What’s the most relevant business and/or creative lesson you learned in 2020 and how will you apply it to 2021?
No doubt 2020 was a cluster bomb, and we were fortunate in that all of our people and their loved ones were all largely spared.
Business wise, it didn’t require any assets we didn’t already possess: resilience, rapid adaptation, innovation and communal work ethic. But, it required them to be deployed in new and untested ways, and if you had any weak links anywhere in the chain they would be exposed. Not at Tango. To a person, we have been absolute studs. So, it’s really not so much about what was learned, it’s about what was confirmed: Culture counts. Yeah, it’s a tired cliche, but why it’s different when it comes to Tango, is that it’s not bullshit. If you attract and assemble the best, and build relationships on trust, responsibility and commitment to each other and a shared purpose, you can prevail over any storm. Through it all, we didn’t cut a single position and we didn’t reduce a single salary, in fact, we added people. This experience has really strengthened every aspect of our company.
How will the events of 2020–from the pandemic to the call for social and racial justice–impact the content you create and/or the way you work?
From a work process perspective, remote editorial/post is here to stay. But, as soon as we can, we’ll all be back in office. Coordinating remote client schedules for an hour here or an hour there is no replacement for the undivided attention of butts on your couch. While this experience has forced the employment of multiple strategies that allow us to create in unique circumstances, it has only reinforced that traditional in-room, in-person sessions are the most efficient and productive way to deliver the best content.
