International Business Brilliance Awards 2025 | Agency/Consultancy of the Year – Gold Award Winner  | Innovative Use of Technology – Silver Award Winner: Sequel Group

In this edition of Behind the Brilliance, we spotlight Sequel Group, proud winner of the Gold and Silver Awards for Internal Communications at the International Brilliance Awards™ 2025.

As an employee-owned agency, Sequel Group has built a reputation for helping leading brands — from Bridgestone and Nestlé to Heineken — create more connected, engaged, and inspired workforces. Their approach combines creativity with insight, delivering communications that don’t just inform but genuinely connect people to purpose.

In this interview, Nick Andrews, Business Development Director at Sequel Group, shares how the team’s culture of curiosity, collaboration, and innovation continues to push the boundaries of internal communication — proving that great work always starts with people.

1. Congratulations on winning the Gold Award! What do you think makes Sequel Group stand out in internal communications?

Thank you. We were thrilled to receive this accolade. I believe Sequel stands out as a result of our unrivalled experience in internal communication and our ability to innovate and improve our offering to clients continually.

2. Sequel Group is employee-owned. How has this influenced your team’s engagement and your work with clients?

Becoming an Employee Owned Trust in 2023 was a big deal; it enables and encourages our people to take ownership of what they do, suggest new ways of doing things and become better project managers, which, in turn, has further improved client relationships and resulted in an enviable net promoter score.

3. Your ACTIVE8 campaign with Bridgestone was a big success. Can you explain what you aimed to achieve and the results?

Active8 was devised from a desire to ensure employees at Bridgestone weren’t just passive recipients of corporate messages but got individually involved with important work in key areas such as sustainability, diversity, recognition and wellbeing among others. We wanted people to ‘active8’ campaigns by taking a lead role in ensuring words on a page became living, breathing examples of building a better workplace through initiatives such as hackathons, pledge walls and site specific roadshows. The result was a truly engaged workforce.

4. You’ve worked with big clients like Nestlé and Heineken. How has your work helped improve employee engagement for them?

We carry out a wide range of work for all our clients with a focus on measurement – what are we doing that really makes a difference and adds value to these organisations? Whatever we produce – whether it’s a leader event for Nestle or an app for Heineken – we approach each project with specific KPIs and with the audience in mind, providing communication which is interactive, engaging and helps people to feel connected to organisational objectives.

5. Sequel has introduced new products like Juice and Dash. How do they help improve internal communication for your clients?

Both JuICe – a multi purpose app for news, events, onboarding and a variety of other pain points – and DASH, our digital channels measurement tool, were born from ongoing conversations we have with our clients and the wider industry. We are continually looking for new ways to help our clients communicate with their employees, but it’s important that any new product meets a need that has been identified and is introduced with the audience in mind. 

6. Building strong relationships is key to your work. How has this helped you maintain long-term partnerships with clients?

We’re very proud of the relationships we build with our clients, many of who have worked alongside us on a long term basis. This doesn’t happen by luck – the harder we work to develop relationships, the more likely it is that clients will continue to put their trust in us. Producing great work comes as standard but clients also say how easy it is to work with us on a personal basis, citing authenticity, empathy, warmth, curiosity, humour and reliability as key attributes of Sequel people. We are seen as an extension to clients’ teams – we understand them and are pleased to help them succeed as part of a united effort.

7. What does ‘brilliance’ mean to you in the work Sequel Group does, and how do you deliver this in every project?

It’s a cliché but for agencies, you’re only as as good as your last project. In an increasingly competitive world, churning out work that’s merely okay is not good enough. For us, surprising clients on a regular basis with innovative ideas brings brilliance to the partnership. That means approaching every project as if it’s the first one we’ve been asked to help with, the end goal being to surprise and delight clients on a continued basis.

8. Sequel Group is known for being innovative. How do you keep up with the changing needs of your clients?

By talking to them. Being curious. Walking in their footsteps. Understanding their pain points. Asking difficult questions. Playing devils advocate. Acting as if we are part of their team. 

9. What are Sequel Group’s main goals for the coming year, and how do you plan to continue growing?

Aside from the usual financial goals (!), our focus will be – as it always has been – to work with our clients to give them the best possible service, not resting on our laurels and building great relationships to ensure we are the ‘go to’ agency. We never forget that without our fabulous clients, we wouldn’t be in business. We’ve been lucky enough to already take on board a number of new clients in 2025 and ensuring they get the best from us is a key goal for the months ahead.

10. Winning this Gold Award is a huge achievement. What does it mean for Sequel Group, and how does it reflect the hard work of your team?

Ultimately how our clients rate us is the most important endorsement of what we do but a Brilliance Award is a great independent affirmation of the quality of our work and reflects the fantastic contribution of our insight, content and technology teams. We’re all proud to say we are – officially – brilliant!

11. Finally, how would you define ‘brilliance’ in your work, and how does it guide your communication strategies for clients?

It’s about doing things differently, going above and beyond briefs, continually striving for the best and surprising ourselves and our clients. When we’re talking to strategies with clients, we are always looking for the best solution – one which will delight but ultimately add value to the organisations we are working with.

Celebrating Brilliance

Sequel Group exemplifies what brilliance looks like in internal communications — bold thinking, empathy, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. By empowering employees, fostering authentic relationships, and turning strategy into action, they continue to set new standards for creativity and connection in the industry.