“We’re still here. Isn’t that enough for you people?”
That was Opinionated being, well, opinionated, in its entry. But despite that cheeky assertion, the Portland, Oregon agency, did a lot more than just survive. It began the year desperately trying to preserve jobs and ended with a reported 12% client revenue increase and 13 new client assignments.
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Priority one was its 22 employees, so Opinionated instituted a short-term disability program for staffers with medical emergencies, And it grew opportunities for staffing by creating a hybrid training program to bring in new talent that has never before worked in an agency. It also expanded its capabilities by adding a brand design practice.
Opinionated also looked after its community, taking on what it called a “low-bono” assignment for a Portland institution: Powell’s City of Books. With COVID raging, the No. 1 tourist destination in the city was forced to shut its doors, but Opinionated made sure that a virtual Powell’s was close to the same thing: the shop created a perfume that smelled like the bookstore’s interior. The first batch of “the signature scent for bibliophiles” sold out in two weeks at a price of $24.99 and was followed up by a second order. In total, 90% of the perfume purchases were from new customers.
The shop also continued its socially relevant work for Seventh Generation around the November elections, featuring kids too young to vote imploring people who are of voting age to cast their ballots for candidates committed to alleviating the climate crisis. And it introduced the U.S. market to European sports betting outfit Tipico, with spots showing devoted sports fans who had solid hunches but failed to bet on them. The tagline, which might also make an apt motto for Opinionated’s year, is “Let’s make this interesting.”
