A look back at 2020

There are endless ways to sum up this extremely unique year.

Although painful for many, it was characterized by an unparalleled sense of resilience and solidarity. And we would like to review the year from this perspective in this article. “So, what was it like for you?”… We regularly replied to this very often asked this question with the standard: “We’re coping”, “We believe”, “We’re still optimistic”… The truth is, we were truly amazed when all our projects and everything we had in the pipeline disappeared into thin air on March 17. Acceptance was our only option… Then a sense of resilience and our fighting spirit kicked in.

Has it left us damaged? Yes, somewhat. Has it left us disheartened? Tired, perhaps, but more ambitious and optimistic than ever.

As we look forward to 2021 and ask ourselves all these questions, we only want to remember one truth. In 2020, we grew. In spite of it all, the year was filled with more exciting achievements than ever, and 2021 already looks set to be thrilling. Above all, because both of our agencies, LAFOURMI and LEROY TREMBLOT, were able to rely on the incredible talent, selflessness and commitment of all our team members. Everyone worked exceptionally well, and this enabled us to deal with an unprecedented situation. We would like to express our immense gratitude and appreciation to each and every one of you. We owe it to you this year! THANK YOU!

Let’s take a look back. Despite all its difficulties here are our highlights from 2020:

Major financial gains with Uber Eats, Betclic, the French National Olympics and Sports Committee (CNOSF), LeTrot, France Rugby, UFC (although it wasn’t the best year for it…), the LNB;
14 awards, including the Grand Prix Stratégies du Sport with Uber Eats and Grand Prix Stratégies du Digital with Puma Football;
The podcast “Horizon Sport”, launched and hosted by our Deputy CEO Vincent Batigne, featuring over 36 interviews with key figures from the Sports and Entertainment industry so far;
A “Faim d’Europe” video with Alonzo and Algerino, which was produced for Uber Eats and OM and received over 2 million views on YouTube in just 2 days;
The creation of the “Fédération Française des Sports Confinés” (French Federation of Lockdown Sports) in April, featuring 12 invented disciplines and attracting thousands of fans. Our aim is to close the page in the very near feature, to everyone’s delight!
The community-focused show “Sport: the School of Life” by Crédit Agricole which is continuing to grow with its host Teddy Riner, who particularly entertained us in his incredible heart-to-heart with Ahmed Sylla;
Valuable discussions took place with our competitors and all stakeholders in the Sport industry, with a friendly atmosphere and mutual cooperation;
Two documentaries produced and distributed on Amazon Prime Video: “Only See Great” with Puma and “ Kinshasa: Générations Matuidi” with Players for Society®;
To start the year, for the third time Les Echos and Statista included us in the “Champions de la Croissance” (Champions of Growth) 2019 ranking (growth in 2020 is another topic altogether…);
New brand identity programs for the Stade de Reims, Prix d’Amérique Races, the Jeux des Masters, the CDES…
A new Creative Director for LEROY TREMBLOT (Martin Iselt) and a Co-Creative Director (Xavier Yönter), who will be directing creation at LAFOURMI alongside Julien Hablainville;
Frenetic film shoots all over Europe, including Claudia Tagbo, Floria Gueï, Laëtitia Guapo, Teddy Riner, Usain Bolt, Neymar Jr., Griezmann, Alonzo & l’Algerino, Florent Manaudou, Ahmed Sylla, Payet, Paganeli, Tony Chapron…
3 babies (congratulations Anne-Ju & Julien, Clément and Rémi and welcome Gustave, Jules and Billie!);
A colleague, Louise Amsili, was selected as one of the 30 Young Sports Makers of Global Sports Week 2021;
A Co-President, Céline Jobert, who fought like never before alongside Sporsora to have our industry’s voice heard and ensure that it benefits from the support measures agreed for the Sports industry;
The popularity of the legendary song “Je n’ai pas changé” by Julio Iglesias, adopted by Uber Eats to celebrate the return of Ligue 1;
A Top 6 position for our Co-President Thibaut Cornet in the Choiseul Sport & Business ranking, which celebrates 100 young economic leaders in French sports marketing;
“Betclic Dry”, a (real) deodorant that neutralizes sebum particles so that you are at the top of your game without getting your shirt wet. For a “way too intense” Ligue 1, that’s the least we need!
We said goodbye to some colleagues, some moving on to pastures new and others who we could not keep on at the agency. We wish them all the very best!!