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Alive’s 2025 wrapped

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Alive’s 2025 wrapped

2025 has been a year of creativity, momentum, and big ideas. We leaned into bolder thinking, sharper storytelling, and some of our most exciting collaborations yet. Thank you for inviting us to help shape your world, and for proving once again how powerful great partnership can be. We’re so glad you were a part of our year.

Here’s to more fun, cheer, and good times next year!

Our standouts

Recognition and proud moments

The UnAwards win – the first ever in the Human x AI Collaboration category

Our West Berkshire Council brand audit didn’t just push our creative thinking – it earned us a shiny new accolade. A bold approach built through thoughtful human creativity and AI-powered exploration. New territory, new tools, new ideas…and a proud milestone for our whole team.

We turned 16!

A milestone that made us feel proud, grateful, and just a tiny bit emotional. Sixteen years of ideas, collaborations, storytelling, team growth, creativity, and energy. Fun fact, Alan & Alex (founders of Alive) – the Als as we call them – met when they were 16 years old too!

The Dog & Duck newsletter relaunched

Our much-loved newsletter returned with fresh energy, sharper thinking, and plenty of personality. A space for insight, inspiration, and wellbeing warmers. Sign up here.

Team day 

We held our Alive team day – a proper reset, reflect, and reconnect moment. A whole day dedicated to conversations that matter and the people who make the magic happen.

Alan’s adventures 

Our very own Alan went international this year, taking his talks across the pond to the US before returning home for stops in London and Bedfordshire. Our very own globe-trotting storyteller.

Alive projects that made our hearts full

Three Alive weddings!

Love was definitely in the Alive air – three members of the team married their partners this year. Joyous celebrations that lit up our Slack channels with confetti emojis!

 

Alive projects that made our hearts full

The Elephant and Ant

A beautifully illustrated reminder that every role, big or small, has meaning. A story about perspective, purpose, and the magic of differences brought to life with so much heart.

Our first ever Alive event: Stir Creativity 

Hosted at the Bombay Sapphire Distillery, this was a day of fizzing ideas, shared passions, and genuine connection. A room full of creative minds, curiosity everywhere, and conversations we’re still thinking about.

The Zombie Comic finally unleashed

After years of love, commitment, and a lot of undead humour, our zombie comic launched at FirePro. Created by our brilliant studio team, it captures our mission perfectly: fighting workplace zombies and helping people feel alive at work. A true labour of love. Get your hands on a free copy here.

Big impact moments

 

Proud to partner

Repeat work is the biggest compliment, and we’re lucky to collaborate with organisations who trust us year after year.
  • Water Literacy Project: championing education and awareness.
  • British Red Cross: volunteer character campaign with glowing feedback.
  • Sainsbury’s: a suite of bold, bright animations for team members.
  • Hughes: eight promotional campaigns, a store interior uplift for Lowestoft, and improved website checkout flows.
  • Subsea7 and Seaway7: supporting their global teams with a plethora of campaigns and videos.
  • Braskem: monthly safety campaigns and videos that shine a light on their internal heroes.
  • City of London Police: work for their annual awards that we’re incredibly proud of.
  • Barts Health NHS Trust: a recruitment campaign that was human and heartfelt.
  • SGN Employee Survey: we turned a last-minute employee survey into an energising, high-engagement campaign that sparked real participation and insight.
  • South East Water Stakeholder-ready animation: we distilled a complex drought and infrastructure story into a clear, compelling animation that won stakeholder confidence fast.
  • Tower Hamlets Council Charge Safe Battery-Fire animation: a high-stakes public safety message brought to life through clear, accessible storytelling – entered into the Local Government Awards and garnered more than 1 million views on social media.
  • National Energy Action Marginalised Groups Fuel Poverty animation: we created work that matters, with a team we admire. Excited to be partnering again in 2026.
  • Huntingdonshire District Council Quiet Friend animation: a delicate, thoughtful project part of a wider campaign that resonated deeply, and was met with stunning feedback from local MPs and councillors.
  • Nottingham University Limitless campaign: a bold, energising, anything-is-possible message for the next generation of thinkers.
  • Waltham Forest Together campaign: we brought the borough to life with real impact, showcasing authentic voices and quite literally fostered a sense of togetherness.

 

A year told through Alive’s Slack numbers

36 dog snaps

Our dog channel was thriving this year. Paws, snoots, floppy ears, existential stares, and at least one lil’ pupper wearing a jumper. Essential morale-boosting content.

35 blogs published

From creative thinking to internal comms wisdom to studio stories. Missed a few? We’ve rounded them all up for you here.

50+ creative bootcamp emails

Fired off with love, caffeine, and occasional chaos. Fuelling weekly creativity and pushing us all to stretch our skills just a little further.

40+ recognition channel messages

Shoutouts, client praise, team wins, and moments where someone just absolutely nailed it. Our recognition channel was buzzing this year, and it shows in the work we delivered.

82,200 LinkedIn impressions

A year full of scroll-stopping posts, thought starters, and project showcases that reached a whole lot of eyeballs.

24 pint pics

The official count of moments where an Alive-er raised a glass. Often found near one of Alan’s speaking stops: USA, Bedfordshire, Birmingham, London, and anywhere else a good pint can be obtained.

56 clients

Some with multiple projects – that’s a lot of buzzing Slack channels.

 

New faces, new ideas & familiar friends

New faces, new ideas & familiar friends

We welcomed a brand-new (but long-time friend of Alive) into the fold: Katie, joining us as our Comms Consultant. And after dedicating precious time to their new little ones, we were thrilled to welcome Olivia and Amy back from maternity leave. The studio feels brighter with them all here.

The A.L.I.V.E framework

Our newest strategic model, built to help organisations energise their internal culture with clarity, creativity, and measurable impact. It’s already becoming the backbone of how we shape ideas, tell stories, and bring internal comms to life.

What our clients are saying

  • “It’s the first time I’ve worked with you and I’m really impressed.”
  • “People said you would be good, but I opened it and thought God damn, that’s good!
  • “The early work is absolutely on track, I love it – you are spot on.”
  • “Very clearly got exactly what we are looking for and showed understanding of the brief. Great work all!”
  • “I really like the ideas and creative approach you’ve shared! It’s a fresh perspective that we haven’t thought about before!”
  • “A huge thank you to the team for pulling this together in such an incredibly short timescale. It’s truly appreciated!”
  • “I couldn’t imagine us doing it without your super help, creativity, and the general awesomeness that you bring – you make it all so easy for us!”
  • “You clearly understand our values and the challenges we face.”
  • “Our project had great brand recognition and has been successfully rolled out across the council.”

 

A call to adventure

Creativity isn’t a moment. It’s a momentum. It’s the brave choice to try something new and the belief that stories, when told well, can change whole workplaces, cultures, and communities.

So, here’s to the people who dream big, speak openly, experiment wildly, and refuse to settle for “that’ll do.”

And if you want 2026 to be your boldest year yet – let’s build something impossible together.

“I feel like they own and care for the project as much as we do! I would not use anyone else for my creative work and think Alive is ahead of the game.”

Jo Hobbs — Communications Manager

“Thanks for all your help. We are delighted with the campaign, both in terms of the creativity and messaging but also the thought taken over the rollout of the materials. All looks absolutely fabulous!”

Sarah Crowdy — Campaign and Media Officer Communications, South East Water

“We went to ‘Alive’ for ideas on how to run a specific employee program in Europe. Alan and his team were brilliant in coming up with fresh, creative and practical approaches. The team took charge and executed brilliantly. We are pleased with the progress made so far and hope to have the same level of partnership and commitment going forward.”

Sobha Varghese — Tata Consultancy Services

“Alive helped us create a video of our response to the floods of winter 2019. Our Chief Officer received messages from all round the country praising us for it and was really pleased with both the video and the response to it.”

Alexander Mills, Communications Manager — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“We had the privilege to work with the Alive team. It was our first time to be involved in creating an animation for our patients within paediatrics. The team were approachable, friendly, creative and very accommodating. Your vision for what you want to create, is at all times acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by the team. They worked effectively and with great passion towards our project and worked not only alongside health professionals but also our patients who really enjoyed the experience of working with the Alive team. It has given our team the confidence and inspiration to do further projects in the future. We highly recommend Alive and their exceptional team.”

DR ELENI ATHANASAKOS, Lead Paediatric Clinical Scientist — NHS Barts Health

“‘The short animation developed in co-production with clinicians and young people is outstanding! Informative, developmentally appropriate, vitally fun and engaging. We are really grateful for the expertise of the Alive with Ideas team for their innovative approach in building children’s health literacy.'”

Kath Evans — Director of Children’s Nursing at Barts Health

“Our mission was to update our brand visuals to better reflect our innovative and forward-thinking organisation. After receiving numerous pitches from different branding agencies, Alive stood out with their clear passion and understanding of our identity and goals. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Alive Team to create an engaging new brand that we are immensely proud of.”

Lianne Springer — Communications and Engagement Lead

“Alive wowed us during the pitch process and they didn’t stop wowing us throughout the whole project. Every person we worked with at Alive were so friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about what they do. They have worked with us to really understand what we do and have created a new brand and website that really stands out from our competitors. Thank you!”

Louise Burnard, Head of Marketing and Communications UK — Be | Shaping the Future

“I think the team have done such a brilliant job, particularly with responding to our requests. It's one of the best mental health videos I've ever seen. Very proud to be associated with your exemplary work. Thank you so much.”

Dr Anna Batho — Clinical Psychologist – Critical Care, UCLH

“We have worked with Alan, Caroline and the wider Alive With Ideas team for many years. In that time, they have provided a dedicated service that is second to none. We appreciate their attention to detail and creative approach to bringing our brand, communications and stories to life. And would recommend them to anyone looking for creative communications support.”

Georgia Beech — Internal Communications Specialist, Ocado Group

“This is brilliant. I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to all of the team who worked on this. You all understood exactly what we wanted to communicate and why, and then managed to do it in a way that was far better than anything I could have imagined. I’m a bit choked up to be honest!”

Sarah Wright, Head of Communications and Campaigns — NEA

“Each time I work with the team, I am always stunned at the effort and creativity that goes into each detail and am always eager for the end result. The team is extremely accommodating and always provide a fresh approach to our projects that elevates our communications materials!”

Alana Khaytin, Communications Specialist — Braskem America

“What I really appreciate about Alive is that they work with us as partners, and care as much about getting it right for our patients as we do.”

Sara Langston, Patient Engagement & Marketing Manager — italk

“Alive are unique in how much they deeply listen and invest in you and your ideas. I have not come across a company that listens as much as they do to ensure your needs are understood and met (actually - they always exceed my needs and expectations). Everyone I recommend Alive to has an equally brilliant experience. When you work with Alive, you are not only getting some genius creativity brought into your life, you are also hanging out with some of the best examples of human beings I’ve ever known.”

Steph Tranter, Hybrid Exec Coach & Psychologist — StephTranter.com

“The (Alive) team were able to creatively pull together and document (in just over 2minutes) everything our service has achieved over the last few months, from thousands of prescriptions deliveries to hundreds of phone calls made to the vulnerable. The final product was so powerful and reflective of what our service has and continues to achieve. It couldn’t have been better received within the service – thanks Alive for once again helping us to communicate our vision!’”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire & Rescue

“We worked with the team at Alive to create our staff recognition video.
At a time like this, its never been more important to share the amazing work that our staff have done and continue to do on a daily basis under very difficult circumstances. We wanted to shout about this and recognise that when the time came, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue stepped up to the plate. We didn’t want an ordinary thank you post on social media or a basic email sent out internally, we wanted something special. Enter Alive. ”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“Our company is fun, we have great brands, but most importantly we’re all about our people – and I wanted an agency who would understand that and help us bring it to life through our website and other comms. Straight away I felt that Alive ‘got’ us and provided the creative inspiration exactly where we needed it, as well as the technical expertise to deliver a well-functioning website.”

Keren McCarron, Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications — KP Snacks

“Boom!
Thank you so much. Incredible work done at incredible speed by incredible people.
Outstanding work as ever and what a turnaround. As for the concepts – wow. These are that good it would be an insult to describe them as just good. It’s a joke, quite frankly. This is exactly the Alive effect I was after. Right now I feel like I am living in an Alive With Ideas wonderland. Thank you!”

Jack Grasby, Campaigns Manager — SYFR

“If you are looking to improve creativity and build teamwork, I highly recommend a session like this for your team. No matter where you are in your creativity journey, a workshop like this can give your team a boost of energy and ideas to invigorate their creative thinking.”

Amy Lilja, IC Manager — Hennepin Healthcare

“Alive were there to help when we were working every hour to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. They gave us the creativity, ideas and support we needed to deliver campaigns which empowered our residents in the most difficult time most of us have ever seen, personally and professionally. The team understood what we needed, worked closely with us and delivered fast without any compromise on quality. Working with Alive has been a joy in the darkest of times and I have no doubt will have helped to save lives. Thanks team x”

Julie Odams, Assistant Director of Communications & Customers — Derbyshire County Council

“We got 'Alive' involved to help us shift mindsets across our organisation and they delivered! Using simple, clear and creative ideas the team have delivered us a campaign which has seen a dramatic increase in idea sharing and development. They’ve also played a significant role in creating a culture of shared success. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with again, in fact, we already are!”

Gavin Buckle — B&Q
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