If you’re reading this, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude for your role in what has been another transformative year for oakpool. There's so much to cover, I don't know where to begin.

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In fact, "oakpool" is probably a good place to start: this year our business literally transformed. While Ford Hamilton still exists, our digital agency is now called oakpool. We’re no longer “just Alex & James” (nor have we been for quite some time), and we wanted a name that reflected that evolution. We also wanted a name that reflected the solid oak-like reliability of our processes, along with the fluidity, flexibility, and depth of our pool of talent. The “oakpool” is a slow deep pool on a stretch of water on the Musconetcong River in western New Jersey, and it was at that pool that Alex and I decided to start collaborating many years ago. 

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Over the past five years, our business has grown while maintaining the organic. trusting, and pioneering spirit of that original partnership. We are a globally oriented collective of marketers, writers, designers, data scientists, community managers, and media strategists who value autonomy and accountability above all else.

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In 2022 we grew in a multitude of directions, so we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year with some figures and lessons as a team: 

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Stats:

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📱4,619 Social media posts

👩‍🎤2,131 Ad creatives launched

🈴8 Languages served ads in

💰9.2x Attributable ROAS

👀522M Ad impressions served

📧177 Partner newsletters crafted & sent

🌎11 Countries served ads in

🌎5 Countries partners served in

🌎16 Countries worked from

🫶15 New contributors & teammates

👔4 Enterprise partners served

📈15 Dashboards built, automated, & maintained

📡75 Data endpoints aggregated

🫱‍🫲1000 +  Client facing meetings

🙄0 Gratuitous internal meetings

💬21,000 + asynchronous internal messages

🏢0 Office space leased

💸0 Wasteful overhead

🐢110% Compounding annual growth rate

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Lessons & Affirmations from the team:

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Everyone wants to work hard, contribute, and feel valued. Put in the work to understand what people are best at, what they enjoy, and what fulfills them – then help them do more of that. 

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We have no clients, no employees, only partners. 

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Working with teammates from around the world is a great way to expand your perspective on a daily basis. 

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Learning when to let the client lead you and when to lead the client. Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know, and vice versa. 

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Transparency with your team is the best way for everyone to get what they need, accomplish goals, and help each other out. 

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Verbal affirmations within teams to create a supportive and uplifting community is a huge motivator. However, providing feedback and constructive criticism when appropriate is also huge.

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Keeping our partners happy is ultimately what we’re after.  But 2022 helped remind us that’s a long-term goal and sometimes requires having hard conversations.  Approaching those discussions with empathy and a problem-solving attitude helps create trust and long-term relationships.

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oakpool’s accomplishments in 2022 are an affirmation of effective collaboration. Having a team of talented individuals who can provide value (despite being located all over the world) creates sticky relationships. As the oakpool team grew in 2022, so too did our list of talents and capabilities. 

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The flexibility afforded by oakpool is not commonplace in a work environment and I believe is a reason for expanded creativity and production. Proud to be a part of this team and excited for a future full of collaboration and growth.

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Thanks again for being a part of our journey in 2022. We look forward to growing together in 2023. Please reach out to any member of our team if you’d like to catch up, or feel free to use the link below to schedule time with us. 👇

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