TAP, the publishers of Service Dealer and TurfPro, gathered national and international staff in Oxfordshire on Tuesday 19th July, to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary.
Members of TAP and TAP Spain celebrating the 20th anniversary
Owner Duncan Murray-Clarke said, "Wow, where did that time go! I mean 20 years is quite a while and during that time we have worked through financial crashes, wars and massive people displacement, climate change, the birth of Social Media and the death of the traditional media channel mix as we know them. Oh, and a world changing pandemic that will impact us for years to come."
"So it does beg the question, why on earth is TAP still in business? Lots of very strong advertising and communications agencies have sadly fallen victim to some of these adverse conditions and ceased to be.
"As time has gone on, certain elements have become much clearer to me. I am not talking about the complexities of world trading conditions or the ever-changing marketing acronyms! No it is simpler than that (or I am simpler than that). And many of these fundamental but simple elements have been key to TAP’s trading strength and the calibre of our output."
Duncan continued, "We have always changed when we felt it was right and sometimes this change has bought on quite a fundamental shift in direction. For example evolving an agency that was reliant on Travel and Tourism to an agency whose turnover is 85%+ from the agriculture and food production sectors. And thank goodness we did.
"We also moved very quickly into the content and social media space and will always be assuming we are still behind where we need to be and looking to better our knowledge.
"So, whenever I get asked by someone starting on a new venture for any advice. It isn’t that complicated. Be different, don’t be slugging it out with loads of other businesses. Think about a real point of difference that separates you away from other businesses in your sector. And you have (at the moment) the advantage of being small. So when the time is right, don’t be afraid to evolve and change, because the world is moving very quickly at the moment."
The specially commissioned TAP20 gin
Duncan concluded, saying, "Because of our ability to adapt, I absolutely believe we are up there as one of the best ag specialist content agencies around. Well I would say that wouldn’t I? But we are now in the privileged position that The TAP Group is working with most of the key global players in world crop science and many of these clients have been with us for a while and the trust and working understanding that has been built up is special. So, thank you to all our clients who have placed their trust in us over the last 20 years.
"But who am I kidding? TAP doesn’t make nuts and bolts. We sell knowledge and expertise and it has to be good. We would be nothing without our people and accumulated knowledge – just a logo and a website. One thing Covid has taught us is we need our colleagues now more than ever and there has been a real shift in attitude towards working with people and their priorities, instead of just employing people. The traditional ad agency management style of diluted ethics, survival of the fittest and full on egos are no longer with us.
"One final thing. I don’t want to belittle what we do but keeping it simple has been a real strength. Over the years we have been able to focus on what is important and what is engaging."
