Happy turns 21 this week. Wow!

And as someone who has spent 20 years working in marketing, 15 of those at Happy, it feels like a good moment to pause and reflect on just how much has changed - and what, remarkably, hasn’t.

I’ve seen marketing move from print-heavy campaigns, direct mails, brochures and newspaper advertising to websites, social media, content, email, digital campaigns and now AI. I’ve watched platforms come and go, algorithms change, new channels appear and old ones disappear. I’ve seen clients’ expectations evolve, technology transform how we work and the pace of marketing accelerate beyond recognition.

All this got me thinking; what does it take for a marketing company to still be here, happy and evolving 21 years later? I think it’s the things that technology can’t replace.

People. Relationships. Curiosity. Adaptability. Learning. And laughter!

People make Happy what it is

One of my favourite things about Happy has always been how involved everyone is. There was never really a case of “That’s not my job.” We all work together.

I remember interviews for new team members where we’d all pile onto the office sofas, designers, strategists, account managers, developers, all ready to find out what made that person tick. Looking back, it may have been slightly overwhelming for the person sitting opposite us, but that involvement mattered. And the interviewees always felt relaxed anyway because we are a cool bunch, apart from the one time when I asked someone to sing their favourite song!

Yeah, that was a bit too much, but we all laughed anyway!

Group interviews always felt like such a quirky, very ‘Happy’ thing to do, and they captured something that has always been at the heart of Happy: bringing the right people together.

Show and tell

Every week, we’d bring in adverts, great designs, campaigns, packaging, websites, ideas or bits of marketing we’d spotted over the previous few days and share them with the team. Some were brilliant. Some were terrible. Some made us wonder what on earth someone had been thinking. But we looked. We talked. We admired. We questioned. We learned. And I think that says a lot about what good marketing requires. You have to stay curious. You have to notice things. You have to look outside your own industry and keep asking, “Why does this work?” or “How could we do that better?”

Out in the field

Before Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, being out on the road was simply how we worked. We’d head off to see clients, sit around their tables, walk around their businesses and get to know what they did first-hand. I remember one particular Easter when we went around visiting clients, handing out chocolates while wearing bunny ears, not your average client visit, but everyone loved it!

Technology has made staying close to clients easier in lots of ways, but getting out into our clients’ worlds is still an important part of how Happy works. There’s something about being there in person that you just can’t replicate on a screen. You notice more. You understand more. You develop a human connection. And sometimes, the best ideas come from simply being in the room.

Happy Storms

Getting everyone together, throwing ideas around and putting our heads together to create brilliant marketing for our clients has always been one of the most enjoyable parts of Happy. The energy, the debate, the ridiculous ideas, the fantastic ideas and, oh, the laughter. Not every idea makes it out of the room (thankfully!) but that’s not the point.

The point has always been about creating a space where everyone can contribute, challenge each other and make something better together. And that has endured.

The values that have stayed

Looking back over 15 years, I can see Happy’s values woven through everything we do: we put people first, we find a way, we are ourselves, we show humility and we give back to others.

They’re not just statements on a wall. I’ve seen those values play out in countless ways during my 15 years at Happy, in how we work with clients, how we support each other, how we tackle a problem when there isn’t an obvious answer, and how we never take ourselves too seriously. And perhaps that’s the real secret to Happy still being Happy 21 years on. So much has changed around us, but the things that matter to people haven’t.

Marketing is still about ideas

The tools have changed dramatically, and the ways we can deliver an idea have multiplied tenfold. But the need to understand people, find the right insight and come up with something that makes someone stop, think, feel or act? That hasn’t changed at all.

21 years of change

It’s easy to look back at the last 21 years and focus on how different marketing looks today.

But I think the more interesting question is: What has stayed the same?

People still want to feel understood.

Businesses still need to stand out.

Good stories still need to be told.

Relationships still matter.

And the best marketing still comes from people who are genuinely curious about other people and their businesses.

Happy has evolved because it has had to, keeping pace with a constantly changing industry. What has kept it relevant, though, is something harder to define: the people, the relationships, the curiosity and the care that make Happy what it is.

So, happy 21st, Happy. Here’s to staying curious, keeping close to people and seeing what the coming years of marketing brings.