The Strat House team take a look back at 2021 and some of the highlights; from children’s healthcare, petrochemical substitutes and unleashing creativity, to kittens, puppies and the critical issue of whether your dishwasher is working (or not).

In The House

Innovations and initiatives from Strat House clients and partners.

• Unilever helping women farmers to grow pineapples and their incomes
• Adidas takes on Samsung’s controversial ‘Night Owls’ ad in women’s safety campaign
• Unilever Study Reveals Influence of Influencers in Sustainable Behavior Change
• Dove are standing up for #KidsOnlineSafety
• Gong cha named best food & drink franchise at the 2023 Global Franchise Awards
• Find out why LinkedIn And Dove Are In It Together To Help End Hair Discrimination

Looking back on 2021

Co-founder, Melanie Welsh

This year we’ve had the privilege of expanding not just the industries we work with but also our horizons: in terms of the impact we can help others have. It was a true high to assist the inspiring team at Alder Hey Innovation Centre in their mission to create better futures for children (and also very humbling). 

Similarly, we are delighted to be working with client Checkerspot whose entire business is focused on eliminating the use of petrochemical-based materials. Last but not least our continued work Unilever, and All Things Hair, gave us the opportunity to help them keep moving forward in the battle against beauty standards 🎉

It was great too, to see my teenage children living their lives after the last 18 months …but honestly, nothing will ever compare to the overwhelming relief I felt when my dishwasher was fixed after TWO MONTHS in the third lockdown 😱

Co-founder, Rachel Clarke

2021 has definitely been an improvement over 2020. We have had a consistent workload, we’ve worked with some excellent new clients and we’ve brought two new people onto the team. A highlight for me has been working on Unboxed 2022, a fascinating project to come up with the new branding for the Festival of Creativity that is taking place across four nations of the UK next year. It was a challenge in understanding stakeholder needs, from Governments to governing bodies, from local creative teams to national project teams. It was also an excellent example of a collective effort, with us, Studio of Art and Commerce and Sea Design all working together. Although, please don’t ask me to do a pitch for another year 🙂 

On a personal note, moving out of London has been a major change. As a distributed non-office company, there was no reason for me to stay there so I’ve taken the chance to move back to my roots and try a little country living. 

Strategy Director, Helen Spencer

Before these times, I spent a lot of time in client’s offices, where I loved the interactions and energy. For me, getting back to working with people face to face again has been great. Even better is the use of real post-its and whiteboards instead of the virtual boards. I’ve also been busy with a partner company creating new Personal Care and beauty brands for lots of people you would have heard of but we can’t tell you about just yet  😃 That has been fun.

At home, I’ve been improving my painting and decorating skills after a house move; in personal ‘firsts’ I’ve become both an Aunt and a kitten parent. The kittens currently make far more mess.

Strategy Partner, Victoria Herrick

A major highlight for me has been answering a phone call mid-yacht race to hear a job offer from Strat House. I had to wait 6 months before joining and now, 4 weeks into the role, I’m having a great time. Rediscovering the joy of a great brief with fresh problems to solve every day – what’s not to like? Before joining, I learnt to be brilliant at remote working, as we re-platformed a very complex website without ever having met the team which was based in Bulgaria, India and London.

Finally, I have no regrets turning my hair (temporarily) pink and I’m trying to decide what colour I should go for at Christmas. 

Operations Manager, Nick Buckley

Having recently joined Strat House, I’m looking forward to being part of a smaller company, setting things up for success and trying out innovative solutions to common business problems – we need to be smart in what we do. Companies are getting more used to people being out of the office and with Strat House, that was built into their structure from the start, so I’ve taken the opportunity to move house out of London and fulfil a lifetime goal of getting a dog. I’m currently on “pawternity leave” settling the puppy in. The lifestyle change is allowing me space to refocus on creativity, to get better at shopping small, and local, and to think about my impact on the world.