PERFECT STORMIN’ UP THE UAE

Most 3rd birthdays are marked with magicians and caterpillar cake.

We celebrated with champagne. On a yacht. In Dubai.

So, not your typical family holiday. And we really do consider ourselves family. No matter how much we may have grown, from 2 people, to 4, and then very quickly to more than 15, the agency retains this feel.

There’s something about going on holiday with your colleagues that rapidly brings you closer; perhaps it’s seeing people in their pyjamas, or the variation in ability to cope with little sleep after an overnight flight. But it certainly proved that we are all exactly the same in work and out of it.

Here’s a blow-by-blow account of how we celebrated turning the ripe old age of 3.

1. So you think you can brunch?

In London, we like brunch. There are listicles aplenty testifying to this fact. But you have seen nothing, until you’ve been to the Al Qasr hotel Friday brunch.

Some say they cook over 500kg of meat each week. We ate 400kg of that.

We also whipped up a perfect storm on the spontaneous d-floor, which was – you guessed it – our doing.

2. Yeah buoy!

Next stop: Dubai Marina Yacht Club to commandeer our vessel for the evening.

The Captain was unfortunately de-helmed shortly after we boarded so we had to take matters into our own hands.

We also narrowly missed a CEOverboard incident during a carefully thought-through birthday speech from our illustrious founders.

3. DUNE BASHING – no pun necessary

After a delightful morning by the pool, we headed off into the desert for our next adventure.

If the prospect of careering round enormous sand dunes in a 4×4 doesn’t fill you with a mixture of elation and sheer terror, it should. Dune bashing certainly does what it says on the tin!

We harmonised the mayhem with a traditional Emirati meal in the desert, under the stars. The food was, yet again, amazing, and somehow managed to avoid containing vast quantities of sand.

Aided by the emotional toasts and cheersing, it was humbling to sit back and take a moment to reflect on just some of the things that have happened since we turned 2:

• We unleashed the Restless Spirit of Investec Private Banking
• We conducted the rigorously scientific ‘SKINS or Nothing’ experiment
• We fought homophobia in sport using SKINS Rainbow Laces
• We developed a new Creative Platform for the IFA side of Vitality’s business
• We showed the world how Wiggle rolls
• There were 5 well-earned promotions
• Our Client Services team doubled, including the addition of our first Client Services Director
• We rebranded
• We moved to trendy new offices in Old Street

I think it’s fair to say we’re immensely proud of what we have achieved in our 3rd year, and it was incredible to be able to celebrate that all together; the whole team.

Given that we spend the majority of our waking hours at work, it’s vital that you love the people you work with and the job you do. The fact that we take this several steps further at Perfect Storm – and taken to such fancy establishments in Dubai with our Directors – speaks volumes.

Despite being another year older, we can proudly say that we haven’t grown up at all. We were also taken back to the days of our youth by getting to spend time with some of the team from our first ever client, Emirates.

Here’s to next year, when we will be at a Travelodge in Stockport!

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