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What is a Cubie?!
This isn’t like the bog-standard office parties of yore, this is a holiday party infused with ALL the Cube quirk, magic and camaraderie that we have all come to know and love from the agency. In a long-standing 3 Sided Cube tradition we take a night out in December to let our hair down and celebrate our fellow teammates and some of the amazing projects we have been able to work on over the past year. It’s something we look forward to for months, each year topping the next.
The only problem…THIS particular year is 2020.
Unfortunately, the insanity that was this year, had other plans. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that we would be able to all come together to celebrate our favourite festive occasion. But, with how intense it has been, and how much the team came together to seamlessly keep up their spectacular work and spirit, we wanted them to have their Cubies experience.
So that’s exactly what I set out to do! But, the million-dollar question was, how?!
Over 9 months into working remotely, the team was for sure experiencing some major Zoom fatigue. Unfortunately, as face-to-face wasn’t an option, that was our only option to be able to interact with each other. With my lovely Team Ops cohort Jen, we set to make the most unforgettable virtual Cubies experience that could be had!
It’s all about the theme
As this internal event is a beloved part of our Cube culture experience, we take it VERY seriously. Each year selecting a different theme to make each experience more unique from the previous. We’ve had all the glitz and glam of an Oscar-themed event, Greatest Showman, and the list goes on!
This year was no exception! With the fact that we all spent the majority of the year clocking some serious mileage going from our couches, to our kitchens, we wanted to bring a tropical oasis into each and everybody’s living room.
Thus, CUBE TROPICANA WAS BORN!
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Recipe for a fantastic event
I wish I could say that there was a really straightforward, simple way to execute an engaging and entertaining event, but it ain’t that easy. I was so cognitive of making this a genuine good time and a great reason for my fellow Cubies to sit in front of the computer for an evening. That meant taking our go-to Google Meet format, or even virtual pub quiz night and throwing it out the window.
This had to be bigger and better, more is more!
And it really was the humble goal of wanting my fabulous team to feel special and looked after that drove the whole planning process. It really was relatively simple once we threw out the rules, expectations and just had fun with it. Naturally, we had to nail down the brass tacks and come up with a plan, but once that was in place, we went wild!
And the winner’s are….
The core of The Cubies, is the awards ceremony. The aim is to recognise the team for their exceptional efforts and achievements every year. From ‘Most Inspirational Human’ to ‘Hero of the Hour’ and ‘Ray of Sunshine’. It is such a lovely way to take the time to acknowledge the wonderful people, teams and projects for the year. So, the festivities kicked off with getting straight to the ceremony. Of course, we had to mix-up a few of the categories to reflect working in 2020!
Here are the Cubes that got this particular recognition this year….
Excellence in Lockdown Entertainment – Who brightens your day, motivates you, and was a ray of sunshine during the wild ride of lockdown?
This award went to none other than our ray of California sunshine and lockdown cheerleader, Marketing Executive, Krystal
Nube of the Year – Which ‘Nube’ has ingrained themselves into the clan and thrown themselves into all things CUBE since January 2020?
While this past year we have had some ahh-mazing new starters, this one swept the vote for this category by his fellow teammates, and that was Backend Developer Sam
Hero of the Hour – Who is the person who always steps in to save the day or has delivered a heroic moment this year?
Enrique Iglesias had this person in mind when he wrote his banger, because they have swooped in to rescue a fellow Cube or hairy project situation. Our mobile Team Lead, Simon has been the man for the job!
Best Google Meet Moment – There’s been a few…but what made you cry with laughter or made you feel a huge sense of pride?
The constant Meet moments are hard to top after having an innumerable amount since March, but the one and only Head of Production, Sophie came through to deliver a moment so memorable it has gotten a lot of mileage amongst us Cube’s in 2020.
The 2020 Survivor – Who is always calm in a crisis, can solve any problem and is indestructible in difficult situations?
This person keeps the steadiest resolve in the face of adversity is, Project Team Lead, the one and only agency Sicilian goddess, Sophia T!
New Project of the Year – Which project (win or delivery) from 2020 are you most proud of?
While we couldn’t possibly pick a favourite, our work with Terramatch was clearly popular as it got the majority of votes this year!
Freeish Time Project of the Year
Freeish Time is a beloved part of our team, and Ben snagged this award for his awesome innovation on Scenekit Programming.
Most Inspirational Human – Who do you look up to, who inspires you to be better or is a great mentor?
This extraordinary human is a true inspiration at the agency. From his unwavering dedication to his work to being steadfast support to his fellow Cubes, Head of Creative James Marriott inspires each and every one of us on a daily basis!
Greatest Team Player – Who’s got your back and has all of our best interests at heart?
We all truly love what we do, and being surrounded by the absolute best is just the icing on the cake. But knowing we have this guy on our crew that constantly has everyone’s back without batting an eye is pretty awesome! Server Team Lead, Tom does exactly that.
Outstanding Values Award – Which member of the team most displays all our company values, living and breathing everything 3 SIDED CUBE?
Being on this team of ridiculously talented people is the highest honour of the first degree, and our Client Strategist Emma embodies every single quality to be a rock star, Cube!
Most Recognised Cube – What Cube pulled in the most 7 Geese recognition?
In order to recognise and shout out members of the team, we use the 7 Geese platform. That gives us all the opportunity to really show appreciation for the people who have gone above and beyond throughout the week. And Backend Developer, Sam earned this one!
Team of the Year – Across all of our phenomenal teams, which one flexed the hardest in 2020 and pulled together to earn this highest of honours?
This team proved that girl power is nothing to be trifled with and our amazing gang of women in Marketing took home the big trophy in this category!
Cube Tropicana
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With the award ceremony now behind us, it was time to jump into the 80’s neon deserted island of Cube Tropicana, and what lends itself to that decade better than a good ol’ fashion game show?! It was at this point that we instructed everyone to open up their specially curated, and hand-delivered boxes to participate in the festivities with.
Each box had sweets, drink mixers, stickers, flower lei, glow sticks and an accessory to be used as a team signifier. So, on our video call, we had a team with flamingos on their heads, glowing sunglasses, glitter mullet wigs and neon fedoras. That way for our rousing rounds of, Catchphrase, Family Fortunes, Supermarket Sweep and Pictionary, everyone knew what team they were on simply by their ridiculously awesome swag!
From their homes, the entire team really came together and got quite competitive! A blast was had by all, and some incriminating screenshots were grabbed to entertain us all into the next year!
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For all the uncertainty and sadness that came with our regularly scheduled Cubies not able to happen, this new, remixed one was such a blast and went better than I could have expected! That’s a wrap on the 2020 Cubies, fingers crossed I’ll be reporting back from a real life extravaganza next year!
Published on 17 December 2020, last updated on 31 March 2021