Entertainment - Best of 2023!

From sold-out tours to Oscar-nominated films and from huge social media growth to chart-topping podcasts, 2023 has been a year full of highlights! Come with us as we go on a trip down memory lane and look back at some of this year’s greatest hits...

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Annie Macmanus

Chart-topping podcasts, sell-out events and a second hit novel

Annie has gone from a superstar DJ and radio host to a celebrated author, promoter and podcast host - and we’ve been there with her virtually every step of the way.

2023 was full of high notes for Annie as her innovative Before Midnight shows sold out across more than 20 venues in the UK including her huge outdoor summer show at Finsbury Park. We worked with Annie and her team to build the brand, engage with the target audience and drive ticket sales across all the events.

Away from music and DJing, we managed the digital marketing for Annie’s latest novel, ‘The Mess We’re In’, further cementing her reputation as an established and celebrated author.

Meanwhile, Annie’s podcast ‘Changes’ continued to go from strength to strength. We managed the digital marketing for 42 episodes of ‘Changes with Annie Macmanus,’ which this year celebrated more than 6 million total downloads!

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Octave One

Breaking 100k on Instagram with 64% growth

American brother-brother techno duo Octave One continued to evolve into one of the most respected names on the dance music scene. We worked with them throughout their year as they took in festivals, headline shows at Fabric and a new Boiler Room live performance showcasing an array of upcoming productions.

That success was matched in the digital world as we helped grow their Instagram page by 64% over the year. Another highlight was working with them on their excellent ‘Never On Sunday’ album - we created a wide range of digital assets for the album, while we also ran their digital marketing strategy for the deluxe double album.

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Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films Executive Produce Oscar-shortlisted film Joyland

Long-time client Riz Ahmed continued to be one of the most creative people in the music and film industry in 2023. We supported Riz on his creative journey including Left Handed Films’ Oscar-shortlisted film ‘Joyland’ which we promoted across social media. We also supported Riz as he took on roles in the hit Netflix animated film ‘Nimona’ and Apple’s hi-tech love story ‘Fingernails’.

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Darude

A new brand for a new label

2023 saw ‘Sandstorm’ creator Darude reach new heights in his incredible dance music career as he launched a new label alongside his new studio album, ‘Together’. We were an integral part of that success, as we created the branding for his new label Vibing Out. We created the brand from concept to completion, including the logo, visual identity, aesthetic and TOV, and handled all the digital marketing for the label’s releases. We were also tasked with the digital marketing for his fifth studio album, Together, which continued to mark his evolution as a legacy artist.

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Damon Albarn

New albums and sell-out tours with Blur and Gorillaz

With Blur reforming for a No.1 album and huge sell-out shows across the world, it was quite a year for band frontman Damon Albarn. Not that he rested on his laurels with Blur’s fantastically received comeback, as he was also busy with his other band Gorillaz as they released a new album and played one of the stand-out shows at Coachella. We supported Damon across all his social media platforms as one of the most creative men in music enjoyed a truly stellar year.

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Daniel Avery

Drone Logic - 10th Anniversary

In what feels like no time at all, Daniel Avery has established himself as one of the most forward-thinking and immersive electronic artists in the world. And that reputation was further enhanced as he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his seminal masterpiece debut LP ‘Drone Logic.’ We worked alongside Daniel on digital marketing, ensuring that his incredible music continued to find new audiences. Alongside that, we worked with Daniel on his 7-track EP ‘More Truth,’ which was a follow-up to last year’s album ‘Ultra Truth’ which hit the No.1 spot on the UK Dance Chart.

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The WAEVE

Debut album and tour from Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall

It wasn’t just a busy year for Blur’s Damon Albarn - the band’s guitar supremo Graham Coxon teamed up with Rose Elinor Dougall to form The WAEVE. We were brought on from the start as we handled their digital marketing and asset creation for their debut album which hit the UK charts at No.30. The album was a big critical success, with repeated BBC 6 Music Radio plays and guest sessions. The album’s success was reflected in the UK tour, while they’ve just been confirmed as the main support for Elbow’s arena tour in 2024. Alongside the album and live music marketing, we also grew their Instagram account from 0 to over 11k followers.

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Weval

Digital and social media support for Album, EP, single and 52-date tour

Life is pretty sweet for Dutch duo Weval right now. Their 2023 included an album on cult label Ninja Tune, EP and single releases and a 52-date tour. Oh, and Solomun remixed their epic tune ‘Forever,’ destroying dance floors across Europe this summer. We were with them on this incredible journey, as we created visual social media assets for their tour, pushed ticket sales across social media platforms and created digital and social campaigns for their EPs and singles.

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Dubfire

Grammy Award-winning DJ and producer returns with new remix album

As a DJ, producer, one half of Deep Dish and the man behind boundary-pushing techno label Sci + Tec, Dubfire has continually evolved throughout his career to find new audiences and create new sounds. Fittingly, he marked that incredible artist experience with his 11-track debut album titled Evolv in 2022, before following it up with a remix album in October of 2023. We were brought on board to provide digital marketing and social media strategy for Dubfire and his musical projects including the remix album which featured many of the techno kingpins including Carl Craig, Radio Slave, Chris Liebing and more.

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Mason

New album campaign

Dutch DJ, artist and producer Mason released his fourth studio album in 2023, and we supported him with a full digital campaign. His album ‘Chroma Panorama’ was a big hit, and featured an all-star cast including Jack Garrett, Sophie Barker, Sweetie Irie, Dragonette and more.

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Hey! Presents

Another successful year for the North's premier digital conference

Leeds creative powerhouse Hey! Presents were back once again for their annual All Day Hey! conference, as they brought together some of the industry’s finest minds. One Nine Nine were on board alongside them, as we managed the marketing, promo and creative for their hugely successful 2023 conference. Alongside that, we produced and promoted their excellent ‘Off Script’ podcast series that covered hard-hitting topics including AI ethics and what it takes to succeed in tech leadership.