I can’t let such an infamous year pass without a bit of reflection. I have assembled some thoughts on AMOK’s year, for the enjoyment of both of the people who read this blog.
Win Column
AWARDS. 2020 was a blockbuster for awards, in a way that I still don’t entirely understand. I can honestly say awards have never been my objective since I started AMOK. On the contrary, I kind of resigned myself to the fact that as a freelancer I wouldn’t get many of those juicy, award-friendly briefs. But I’m looking back on a year where I notched 20 pencils at AWARD. I also had 5 different campaigns get shortlisted at B&T, with 3 of them winning: Best TV, Best Outdoor, Best Radio. That is a unique trifecta, one I’m bloody proud of. Whilst I’ve had some good award years in the past - and often it has been at more international, ‘illustrious’ shows - it has always been for work that few people in the general public actually saw. The stuff I’ve put out with AMOK is doing nothing at the international shows, but it’s doing really well at home, and it’s cleaning up at something like B&T, which only really recognises big, real campaigns that lots of punters saw and liked. I’m finding this type of win more satisfying.
REMOTE WORK REVOLUTION. I can’t put ‘Covid Pandemic’ in the win column, but I think I can put this? Remote work was a key part of the AMOK proposition from the outset, and it met plenty of early resistance. But I carved out a small set of clients who were willing to tolerate it. Then coronavirus comes along and overnight, every agency in the world was strong-armed into trying the way of working I have been promoting. There were a few bumps but everyone has discovered the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. And now I don’t get a word of pushback on dialing in. This has precipitated two further big wins for AMOK:
RELOCATION OF WORK. For the first time this year I picked up a client in Melbourne. I did a couple of stints for TBWA Melb and have another one coming up. Then after that it looks like I’ll be doing a stint with the big dog, Clems Melb.
RELOCATION OF HOME. A long term goal when I started AMOK was to be able to move out of Sydney. Somewhere with more space and less pace. We were fairly on track for this sea change but it got a huge push along by the pandemic. Our little family moved 90 mins north to Copacabana, which is as idyllic as it sounds. I wear a panama hat, drink buttery chardonnay and sometimes in between Zooms I go for a quick soak in the Pacific. Then I wander back through the soft Copa sand to rewrite some scripts and cuddle my kids. In these moments - for just a moment - life feels like a brief that I have cracked. It doesn’t last all that long - I get some heinous client feedback, or Joseph kicks me in the dick - but to even feel it fleetingly is potent, and thrilling.
Loss Column
LOCKDOWN LOCO. When the pandemic hit, it was bloody stressful. I started to hear that a lot of agencies were imposing pay cuts across the board. I did a simple mental calculation - if you’re asking your permanent creatives to take a pay cut/work 4 days a week, what budget are you going to have for freelancers? I quickly came to the conclusion it would be zero. I had a stern conversation with Jess and told her I thought we could afford to go about 3 months with no work at all. Not because we had savings, I just figured I would tap into the money I’d been accruing for income tax and super. I also started to brainstorm some leftfield ideas, like offering to work on new business pitches on a success fee basis - no win, no pay. Luckily it never came to that! But it gives you an idea of how dire I thought things might get. I was ecstatic to be wrong. The entire year was solidly busy.
PITCHES. Lost some pitches that really stung. Catch.com.au and West Coast Cooler, both for Emotive. I have a lot of heart for Emotive, and whilst they managed 2020 very well, I really would have liked to bring in some fresh brands for them. These two would have been very handy additions and I worked on both, but went 0 from 2.
THE DEATH OF THE DOUBLE DIP. In July we welcomed our second child, My Beautiful Darling, Lois Lucinda Dawson. This was undoubtedly in the Win Column of Life, but it really upped the parenting workload and reduced my ability to churn through work. Not that I was a big double dipper before, but if a juicy brief came up I would often take it on, on the side. I can’t really do that at all now. Every day is bookended with big blocks of bathing and bum-wiping, so one gig at a time is all I can manage.
BAILING ON A JOB. There was one gig where I got so sick of it, I just told the agency I couldn’t continue working on that job. I didn’t feel good doing it - I pride myself on having a degree of resilience and a work ethic where I follow through. I never want to be the guy who just storms off when he doesn’t get his way. BUT...this wasn’t that, in my opinion. I had put in a very solid effort - repeatedly - and was just getting nowhere with the client. Looking back on the decision, I maintain it was the right one.
TVC OD. Yet again this year my output was overwhelmingly film, despite my love of non-traditional/activation-type work. I presented heaps of it, but it’s the same old story - clients just feel a bit more comfortable buying a script. Maybe even more so in an uncertain period like 2020. It’s a minor complaint though - I still love punching out a good TV spot.
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So, when I look over the two columns, it’s no contest. 2020 - for all of its turmoil - was a cracking year. I have been wildly fortunate and am so grateful to the agencies that kept giving me opportunities throughout this turbulent year. Below is little reel I assembled of what I was able to get out the door.