How an Agency Secondment Saved Wadworth’s 150th Anniversary

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Close-up of six craft beer cans displayed on a wooden surface, featuring colourful designs and branding. Visible labels include Wadworth Henry’s IPA in red, Horizon in cream, 6X Original Ale in blue, Folly Road Evolution Session IPA in teal and red, To Helles and Back in white with bold stripes, and Corvus Milk Stout in black with a crow illustration. Background shows shelves stocked with more cans.
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When a team member leaves just weeks before Wadworth’s 150th anniversary campaign begins, what should you do? Well, plan a secondment with your agency, of course!

That unlocks the door to instant in-house expertise and human resource – here's how it all works... 

Two hands clinking pint glasses filled with golden beer, both glasses branded with the Wadworth logo and the text ‘Since 1875 – Traditions Worth Holding On To’. One hand wears a gold ring, and a plate of food with green garnish is partially visible in the foreground.

The Brief: Not enough people!

Heading into 2025, Wadworth was preparing to celebrate a major milestone: its 150th anniversary.  

The marketing team had worked with us since 2020 across social media, content, SEO, and paid media, and together we’d developed a comprehensive anniversary marketing and activation plan.  

By July 2024, we had a full calendar of events, content campaigns, and storytelling lined up to commemorate the milestone. 

But in January 2025, just weeks before the campaign launch, a key member of the marketing team moved into another exciting role, leaving some pretty big shoes to fill. 

With planning done and the campaign launch imminent, Wadworth risked losing momentum, missing critical timing, and undermining the impact of a once-in-a-generation opportunity. 

Person working on a laptop in front of a decorative wall featuring large chalk-style lettering that reads ‘Fine Beers and Ales’. The setting appears to be a pub or brewery environment with warm wooden accents.

Approach: Agency secondment

Rather than pause or scale back, we proposed a bold, people-first solution. We seconded one of our more senior account managers – someone who had worked on the Wadworth account for four years and was deeply familiar with their brand, pubs, people and plans – into their team for 10 weeks. 

Within days of arriving on-site, she was fully embedded: acting as part of their internal team, managing day-to-day execution, delivering anniversary-related activity, and picking up legacy projects that had been put on hold due to resource constraints.

This approach allowed us to assume operational responsibility during a critical period; it kept the entire campaign on track and safeguarded the investment of planning and creative effort made to date. 

Group of people sitting at a wooden outdoor table holding pints of beer branded ‘To Helles and Back’. Several matching beer cans and promotional leaflets are placed on the table.

Solution: Secondment success

This successful agency secondment ensured: 

• Zero loss of momentum: All anniversary campaigns and content went ahead as scheduled. 

• Seamless execution of planned events and marketing activities.

• Legacy projects that had been delayed were picked up and delivered.

• The client had the headspace and confidence to recruit a permanent replacement without worrying about the 150th-anniversary activity being compromised. 

Close-up of six craft beer cans displayed on a wooden surface, featuring colourful designs and branding. Visible labels include Wadworth Henry’s IPA in red, Horizon in cream, 6X Original Ale in blue, Folly Road Evolution Session IPA in teal and red, To Helles and Back in white with bold stripes, and Corvus Milk Stout in black with a crow illustration. Background shows shelves stocked with more cans.
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What our clients say

Sarah Berry, Head of Marketing
Sarah Berry, Head of Marketing
Wadworth

I don’t know what we would have done without the extra pair of hands. You’ve done a great job and really pushed through on a lot of work we just wouldn’t have got to. From our side, the secondment worked really well. This clearly showed how you guys really are an extension to our team.

Could an agency secondment or “in-plant” be your key to success?   

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