Year in Review 2020

We’ve experienced an unprecedented year. A year that has challenged us (and the world) in ways we never even thought possible. But we managed to stay relevant, innovate, and give back where we could. Here’s some work we’re really proud of:

We brought together the global art community.

We collaborated with a community of designers and illustrators from around the world to create a series of activity books that included colouring posters, crosswords, etc. for all ages to enjoy while in quarantine. All proceeds from the activity books were donated to UNICEF to help those in need during the pandemic. Artists from Spain, UK, AUS, Canada, USA, Columbia, and Japan participated and donated their custom art for this cause. Our entire team worked together on brand, production, shop concept, e-comm build and launch announcement – and were able to complete the project in just 7 days. We had over 500 orders in 6 weeks, and over 20,000 unique sessions. We also garnered press interest and the project was covered by The Vancouver Sun, Creative Boom, BC Business, London Free Press, Windsor Star, Muzli to name just a few.

We were more social on social.

When most brands were unsure how to connect during a pandemic, we took an opportunity to leverage our creative position and develop engaging content remotely for 50 consecutive days. And while we never made it big on TikTok, we did do up big on Instagram. The response from the audience was that our content was valuable, engaging, and fun, and we are inclined to agree. We launched two events in particular that got a great deal of attention. One was VP Fest where our agency leaders talked about their fields of expertise and how to adapt during this time. The second was VPX – our version of a virtual TEDX – where we invited a panel of Canadian leaders and creatives such as Ryan Holmes (founder of Hootsuite), to share insights on their ‘new normal’ and provide perspective on what might be next.

We decided to help businesses in need.

Because it’s simply good manners to step up. Very Polite launched a global contest with a branding package prize worth $150,000 to benefit businesses that felt the negative impacts of COVID-19. We named it Brand Me and it created a unique opportunity for brands who may have experienced the financial strain of the pandemic and desperately needed support in order to launch, grow, or stay relevant. The winner of this search was a boozy kombucha beverage we since named ‘Arlo’ (stay tuned on this project). The widely covered contest was featured in The Financial Post, Yahoo Finance, The Province and Canada.com to name a few.

We got some press, tbh.

Though we are far too modest, generally speaking, we must admit Very Polite has gotten noticed this year in more ways than one. The agency got over 9M in press impressions. We were honored to be included in BC Business Mag’s “8 Canadian Business Who Are ‘Doing Good’. Business in Vancouver Magazine awarded Dylan Rekert (Partner & VP Creative) with the prestigious 40 Under Forty award. Our gift shop was featured on Muzli and Awwwards.com. Our work was featured in Deezen, Mansluxe Hong Kong, Trendhunter, LA times, Dieline, Globe and Mail, and BC Business.

We’re in the LOOP.

Very Polite’s first official foray into short-form narrative made the festival rounds and is finally set for an online release in January of 2021. ‘LOOP’ crosses traditional genre boundaries by taking a human centric approach to sci-fi and blur the line between drama and sci-fi, human and machine, reach and artificial. The film was accepted into the Portland Film Festival, Brooklyn Short Film Festival, and Berlin Short Film Festival. “I loved it,” said Leonardo DiCaprio upon watching it for the first time. True story, we would never lie.

Even with this global pandemic, we achieved *almost* all of our 2020 goals. *Pause for applause.* Not bad for a year unlike any other. We’re grateful to all our Veeps* and truly proud to be here.

And…we have big plans for 2021.

*Tremendously talented individuals who work at Very Polite Agency and have exceptionally good manners.