-driven business, dedicated to creating positive impacts for its communities, teams, clients and the environment. This is an ethos that has always been part of the fabric of Voice. We are super proud to have become part of the international B-Corporation community – a community which echoes Voice’s ethos and mirrors our values.  Balancing the triple bottom line, people, planet and profit, has always been part of our culture at Voice.

We have expanded our team and welcomed four new members and are excited for them to be part of the Voice family.

Katie Molyneaux: Katie joined the team in February 2020 after coming to Voice for work experience. She was too good to let go and stayed on as a Junior Account Executive. Since then, Katie has grown from strength to strength and has now been promoted to Account Executive – well done Katie. Outside of work, Katie enjoys walks with her dog Poe, who has also become a regular face in the office (when we’re not working from home!). Katie also enjoys reading and going travelling at any opportunity she can get.

Maisie Wallace: Maisie joined us in June 2020 as a Senior Account Executive. She has already thrived in her role proving she is the perfect fit for us and really understands and appreciates our values. In her spare time Maisie enjoys Yoga, song writing, playing the guitar and piano.

Emily Sinfield and Sam Cain: Emily and Sam both joined Voice at the beginning of November 2020 to help strengthen Voice’s digital offering. Emily has experience in all things social media and Facebook advertising, bringing a wealth of experience to her role as Digital Marketing Specialist.

Sam is our PPC Account Executive, using his expertise in online advertising to increase website traffic and much much more! You can also find Sam at our Cornwall office working alongside Nichola.

Outside of work Emily loves spending time with her pooch Bertie – another new four-legged addition to the team, whilst Sam loves gaming and all things IT.

Plus, many of our clients have gone from strength to strength this year, despite many challenges.

Leading wet civil engineering company, Land & Water Group, achieved its most successful year to date, and already has a full order book for 2021. It was a standout year in the business’ 25 year history for more reasons than one.

Over the past 12 months, Land & Water Group has solidified its focus on protecting environments and habitats across the UK through working on a number of prestigious and landmark projects. These have included essential works to the lakes at the historic Blenheim Estate, saving 75% of the construction carbon on behalf of the Environment Agency at Calstock and successfully placing a 100t crane on to a 17 piece ravestein pontoon at the ‘Unlocking the Severn’ fish pass construction site at Holt Weir.

Plus, the company successfully trialled a new form of sustainable fuel called HVO in some of its plant and machinery at its habitat creation scheme in Rainham, Essex. Land & Water is pioneering sustainable and environmentally friendly working practices within the civil engineering and construction sector, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to lead the way in 2021.

We’re also proud to say one of our Cornwall clients Oltco, has had a hugely successful year, launching more franchises throughout the UK…including Scotland.

Oltco now has gone from 11 to 27 franchises and employed five new members of staff.

In November Oltco launched its first recyclable packaging. As a business Oltco is passionate about helping combat the global issue of plastic waste and has seen first-hand the detrimental effects this has on the environment. Therefore Oltco has taken its commitment one step further by eradicating plastic from its resin packaging and will instead be using recyclable metal tins. Oltco’s success doesn’t stop there, Oltco was highly commended at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards and secured a place in the Elite Franchise EF100 awards.

Another client which has thrived this year and prioritised giving back is environmental services firm Simply.

From the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, Simply has gone above and beyond to support the NHS by providing a range of essential services to its Covid testing sites within a quick turnaround time.

On top of this, we welcomed many new clients, including Food Circle Supermarket.

Food Circle Supermarket is the UK’s first online in-date surplus food retailer, delivering quality products including protein bars, cookies, and even brownies, from some of the best-known brands in the health and sports nutrition world. Since launching, the online store has already sold over 500,000 food and drink items, saving these products from going to waste and having a negative impact on the environment.

SimSage AI also began working with Voice in 2020. Not only is this exceptional search tool at the forefront of the tech sector, it has been specifically designed to save us some precious time. Whether you are trying to track down a document on a business system or simply find a product on a website, SimSage uses state of the art AI to make this a breeze. By understanding the way we (humans) talk SimSage delivers the right results fast, meaning that no matter what you search for this powerful tool is going find the result you need quickly.

As a business, we also worked hard to support other initiatives which meant something to us. We helped publish a book called Alfie’s Secret Dragon, a book created by Jacob Carnes and his family. Jacob used the writing experience as a way to connect his family during a challenging time, giving them each the opportunity to help write a different chapter. All proceeds of the book are being donated to NHS Charities and Weaverthorpe Primary School to help support them in this difficult time.

We look forward to what 2021 has to offer and the continued success of not only Voice but all our clients, partners and suppliers too.