It's been a pleasure 2024 - Jo Allen

Choosing one highlight when you work with a team like this one, and clients like ours, is pretty tricky…

Especially for a copywriter who needs no excuse to wax lyrical. For me, it always comes down to people. The people you get to share every work day with, whether as an employee or a contractor or through a client-agency relationship, matter the most. Over and above all else, the people you choose to spend your time with make the great days even greater and the not so great ones very manageable. Key word there, choose.

This year was a big one for me, as I (finally) jumped on the KW train as a full-time member of the team taking up the mantel as Head of PR, Comms and Content. Having worked with the agency since 2022 as a contractor, making the choice to go back to employment (rather than staying solely in self-employment) was one I laboured over for quite a while. I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with and be welcomed into some phenomenally talented teams while freelancing, and even more lucky that I still get to work with the majority of them as clients despite having made the jump back into employment. So I suppose my highlight for this year actually equates to being grateful, not only for the opportunity KW has offered me - one which I’m excited to develop more in the coming year as I look to grow our comms and PR offering - but also for Alex and Rob’s flexibility.

Not only do I get to work with some of the region’s (and nation’s) most forward-thinking companies when it comes to prioritising people and the planet with the agency here in Caistor, but I still get to combine that with running my own content company and tiny but mighty little team continues its work. It also means I get to fly the KW flag on my travels to London and various industry events across the UK… plenty more of those are already booked for 2025 including the IFE (super excited about that one) and Multimodal.

Alongside the people, 2024 has thrown some wonderful projects my way, including collaborating with Doddington Hall to promote its bi-annual sculpture trail and Christmas offering; working with Otby House as the tea their expand their visitor economy offering; leading our work on delivering The Tourism Excellence Awards with Destination Lincolnshire and Discover Rutland in partnership with Visit England; seeing clients shortlisted and winning awards (here’s looking at your Projekt Renewable, UK Alternative Energy, and Victor Finance) after supporting them with their application process and copywriting; hosting events with clients as well as the agency; and finally, and certainly not lastly, spending time with our superstar apprentice, Emily. Nurturing young talent is not only a core value of the agency, but a personal passion of mine - it was even something I pledged my support to when I applied (and won a spot on) the F:entreprenuer’s #iAlso 100 list for 2022.

Emily and I work closely on a lot of projects together, and her creativity, dedication to her work and standard of delivery never fails to impress me. It helps that we get on like a house on fire, and having earned the title of ‘work mum’ (I’d have preferred cool work auntie but hey ho) I’m proud as punch of how much Em has achieved this year - and for smashing her IQA as the end of her apprenticeship approaches!