As we reach the end of 2025, we are reflecting on what an exciting and rewarding year it has been. From working with clients such as the EFL, Knowsley Safari, The David Lewis Centre and Alder Hey Children’s Charity, to being recognised through industry awards, it has been a year full of momentum. Let’s recap some of our highlights from the past 12 months.
We were named PR and Marketing Agency of the Year
Poke was named PR and Marketing Agency of the Year at Downtown in Business’s City of Liverpool Business Awards 2025. We are hugely proud of the work we delivered over the past year and incredibly grateful to our clients for trusting us to create amazing work together.
The Poke team grew!
We welcomed three new team members this year. Rebecca joined us as Motion Designer, Jack as Graphic Designer, and Abby as Marketing Executive.
Each has already made a huge impact, introducing new skills, services and fresh ideas that has elevated our client’s work and created a buzz in the office.
We had lots of staff promotions
In August, Paul Lowcock was promoted to Creative Director at Poke and quickly made a positive impact on both our team and our clients. Paul brings a rare combination of creative rigour, calm leadership and deep understanding of our clients. His ability to spot what really matters in a brief, push ideas further and support the team through the process has already had a clear influence on both our work and how we work together.
In October, two of our Designers, Na and Alex, were promoted into senior roles. Na became Senior Motion Designer and Alex Senior Graphic Designer. Both have excelled in their roles so far, and their creativity and collaborative approach have helped raise the bar across the agency.
Nicola Docking, our MD, was named Marketer of the Year
Nicola was crowned ‘Marketer of the Year’ at the Downtown in Business Women in Business Awards in March. This was a fantastic achievement and a true reflection of her talent, leadership and hard work.
Our work was featured in The Guardian
We designed a double page advertorial for The Guardian, supporting the Eleanor Crook Foundation and Action Against Hunger UK’s powerful campaign calling on the UK Government to make a global investment pledge on nutrition ahead of the Nutrition for Growth Summit in March.
Working alongside our partners at BB Partners, we created an ad that amplified this urgent call to action through striking visuals and clear, compelling messaging, maximising impact in a high profile national newspaper. We love working on projects that create real world impact, like our work with Alder Hey, and we are excited to see what comes next.
The Poke team went to Rome!
In July, the entire Poke team travelled to Rome to fine tune our processes, refresh the Poke brand and refocus on keeping creativity at our core. Over two days, we ran team activities, explored the city and even created brand identities for each other.
The trip gave us space to reflect on the mix of personalities that make up Poke and how we work best together, leaving us full of fresh ideas.
We created not one, but TWO animations for the English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) approached us to design a high-impact animation to introduce their new Rainbow match ball, which serves as a reminder that football is for everyone, everywhere. The campaign stands as representation of the League’s work with Clubs throughout the season, and is a symbol of the EFL’s unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
This animation was used across all 72 Clubs, plus EFL central channels to announce the return of the Rainbow match ball. For every goal scored with the Rainbow Ball across the Championship, League One and League Two between February 6-17, PUMA, Official Ball Partner of the EFL, made a donation to support their work in tackling discrimination, raising over £10,000 for Football v Homophobia. We’re so proud to have played a role in bringing this campaign to life.
After the success of our Rainbow Ball animation, the EFL came back to us with a new project. As part of their Community Weekend matches, they wanted to celebrate the community heroes who go above and beyond for their local clubs. We created an expressive animation that lets the voices of community heroes take centre stage. The typography invited viewers to really listen, adding a shareability factor. It has since been rolled out across the EFL’s social channels, including Instagram and YouTube, helping these powerful stories reach fans far beyond the stadium.
We received Highly Commended for our National Football Museum rebrand at the Prolific North Creative Awards
In June, we were excited to receive Highly Commended for our National Football Museum rebrand at the Prolific North Creative Awards. It’s been a fantastic project to be part of, and working closely with the brilliant internal team at NFM has been a real highlight. Seeing the new brand make such an impact with both staff and visitors has been incredibly rewarding.
We were the Regional Partner for Prolific North’s Marketing Festival
We were proud to sponsor Prolific North’s Northern Marketing Festival as it came to Liverpool for the first time in June. As a Liverpool-based agency, it was a privilege to support an event that celebrates the region’s creative energy.
Nicola Docking shared the strategy behind our Alder Hey ‘Put Children First’ campaign, and how we turned a complex issue into something creative, engaging and action-driving.
We also introduced something a little different, Karapoke. This playful challenge invited attendees to choose a karaoke song that best captured the personality of well known Liverpool brands, sparking brilliant conversations and even better song choices.
We made an animation to celebrate Equality Fund’s 5 Year Anniversary in New York
We got the opportunity to design an animation for Equality Fund’s 5 year anniversary, celebrating the voices, partnerships and imagination that have driven the movement forward. The video debuted at the Equality Fund’s high-level in-person anniversary event in New York Spring 2025 and now lives across their digital channels as a lasting celebration of what feminist funding can achieve through shared effort and vision.
We created two seasonal campaigns for Knowsley Safari Park
This summer, we delivered a vibrant multi channel campaign for Knowsley Safari Park that captured the energy, adventure and educational value of Camp Knowsley at every touchpoint. The campaign was driven by the playful tagline Get Your Know On.
We also created a campaign that dared to do Halloween differently, putting conservation and courage at the heart of the story. It invited families to step into nature, embrace adventure and discover the unique blend of fun, education and conservation that sets Knowsley apart.
Poke developed two special campaigns for Alder Hey Children’s Charity
Our Ignite the Sparks campaign brought together a team of hero kids, each affected by a different issue. Each child was given a story and Top Trumps style rankings to show how their spark is impacted by inequality. Ultimately, these kids cannot win because they are held back by a lack of support, funding and fairness. The campaign gave a face to the issues affecting children’s futures and highlighted the economic impact of not putting children first.
We also developed Proud to Make Liverpool Proud, a campaign rooted in the city’s pride, history and achievements. It tapped into Liverpool’s unique identity, positioning Alder Hey not just as a hospital, but as one of the region’s great icons.
Here’s to an exciting 2026…
