How do you measure a year?
In the last 12 months, we’ve embraced new Wagoneers, unveiled a new website and extended our offices. We welcomed Baby Wagoneer Zak (Congrats Kris!), danced our hearts out at Matt’s wedding and congratulated Bacon for his sizzling proposal. We’ve even warmed up to three furry Wagoneers, pets Gattus, Tommy and Silver.It’s been a hell of a year with plenty of creativity and growth. Here’s what 2015 at the WGN looked like.
JANUARY
New year. New structure.The team was growing, and so we needed more structure. It was no longer the case of a single person overlooking the entire workflow. New teams in new departments meant more structure, a higher purpose for employees and more control over the system, ensuring a better workflow. Happy employees = great work = happy clients = more fun projects to work on. Win!
FEBRUARY
Wagolume exchangeA year into our partnership with top UK agency Volume Ltd., three Wagoneers flew over to its digital campus in Wokingham. During that week, Martin, Beppe and Kat absorbed themselves into the company culture and experienced working at the award-winning global provider of digital content, technology and innovation.
MARCH
The D-tourDirectors Pete, Kris and Chris travelled to Italy to meet the development team of DAN Europe and seal the deal on an exciting branding project for a Michelin-starred restaurant.
APRIL
We’ve got #2020 visionWe had reached an exciting period in the WGN’s journey. It was time for a team-building workshop outside the office to share our five-year vision and help bring everyone on board. Our #2020 vision is to take BRND WGN to the next level, and grow internationally.
MAY
Malta’s first ever BÄ“hance Portfolio ReviewWe hosted a group of local designers, illustrators, photographers, videographers and architects at our offices, to exchange the love for anything creative and network within an informal setting. The BÄ“hance Portfolio Review is organised twice annually in hundreds of cities worldwide by the design megasite www.behance.com.
Then, the infamous Mr Datatastic was bornThis so-not-cool-that-he’s-actually-cool Maltese frontman, known for wearing itsy-bitsy orange shorts with ‘Datatastic’ slapped on his rear-end became an icon in local advertising. The campaign videos racked over a quarter of a million views on Facebook alone and is, to date, one of GO’s most successful campaigns.
JUNE
We struck a note.. on Spotify!We became the first digital creative agency to roll out Malta's first Spotify ad campaign for leading telecommunications company GO. This was also the first time any brand used Spotify to advertise in Malta.
Ray-Ban’s #Campaign4ChangeWe were tasked with creating a campaign that both drew people’s attention and lived up to Ray-Ban’s campaign message. Body painting, we knew, would bring out people’s true colours. By the end of summer, Malta’s edition of the Ray-Ban #Campaign4Change won the International Marketing award for best consumer engagement initiative.
JULY
Scan it, win it!We developed a unique interactive platform and barcode-scanning installation to gamify the Malta International Airport shopping experience in the Schengen Departures Area. The Scan & Win platform invites travellers to scan the card they receive upon spending over €20 and pressing a red button to see whether they won or not. Scanning a winning card awards the lucky passengers with a ticket they can then exchange for a prize.
AUGUST
Creativity for breakfastWe started tackling client briefs as a creative think-tank, bringing all the right brains together. Creative Mornings set out to give more to our clients, by injecting more creative input to our campaigns.
SEPTEMBER
It’s an award-winning strategy!In line with our growth strategy and #2020 vision, we were named national champion for Malta for our international growth strategy during the European Business Awards. Very soon we will compete against national champions from other countries in the same category.
Taking it to another level We had outgrown our office space. When the Wagoneer number hit 34, we expanded to the penthouse upstairs. Now we can offer more creative workshops, spacious meeting rooms and as a by-product, enjoy a bright terrace for lunches in the sun. Next time you’re in the area, come say hi.
OCTOBER
BRND new websiteApart from the fact that we grew in size, our skills and mindset also matured. We turned those skills onto ourselves and redesigned our site and refreshed our look to reflect who we had grown into: a strategic, creative, powerhouse.
Branding to the Future: hoverboard refreshOctober 21st 2015 was the day Marty McFly arrived to in the 1989 sci-fi movie 'Back to the Future Part II'. To be part of the global conversation, we reimagined what the iconic hoverboard would look like if it were a common transportation tool today.
NOVEMBER
DANNY’s new homeFollowing a successful hydration campaign in Malta, DAN (Divers Alert Network) Europe collected empty plastic water-bottles to create Danny, a sustainable piece of art. The plastic bottle sculpture encouraged the support of the Environment and Sustainability Minister Leo Brincat as well as helped generate a lot of press interest. The sculpture was adopted by the Malta National Aquarium.
DECEMBER
D OneThis exciting project saw us create a modern, iconic and typography-based brand for a Michelin-starred restaurant in Italy. Inspired by the hills and medieval landscape of Montepagano, where the restaurant is located, we handled the branding, design and development for its new website.
A new director and a new chairmanOur CFO Gareth, became the fourth BRND WGN shareholder. Meanwhile, Chris Sykes, Chief Executive of Volume Global, joined our board as non-exec chairman. He will bring on experience and objective perspective to our leadership as we enter our 10th year of operations. We’re excited about this new chapter ahead of us.
Christmas gifts unwrappedSticking to our Christmas tradition, we channeled our creativity to develop and design a gift to share the spirit of BRND WGN.