Winning Global Agency of the Year at the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards sent ripples of pride across the business. We explore the year we’ve had and why the judges thought we were worthy of this most-prized accolade.
The buzz of winning
As the saying goes: ‘You’ve got to be in it, to win it’. Entering awards can be a laborious process, but opening that email announcing that you’ve made the shortlist makes the effort worthwhile. Nothing beats that adrenaline boost, and buzz!
As an agency we won a total of 29 awards in FY2023 – many of these in conjunction with clients. It goes without saying we were overjoyed to win each one, but what made it even more heartening for us was the fact our clients were so thrilled as well, maybe even more so, as they had something to shout about.
Whilst we’re delighted about winning all these awards, the one that really stands out for us as an agency is being awarded Gold in the Global Agency of the Year category at the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards. There was some stiff competition for this top accolade, which made our win all the more exciting for everyone at the agency.
Putting people first
Once we’d stopped being giddy, we were keen to find out what had so impressed the judges. There were two aspects in particular to our approach that had won them over. Firstly, that we were very much people-focused, and secondly that we’d clearly articulated our global strategy, which in their eyes was ‘strong’.
It’s a fiercely independent full-service agency on a global level.
We pride ourselves on being able to connect clients, partners, and employees, which drives performance and growth. And one key reason we’re able to do this is because we trust our people.
“We’re treating our teammates with respect as professionals, and they’re able to run their time based on the needs of the clients, their colleagues, and themselves.” Gareth Clark, Senior EVP Customer Experience at Just Global.
Flexibility is key
That’s why we introduced Flex Fridays – every two weeks, everyone has the option to condense 10 days of productive work into nine, as long as it works as for them, clients, and colleagues. Every other Friday is flexible to be used in a way that works best for the individual. What we’ve seen is that our global voluntary attrition rate has dramatically reduced, and currently stands at 15%, which is well below the industry average. This approach certainly resonated with the judges.
When others were cutting jobs, they invested and redefined team experience with things like four-day work weeks. They’ve implemented new leadership training and onboarding programs. There’s also been an increase in teams receiving promotions to aid retention, continued new hires, and attrition staying low.
Building a strong community
To strengthen our people-first philosophy we also have a supportive platform for women in the agency called ‘Women at Just Global’, as well as our ‘Just Cares’ program that spearheads volunteer activities allowing employees to receive three days of paid volunteer time off every year.
With competency frameworks, and a leadership training program, we’re committed to ensuring everyone in the agency can grow and enhance their personal development.
Just Global illustrated a strong culture, offering flexibility and a community centric approach which was lovely to see. They are focused on their global reach – with intentional strategies to expand and by creating both a data driven, and experience driven model – they showed their innovation.
Delivering results
A happy, motivated workforce is one of the main reasons why we consistently deliver exceptional results for our clients. But there’s more. Drawing on a wealth of experience, and departmental expertise, we’ve developed our own methodology – the Connected Experience Engine (CEE). This delivers connected, modern marketing by integrating deep industry experience, highly intelligent platforms, and proven global integrated processes. It starts with intelligence, moves through growth strategy, gets activated by integrated marketing experiences, is measured through full-funnel analytics and effectiveness, and is continually moving through these stages. By eliminating random acts of marketing, and introducing this tried and tested methodology, we’ve succeeded in delivering results-driven campaigns.
This methodology alongside our wider approach puts clients front and center of everything we do, we’re driving better business outcomes for them. That’s why we’re growing.
