Being old.
This is the story of Connected, one of the oldest digital agencies in the UK.
We are writing this during our 20th year. Surviving 20 years in the digital space is by far our greatest achievement.
In a world where most digital agencies don’t even make it to their 5th birthday, lasting 20 years is almost unique in our space. Our long history started even further back, maybe another decade earlier.
Founder Martin Dower had started work in the fledgling network industry in the mid-1980s and met Jerry Pank while working in London in 1986 on network computer systems. Both started experimenting with early internet systems in the mid-1990s as Martin went to work for one of the biggest Internet infrastructure providers at the time in the both the US and the UK.
In 1996, when the Internet was still a baby, they went “all in” to create one of the first web development agencies in the UK. In an agency world dominated by print and TV, they were instrumental in the early adoption of digital services, creating some industry firsts that are still used today (albeit somewhat updated).
Over the last 20 years, Connected has invented, created and evolved some of the most innovative digital platforms, often years ahead of the competition. We created one of the world’s first content management systems in 1998, created a dynamic landing-page platform in 2003, and we pretty much defined the “form follows function” mantra that drives conversion rates and user journeys today.
In a world full of agencies racing towards growth and world domination, we chose a different path. We chose to be great instead of big. Many big companies lose their way, growth for growth sake is the fastest track to oblivion. We’re here for the long-haul, we’re not after quick wins.
Having embraced open source in the late nineties, Connected adopted the WordPress platform exclusively in 2008 and went on to build some of the most innovative WordPress-based digital services over the last decade. We have continually evolved over the last 20 years and continue to evolve to this day – the digital world does not stand still.
We’ve always had our clients needs at the heart of what we do. We’re not a “yes man” agency, nor do we blindly follow trends – we pride ourselves on being ahead of the marketplace and carving out new niches and working with innovative technology to deliver world-class digital services.
We’d like to thank our clients, partners, and staffers, past and present who have all helped us survive and prosper – and ensure that we will still be around in 2026 to celebrate our 30th birthday. In the meantime, we’re having a huge birthday bash in the West End at the start of December – we’re flying our team in from around the world to celebrate 20 years of trading, down a few beers and chat about the next 10 years. We might even give ourselves a pat on the back for reaching 20 – but we’ll not be complacent. Never complacent.
