School Reports 2017: Somethin' Else

Topman
Topman

Score: 5 
Last year: 6


How the agency rates itself: 7

Somethin’ Else’s strong content-marketing credentials continue to draw in clients and, as brands become keener to connect with culture and beat the dreaded ad-blocker, agencies of this kind are well-placed to flourish in the future.

Its position at the juncture between marketing and production is illustrated by a presence in both ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s School Reports and TV trade title Broadcast’s Top 100 production companies.

Over the course of the year, the agency welcomed a host of new clients through its Old Street doors, including Swarovski, which has tasked the agency with developing a content and social strategy.

It also deepened its relationship with long-term client the BBC by picking up the social media work for 1Xtra and Radio 1.

A blip on the new-business front came in November, when, after a five-way pitch, the agency lost out on the Nando’s brand publishing brief to Adjust Your Set. The shop also parted company with a number of clients, including Absolut Vodka and the British Fashion Council, when their projects came to an end.

Somethin’ Else bolstered its talent by appointing two non-executive directors, energetic and well-respected Thinkbox chief executive Lindsey Clay and Jon Wilkins, the executive chairman of Karmarama.

Creative highlights for Somethin’ Else included the Penguin Podcast and the mammoth task of producing weekly film content for Topman. And in 2016 the agency picked up a TV Bafta for Ten Pieces II, a series of classical music films for BBC TV, BBC Music and BBC Learning.

But turnover has remained flat at £4m and staff numbers are down 10%, so the top team of Jez Nelson, Steve Ackerman and Ben Kerr should be on the hunt for growth in the coming year.


How the agency describes its year in a tweet

Culture defining 2016. 10,000+ social assets, 3,000+ mins of video, 4,000+ hours of audio. 1 BAFTA. 1 Bieber re-tweet. Phew.

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

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