Score: 6
Last year: 6
How the agency rates itself: 7
Despite Neil Simpson’s candid assessment of the pitch system – he thinks it needs reforming to stop client "abuse" and that there’s a case to be made for making them pay pitch fees – The Corner certainly worked the system to its advantage last year.
So much so that the agency claimed seventh place in ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new-business rankings at the end of 2016. The agency’s billings rose 45% to £23m last year, according to Nielsen.
Growth came on the back of some notable additions to the client list. This included the National Accident Helpline, the personal-injury advice service, which named The Corner as its creative agency after a three-way contest. Another pitch culminated in The Corner being appointed global agency for e-cigarette brand Blu, the number-two seller in the UK and currently eyeing the French and Italian markets.
Pain-relief brand Tiger Balm and Starling, a new entry into the mobile banking sector, were among other arrivals.
However, The Corner may have no more fulfilling task than the one assigned to it by Mencap, which appointed the shop to handle its creative duties in June after a competitive process.
The result was a campaign under the theme "Here I am", which aimed to improve people’s understanding of learning disabilities. At the same time, both The Corner and the charity are being backed by ad agencies and production companies in an initiative that will see more work placements being offered to people with learning disabilities.
With neither the IPA nor ISBA looking to update the pitching code any time soon, it looks as though The Corner will have to make the best of it. Fortunately, it seems to know how to do so.
How the agency describes its year in a tweet
Incessant change is the only absolute. Proud to have the various talent to handle it, and the culture to thrive on it.
Score key: 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Good 6 Satisfactory 5 Adequate 4 Below average 3 Poor 2 A year to forget 1 Survival in question