It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

While everyone is indulging in chocolate breakfasts as they open windows on their advent calendars, we’re looking back at the past year and sharing tasty morsels with you from 2019.

Travel with us on our journey of self-reflection as we share what we have learnt and achieved this year. In the spirit of giving our chosen charity this year is Break Charity, the partner charity for Cows about Cambridge, which makes life better for vulnerable children and young people across East Anglia.

Make sure you stop by each day as we update the #CofinitiveAdvent and count down until the big day. Seasons Greeting to all!

#CofinitiveAdvent No. 1      We can’t say for sure how the world of work will develop and change in time, so it can be difficult for people, especially the next generations coming into the workforce, to know what opportunities and avenues are available to them. Giving people the chance to experience particular worlds of work is invaluable, so at cofinitive we pride ourselves on offering work experience to people. In 2019 we had the pleasure of Emma and Katherine visiting us.
#CofinitiveAdvent No.  2 The UK’s productivity has flatlined since the economic downturn in 2008. According to the ONS, this is unprecedented in the post-war era and has come to be referred to as the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’. There is no consensus on the reasons for it but one thing is clear; it’s the major economic issue of our age. For #CofinitiveAdvent no. 2 we today bring leaders, experts and individuals together at the first EngageEast network meeting to debate the role of #EmployeeEngagement in boosting productivity in the East of England. https://bit.ly/37PorIO
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 3 Following our inaugural one to watch awards and event in March this year, many on our list (not just the Top21) went on to achieve great things including additional investment, new clients, key board directors and a variety of other opportunities. We run this campaign to elevate some of the lesser known organisations so that they have the opportunity to rise the ranks even faster. Will you be on the #21toWatch list in 2020?
#CofinitiveAdvent No. 4 It’s been fantastic to see the impact that our creative branding, messaging and PR/media communications work has had for our client Crayfish.io, the innovative online platform dedicated to enabling better engagement with China. Over the last six months, the company has enjoyed more than 21 individual pieces of national, international and local press coverage, featuring on the BBC (TV and radio), CGTN, Cambridge 105 radio and in the Daily Telegraph, South China Morning Star, China Daily, Business Leader magazine, Business Weekly, Cambridge Independent and Cambridge News.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 5 We were delighted to make Business Weekly’s 2019 New Year Honours “Image-Makers” List for the second year running! Up from 8th place in 2018, we are also credited as the fastest riser! We remain a collaborative player and always will be – and have enjoyed working closely with many other diverse providers both on and off the list.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 6 Our pro bono client, Impact Women’s Network now boasts a network of 800+ female professionals united in raising the public visibility of impactful women and instigating even greater change together, beyond individuals and individual organisations. cofinitive organises and runs their monthly #ImpactWednesday session meet-ups and annual conferences where challenging the status quo, inter-generational communication, breaking glass ceilings and flying off glass cliffs are just some of the issues we tackle together!
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 7 Congratulations to … US as we picked up yet another award this year, this time for ‘Best Use Of Content’ (for our work for client SmithsonHill) at the prestigious CIPR Anglia, Thames and Chiltern PRide Awards 2019! And we were also finalists in two other categories: ‘Best Regional Campaign’ for our #OnetoWatch campaign as well as ‘Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy’. Not bad for a company only in it’s 5th year!
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 8 We are excited to be a members of the Advisory Board for Cows About Cambridge, one of the most exciting projects to hit Cambridge in a long time! The arts engagement trail, which will take place next year, will cut across business, education, community and engagement There are lots of opportunities to volunteer and be involved! And watch this space, there’s more to follow in 2020….
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 9 The multi-talented cofinitive team has the experience and diversity to offer our clients a variety of ways to promote, engage and amplify their individual voices. This year, we focused on working in Westminster on behalf of a client – organising, running and promoting a highly successful series of All Party Parliamentary Groups events, which included selecting relevant and captivating speakers to ensure parliamentary interest and engagement. Not a minor challenge to complete!
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 10 Communication is key. How we communicate contributes to people’s first impression of one another, setting the tone for future collaborations, relationships and interactions. We work collaboratively with clients to find and amplify their individual voices in ways that engage heads, hearts and minds, in keeping with their identity. And for our local business community, we hold a free marketing/communications clinic at the Bradfield Centre every month which, to date, has helped more than 50 business and individuals.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 11 We were pleased to complete a website project for returning clients, The Woodhall Estate, designing and developing a new website to meet their future strategic needs. They came to us to produce a streamlined, modern site that would capture the feeling of tradition and history within the estate, whilst being an effective shopfront for new elements of their business.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 12 We work hard to be a flagship business for Cambridge, immersing ourselves in innovative initiatives which add weight to our region’s reputation as the UK’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation. We are proud to be listed amongst Cambridge News’ ‘130 most influential businesses in Cambridge’ and recognised as a key influencer in the region, inspiring and connecting on many different levels within Cambridge’s innovative business community. We love being in the thick of it and overlapping connections you wouldn’t have imagined! After all, it’s not what you know but who you know…
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 13 China is a huge and exciting opportunity for Cambridge businesses, and so cofinitive was delighted to be working with the Cambridge China Forum once again this year as a Strategic and PR partner for their annual conference which was attended by the BBC (Look East) and Financial Times newspaper.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 14 2019 has been a year of monumental growth for cofinitive in many different wats. It’s hard to narrow it down with so many dimensions to what we do – but, given that everyone likes statistics, here’s how this has impacted on our own twitter account: our online following has more than doubled and we have had 8x more impressions and 5x more engagements on Twitter alone. So thank you for interacting on twitter, and our other social channels.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 15 In the spirit of giving, our chosen advent charity this year is Break, a fantastic charity which, for 50 years, has been making life better for vulnerable children and young people across East Anglia. Break is also the partner charity for the upcoming community arts event, Cows about Cambridge.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 16 cofinitive clients have appeared many times across the BBC 10 this year – sharing their expertise nationally and globally on a mix of BBC One Business Briefing, BBC News, BBC World, BBC World Service and BBC Radio 5 Live as well as locally on BBC Look East and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Just one of the impactful ways of communicating our clients stories.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 17 Events in our day and age are as much online as they are offline so while we can only be in so many places at once, physically, this doesn’t stop us lending our support to events and initiatives digitally. Remember, if you follow hashtags, you can follow and interact with the conversations without being present. And if you’re at an event, do use the event hashtag to share key messages.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 18 2019 has seen cofinitive develop its relationship with existing clients and continues to see exponential growth with new clients too. We wouldn’t be able to complete the excellent work we do without them, so thank you! Our clients share our values of passion, integrity and inclusion, and we help them with the clarity.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 19 Amidst cofinitive’s range of client work, founder Faye Holland takes her responsibilities seriously. She is regularly involved in boards meetings, panels and advisory groups. Not just for the business sector, but also for community engagement. Paying it forward is a key ethos of cofinitive, and Faye epitomises this ethos.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 20 If you visit the cofinitive office, or speak to one of the team, be prepared for our cofinitive-isms. While no one wants to be as useful as a chocolate teapot, we’d like everyone to have their pants on fire about something – that’s what really piques our interest! But if you come across a secret squirrel, you’ll just have to wait and see as we keep those very close to our chests. Not sure what we’re talking about? Take a good look around the website and look out for clues.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 21 From our conception, we have always been to support the services that elevate the ecosystem. Because if we didn’t, who would? And so, earlier this year, we created the highly successful #OnetoWatch campaign, showcasing the region’s ground-breaking individuals, startups and ‘things’ to help raise their profile and opportunities. Now called the #21toWatch, the second Awards will be held in March 2020 and we’re currently taking nominations so get involved today by nominating someone (or yourself), or by sponsoring or partnering.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 22 The cofinitive team won the ‘Best use of Content’ Gold award in the CIPR Anglia, Thames and Chiltern PRide Awards, for a stakeholder engagement campaign for key client SmithsonHill. On accepting the award, Nicky Shepard, Account Manager said “Working with SmithsonHill is a game-changer in so many ways. They are very receptive to innovative and creative thinking and being able to push the normal boundaries with our approach is very exciting. And being rewarded for it, from the industry is really encouraging.”
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 23 cofinitive has grown on a strong foundation of values, which the team lives and works by. In identifying and giving these values names, like the pants on fire effect, it’s easier for us to share them with our network, clients and our team as it expands.
 #CofinitiveAdvent No. 24 With so many people and organisations out there doing great work, the Pay It Forward community is thriving and offers countless opportunities to get involved. When one such opportunity comes by us at cofinitive, where we think our skills can really make a difference, we can’t resist offering a helping hand. In 2019 this saw cofinitive give free advice, write guest blogs, develop social media strategies for charities, and much more. The next time you can, contribute to your Pay It Forward community.

For every like, share, and comment we receive, we’ll donate to our #CofinitiveAdvent charity.

To find out more about us, drop us a message and we’d love to connect with you.