2020 in Review: Reflections from Full Media's CEO

By Kris Nordholz, CEO, Full Media

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. We were forced to adapt to situations many of us never even considered prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, this was tiring. At times, it was invigorating. And as I reflect on our year at Full Media, what really stands out to me is that through it all, we were made aware of what’s really important: people. 

At Full Media, we’ve been working toward simplifying for several years. During our first five years in operation, we did what many businesses do and we tried to do more. We wanted to hire more talent, take on more projects, and open more offices. At some point along the way, we took a pause to ask, “Why?”

After much deliberation, we realized that bigger was not necessarily better, and we decided to be more intentional about what we wanted Full Media to look like and the impact we wanted it to have on our team members, our clients, and the people our clients needed to reach. To accomplish this, we knew we had to simplify.

What does that mean? Well, we stopped trying to be everything for every person. We said “no” to projects that weren’t a good fit for us so that we would have the time and resources to take on the right ones when they came around. We implemented processes and procedures that enabled our team members to work from home and operate in a more flexible working environment. We identified healthcare as our strong suit and began building relationships and pursuing educational opportunities and other resources that made us better partners to our healthcare clients. 

And it’s because we set out to run our business in a more intentional way that we were able to continue operating with minimal disruptions when the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality.

Speaking of COVID-19, I’d be remiss not to mention our immense gratitude for the work our healthcare clients and their organizations have contributed to our communities since the outset of the pandemic. 

We watched our healthcare clients step up as community leaders, communicating critical updates about the impact of COVID-19, managing care and testing for COVID-19 patients, all while juggling new procedures and new developments, in many cases at the drop of a hat. As our clients navigated an unimaginable new reality, we were honored to play even a small role in helping them navigate this uncertainty. 

I was deeply humbled to see our team rise to the challenge, coming up with innovative solutions and breaking down ever-evolving barriers to patient care. They have shared with me that serving our clients during this tumultuous time has been some of the most rewarding work of their careers, and I am so proud of them for the work they have done. 

In 2020, we also became a HIPAA-compliant digital marketing agency. This was not an easy task, but serving as a better partner and a better steward of our clients’ marketing dollars absolutely makes our efforts worthwhile.

All in all, as I think about the challenges and successes of 2020, as well as what we have to look forward to in 2021, I am grateful. I am grateful for our team, who has shown that they are really good at what they do, and that they can overcome even the greatest challenges. I am grateful for our clients, who have entrusted us with the critically important and nuanced task of connecting patients with the care and resources they need to stay healthy. I am grateful that we took the steps years ago to disconnect our work from the appearance of “busy-ness” and build a team that we know can perform in any environment, so that this year when faced with so much uncertainty, we encountered few disruptions in accomplishing our mission to have a positive impact on our world. 

To all of Full Media’s supporters, partners, friends, and family, I’d just like to say thank you. Thank you for sticking out this year with us, and we look forward to seeing what the next year holds.