Feeling thankful…

by Richenda Vermeulen
February 14, 2019

It’s the time of year to look back and reflect. I wanted to share a bit about the year, and a few things I’m feeling thankful for.

General Managers

This year was the first year I’ve had not just one, but two general managers. As you may have read in Women’s Agenda, Ai Mawdsley joined the ntegrity team as GM while she was 4 months pregnant, with Camilla Bale (our interim GM) stepping in for 7 months.

This was a surprisingly awesome (and unplanned) strategy that brought in two different skill sets and perspectives for the business. These absolute legends helped ntegrity build better systems, structure, and efficiencies, and we’re stronger because of them. It was a reminder that the unexpected path is sometimes the best path.

Clients setting my soul on fire

The general managers freed my time so I could spend more time with clients. Working on complex problems and spending time with leaders to help them move forward with strategy and development of their teams — that’s what makes me come alive! It felt great to return to more hands-on work, especially because I had been spending a lot of time on administration and managing the business.

Releasing our research into the world

In May, we released our 2nd annual research into the Key Drivers of Digital Marketing Success to a sold-out audience at the RACV club. The research exposed how digital success is completely interlinked with people. When teams are aligned with strategy, have sufficient digital acumen to make sense of their data and use narrative to internally communicate, then success is close by. You can download the free report here

Client videos

This year we quietly launched video services and told some beautiful stories for the organisations we work with. Here’s a few videos we’ve made for YourGrocer, the Department of Jobs and Small BusinessWISE Employment and one for us.

As video is an increasingly effective and efficient way to reach audiences, we’re excited to come alongside more clients and help share their stories.

Hosting a podcast

I took a trip down memory lane while hosting First Year Frontiers; a podcast aimed at helping founders in their first year of business. I shared my old memories, biggest mistakes, and everything in between. My favourite episode is on setting goals and defining success but be warned: it gets vulnerable!

Helping people stop saying “I hate our CRM!”

A massive pain point for many companies is their marketing tools and systems. Regardless of which CRM or platform you use, you’re bound to test the limits with integrations, data, or just getting campaigns out quickly. And when marketing technology goes bad, everyone is affected.

This year we’ve been able to help clients better navigate their current systems, select new tools, and train their teams on how to get the most out of their marketing technology stack. It feels good to witness better systems improving culture!

Digital Academy

Two years ago we launched ntegrity academy. This year we released the course available online.

My hope was that students enrolled in the digital version still felt the 1:1 experience, so I was really pleased to receive messages like this: “All of the instructors are amazing communicators and the content & delivery is so fantastic. Learning so much and loving it!”

Growth in unexpected places

This year the agency grew 42% year-on-year. We’ve brought on new team members, new services, and new clients around Australia, including Sydney, Newcastle, Darwin, Tasmania, Adelaide and Canberra.

Growth is exciting but never easy — it’s meant revisiting our systems, values, and culture to ensure we best articulate who we are, and how we work for new clients and team members. But it’s been worth it. The process has helped us refine our goals, helped us recruit better, and allowed us to expand our footprint while staying true to our values.

And lastly, I am also thankful for our ntegrity clients, our team, and to my advisors who continue to coach me and help ntegrity grow into our potential.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and the very best for the new year ahead.