Mike Sewell blog: new projects showcase broadening offer

We’re already nearly a quarter of the way through 2023, so an update on progress at CPL One feels long overdue, says CPL One managing director Mike Sewell.
 

1. Combination between CPL and CenturyOne in good shape

It’s now almost nine months since we completed the deal to combine CPL and CenturyOne. 

Before finalising things last July, we already knew the two agencies would be well suited to work together. And our performance over the past few months has proved it. Teams from our St Albans and Cambridge offices have worked together to seal a number of new business wins, as well as extend the range of services we offer existing clients.

We have also invested considerable time and energy in successfully bringing together the two agencies’ existing systems and processes; for example, single finance, sales and HR management software is now in use across the group.

Now we are looking at how best to create a new brand for CPL and CenturyOne, starting to explore how people who work here feel connected with, and part of, this freshly joined-up and expanded content marketing agency.

My colleague Martin Bewick has written here about the thorough and purposeful process we’re going through to make this happen.
 

2. New projects demonstrate our broadening offer for membership organisations

The creation of CPL One Group means we are firmly established as one of the UK’s leading content marketing agencies serving the membership sector. 

We have long had a strong reputation for creating and selling outstanding content across a range of channels, but one newer trend we’re noticing is organisations asking us for support with their member proposition, narrative and brand positioning. 

A recently concluded project for the Royal College of GPs is a case in point, and we’re working on similar programmes for a number of other new and existing clients. The process we’re going through to create our own brand is not dissimilar to what we can offer clients – a deep dive into what makes their organisation tick, out of which comes clarity about the fundamentals to prioritise in future.
 

3. Awards entries show quality of our people

Having spent the past week helping to finalise our entries for the Memcom Excellence Awards, I have been reminded of the quality of our work for clients. Perhaps more importantly, it has given me another reason to appreciate the quality of the individuals and teams who make it happen. 

It can be a time-consuming process to put together award entries, and we are fairly strategic about which projects we choose to enter, but it’s always a timely reminder of the great stuff that’s being done across CPL One Group.

4. Lots of chat about ChatGPT

Unusually for me, my main holiday this year was during February – which gave me plenty of time to read about and consider the hype around ChatGPT, and the implications of generative artificial intelligence (AI). 

On my return, I attended a useful PPA seminar considering whether this represents “revolution or evolution”. Without wanting to get all Alan Partridge here (see 2mins22 of this clip) I believe that, used in the right way, generative AI represents a significant opportunity for CPL One and our clients. 

You will never replace the value, creativity and flair that humans can offer, but I am pleased that our editors are already using ChatGPT to help speed up their research and our developers are using it to carry out repetitive coding where useful. AI is not going away anytime soon and, in the case of tools such as ChatGPT, we need to understand how we can embrace and maximise it in the same way that our finance team members use Microsoft Excel every day.

5. Chariots and lions

This Sunday, a group of people from our Cambridge office are taking part in Chariots of Fire, an annual fun run round the university colleges that always reminds me of what a beautiful city Cambridge is.

It was recently voted the happiest place in the UK to live and work (although, sadly, it’s also one of the most expensive, which doesn’t make it easy for our team members to actually live here). St Albans, home of CenturyOne, is also one of Britain’s most beautiful cities and can boast a cathedral/abbey, which is more than can be said for Cambridge. 

We love welcoming clients to our offices, and have plenty of space, so do please feel free to visit whenever you’d like to. If you come to Cambridge you’ll get the chance to see the rather surprising-looking stone lions that our landlord has recently brought here (see pic below). You have been warned!