I am absolutely thrilled that from April 2026, Neil Brenson becomes Managing Director, alongside Susan Wickes in a joint MD structure at jellybean that reflects both the growth of our business and the direction we are heading.Read More
“When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace” Anon
Working in a fast paced communications agency has its challenges and requires energy, dedication and resilience, which is why we take the mental health* and wellbeing of our team very seriously at jellybean. We regularly carry out internal surveys to check-in and see how our team are feeling and identify where the professional pinch points are.
As the founder of jellybean 37 years ago I am proud to announce that as of September 2024 we are an employee-owned business through an EOT (Employee Ownership Trust).
I have many passions in life but top 3 on my list must be 1) my business jellybean, 2) my sport golf and 3) doing good whilst having fun. No offence to my partner Ian or my dog Kenzo they of course are right up there too. Last Friday I had the opportunity to combine all three of these passions by sponsoring and organising a ladies charity golf day at Sunningdale Heath where we raised much needed funds for the Ukraine Crisis Children’s Appeal via Plan International.
As we celebrate our 35th year in business I take time to think about jellybean and reflect on what we stand for and what may be at the core of our success as a long-standing integrated food and drink agency. And as coral is the gift for a 35th anniversary it seems appropriate to use that as a start point.
Charities have been one of the hardest hit sectors throughout the past 18 months both globally and much closer to home. Over its 35 year history, jellybean has sponsored literally hundreds of children and supported education projects in Africa through Plan International but in 2021, as we emerge from the effects of the pandemic, we wanted to keep things local and thus donated £10,000 to White Lodge in Chertsey to help save their Hydrotherapy pool and a further £10,000 to CWSNF, a Surrey based charity that I have been a patron of for many years. All funds raised through the foundation go straight to the point of need (all staff donate their time and expertise) and as a result CWSNF has a wide range of worthy applications to consider and allocate much needed funds to across the year. I was particularly delighted when the money was granted to an application from Woodlands School in Leatherhead (just a driver and 5 iron from jellybean HQ) to install Audio and Visual equipment in their Upper School Hall. What could be more worthy and more local than that!
jellybeanhas always been active in supporting a wide range of charities in its 34-year history and this year is no exception. In 2019 we helped build classrooms in the Gambella region of Ethiopia and in 2020 we supported a programme to continue education for girls in Zimbabwe as they struggled through the impacts of the global pandemic.
It never ceases to amaze me that the guys at jellybean are always up for a new challenge. No matter how busy they are juggling workload with a hectic home life, even if it eats into their personal time and requires them to go outside their comfort zone. Whether it’s a 100-mile bike ride, running a marathon, completing the moonwalk, taking on the 3 peaks challenge, or devoting time or expertise to a charity initiative – the beans will rise to the occasion with enthusiasm, commitment and determination. All whilst having fun as a team and enjoying the banter and camaraderie along the way.
I am absolutely thrilled that jellybeanis a Top 60 B2B agency (59) and a Top 40 Integrated B2B agency (38) according to the recently released 2021 UK B2B Marketing Agencies Benchmarking Report.
As we continue to struggle as a nation to cope with the impact of Covid-19 on a local, national and international level, and adapt our lives to a new normal in order to keep the R number below 1 and implement strategic lockdowns in specific communities, I stop to reflect on the impact this pandemic is having on our 2020 project helping girls in Zimbabwe continue their education. Whilst we complain about compulsory quarantine after a 2 week holiday in Spain, rally against wearing face masks in busy public places, miss having mass social gatherings with our friends and family and struggle with continuing to work from home in an ever changing landscape, spare a thought for a country that is suffering from a poor harvest, rampant inflation and a growing Coronavirus problem.
As jellybeancelebrates its 33rd year in business and manages its way through the Covid 19 lockdown I take a rather irreverent look back and reflect on what was happening in the UK in 1987 – the year that it all started and our business was established. I am sure it will jog some memories and I hope it brings a smile to a few old faces who remember those days as fondly as I do.
Dealing with a situation like Covid19 on a local, national and global scale is unprecedented and uncharted and it touches every single one of us on a macro and micro scale. Never before have we felt so vulnerable, fighting an invisible enemy, afraid for our health, our friends’ and families’ health, our future jobs and the damage to us financially and emotionally, as we lock down to flatten the curve and take pressure off essential services.
Hot on the heels of our Gambella refugee project of 2019 I am delighted to announce that in 2020 jellybeanis supporting a new initiative for educating adolescent girls in Zimbabwe. Plan International’s project aims to give 21,780 of the most marginalised girls, in one of the world’s poorest countries, the chance to advance their education and go on to earn a fair wage and make a safe living.
The recent Extinction Rebellion protests have focused our minds on a global problem and if I have learnt one thing from them it is that “We can choose to be affected by the world or we can choose to affect the world.” Heidi Wills. The XR cause is undoubtedly a worthy one and critical to the future of our planet and I am not here to challenge the essence of their goal or to speculate on their questionable (and sometimes hypocritical) methods, but rather to reflect on another critical world problem that is deserving of the same level of attention – child poverty.
As reported in previous blogs there are more refugees in the world than ever before, numbering some 65million and over half of them are children. The civil war in South Sudan is one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world and Ethiopia has opened its borders to 375,000 refugees living in camps and host communities in the Gambella region.
I am delighted to report that Jellybean’s School initiative with Plan International progresses apace. The construction materials and contractors have been secured, and construction was scheduled to begin this month – we look forward to a further update soon.But let’s be honest no one wants to look at photos of a building site, so I thought I would share with you some inspiring images from a neighbouring project in the Gambella region in Ethiopa so you can see the vision rather than the current reality.
Hot off the press, the B2B Agency Benchmarking Report for 2019 has been issued and I am delighted to announce that Jellybean is ranked 57th overall (so top 60) for all UK B2B agencies and is in 33rd place in the top Integrated B2B agencies in the UK. Drilling deeper we are in the top 25 agencies with less than 50 employees. How proud I am of the hardworking and dedicated team at jellybeanwho make this business what it is.
As Great Britain faces the challenges surrounding business and economic planning and the impacts of the political and social unknown, jellybeancan be sure of one project that is close to our hearts which definitely knows where it is heading. We are now 6 months into our Safe Schools Project in the Gambella region in Ethiopa and I’m delighted to report that Plan International has made some important progress, often against the odds.
The Jellybean Safe Schools project in the Gambella region of Ethiopia is progressing and we are look forward to construction commencing early in 2019. I am delighted that our contribution will be helping people like Sarah* whose harrowing story is shared below. Initiatives like this not only help refugee children get into school but also help their parents get an education too through the Community Learning Hubs which provide numeracy and literacy support, life skills training, and peace-building initiatives.
