This month, MVP looks a little different.
Every year, alongside our monthly recognitions, we take a moment at our annual conference to go bigger. To look back at the full year, the people who showed up consistently and the performances that moved the business forward. Five categories. Five winners. And a shortlist full of people we’re proud to work alongside every day.
This year’s conference also included a strategy session for the year ahead and a workshop on trusting ourselves to make good decisions. Which felt appropriate, given the calibre of the people we were about to celebrate.
Rising Star: Steph Elmer
Steph joined StrategiQ a year ago and has spent that time building expertise in data and paid media, leading clients, contributing to pitches and sorting out other people’s messy spreadsheets without complaint.
The nominations that came in for Steph were consistent:
“From leading clients to delivering great data projects on top of her paid media knowledge, she does it all. Her super positive attitude, attention to detail and passion for data is inspiring. In just the past few months she’s played a big part in pitches and many QBR. No task ever seems too much trouble for her, even when I know she’s spinning lots of plates. She goes the extra mile to make our lives that little bit easier. She’s just celebrated a year with us and has made such an impact. I can’t wait to see what she does in the next.”
“I’ve been on several accounts, calls and workshops with Steph this month and she has just blown me away. Her super positive attitude, attention to detail and all round passion for data marketing is nothing short of astonishing. Super keen to jump in, expert knowledge of all her clients, and just amazing to work with.”
The shortlist:
- Miya Turnbull, Digital Project Executive
- Nick Wells, Senior Creative Strategist
- Vicki Scannell, Finance Manager
- Olivia Phillips, Creative Strategist
Client Impact: Duncan Brown
Our Head of Development, Duncan always puts “we” before “me”, stepping in whenever clients need extra support and getting challenging projects moving.
The nominations for Duncan ranged from the heartfelt to the impressive:
“He’s become the person a lot of us turn to when it comes to figuring out how AI actually fits into the way Dev and Design work together. He’s always on hand to talk through an idea, and he never just tells you what you want to hear – he gives you the honest, considered take.”
“His work locking down our security has been nothing short of incredible. He’s taken us forward, training the team and rolling out the right security enhancements to properly protect us and our clients. He’s given up evenings and weekends without a moment’s hesitation to respond, and he’s done it all without fuss or complaint.”
“Whether it’s unblocking a project, helping a colleague or quietly preventing issues before they become bigger problems, he’s someone the whole team can rely on.”
The shortlist:
- Amber Smith, Client Manager
- Olly Mackenzie, Client Manager
- Tyler Webb Harding, Growth Director
- Charlie Taylor, Client Operations Director
Marketer of the Year: Max Buch
The nomination that probably best captures Max’s year came in two words: “level up.”
Everything he touched this year was better. The new StrategiQ website (watch this space) described by multiple colleagues as some of the best design work they’ve seen come out of the agency. The Mubadala dashboard designs. Pitching in front of clients, leading the room, designing on the fly while incorporating real-time feedback.
“I would love to nominate Max for his incredible work on the new StrategiQ website and more. He has done an incredible job in crafting the beautiful design and creating a bespoke digital experience. As a creative, I know how much effort you need to put in to translate storytelling into a functional and responsive web format, and Max has been brilliant on this.”
“Max has properly earned this one.”
The shortlist:
- Jamie Cernik, Paid Media Manager
- Louise Goodthorp, Head of Creative and Brand
- Max Spooner Blind, Senior Web Developer
- Steph Elmer, Senior Data and Insights Strategist
People’s Champion: Josh Crawford
Josh earned more team MVP votes than anyone else this year. That’s what happens when you spend five years building something useful, then double your team, then fly to Montana for a client workshop and be the first one up every morning working on the slides and the last one standing at the bar each night.
The nominations for Josh were some of the longest and most considered of the whole year. Here’s a selection:
“It’s worth remembering where we started. Just before the pandemic, we didn’t have a data team. Today, the agencies thriving in the AI era are those that have invested in measurement. That has become one of our core strengths, and I believe Josh is one of its pillars.”
“This man is a marketing machine. Performance, data, SEO, insights, A/B testing, CRO, CX, GEO – and that’s just for a light snack before he gets in the office. Nobody touches as many projects and clients as Josh, a finger in every pie and a spring in every step.”
“Josh is one of those relatively quiet people who sit at the heart of agencies like mini nuclear reactors powering the organisation around them.”
“He’s always got a smile on his face and is ready to give his time to those who repeatedly bother him with ‘can you just’ requests, even when he’s mega busy.”
“Josh is a constant. I don’t know how he does it but he always has the answer and he’s always there to help. His commitment to getting the data and the storytelling right is exactly what all of our clients need.”
Josh has supported the team professionally and personally this year. He’s relentless, considerate and never phones it in. He also, for the record, runs a great quiz.
The shortlist:
- Bridget Parfitt, Head of Project Management
- Amber Smith, Client Manager
- Miya Turnbull, Digital Project Executive
- Nat McHale, Head of CX
CEO Champion: Tyler Webb-Harding
The CEO Champion award is Andy’s to give, and this year it went to the person who wore a full mascot suit in a London heatwave and generated 20 MVP nominations in a single month.
Tyler’s MAD//Fest performance as Fred, StrategiQ’s mascot, earned its own category of nominations:
“Anyone could have worn the thread suit but only Tyler could have truly been Fred. He properly flew the StrategiQ flag throughout one of the biggest heatwaves, keeping the energy going without a single complaint. He started conversations with spectators, threw himself into creating content and brought so much personality to the character throughout that week. He even managed to meet Rory Sutherland.”
“He spent hours in that costume, representing StrategiQ at MAD//Fest, driving an incredible amount of engagement. He did all of this during some of the hottest days of the London heatwave, yet never stopped smiling or bringing energy to everyone around him.”
“How can you not vote for the guy who literally sweated like nobody else for the company?”
Beyond the suit Tyler has led key projects, supported the team and has been there day in, day out, with the same energy and work ethic throughout a significant year of change.
To everyone on the shortlists
The five categories had twenty-two names across them. Every single one of those people earned their place on the list. Five trophies went home but the nominations told a fuller story – of a team that notices, cares and takes the time to say so.
StrategiQ works because of everyone in it.
See you at next year’s conference.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.