With the breakthrough news of a COVID-19 vaccine surfacing, it gives the nation and the world a glimmer of hope for the future.
Of course it’s not an overnight miracle, but the news is a boost we all needed as we approach winter and prepare for Christmas.
The festive season will certainly look different this year, with even the country’s best Santa’s having to go back to school to swat up on all things Zoom for the impending virtual grottos.
For what has been a very strange and bleak year, I’ve been encouraged by the signs of businesses trying to keep the spirt of the season alive and adapting their plans.
Organisers of the capital’s festive campaign have given Santa key worker status, with Saint Nick becoming the resident bedtime story teller for Edinburgh’s Digital Christmas.
Christmas markets, particularly craft fairs in local town halls and schools, are a rite of passage for us during the festive period and for many small, independent businesses the festive trade is their lifeline to surviving the year.
This is when the strength of a small businesses ecommerce abilities come to life, as I’ve seen various local community groups coming together to promote virtual fairs this year on social media with each ‘stall holder’ sharing their products, exclusive discount codes and links to their website or Etsy pages to make a sale on a set date or time.
It’s reassuring to see the power of community spirit promoting small crafters and local producers. Community business groups are also supporting this encouraging people to ‘use or lose’ local retailers this Christmas.
However, for those craving the physical attendance at a fair and to see products in person, some hotels are repurposing large scale meeting and event spaces to host safe Christmas Markets and recoup some of the lost trade they will face this year.
Crieff Hydro Hotel for example will host a distanced Christmas Market across its 16-metre-high event space Melville Hall, Ferntower and Crieff Hydro Ballroom. They’ve created a map of all stall holders through a QR code so guests can maximise their time at the event. It’s a clever use of large spaces, which would likely lay vacant this year with no Christmas party nights.
Talking about party nights, what will work places do this year? It’s a bit Scrooge of us all to simply say it’s cancelled. After an incredibly challenging year, colleagues will want to let their hair down and that’s where a company like CEC Catering comes in.
Edinburgh based CEC Catering has launched office party kits, delivered to colleagues ahead of a virtual party with a box including drinks, snacks, Christmas cracker, photo booth prop, recommended playlist and a morning after remedy.
It’s another example of an innovative business pivoting their offering and using ingenuity. Plus going virtual might save the drunken embarrassment for some colleagues this year.
It’s safe to say this isn’t what a business of any size had planned for their Christmas this year, but if 2020 has taught us anything – resilience is key and leaders need to adapt their business model to achieve some success.
We’ve seen great examples of businesses adapting throughout this pandemic, alcohol brands manufacturing hand sanitiser and event stagers producing PPE and collateral, and Christmas is no different. After all, it’s such a crucial period especially for retail and hospitality.
The health of the nation has been in the spotlight this year, but so too is the health of our businesses. One professional services group, Hanya Talent and Organisation Health, has launched a new arm of its business to aid exactly this.
There’s no such thing as a perfect organisation, but there are plenty of examples of businesses performing well thanks to being in fantastic shape – strong employee culture, robust business model, quick thinking and capability to adapt.
These ‘healthy’ organisations are most likely to handle challenges well and a year like 2020 is a perfect example. Some businesses may be on shaky foundations, so tailored professional services from a company like Hanya could aid the future-fitness of a business.
The full impacts of COVID on the economy is still unknown, with challenges for businesses far from over. But, Christmas is certainly not cancelled this year, especially with innovative Scottish businesses and organisations leading the way.
It’s always good to see companies forge ahead with commercial developments and investment in Scotland, especially during these uncertain times.
One business who appear to be on the front foot right now is Ambassador Group, a Scottish property company, whose new development in West Lothian will not only pump funds back into the country’s economy, but will provide over a hundred much needed specially skilled new roles.
Ambassador Group announced the fantastic news last week at their official ground-breaking ceremony on its £15 million landmark development, at one of its properties at Livingston’s Alba Campus.
The investment will see an extension of 50,000 square feet to their building in West Lothian and a 30 per cent increase in floor space. Once completed the development will also bring up to 120 new jobs to the local area.
As part of the growth plans, Ambassador has also signed a new long-term lease extension with its tenants over the increased 165,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility, strengthening Scotland’s position as a “global leader in life science research”.
The extension being built for their life science tenant is set to bring further economic investment and job security to Scotland, as well as cement the country’s position as one of the global leaders in life science research – a field which is hugely vital as we face this ongoing health crisis.
The tenant, who are already a huge employee for the area, with over 1,100 current employees operating out of their building in Livingston, will add to their workforce once work is completed in 2022.
It’s great to see a key player taking a risk in the face of adversity. Providing an opportunity to grow the life sciences sector further and breathe new life into the employment possibilities within the local community.
It Made Me Laugh
With a reputation for witty road gritter titles such as Gritter Thunberg and Lewis Caploughdi, South Lanarkshire Council has once again teamed up with their local newspaper to collate suggestions from the public for their latest council appliance.
It’s all in the name of fun, however 2020’s leading suggestion may leave one person in particular feeling rather salty.
Run across social media, the most popular moniker came from resident Barry Martin, who poked fun at controversial Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier, suggesting ‘Mar-grit Ferrier Super Spreader’.
The MP, who remains in her role despite travelling across the UK by train whilst suffering from Covid-19, must be gritting her teeth over this.
It’s great to see the people in her local constituency delivering their own hilarious brand of street justice.
It Made Me Weep
Social media influencers can be hugely beneficial for businesses looking for alternative ways to promote their brand.
However, amid a global pandemic, one TikTok star from England possibly chose the worst time to discover the answer to a popular Scottish myth.
Travelling over 900 miles to and from his home town in Bournemouth to Glasgow during lockdown, TikToker ToomeyToYou decided to find out whether Irn Bru tasted better in its native country.
Now, I’m all for people enjoying Scotland’s favourite fizzy juice, however a reckless round-trip from a country currently in a complete lockdown just for social media likes is quite simply idiotic.
As people continue to die from Coronavirus, a word of warning to any influencers reading this – breaking lockdown rules to boost your following could put you behind bars.
