When PB& first opened, I often heard “if you can make it through 5 years, you’ll be in good shape.” Well, we made it. But I have no intention of turning down the heat. As I reflect back, three words remind me of what’s fueled us to this point and will continue to fuel us in the future.
Perseverance. In these 5 years, I had a baby, we’ve experienced a global pandemic and the economy has been less than stable. But we’ve also created kick ass, award-winning work, grown a network of talent that keeps us fresh and been willing to evolve without losing sight of who we are and want to be. In short, the past five years have been defined by twists and turns, some more extreme than others. But with clear focus, we have persevered. In fact, as a business, we’ll end this year healthier than ever before. We are much more diverse–from the set clients we have to our talent pool to the work and opportunities that lie ahead. All of those are rewards of perseverance both individually and collectively; in the moment and over time.
Partnership. Today, the majority of our clients have been our partners for the majority of our agency’s existence. In this business, those types of relationships can be hard to come by. I’m proud that we have developed true partnerships where clients see us as valuable extensions to their team. In fact, this year we’ve expanded our work with many of those. With Windermere we moved beyond just media to creating a great creative platform that can move the brand forward and help them think through their product propositions for agents. With Carrier, we’ve expanded our work within their portfolio of brands. But we’ve also developed partnerships with new clients that have challenged and grown our team in new ways. We joined forces with Seattle Bank to help them chart their consumer-focused future. We’ve done work with Matterport, we’ve had some fun with Dan the Sausageman, and we love that we have been able to once again shine a spotlight on Summit, the new facility at Seattle Convention Center with Visit Seattle.
Passion. Yep, it seems cliche. But honestly, if you’re not doing work you love, people likely won’t love the work you do. Looking at every opportunity as an opportunity is a critical perspective that propels our success. No matter how small a project or request may seem, our team brings a passion for creating big ideas and big impact. And we’re committed to navigating real world factors to help them succeed — even if that means pivoting along the way (see Perseverance above). We have a passion for great work. We have a passion for the impact great work can have on people, business and culture at large. That passion is what helps take our clients, our business, and us as individuals — further, faster.
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In all, we have an immense sense of gratitude for what we have accomplished in the past year and over the past five. That gratitude is also coupled with an immense sense of excitement about what’s ahead. We can’t wait to write the next chapter.