Well, what a year!

2020 was full of surprises that no one could have ever predicted. Let’s get into it…

  • Many parts of Australia in a state of National emergency, millions of acres gone in wildfires.
  • Mr Donald Trump started a Twitter row with Iran.
  • Bieber gets Lyme disease.
  • Impeachment trial of Mr Trump.
  • The UK formally withdraws from the EU - BREXIT!

Then...

The incident in Wuhan that led to the World Health Organisation declaring the outbreak of Covid19. World governments were forced to shut the entire planet down and lock everyone in their houses and the only person that could keep people from completely flipping out and starting riots was Joe Wicks!

Nine months of madness followed:

  • Lockdown
  • Quarantine
  • Flattening the curve
  • Furlough
  • Masks
  • Working from Home
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Tiers
  • Home Schooling – what a joy that was!!
  • One walk a day
  • Clapping
  • Staying Safe
  • Tiger King
  • TikTok Mania
  • Hands - Face - Space
  • Captain Sir Tom Moore
  • A serious lack of toilet paper
  • A recession
  • Barnard Castle made famous by Dominic Cummings
  • Oil prices plunge
  • Our friend Mr Trump suggests injecting deadly disinfectant may help!
  • Global stock market crash
  • Euros Postponed
  • Olympics postponed
  • Eurovision cancelled – what a shame!
  • Nightingale hospitals open
  • Boris, Trump & Prince Charles contracted Covid19
  • Wimbledon and British Open Cancelled for first time since WWII

As well as the madness caused by the pandemic…….

  • Astronomers announce the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system visible to the naked eye.
  • SpaceX launches Falcon 9.
  • Liverpool FC win the Premiership.
  • Good old Luxembourg became the first country in the world to make all public transport free!
  • Highest ever temperature recorded in the Arctic circle.
  • 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
  • The tragic death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash in California.
  • Streatham High Road and Reading terrorist attacks.
  • UK records wettest February since records began.
  • New Bank of England £20 note released.
  • Lewis Hamilton won his seventh drivers' title in 2020, equalling the record set by Schumacher.
  • California wildfires.
  • Weinstein trial triggers subsequent #MeToo movement.
  • James Anderson becomes first fast bowler to take 600 test wickets.
  • Astronomers report possible signs of life on Venus.
  • Plane crash in Tehran killed 176 people.
  • Elon Musk and Gertrude the computer pig.
  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle renounced their royalty.
  • David Attenborough hits 1 million followers on Insta quicker than Jennifer Aniston!
  • Simon Cowell has a run in with an Electric Scooter.
  • The tragedy of George Floyd followed by riots across America and triggering the Black lives Matter Movement.
  • Elon Musk, pyramid conspiracy theory.
  • Disney rebranded Splash Mountain and deleted Golden Girls.
  • Warner Bros studio announces all its 2021 movies will stream online the same day they appear in cinemas because of the pandemic.
  • Coca-Cola named the world's No. 1 plastic polluter, in Break Free From Plastic's annual brand audit.
  • Joe Biden becomes new Leader of the Free World and Trump concedes graciously!
  • Marcus Rashford and school meal vouchers.
  • Puerto Rico Earthquakes.
  • Locust Swarms in Africa and Asia.
  • Ebola outbreak in Africa.
  • Radiation leak denied by Russia.
  • Two guys went to space.

Then after all this some much needed light at the end of the tunnel with the first Covid19 vaccine! With drug makers BioNTech and Pfizer announcing their COVID-19 vaccine to be over 90% effective, Covid19 vaccinations began in the UK with 90 year old Margaret Keenan.

As you will see the above is just a snapshot of what a crazy year it was and I’m sure you will have many other memories stored away, some bad but hopefully some good as well. There is, however, no escaping the true tragedy that the pandemic is and will continue to be for many months to come.

The pandemic has had a direct effect on the retail and leisure sectors as our clients have been struggling to keep their doors open this year. There have been casualties along the way with many retailers having to call in the administrators - Bonmarche, TopShop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Peacocks, Jaeger, Edinburgh Wool Mill, M&Co, DW Sports, Bensons, Harveys, TM Lewin, Go Outdoors, Oak Furnitureland, Monsoon, Victoria’s Secret, Aldo, Antler, Oasis, Warehouse, Debenhams, Cath Kidson, Brighthouse, Laura Ashley, Hawkins Bazaar, Beales to name a few.

So, what does this mean for 2021?

We all know that specifically the retail sector has been transitioning through some significantly choppy waters and evolving for some years, the pandemic has accelerated the downturn and many once-thriving retailers are now struggling to survive, this in turn means that Landlords and Managing Agents are looking for more innovative and cost-effective ways of marketing their assets.

This is where the team at Destination can help!

Who We are…

The market leader in all-encompassing digital, social, PR and creative marketing services for retail destinations and tourist attractions.

Our roots are in Exeter in the beautiful West Country, with offices in London and Edinburgh meaning that we have a truly national coverage.

Why we are different…

We offer a local service on a national scale. Our mission is to provide all our clients with a perfect blend of old school know how and new era technology.

We aim to be different and exciting pushing boundaries to make heads turn. Be assured, we know our stuff when it comes to digital marketing with decades of experience across the team. What makes us really stand out is our service, we treat every new client as we did our very first.

We thrive on being the best at what we do and delivering a service that exceeds your expectations. But we can only do this with the right talent and team in place. That’s why we’ve brought together the best digital marketing specialists in the industry.

Who we work with

We have vast experience in delivering Marketing Strategies for Destinations of all shapes and sizes across the retail and tourist industries.

Advanced consultancy mixed with our industry leading Digital Marketing Strategies.

We treat every client as an individual tailoring to suit all budgets and expectations.

Why Destination?

When you work with us, you can be confident you’re working with professionals who will understand your business and your marketing goals. We wake up every day excited about the next challenge… We cannot wait to meet you…Become our next Big thing.