After 24 challenging months of lockdown, industrial action, and service disruption, ScotRail’s refreshed brand positioning and advertising campaign brought Scots back to the railway, rebuilding customer trust, recovering public perception from negative 17 on the scale, and increasing journeys and revenue YOY.

Lights4fun are a decorative lighting company, offering high-end, visually stunning products to elevate any living space. An idhl client for 4 years, since day dot, we have worked together to deliver innovative digital campaigns that align with Lights4fun’s ambitious growth plans. In 2023, the retail landscape was a turbulent place. With stiff competition and a market flooded with low quality mass-produced products – we needed to find a way to help Lights4fun stand out and meet their revenue targets. Peak fast approaching, it was time to think outside the box and switch up their approach, moving away from a PPC-focused strategy to a more holistic digital marketing campaign. Wanting to increase overall brand awareness and reach new, relevant audiences, we knew simply upping their PPC budget wouldn’t deliver the results they wanted. The solution? A full-funnel strategy that could hit all stages of a consumer’s purchasing journey. Leaning into their extremely marketable portfolio of products, we built a campaign that showcased the premium look and feel of their lighting. Using a blend of paid social, programmatic, paid search, shopping and feed management, we targeted audiences likely to resonate with their brand and drip fed them enticing visuals and messaging throughout the build-up to peak. Thanks to Lights4fun’s wealth of high-end, aesthetically pleasing products, and our diversified approach to advertising, we delivered a campaign that surpassed all targets over the seasonal period. Now that’s what we call a very Merry Christmas.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) and battery company BYD partnered with RocketMill to launch their brand into EMEA. Mostly unknown in Europe and with globally-established auto brands dominating the market, we helped them quickly build awareness and stand out in the crowded marketplace. Researching, planning and executing a Through-The-Line media strategy which incorporated Linear TV, VOD, CTV, Digital and Print across five key markets, here’s how we increased share-of-search by +72% with web traffic across all regions jumping by +159% and brand demand growing by a 115% in just four months.

The hype surrounding the final season of Top Boy catapulted Kano into the stratosphere. Grime royalty was now a global phenomenon. Capitalising on this momentum, we teamed up with Adidas and JD Sports for a campaign that would redefine the term 'European takeover.' Building on our recent triumphs in promoting JD Sport and Adidas Originals, including Parklife: Manchester Takeover and Wireless Festival, we were thrilled to receive an invitation to collaborate once again with Adidas and JD Sports. The brief resonated with our own ethos, offering ample room for innovation, boundary-pushing, and authentic audience engagement. With the freedom to unleash our creativity, our mission was clear: craft a proposal honouring Kano's essence while remaining true to JD and Adidas's core values. We veered away from conventional digital out-of-home approaches, opting instead for a raw, stripped-back concept that would leave a lasting impression both online and offline, focusing on community engagement. We embarked on a journey across 8 major European cities – from Manchester to Madrid, Birmingham to Berlin – adorning their streets with striking flyposting campaigns and colossal takeover murals. "We had a vision, and we brought it to life." Hand-painted murals, a first for us, became the campaign's centrepiece. We assembled a stellar team to execute our vision flawlessly. Alongside the complementary flyposting campaign, we generated over 16 million impressions across Europe. Digitally, we reached 24.8 million users and saw #AdidasOriginals interactions surge by 1150%. Social media exploded with over 200k shares and Kano's record-breaking Instagram post.

Tennent's isn't just Scotland’s No. 1 lager – it’s a cultural icon. That isn't something the brand takes for granted. At almost 140 years old, it’s kept things fresh from generation to generation, powerfully connecting with drinkers in culturally significant ways. Yet despite all this, inconsistency and a focus on entertainment over quality had damaged the brand’s overall health scores and sales. So, Tennent's tasked us with developing new brand positioning and an ATL campaign that would win new hearts and create lasting impact. By delving deep into the Scottish psyche, and with a determined focus on the quality of the lager, we communicated provenance and taste through culture in a way that only Tennent's can – boosting brand health and outstripping our competitors. And we did all these big things with one little word that holds cultural significance in Scotland. OOOFT! Our truly refreshing campaign hit the spot with both established Tennent’s drinkers and new audiences. The TVC, which brought together Scots pop legend Lulu and Gen Z in a way nobody expected, had an astonishing 97% audience reach and 6,940,063 YouTube impressions. OOH (which showed up in unmissable locations, from the Rugby World Championships to Edinburgh trams) was recalled by 1 in 3 Scots. And the campaign increased spontaneous brand awareness for Tennent’s from 50% to 63% amongst their target audience. Crucially, brand health jumped to record highs, and Tennent’s outperformed the category, with share growing to almost 30% within on and off-trade channels combined.

We have worked with the Warner Bros.Discovery - UK Kids Marketing Team since 2022 delivering a variety of highly successful contextual campaigns across their Cartoonito and Cartoon Network brand. Because of this, in March 2023 we were tasked with helping with the launch of a completely brand new IP for Cartoonito - Batwheels. The aim of the new Batwheels IP was to tap into an unexplored audience with kids who like vehicle shows’ whilst utilising another of their very well known IP’s -‘Batman’. Achieving millions of impressions, hundreds of thousands of ad watch-time hours and view rates consistently exceeding benchmarks, across multiple locations the campaign was an undeniable success. The win would provide further acknowledgement of what both teams already know. Launching a brand new show using digital advertising is the way of the future and YouTube is an absolutely essential part of this plan.

The iconic British brand YAZOO was having an identity crisis; it was becoming out of touch with the changing reality of their core consumers lives and it's perception was suffering as a result. But as every with every challenge there's opportunity, and YAZOO needed to start to own what made the brand a multi decade success story. With a noticeably refreshing taste profile and distinctive brand assets, we set about communicating these in a way that our audience could relate to. With a new creative platform, Refreshingly Real, we now needed to capture the hearts and minds of Gen Z through a broad reaching multichannel campaign. Our advertising focused on how YAZOO has the ability to shake up those mundane moments in life that we all endure from time to time. Cue lip-sync battle a la 90s boy bands to the legendary 'No Scrubs' by TLC, and you have a certified 5 star rated ad for effectiveness as rated by System 1. This translated to uplift in attention (VTR), consideration and sentiment across all social channels. We also saw a significant sales spike, as well as over 40% increase in brand awareness during the campaign. The advertising has subsequently created the blueprint for the launch of YAZOO's new Thick & Creamy NPD and has set the foundation for a long standing creative campaign.

We uncovered how important clothes are to young autistic girls, but had no budget. So we created a campaign out of nothing, drove awareness of autism and improved perceptions of Vanish.

As a relatively new entrant in the UAE, AvaTrade has challenged the trading category by introducing unique products like AvaTradeGo & AvaProtect. However, brands like Equiti, Multibank FX, ADSS enjoy a higher share of voice in the UAE. Before our efforts commenced, the brand faced hurdles of brand recognition, customer engagement, and overall market share. Our objective was three-fold: increase brand awareness in the country, increase brand consideration & increase new customer sign ups by 25%. Launched in early 2023, the collaboration between AvaTrade and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1® Team showcases a fusion of shared values: confidence, safety, excellence, and innovation. This alliance signifies a commitment to unparalleled brilliance, blending the fast-paced world of F1® racing with the precision and cutting-edge technology of online trading. It echoes the rigorous standards observed in F1® racing, evident in every aspect of AvaTrade's offerings. As we stand at the tipping point of a cookie-less future, contextual advertising is regaining prominence, emerging as a key media strategy. Fueled by AI innovation, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning & Semantic Analysis, we added new life into traditional methods. Leveraging the world’s first AI-led in-video context detection solution, we redefined the boundaries of contextual brand suitability in video advertising. The campaign surpassed its objectives with encouraging success. Numerically, we observed a 150% increase in brand search volumes demonstrating higher brand awareness, 68% increase in new users to the website signifying higher brand consideration, & 33% rise in new-user sign-ups to boost market share.

At EY, we believe that humans must be at the heart of the AI revolution – and there’s no better way of demonstrating this than putting people front and center of our new AI campaign. We’re helping clients transform, face the future with confidence and take advantage of the power and capabilities of AI, to harness the potential of this world-changing technology. To bring our approach to life, we developed a 360 integrated global brand campaign, called the ‘Face of the Future’ where confidence in AI is the central message. The hero brand film tells the story of EY.ai, a new unifying AI platform that brings together people, ecosystems and technology to help clients and organizations build confidence, create exponential value and augment people – all through the power of AI technology. The creative, that’s been adapted into different digital formats, features over 200 EY people augmented and empowered by AI, firmly communicating our strategic positioning of putting people at the center of the AI transformation. This entry is relevant to the category 'AI' because the campaign promoted the launch of EY’s new AI platform ‘EY.ai’. Both the campaign’s message as well as its execution has AI firmly embedded at the core, to evidence our credibility in the market and build confidence in AI. In the production process, we developed a bespoke AI model to craft a constantly changing face made up of EY employees, telling the story of how our people are augmented by AI.

2023 saw women’s football reach astronomical heights, but misogyny and inequality continued to dominate headlines, from sexual assaults, to disputes over pay and oppressive regimes winning World Cup bids. Presiding over this controversy was FIFA – football’s international governing body. Its president, Gianni Infantino, had run unopposed at the last two elections and was seen by many as perpetuating a culture of misogyny and cronyism. In its entire history, FIFA has had nine presidents, all male. There has never been a female candidate in the running. Any women in football who stood up to the patriarchal status quo have been systematically undermined and sidelined. We wanted to create a solution that would aggregate the collective voice of women in football from around the world, and challenge the power structures in a way that hasn’t been possible before, without fear of retribution. So we created Hope Sogni – the 10th FIFA President. Built using AI, her knowledge and outlook were formed exclusively by women, using thousands of hours of interviews and opinion pieces, creating an encyclopedic understanding of the sport, its policies and the key issues it faces. We launched her hypothetical candidacy with an exclusive interview in the Guardian newspaper, and within a week, Hope’s campaign had reached a total audience of 364 million, across 42 countries, in multiple languages, featuring in national press from around the globe. And this is just the beginning, with NGOs and charities now contacting Hope to help shine a light on their own plights.

"mAI colpevoli" was created in observance of The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, aiming to shed light on the pervasive nature of victim blaming in society. We tasked an AI with generating three monologues that each portray a woman's perspective as a victim of violence. In addition to drawing from insights gathered online regarding gender-based violence, we collaborated with ChatGPT to create narratives that accurately portray common victim experiences. The AI, functioning as an impartial reflection of internet discourse, produced monologues wherein the victims themselves internalized blame for the violence they endured, often rationalizing the actions of the perpetrator. This starkly illustrates the entrenched nature of victim blaming within our culture, emphasizing the urgent need for awareness and dialogue to dismantle it and alleviate the burden of stigma faced by victims. These narratives were then translated into three films, directed by Viola Folador, that bring each compelling story to life. The awareness campaign "mAI colpevoli," translated as “never guilty,” supports the Pangea ETS Foundation.

More than 140000 people in Italy suffer from multiple sclerosis, yet its symptoms are often invisible. With the help of A.I., we finally made them visible. We listened to the stories of people who suffer from MS, and inserted their symptoms, as they described them, into an A.I. text-to-image generator. The A.I. generated surreal and exaggerated images, which we showed everybody through open air and digital exhibitions. Any person suffering from MS could become part of the digital exhibition, by uploading a picture of themselves and a short description of how they feel. In the end, millions of people finally saw what this invisible disease really looks like. This campaign brought the issue to the attention of many parliamentarians who signed a bill of rights of people suffering from MS, an important step in making them feel truly seen.

Ask AI to portray 'healthy exercise'. You get images of people with minimal body fat, chiseled jaws, and muscles – some even with 12-pack abs. Unrealistic standards that AI has learnt from us. To combat this, ASICS partnered with AI expert, Omar Karim, to create the first AI Training program, creating bespoke code and AI prompts to educate AI systems on the true power of exercise. The campaign generated over 200 pieces of coverage, from Sky News business and Richard Ayoade's discussion on iconic TV show ‘Have I Got News For You’, creating a national discussion on the health implications of AI and what healthy exercise really looks like.

The all-electric i7 is a groundbreaking manifestation of BMW’s unique perspective on the future of mobility. With an array of awe-inspiring features, the jewel in its crown is a 31-inch, 8K ultra-wide passenger theatre screen which drops down from the panoramic glass sunroof - a revolutionary experience on the move, offering an entirely new perspective in the world of luxury mobility. This is a car to be driven in, not just a car to drive. To assert this, we needed to go beyond the advertising activity, which was delivering awareness of the car, and let the car’s key feature earn its own attention amongst progressive minds and tastemakers. Carrying the vision of ‘a new perspective’ further, we invited the British filmmaking community to use the 32:9 screen as a fresh creative canvas. Brokered by Wasserman, we partnered with the BFI and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Michaela Coel, commissioning a filmmaking competition, providing up-and-coming British filmmakers with the exciting opportunity to show the world an entirely new perspective of their own; in ultrawide. With Michaela serving as a mentor and collaborator, five short films were made. The winning film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October, where Michaela Coel, the directors and of course the BMW i7 had their red-carpet moment. With PR led by Popcorn, the campaign generated millions of views in earned media, delivering one of the most exciting arts and culture stories of the year, and positioning the BMW i7 as a leader in the luxury space.

The Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 marked a groundbreaking collaboration between Porsche and its partners within the esports realm. With the objective of leveraging brand awareness, engagement, and the global gaming community's enthusiasm, the competition unfolded as a thrilling showcase of speed, skill, and brand synergy. Set against the backdrop of Asphalt 9: Legends, the competition engaged players worldwide through a series of branded qualifying rounds, culminating in a spectacular finale in Barcelona. The strategic approach integrated seamless branding across the gaming experience, with Porsche's iconic cars dominating the tracks adorned with Porsche's partners branding. The immersive experience extended beyond the virtual realm, with a real Porsche branded car making a grand appearance at the finale, captivating both in-person and online audiences. Live streaming and interactive elements ensured maximum engagement, with participants vying for prestigious prizes. The results speak volumes of the competition's success, with a remarkable reach of 7.5 million and over 2.2 million unique participants. The high participation rate of 29% underscores the effective integration of branding and the compelling nature of the competition. Through exclusive branded content and lucrative prizes, the Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 not only elevated the gaming experience but also provided extensive brand exposure for Porsche and its partners within the gaming community. In summary, the Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 exemplifies the transformative potential of strategic partnerships and immersive branding in the esports landscape, showcasing the power of collaboration to captivate and engage audiences on a global scale.

When the entire automotive sector is making claims around Innovation and Technology, how could Audi stand out? Well, “Vorsprung durch Technik” is more than a campaign line for Audi – the brand lives progress in all they do. Equally, Sky Sports’ heritage in innovation stretches 30 years, continually raising the bar for Sports coverage, underpinned by the ethos of ‘believe in better’. This fuelled the idea that led to Audi becoming the first ever Official Innovation Partner of Sky Sports in 2022 - bringing to life Audi Innovation stories through the lens of sport, which led to an increase in consideration and “innovative” perceptions of Audi; positioning it as the number one EV choice. But with great results and multiple awards on the shelf, we knew we had to raise the bar higher for 2023. So, for the big comeback, one innovation wasn’t enough. Instead, we created two: ‘Force Plates’ and ‘Zen Eye’, plus, an entire studio, the ‘Audi Performance Zone’ dedicated to hosting these Innovations alongside live coverage of the PGA Tour. And to our (putter) delight, 2023 revealed even more engagement than 2022’s award-winning work - with higher dwell times driving even greater impact on perceptions and consideration.

Volkswagen wanted to strengthen its presence among Gen Z gamers by partnering with Twitch to launch the new ID.3. Recognizing Gen Z's distaste for traditional advertising and commitment to sustainability, our strategy focused on highlighting the car's three key features to align with their values and create fun moments centered around mobility, the future, and sustainability. To achieve this, we created the WIN.3 Challenge tailored to showcase the Volkswagen ID.3 range on Twitch. This friendly, competitive tournament included three different games, chat participation, and a custom-designed Autopia world in Trackmania, built to inspire the future of driving. Five German streamers invited their communities along for the ride to tackle various challenges, all within thirty hours of fun, gamified entertainment.

With an inventory of millions – far larger than any competitor – and upwards of 20 million active users, eBay is a leader in the automotive parts and accessories (P&A) market. But not a brand to rest on its laurels, eBay turned to DEPT® to defend market share by engaging its vast audience through a 360, through the line campaign. Its biggest of 2023 nonetheless. Utilising multiple channels including TV, OOH, social, event sponsorships, email, and onsite marketing, the fully integrated ‘You’re Built Different’ campaign aimed to improve awareness and perceptions of eBay’s automotive P&A category, as well as increase market share. By leveraging audience data to define relatable personas, the campaign disrupted a vertical that was traditionally functional in nature with a fresh, more emotive automotive marketing strategy. The campaign celebrates the real and unique passions of eBayers, as well as highlighting the wonder and aspiration driving their vehicle building, repairing and upcycling projects; representing a new and innovative approach in the automotive industry. This narrative was authentically and consistently woven into every aspect of customer interaction, successfully positioning eBay as a platform that serves diverse audiences in the automotive space; achieving a 4ppt increase in category awareness, 3ppt increase in perception scores, and a 2ppt increase in market share. On top of surpassing its primary objectives, ‘You’re Built Different’ emerged as a benchmark in how integrated campaigns can weave together disparate threads of brand communication into a coherent and compelling story that prompts more profound connections and engagement.

With AI and climate change both dominating the media the connection between the two topics is less well known. Digital processes all have one thing in common; they all physically reside inside a data center. It has been estimated that data centers account for 1-3% of global electricity use, while digital technology represents 4% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers are becoming one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. Digitalization will not stop but there are data center providers that can mitigate the environmental impact of this trend. Modern data centers located in cooler climates, such as the Nordics, can utilize the cool climate and abundance of renewable energy sources to implement much more efficient cooling and heat reuse technologies. atNorth was one such business that was looking to capitalize on the huge increase in demand for data center services, without compromising on the environment. As a relatively small player in the data center market, with limited media presence or global industry reputation, atNorth had to make significant changes, leveraging the Nordic advantages, to elevate the brand and scale effectively. atNorth conducted a complete rebrand combined with a multifaceted communication strategy to focus on the environmental benefits of its locations and the innovative design of its infrastructure. The result was a 175,000% increase in media reach, translating into an increase in share of voice from 10 to 43% in 12 months and a corresponding increase in signed Annual Contract Value (ACV) of more than 370%.

Creating a stand-out campaign for machine management technology isn’t easy. Let’s face it, explaining the detail of how machine data can improve jobsite efficiency can be somewhat eye-glazing. Always up for a challenge, the DPR&Co team set about unveiling the true power of having the right data at the right time. VisionLink provides machine owners with the data they need to be more productive and profitable. But it’s only one of many similar technologies and competes with both OEM and third-party alternatives. Our challenge was not only to win against these competitor platforms, but to also win against a more pervasive opponent – simply doing nothing. Many machine owners are technology-resistant and see machine telemetry as an overwhelming complication. An additional requirement was the need to convince a diverse dealer network, spanning 17 countries and 6 languages, to invest in the deployment of the campaign. In a nutshell, we had to distil an incredibly nuanced but important value proposition into a simple idea that machine owners could understand in a heartbeat. It would require us to convince a global engineering giant, full of rational thinkers, to embrace a cut-through creative concept well ‘outside the box’ for the sector. DPR&Co distilled this complex brief into a simple thought: Uncover what your machines have been keeping from you. We executed this with a dramatic, unforgettable visual. The results were anything but boring. VisionLink usage increased by 17% in just 6 months and continues to grow at 2% per month.

At EY, we believe that humans must be at the heart of the AI revolution – and there’s no better way of demonstrating this than putting people front and center of our new AI campaign. We’re helping clients transform, face the future with confidence and take advantage of the power and capabilities of AI, to harness the potential of this world-changing technology. To bring our approach to life, we developed a 360 integrated global brand campaign, called the ‘Face of the Future’ where confidence in AI is the central message. The hero brand film tells the story of EY.ai, a new unifying AI platform that brings together people, ecosystems and technology to help clients and organizations build confidence, create exponential value and augment people – all through the power of AI technology. The creative, that’s been adapted into different digital formats, features over 200 EY people augmented and empowered by AI, firmly communicating our strategic positioning of putting people at the center of the AI transformation. This entry showcases excellence in B2B marketing, as the campaign launched EY’s new AI platform globally to establish a distinctive, differentiated and compelling positioning for EY as a leader in AI, driving awareness and association amongst our B2B clients and prospects. The campaign presents AI in an innovative, new way for the category. The creative execution spoke directly to our B2B clients and prospects, through the voices of our people - those who proudly work with and serve our clients every day.

TeamViewer is a leading global technology company that provides a connectivity platform to remotely access, control, manage and repair devices of any kind. TeamViewer’s solutions enable companies of all sizes to digitalize their business-critical processes through seamless connectivity. TeamViewer needed to appeal to an Enterprise audience; these 1000+ employee businesses work with providers they can perceive to be market leaders. To behave like a global brand, in 2021 TeamViewer announced major sponsorship deals with Manchester United FC and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. 19 months later, the brand’s name and logo had been seen by millions; prompted brand awareness rose from 21% (October 2021) to 47% (March 2023). But moving from awareness to active consideration was still proving difficult. So in 2023 TeamViewer wrote another brief, looking to leverage its sponsorships to tell a more compelling story capable of driving saliency and consideration, and re-energising internal culture. TeamViewer adopted an emotion-led strategy to convey the feeling of satisfaction that comes from making your teams and company work better with TeamViewer. Find Your Better told the story of how TeamViewer helps its sports partners get to that feeling and invited Enterprise audiences to reflect on what their own version of ‘better’ looks like. Rolled out across key Enterprise touch points, including a LinkedIn and Youtube media buy, the campaign increased consideration and loyalty, as well as internal engagement. What started as a sponsorship storytelling platform was elevated to a global brand platform that continues to drive all brand marketing efforts today.

G R Wright’s & Sons are one of the UK's largest millers and were asked to produce a ‘00’ flour amongst the import drama of Covid. After a slow launch, we were asked to rebrand the offering to aggressively compete with a brand that had 70% market share, with an audience that were dead set on buying Italian flour, by selling a flour made in Essex. Gulp.

LSEG is unrivalled in the financial community. We are a leading financial infrastructure and data provider with solutions across the entire trade life cycle and financial markets. However, no one knows us for that – they only know the London Stock Exchange. LSEG partnered with Droga5 to create a brand video entitled ‘Look beyond the name’ to refocus the perception of LSEG. The distinctive, and unexpected creative direction acts as a visual thread across every communication touchpoint. Ironically, we took inspiration from what we are known for, stock tickers, and used it as the foundation for the campaign and creative idea. Through surprisingly witty messaging built into creative layouts using the vibrant blue – LSEG was brought to life. To enhance the narrative, when the campaign moved into the key campaign channels such as out of home, paid social and programmatic ads the creative device opened between L and SEG which enabled us to demonstrate who we are. It also allowed us to tease the customer benefits that our sub-brands will provide when users look beyond our name. The brand video resonates with our global audience and supports the vision of building LSEG into an iconic brand. 22% in increase in branded searches for LSEG Over 87 million Brand Video plays (69% viewed >75%) Awareness up +2% Familiarity up +6% Purchase intent up +5% 166% increase (1.2 million) in Unique Visitors to LSEG.com pages Over 481 million impressions delivered across Digital Media 492.8 million delivered impressions for out of home-advertising

The Pub has been the spiritual home of the UK for centuries. So why, during the most dispiriting month of the year, are pubs sat empty? With so many great alcohol-free options, Dry Jan doesn’t have to be a quiet month at your local. This January, Lucky Saint got Brits back into the pub without breaking their Dry January, proclaiming…Thou Shalt Go To The Pub! Partnering with one of the UK’s biggest pub groups, Mitchells and Butlers, Lucky Saint vowed to giveaway thousands of pints in January. The campaign ran across targeted OOH 6-sheets as well as paid social. The Brief: Dry Jan is Lucky Saint’s time to shine. The brand believes that the greatest reward of drinking is the social connection, not the alcohol. Driving draught listings is a focus. The problem? Pubs hate Dry Jan. Why support a month where people don’t drink? Since 2000 a quarter of all pubs have been forced to close, with the situation only worsening during Covid and January being the hardest month of all for hospitality. How could Lucky Saint support the hospitality sector, bring in customers and gain taps? The Solution: Lucky Saint proclaimed: Thou Shalt Go To The Pub, partnering with pub group M&B, to give away 10,000 pints. Lucky Saint located posters close to pubs, ran individual creative with the pub’s name and address and included a QR code to scan for a free pint. The campaign also ran on paid social.

The climate crisis is the defining global issue of our time. At ScottishPower, we’re committed to supporting Britain’s 5.5 million SMEs to decarbonise and help the UK reduce its carbon emissions and reach net zero by 2050. While many businesses are focused on becoming more sustainable, research showed that taking the first step was a key challenge to business leaders adopting green energy solutions, and that we, at ScottishPower, were not known as offering such solutions. To combat this, we launched new advice to empower businesses to take the leap towards a more sustainable future, alongside positioning ScottishPower as a leader in the green energy solutions space. We developed an informational and accessible guide with the clear message of ‘seize the possibilities of green energy solutions for your business’. With a range of green tech solutions available and breath of businesses to communicate with, we adopted a ‘test and learn’ approach to ensure campaign messaging achieved traction throughout the business customer journey and maximised engagement across our cross-channel communications. This approach exceeded expectations in uplifting awareness of the support and green energy solutions available to businesses from ScottishPower by 10%. Fundamentally, with an increase in website visits of 2,123%, we were able to educate and empower business leaders to take the first step in their journey to a greener future. Setting the stage for future growth, the campaign ultimately established ScottishPower as a driving force for the future of green energy solutions for business.  

Everyone loves a good travel tale. But it’s hard for B2B Travel Software to become a global story. The “7 Wonders Challenge” changed that. The backdrop for this story is a world in chaos. Travel is shaken, bruised, but defiant in the wake of COVID-19. Many countries, including China and India, are still on shaky ground when it comes to lockdowns and borders reopening. Others are facing civil unrest at key tourist sites, like Machu Picchu and Petra. Travelers are raring to get back on the road, but are hesitant to go too far. That’s the world view. And the industry view? Well, it’s kinda chaotic too. Travel retailing had failed to keep pace with other industries - our research showed booking a trip was about as enjoyable as applying for a mortgage. After two years of lockdowns everyone has become digitally savvy. But everything in travel feels dated. Overwhelming. Hard. And waaaay too complex. Enter Travelport+, our new modern retailing platform that was going to simplify travel forever. To prove our how easy it was to use, we dreamed up the most complex travel itinerary ever: Travel to the 7 wonders in under 7 days, using only public transport. The 7 Wonders Challenge set a new Guinness World Record, saw a surge in product adoption, delivered an avalanche of leads, led to a jump in brand consideration, and got the whole world talking about B2B software.

Hiscox faced a challenge in revitalising its brand amidst shifting budgets away from brand advertising, leading to declining metrics and increased acquisition costs. To reverse this trend, Hiscox aimed to increase brand awareness and reignite growth. However, in a low-interest category where it’s hard to create impact, especially when you don’t have the budget to match that of the leading high-street insurers, how could we make Hiscox unmissable? Introducing the most disastrous campaign ever. Guided by key insights revealing significant commonality among SMEs despite offering a premium product and the critical importance of awareness regarding the risks of being underinsured or uninsured, we crafted a campaign that reached the entire small business insurance market with ads purposely peppered with contextually relevant mistakes to emphasise the myriad of challenges confronting small business owners. To distinguish ourselves in a market dominated by industry giants, we adopted a strategy of leveraging channels Hiscox could truly 'own' to create a disproportionate impact. This included groundbreaking OOH builds, a shockingly blank front cover wrap of Metro, an engaging WeTransfer takeover, WeWork domination, and disruptive radio ads. Despite the campaign’s apparent “disastrous” nature, the results were far from it. Increased awareness and sales propelled Hiscox to achieve its highest-ever annual profit.

As a much-loved global brand irrefutably synonymous with modern roof windows, VELUX had no issues when it came to overall brand awareness. However, success in one market can prove to be a limiting factor in another. And therein lay the challenge. Launching a new, incredibly significant ‘Conservation Heritage’ product required a much more in-depth level of insight in order to connect with the right subset of audiences in a unique segment of the home renovation market. VELUX wanted to go to market with confidence that their primary target audience had been instrumental in setting the direction of the positioning and creative messaging. SLG Agency employed a robust approach and research methodology to ensure this objective was achieved, delivering confidence through comprehensive insight. This insight redefined the primary target audience, and realigned the product’s positioning to connect on a deeper level with those decision makers who matter. Overarching themes were revised, and from here, the product core story and creative concepts were born. SLG was able to refine the value proposition and develop an appropriate creative concept, which allowed VELUX to more successfully engage the right audience, with the right campaign messages. The commercial impact of the work once launched through VELUX’s owned media channels generated an impressive return on investment of 1,350% (1:14.5).

Choose Love, the non-governmental organisation dedicated to helping refugees around the world, needed to launch a Christmas campaign with a difference. Every purchase in their online shop goes directly to supporting a vulnerable refugee, so the season of giving is a vital time to secure life-saving supplies. Faced with the competitive Christmas ad landscape and a cost-of-living crisis, Choose Love had a challenging task ahead. That’s where Performics @ Starcom came in. We have worked together on a pro bono basis since 2018 to launch a series of impactful social media campaigns. In 2022 and 2023, Choose Love needed a successful Christmas campaign more than ever. The partnership set ambitious targets: to achieve an impressive return on ad spend (ROAS) and to exceed the previous average click-through-rate, all with a limited credit budget. To ensure the charity could compete in the crowded (and costly) social media ad space at Christmas, they needed a groundbreaking strategy for this campaign. Starcom developed highly targeted social ad strategy to cut through the noise. Using advanced audience targeting, tried-and-tested content, hard-hitting visuals, and strategic refinement year- on-year, the campaign achieved: A staggering ROAS and CTR surpassing targets Millions of impressions Thousands of online sales The campaign drove thousands of purchases in the online shop, millions of impressions, and surpassed all targets to make the most of the ad spend – and, above all, to make a real difference in the lives of those suffering most.

‘Here for humanity’ highlights The British Red Cross’s crucial emergency response in the UK and around the world in over 190 countries. It shows how together with our supporters, we are the world’s emergency responders. Our creative spotlights our internationally recognised red cross emblem as a visual cue for being ‘here’ and present for humanity whenever they are in crisis, drawing on authentic footage, imagery and experiences to show the incredible work of our responders to support humanity.

Membership is absolutely crucial for the RNLI - and has been since the charity was founded in 1824. It creates regular income, supporter loyalty and financial security. Today, that all funds lifeboat crew and lifeguard training, equipment, facilities, safety campaigns and more. So it’s always been a lifesaver, and in 2023 it was still bringing in millions annually. But the long-range membership forecast looked stormy – membership income and numbers were falling, while the proposition was ageing and becoming confused with other ways of giving. So it was time for a complete relaunch. Competitor analysis, audience insight, proposition sprint work, focus groups and a fully in-house creative response led to a new campaign and suite of membership materials, including a new welcome pack and handbook. We showed that your membership provides more than a lifeboat. It provides courage and hope - so when you join as a member, you join our force for good. The paid media campaign went live in November across DRTV, Meta and PPC - during this window we generated 740% more membership donations than in the previous 4 months. Meanwhile a membership email ask as part of our 200th birthday campaign delivered 286 new transactions valued at £23k of in-year income alone. Between September's 2023 launch and end of February 2024, membership sign-ups via our website were up 202% and still climbing. These figures exceeded all targets and represent a remarkable and rapid turnaround in the RNLI’s membership performance - which all helps save more lives.

Movember wanted to raise awareness around men’s mental health on World Suicide Prevention Day to educate people on the signs that may indicate someone is struggling with their mental health whilst giving people the tools and knowledge to reach out to them to prevent them getting to crisis point. As a charity most known for the initiative ‘Movember’ we knew we had to be bold to make an impact and so through research, identified two ways to reach our audience: infiltrating the culture they love: sport and digital channels. We crafted a two-pronged approach starting with a partnership with two northern football clubs (where male suicide in the UK is highest) to turn empty season ticket seats into a powerful message - ‘Where’s my mate?’ - to encourage people to look around and see who’s missing, as well as a QR code to direct them to helpful literature on Movember’s website. We captured pictures, and worked with club spokesperson for interview opportunities, to further reach. Then, on WSPD itself, we helped Movember become the first ever charity to use the news push notification via MailOnline to convey a message to 1.8 million, reading ‘How’s your mate?’. The notification took people through to an article with info and tools on how to support a loved one who may be struggling.

In 2023 Scope and ITV came together to show how disabled people are being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis. And to let disabled people and their families know that Scope is here to help. The result was a national, cause-related campaign. The campaign featured 6 disabled actors alongside the essential electronic equipment that they need to live their daily lives. It was inspired by the real stories that Scope hears from disabled people and their families every day. This partnership enabled Scope to reach 10.1 million people - a much larger audience than the charity’s budgets would typically allow for. The advert increased public knowledge that life costs more if you’re disabled, with 81% of people who viewed it agreeing with this statement. The main message taken from the advert (22%) was that ‘Scope is here to help disabled people’. The advert resulted in an increase in self-referrals to Scope’s Disability Energy Support service, enabling Scope to provide direct support and guidance to more disabled people who are struggling with the cost of living. Many callers during the campaign period cited the advert as their reason for calling. Accessibility was key to the project both on and off screen. The campaign featured disabled actors and was cast and shot with accessibility at the forefront. Where this challenged each partner’s usual processes, we worked together to find solutions, adapting processes to ensure that access requirements were met. The result is one of only a few accessible TV adverts.

Thumbstoppers created a completely fake Michelin star restaurant which allowed diners to experience first hand the injustice and frustration of the growing problem of food disparity in a world of abundance. Our client World Vision (a top global NGO) challenged Thumbstoppers to deliver a live experience-to-social campaign that promised to be their most ambitious campaign stunt ever as part of their 'Enough' campaign to end world hunger. Our fake VIP restaurant experience came equipped with real food, fake staff and of course, a fake Michelin star chef. We recruited famous foodie creators such as @FoodReviewclub, celebrities, and press to dine at our 'exclusive' venue and filmed their experience in the style of first dates with the uncomfortable suspense of the movie: The menu. They entered our tense, strange restaurant with the theatre of exclusive fine dining with one major theme: Inequality. Each of our couples had a frustratingly-luxurious Instagrammable experience and were encouraged to record as they normally would in any food review or VIP experience. One of them was served a full Michelin prepared experience - the other, most definitely wasn't. Food was always so close, but so far away and sharing was NOT allowed. The experience was captured on 8 hidden cameras and edited into a 2 min hero film while our creators recorded and shared their experience from their perspective entertaining and educating their audience at the same time to break with traditional non-profit communications norms and beat the attention challenge of compassion fatigue.

Pooky, the leading UK lighting brand, aimed to shine brighter in the North, targeting folks in Leeds, Harrogate, York, and Manchester, to celebrate their new showroom opening and generate qualified leads. Happy Yolk’s mission was clear: create a campaign for Pooky that not only reflects a playful tone but connects emotionally with people to drive engagement. The strategy targeted women with a love for interior design. Through deep research into their preferences, needs, and social media habits, Happy Yolk crafted a marketing approach to resonate with them. Given the narrowing targeting options on social platforms, the campaign focused on a highly impactful creative approach to surpass the algorithms. Stylistically, the campaign adopted a humorous approach, recognising social content that elicits laughter or emotions tends to perform highly and is more memorable. Kicking off with a bang, several social-first videos rolled out on Pooky’s channels. From a teaser featuring a portable lamp on an epic journey to the new location, to folks sporting lampshades as hats on their way to the showroom. These videos truly captivated audiences, going viral with 16.7 million views and becoming Pooky’s most engaged content to date. The campaign reached 19 million, generating 33 million impressions and achieving 9,380 leads. But we didn’t stop there! Happy Yolk created a final piece to announce the grand opening of the showroom. The overwhelming positive feedback, including comments like ‘Probably the best reel I’ve ever seen for a business’ validated its impact and resonance with our target audience.

“A diamond is forever.” It’s one of the most famous advertising slogans in history. Debuted in 1947, it made diamonds synonymous with engagement rings – and helped drive a boom in sales for the diamond giant De Beers. Fast forward to 2023. De Beers is still an iconic diamond jewellery brand. But with competitors becoming more active, the company needed to increase the desirability of its high jewellery to high-net-worth (HNW) individuals. De Beers asked us for a campaign that would capture the attention of our HNW and luxury audiences in a meaningful and lasting way. They needed to re-establish the brand to our readership as the pinnacle of excellence. The result was Behind the Sparkle is a billion years of artistry, a three-part content series examining a diamond’s journey from rough stone to exceptional work of art. The campaign married editorially-led content with a highly visual and immersive build in order to give our discerning audience the deep and authentic insight that they expect. Our approach worked. Behind the Sparkle is a billion years of artistry smashed targets, engrossed readers and delivered our two most-read pages of luxury content that year. Better still, it changed perceptions of De Beers. After seeing the campaign, FT readers were 47% more likely than before to prefer De Beers over other brands – and 34% more likely to consider buying from De Beers.

Car launches all have the same problem – unless you’re spending millions on advertising, you’re restricted to the motoring media. Kia briefed us to break through this, achieving a mainstream media splash for its new electric family car, the Kia EV9. Our idea was to celebrate the power of electricity by channelling a million volts through car lover Jodie Kidd in a death-defying stunt. With two thirds (67%) of parents saying they were more likely to buy an EV (and the EV9) after watching our content, the campaign was a huge hit for a new environmental product.

When Chupa Chups requested McCann Birmingham deliver a new social media strategy that resonates with a Gen Z audience, we had to think big. Without hesitation, our team dove into a creative, innovative, and engaging organic content campaign for TikTok. The campaign blended careful social listening, and tactical trend-jacking while aligning the content with the brand’s ‘Forever Fun’ mantra to capture the attention of this new audience. Throughout 2023, we nailed our brief, shifting Chupa Chups audience targeting with relevant and imaginative TikTok content that surpassed our expectations. And with over 78,000 hours watched and a total of 33.3m video views, the results speak for themselves.

How do you keep teens playing with NERF? How do you make Gen Z men want to have a NERF battle with their mates? NERF had to show up differently and taking cues from adult immersive play experiences & shooter games, we enrolled YouTube titans, Beta Squad, in a content partnership to create a heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping NERF "Hide n Seek" battleground. Infiltrating TikTok, we partnered with a dynamic cast of influencers who injected their own energy, from football trick shots to hilarious pranks. The result? NERF dominated online and trended on YouTube. The creative, engaging content resonated deeply, sparking excitement for NERF Pro Gelfire blasters. NERF had grown up.

A year on from the initial launch of Quality Street recyclable paper wrappers, consumers were still confused about the reasons behind the transition. This Christmas, we created a content-led campaign that delivered the recycling message loud and clear to a multigenerational audience, generating talkability across every media type, helping to add 2.8m* shoppers to the brand and grow it by 8.1%**. The Quality Street ‘Street (W)rappers’ campaign brought the ‘street’ to Quality Street and the ‘rap’ to paper (w)rappers by producing a hero music video with a national icon and legend of the rapping scene; England footballer, John Barnes. Taking cues from well-known 90s rap songs & videos, beloved carols of yester year, and the Gen-Z trend of subverting nostalgia, BCW and Stepping Stone Media created a Christmas-themed music track, rap, and music video to help tell the Quality Street sustainability story and educate consumers on the new paper wrappers. Securing x331 pieces of media coverage, including x40 national hits, the campaign reached over 1BN consumers and generated conversations across the country with TV and radio broadcasters, with the likes of Andi Peters (on ITV’s Lorraine) and Neil "Razor" Ruddock (on talkSPORT) recreating their own versions of the rap lyrics live on air. Unwittingly, with a shoe-string budget, we found ourselves firmly within the highly competitive festive ad territory; with 67% of coverage referring to it as the Quality Street ‘Christmas ad’, the Grocer hailing it a ‘game-changer for advertising’, PR week named the song a ‘Christmas Banger’.

The backdrop for this story is a world in chaos. Travel is shaken, bruised, but defiant in the wake of COVID-19. Many countries, including China and India, are still on shaky ground when it comes to lockdowns and borders reopening. Others are facing civil unrest at key tourist sites, like Machu Picchu and Petra. Travelers are raring to get back on the road, but are hesitant to go too far. And every day, sustainability becomes more and more important, as extreme temperatures and natural disasters are increasingly common. That’s the world view. The industry view was chaotic too. Travel retailing had failed to keep pace with other industries - our research showed booking a trip was about as enjoyable as applying for a mortgage. After two years of lockdowns everyone has become digitally savvy. But everything in travel feels dated. Overwhelming. And waaaay too complex. Enter Travelport+, the modern retailing platform born like a phoenix from COVID-19, to help travel rise from the ashes and create better, faster, easier outcomes for everyone. Travel agencies. Airlines. Hotels. And of course, travelers too. The most complex trips are possible when you’ve got the right technology in place. This campaign came at a time when people were missing travel hugely, and when media consumption and screen time was at an all-time high. So, cutting through the noise with beautiful, inspiring, and FOMO-inducing travel visuals was key to our success. This campaign embraced these challenges and told our story through Netflix-worthy creative content.

Power... performance... speed. These are the cornerstones of the Abarth legacy, a brand synonymous with the roar of an engine and the scent of premium gasoline. For Abarth enthusiasts, nothing less would do. That was, until "The Confession" – a campaign that not only challenged this perception, but revolutionized it. In a world leaning toward electrification, Abarth stood at a crossroads. The introduction of the electric Abarth 500e posed a risk of alienating its core audience, the die-hard speed enthusiasts and traditionalists. Enter "The Confession," a campaign as bold as the Abarth spirit itself. Set within the unconventional backdrop of a church confessional, this narrative dared to flip the script. A man confesses, but not for sins of the past. His 'sin'? The electrifying thrill of driving the electric Abarth 500e. This campaign shared a truth both Abarth and car enthusiasts worldwide can agree on: the sin is not in the electrification, but in resisting the irresistible allure of the Abarth 500e. With the tagline, "The new Abarth 500e, it’s a sin not to drive it," Abarth not only joined the conversation but we flipped it on its head. The campaign was a resounding triumph, amassing 7.6 million views on YouTube and marking a 121% surge in positive sentiment. The campaign transformed skepticism into enthusiasm, proving that power, performance, and speed can come in an electrified package. It wasn't just about introducing a new car; it was about redefining an identity without losing the essence of what makes Abarth, Abarth.

There are few brands as synonymous with Christmas as Coca-Cola, and even fewer brands held in the hands of billions during the festive season. As the brand that popularised Santa Claus in the 1970s, in 2023 Coca-Cola brought Santa Claus back to remind the world of the true spirit of Christmas, one filled with kindness, generosity & goodwill. Coca-Cola's 'The World Needs More Santas' (TWNMS) campaign stretched the imagination of who could be Santa, showcasing the unexpected people and places where the spirit of Santa can be found. And in a true testament to Coca-Cola’s long-standing relationship with Hollywood, we positioned ourselves in the world of Amazon Prime’s festive entertainment, where our audience was already looking for festive entertainment. ‘The Santa Stories’ were two unique Christmas films aimed at getting people to reimagine who modern-day Santa could be and get them to see that there is in fact a Santa in all of us.

How do you get an audience to reappraise a brand that’s already famous? Challenge the status quo around women+’s health; uncensor the words that most social media channels ban… Vagina. Vulva. Clitoris. Uncomfortable? Are you wanting to edit this award entry and ‘tone it down’? Why? Women+ need to be able to say these words and talk openly about their health. Bodyform uncensored 40 words that women+ shouldn’t be afraid / censored from saying to create a permanent change that will benefit our audience and future generations to come. Bodyform not only became front of mind today, but made a positive difference that will last a lifetime.

Newcastle United is the beating heart of a one-club footballing city. Yet, for so long fans were starved of success to shout about. In 2023, NUFC were returning to the UEFA Champions League after 20 years; now with Sela, a dynamic creator of spectacular experiences and iconic destinations, as their front of shirt sponsor. With fans filled with anticipation, Sela surprised all by staging a UK-first: an awe-inspiring, football-themed drone show above the iconic St. James’ Park stadium on the eve of their return. The eight-minute drone show, which included tributes and icons resonating with the club and city, was captured into 60 and 15 second video clips and posted across NUFC, Sela and paid media social channels. The content truly resonated, concluding with drones forming a statement to bring fans excitement and confidence: "We're Back". The hero content not only went viral globally on social media in the immediate aftermath and week following the game, it was also featured on the social media channels of the UEFA Champions League and Premier League, shown during prime-time broadcast news slots and across global editorial media, introducing Sela to more audiences than ever before. Millions engaged globally, with ‘spectacular’ reviews from football fans, stakeholders and institutions. Content reached 1 billion+ people in 162 countries, was published by 80+ media outlets and on UEFA and Premier League channels, became an incredible talking point across sport and the community, and helped Sela establish its brand.

Terms such as “pet parent” and “fur baby” represent a significant cultural shift – we are in the midst of a transition from ownership to companionship, as modern pet owners redefine the traditional family structure to include their pets. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), Millennials and Gen Z represent nearly half of pet owners globally, and they are seeking new pet care brands that serve “family” over “function,” but are unable to find them within a legacy market dominated by a few key players. They have different expectations of pet food brands than previous generations; expect greater transparency as to what goes into the products they buy for their pets; and are engaging with brands very differently through digital platforms. So BONKERS was built. A pet treat brand built first and foremost to foster the bond between pets and their people. A brand that understands pet parents use treats as a method to strengthen the bond with their pets. A brand that celebrates the individuality of our pets, and the changed dynamic across generations that now sees modern pet owners prioritizing connection over control. BONKERS delivers treats that are better quality for pets, better priced for pet parents, and with a brand experience that is more relevant and connected for its Millennial and Gen Z demographics, leveraging their digital fluency and desire to engage on digital platforms.

How do you establish yourself as a new official sponsor of the England team in a World Cup year when fellow partners are outspending you 100/1? How do you gain share of voice against a backdrop of official restrictions and guidelines, when non-partners can show up when and how they choose? How do you make sure you create an ownable, distinctive campaign which connects the fans to the players and provides a genuine source of motivation for the team when they couldn’t be farther from the support of home? Much like the lionesses, rather than emit a meek meow for KIND’s Women’s World Cup campaign, we decided to ROAR, with a series of activations which dominated earned media headlines, captured the hearts (and wallets) of consumers, and almost (*sob*) helped our women bring it home.

With declining brand metrics and sales amongst the male demographic vs. the category, Mitchum needed to inject some fresh thinking to grow awareness and sales amongst this target demographic. This is a story of how Mitchum gave gamers the power to skip a shower – and broke a world record while doing it. To hit ambitious goals for Mitchum, we knew we had to face into where the brand was under-performing vs. the category. The answer was a male audience. We found our audience are heavy gamers and a killer stat - 30% of Brits admit they have skipped a shower to play games! We were ready to set the ultimate challenge to break the Guinness World Record for “Longest Sports (Soccer) Video Game Marathon” and still smell fresh with Mitchum! Not only did we beat the World Record, but we also generated 15 million impressions, delivered 13 million video views, 790k live streams, and 469k engagements. Independent post campaign research catapulted the dial on brand metrics, awareness increased by 92%, consideration of Mitchum increased by 158%, more than doubling among the exposed audience and Mitchum moved from 7th place to 4th place within the competitor set.

Nectar360 owns and operates Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty programme, which helps over 700 brands build impactful relationships with its 20m+ customer base. Challenge: Unilever UKI and Nectar partnered on a joint ambition to identify the value of an always-on retail media strategy, targeting shoppers, at the right time. Through its proprietary DTP (Digital Trading Platform), Nectar360 was able to harness the power of first-party data to connect Unilever with Nectar’s customer base across web and social - closing the measurement loop between online advertising and online and in-store sales and turbocharging effectiveness. Objective: Together, Unilever and Nectar360 set out to prove the value of an always-on retail media strategy via sophisticated audience targeting, informed by Nectar’s customer’s purchasing cycles and product replenishment cadences, and executed via constant data and creative refreshes. Strategy: Using Nectar’s first-party data, the team was able assess the conversion metrics of audiences and creatives in flight, channelling more investment to those audiences and creatives delivering incremental sales uplift, and reducing investment from those with lower conversion impact. Result: The campaign - which has had a transformational impact for Unilever and for Sainsbury’s - delivered significantly more impressions, increasing ROI and decreasing the wastage normally seen when using a second or third-party data source. Nectar360’s real-time data feed and the ability to optimise against actual sales figures provided an accurate omnichannel view of advertising performance, which positioned Nectar’s digital media as a tool for delivering brand awareness and driving conversions.

Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) was founded to solve two main problems: Creating environmentally friendly products that meet the quality expectations of consumers, and making an impact on the 2.4 billion people worldwide who don't have access to a toilet, by contributing 50% of profits to create access to adequate water and sanitation facilities. In 2023, more than 10 years after it was founded, WGAC turned to PMG to grow its brand awareness globally to better achieve its audacious mission. Leveraging WGAC’s ‘Uncrap The World’ brand platform, our team used media to reach consumers in the U.K. and Australia, help them understand that even small decisions like choosing an eco-friendly toilet paper product can make a big impact, and motivate them to act and contribute to a better world.

In January 2024 M&S food launched a world-first collaboration with nutrition science company Zoe after year-long product development journey. What we believe to be the world’s best gut shot. Last year M&S Food set out to create a market-leading product to help our customers support their gut health in an easy and accessible way. To achieve this, we reached out to ZOE, a nutrition science company co-founded by gut health expert Professor Tim Spector, for their help. After a year of hard work, and multiple iterations of the product, the M&S Food x ZOE Gut Shot landed in M&S stores across the UK on 2nd January 2024. The launch of the shot was supported by an all-out integrated marketing campaign to create buzz around a world-first collaboration of its kind. The delicious daily shot is packed with over 5 billion live cultures from 14 strains of gut-friendly bacteria, fibre and is also a source of calcium which contributes to the normal functioning of digestive enzymes The M&S Food x ZOE Gut Shot was an instant success. In the first week alone, it sold over 7,000 units – 2,000 units above estimate, sold more units than Coca-Cola a day and even outsold still water 2 weeks in a row. To this day (early March) it is consistently in the top 50 products sold in the Foodhall and has seen huge buzz amongst customers, media, and the health industry as a whole, even trending on Google – selling more than 1million

There are few brands as synonymous with Christmas as Coca-Cola, and even fewer brands held by the hands of billions during the festive season. As the brand that popularised Santa Claus in the 1970s, 2023 saw Coca-Cola bring Santa Claus back to remind the world of the true spirit of Christmas, one filled with kindness, generosity & goodwill. Coca-Cola's 'The World Needs More Santas' (TWNMS) campaign in Branded Entertainment stretched the imagination of who could be Santa, showcasing unexpected people and places where the spirit of Santa can be found. And in a true testament to Coca-Cola’s long-standing relationship with Hollywood, we positioned ourselves in the world of Amazon Prime’s festive entertainment, where our audience was already looking, with two unique Christmas films aimed at getting people to reimagine who modern-day Santa could be and get them to see that there is in fact a Santa in all of us. Furthermore, with the use of AI, Coca-Cola provided tools to sprinkle personalised festive cheer with bespoke Christmas cards while unique packaging offered a chance to discover what your inner Santa looks like, with a charity donation made for every quiz completed. The TWNMS campaign activated the inner Santa in everyone across 85 markets, inspiring kindness, generosity, and goodwill that will last long after the holiday season ends. Coca-Cola's innovative use of technology, storytelling, and creativity set a new benchmark for bringing the spirit of Christmas back to life.

We uncovered how important clothes are to young autistic girls, but had no budget. So we created a campaign out of nothing, drove awareness of autism and improved perceptions of Vanish.

Country Reality: Due to the inflationary environment in Türkiye, people were facing economic and psychological challenges. When it came to banks, questions like "What will happen to the dollar? Can I get a loan? Will there be any fees? Will my savings erode?" were escalating their "bankxiety". Category Reality: The race among banks in Türkiye was specifically focused on enhancing their efficiency in the mobile world. In the ongoing 15-year digitalization race, everyone was now glorifying artificial intelligence, promising that mobile banking's intelligence would guide our budgets. This situation made it difficult to differentiate with rational forces on the technology side. Brand Reality: Since its entry into Türkiye, ING has positioned itself as a challenger brand, with products such as the Orange Account, which earns daily interest (without maturity problems), and services like the Remote Advisor, which provides live video chat with your banker day and night. 2023 Strategy at the Intersection of 3 Realities: In the competitive environment, it was quite challenging for ING to differentiate with only innovation and products. At this point, our big idea was this: there are conventional patterns, conditions that banks must adhere to, when you are getting a loan or saving account, ING doesn't conform to patterns; it fits into your life due to flexible products & services. We aimed to demonstrate that ING's products and services make room for life rather than just banking, offering solutions beyond conventions.

Our ‘Take the LEAP’ campaign leveraged creativity to disrupt the chilled fish category and educate UK shoppers on the many benefits of wild over farmed fish. No easy task, as even a foodie audience knew nothing of the differences between wild and farmed. This is why wild salmon accounted for under 1% volume share of total chilled fish versus 40% accounted for by farmed salmon. Research revealed that once people did understand the full story behind the brand and our sustainable wild Alaska salmon, they developed a clear preference for wild over farmed. The challenge was to educate consumers and force reappraisal of the entire fish category: a gigantic task for a tiny brand. We had to shake up the industry and shine a light on an issue shoppers didn’t even know existed; that the best fish swim free. As a true challenger, we recruited the fishy singing sensation, ‘Big Mouth Billy Bass’, as our surprising spokesperson. He sang our wild fish story and captured our audience’s imagination across a blend of ground-breaking OOH, TV, digital and content partnerships for just 3 months between 9th October and 31st December 2023. In that short timeframe, thanks to the transformative power of creative marketing, we doubled brand awareness and penetration, encouraging millions to reappraise the fish category and ‘Take The LEAP’ to wild fish. Brand owners New England Seafood International and partners, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute couldn’t be more proud.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup faced a sticky situation: prices were rising, wallets were being squeezed, so interest was rising for cheaper, private label alternatives. The brand, usually demanded on dinner tables across the world, was losing brand power, penetration and sales. But we had an ace up our sleeve – an irrational love that consumers have for our mealtime staple. Using this irrational love as leverage, the challenge was to deliver a disruptive earned and owned campaign to convince die-hard ketchup lovers and core AB1 consumers to fall back in love with Heinz; providing a new way for fans to celebrate their love. Wonderland Communications, together with The Kitchen (Heinz’s internal social agency) developed an insight-driven, unforgettable brand collab that brought together the masters of sauce and the masters of paint. Introducing Heinz X Lick. Bringing together the most iconic red of all reds, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and the authority on colour in the home, Lick Paint, the brands collaborated to create ‘Red HTK 57’ - a paint in Heinz’s iconic shade of tomato red - that brought the sauce into consumer’s homes in a way that had never been seen before. The campaign drove hundreds of millions of impressions, benchmark-breaking engagement rates, a sales uplift for the sauce, and a clear demonstration of Heinz’s new global creative platform and purpose: that they exist to inspire acts of irrational love. Because what’s more irrational than wanting our sauce on your walls?

When Hasbro launched the new Play-Doh, Busy Chef’s Kitchen, we knew EXACTLY what to do! Let’s face it pre-schoolers can be picky eaters making mealtimes seriously stressful for parents… It’s not practical getting kids cooking every family meal, but by getting them interested in food through Play-Doh, the Busy Chef’s Kitchen was seen by parents as more than just another toy. Play-Doh’s Restaurant of Imagination – a pop-up event that turned Play-Doh creations into IRL meals (Blue Spaghetti included) drove awareness and consideration of The Busy Chef’s Kitchen and turn mundane mealtimes into magical adventures. Amplified across PESO channels the campaign generated a total reach of 549M.

The idea is as simple as it is ambitious, creating the largest nature reserve in Europe – one lawn at the time. Rewilding Mode is the world ́s first feature designed to rewild private gardens so pollinators can thrive. Using state-of-the-art radar technology, the mowers were programmed to leave 10% of each lawn uncut, creating small nature reserves for pollinators. The innovation turned Husqvarna’s entire European fleet of 150,000 Husqvarna robotic lawn mowers into fighters for biodiversity.  Featured in over 200 major outlets like Fast Company and Forbes, it has touched 218 million people across 20 countries, achieving a PR value of 50 million Swedish crowns. Notably, 8.5 million customers engaged, and over 3 million viewed our YouTube film, shedding new light on what can be achieved by simply saving 10% of your lawn. The true victory? Over 267,000 square meters of lawn have transitioned into habitats for pollinators, with numbers growing daily. The goal is to keep increasing this area designed for pollinators, and for that to also work as a conversation starter when talking about what the perfect lawn may be. 

The "Sat-Cif-Faction" campaign was Cif Cream's cheeky wink, proving that even a heritage brand can crash the digital party and go viral, especially among the swipe-happy Millennials and Gen Z. With the ambition to significantly enhance penetration and secure a notable incremental turnover opportunity, the initiative adopted a digital-first approach, aligning with the evolving media consumption habits of its target audience. Central to this bold strategy was a first-to-market collaboration with TikTok, leveraging the #CleanTok movement to transform cleaning from a tedious task into an engaging, entertaining experience. The team crafted 10 TikTok-style videos that showcased Cif Cream's dirt-busting magic, all while backed by a soundtrack that would shock its audience enough to pause their scrolling. This wasn’t just advertising; it was a rallying cry for sponges everywhere demonstrating the wide usage versatility of the cream, the main barrier amongst the coveted millennial & gen-z audience. The campaign heroed Cif’s iconic DBA – it’s vibrant yellow creams bottle – with it front and centre of each creative. The campaign didn't just hit the mark; it blasted through it, setting records in engagement, VTR, and brand lift. Racking up over 240 million views and 741K likes, it didn’t just walk the digital runway; it sashayed. Notably, in France, it drove a 17% sales hike, raking in €1.2 million in incremental sales of creams. Cif Cream didn’t just talk at its audience; it authentically connected with them – driving reappraisal of the brand, making it the Unilever Homecare's most viral campaign ever.

The iconic British brand YAZOO was having an identity crisis; it was becoming out of touch with the changing reality of their core consumers lives and it's perception was suffering as a result. But as every with every challenge there's opportunity, and YAZOO needed to start to own what made the brand a multi decade success story. With a noticeably refreshing taste profile and distinctive brand assets, we set about communicating these in a way that our audience could relate to. With a new creative platform, Refreshingly Real, we now needed to capture the hearts and minds of Gen Z through a broad reaching multichannel campaign. Our advertising focused on how YAZOO has the ability to shake up those mundane moments in life that we all endure from time to time. Cue lip-sync battle a la 90s boy bands to the legendary 'No Scrubs' by TLC, and you have a certified 5 star rated ad for effectiveness as rated by System 1. This translated to uplift in attention (VTR), consideration and sentiment across all social channels. We also saw a significant sales spike, as well as over 40% increase in brand awareness during the campaign. The advertising has subsequently created the blueprint for the launch of YAZOO's new Thick & Creamy NPD and has set the foundation for a long standing creative campaign.

This is the story of how the visceral power of design made the world wince in empathy with sufferers of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome by visualising their invisible pain for all to feel. Whilst a flexible body is often considered a gift, for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome sufferers (EDS) it means chronic, even life-limiting pain through regular joint dislocation, skin scarring, organ fragility and debilitating fatigue. The problem is that the pain and damage hyper flexibility causes is largely invisible. Gaslighting causes further suffering. “But you look normal”, “You’re a hypochondriac.” Even GPs lack awareness of EDS meaning the average diagnosis takes 10 years! Our goal was to get EDS on society’s radar to raise awareness among undiagnosed sufferers, GPs, and the wider public, helping people understand that hyper flexibility could be EDS. The campaign Super Flexible Not Superhuman addressed the painful truth behind hyper flexibility capturing the vulnerability of sufferers, using CGI to make their pain visceral. It was picked up by publications around the world with a combined audience of 726K with 29K campaign site views. Research found ‘seeing is feeling’ with over 73% of respondents (survey of 157 adults) claiming they could ‘almost feel the pain of the sufferers’ in the images and the majority of the medical professional respondents we spoke to said, the campaign made them want to find out more. Most importantly, the campaign positively impacted the lives of sufferers who feel ‘seen’ for the first time and hopeful of what greater awareness may bring.

Movember wanted to raise awareness around men’s mental health on World Suicide Prevention Day to educate people on the signs that may indicate someone is struggling with their mental health whilst giving people the tools and knowledge to reach out to them to prevent them getting to crisis point. As a charity most known for the initiative ‘Movember’ we knew we had to be bold to make an impact and so through research, identified two ways to reach our audience: infiltrating the culture they love: sport and digital channels. We crafted a two-pronged approach starting with a partnership with two northern football clubs (where male suicide in the UK is highest) to turn empty season ticket seats into a powerful message - ‘Where’s my mate?’ - to encourage people to look around and see who’s missing, as well as a QR code to direct them to helpful literature on Movember’s website. We captured pictures, and worked with club spokesperson for interview opportunities, to further reach. Then, on WSPD itself, we helped Movember become the first ever charity to use the news push notification via MailOnline to convey a message to 1.8 million, reading ‘How’s your mate?’. The notification took people through to an article with info and tools on how to support a loved one who may be struggling.

At the Guardian, we know that the two most frequently cited factors stopping people from supporting us is that they think we’re too expensive and we’re free. Yet, people continue reading our journalism – because they know they can trust our rigorous, facts-first approach. This creates a compelling challenge. How can we persuade people that even (or especially) in an economic crisis, it is vitally important that an independent, open news source is not only available, but worth paying for? Working with Lucky Generals, we concocted a new brand message, to which all future work will answer: that we are open to all, funded by many, beholden to no one. This was brought to life with a bold, category-leading campaign that included a brand film (deployed across cinema, television and social media) and extraneous activity across OOH, paid social, organic social, on-platform and in print. This campaign was a remarkable exercise in exploring brand and design to communicate a key message that spoke to our distinctive challenge – driving voluntary support for the Guardian.

At EY, we believe that humans must be at the heart of the AI revolution – and there’s no better way of demonstrating this than putting people front and center of our new AI campaign. We’re helping clients transform, face the future with confidence and take advantage of the power and capabilities of AI, to harness the potential of this world-changing technology. To bring our approach to life, we developed a 360 integrated global brand campaign, called the ‘Face of the Future’ where confidence in AI is the central message. The hero brand film tells the story of EY.ai, a new unifying AI platform that brings together people, ecosystems and technology to help clients and organizations build confidence, create exponential value and augment people – all through the power of AI technology. The creative, that’s been adapted into different digital formats, features over 200 EY people augmented and empowered by AI, firmly communicating our strategic positioning of putting people at the center of the AI transformation. Creative Innovation was at the heart of this campaign, launching EY’s new AI platform ‘EY.ai’. Both the campaign’s message as well as its execution harness creative innovation through AI firmly embedded at the core, to evidence our credibility in the market and build confidence in AI. Our unique and innovative production process leveraged a bespoke-developed AI model to craft a constantly changing face made up of EY employees, telling the story of how our people are augmented by AI.

Direct Line have a mission to keep the nation's roads safe. With drink driving convictions at their highest rate since 2009, UK police forces reporting an 8% increase in motorists failing breathalyser tests in the morning hours, and 25% of British adults admitting to driving the morning after a night out, despite feeling under the influence of alcohol, it was clear that something needed to be done to get people to check themselves the morning after the night before. With no language or ritual existing that described or prompted morning checking, we needed to create one to normalise the behaviour. So we coined the phrase Rise Responsibly. Then we gave people the means to check themselves. Introducing The Brushalyser. We created the world’s first breathalyser toothbrush, a game-changing new concept designed to freshen up the drink driving conversation and make people think twice before driving the morning after a night out. It got the nation talking with 231 pieces of coverage, 113million potential reach, and 25 pieces of broadcast coverage with Direct Line mentioned in 99.5% of the coverage. More importantly though, it changed attitudes and behaviours, with 57% of 18-34 year old men saying they would reconsider driving the morning after consuming alcohol, 54% would talk to others about checking themselves the morning after, and a third would now make alternative plans ahead of time to avoid having to drive the morning after.

Virtual reality headsets had a perception problem. Most people, even our tech savvy target audience Gen Z, saw them as complex and irrelevant. In a world where people are looking to experience as much as possible, a headset that cut you off from reality didn’t fit the bill. The launch of the Meta Quest 3, the world’s first mass market, competitively priced, mixed reality (MR) headset, fixed that problem. No more retreating from reality, no more isolation, people would now be able to blend their physical and virtual worlds seamlessly. But explaining MR at scale wasn’t easy. With little opportunity for trial, we had to rely on media to describe one of the headset’s most indescribable features. We needed an idea that mirrored what the headset could do, that literally dramatised its power whilst shaking the public’s perceptions. Our solution; to turn one of the most understood but least interactive formats - OOH - into an exploratory experience. At Halloween, when Gen Z would be looking for the most immersive scares possible, we transformed two billboards into terrifying worlds, inviting people to break the barrier of the medium and literally ‘step in’, and try some of the headset’s scariest MR games. Like MR, we took something singular in dimension and turned it into an experience that blurred the lines between physical and virtual. Both in person and across social, influencer and earned, our campaign didn’t just tell people about the new headset, it showed them.

Movember wanted to raise awareness around men’s mental health on World Suicide Prevention Day to educate people on the signs that may indicate someone is struggling with their mental health whilst giving people the tools and knowledge to reach out to them to prevent them getting to crisis point. As a charity most known for the initiative ‘Movember’ we knew we had to be bold to make an impact and so through research, identified two ways to reach our audience: infiltrating the culture they love: sport and digital channels. We crafted a two-pronged approach starting with a partnership with two northern football clubs (where male suicide in the UK is highest) to turn empty season ticket seats into a powerful message - ‘Where’s my mate?’ - to encourage people to look around and see who’s missing, as well as a QR code to direct them to helpful literature on Movember’s website. We captured pictures, and worked with club spokesperson for interview opportunities, to further reach. Then, on WSPD itself, we helped Movember become the first ever charity to use the news push notification via MailOnline to convey a message to 1.8 million, reading ‘How’s your mate?’. The notification took people through to an article with info and tools on how to support a loved one who may be struggling.

Mastercard believes in connecting people to their passions and in doing so, making the international game of Rugby accessible to diverse audiences. At Rugby World Cup 2023, Mastercard pioneered a way to share the PricelessTM feeling of rugby beyond the walls of the stadium; combining Live sport, eclectic music, and the sonic brand. Introducing The Mastercard Live Soundtrack Trophy. In the Mastercard Sonic Studio we created Live original Soundtracks of every Rugby game. A masterful blend of eclectic beats, tastemakers, and emerging talent remixed with electrifying moments of the official commentary, allowed us to curate the story of match. The diverse artists wrote and performed, as the engineering team produced this new beat during the 80 minutes of the live match. The Soundtrack was embedded into the Trophy and gifted to the Best Players in the World. Player affinity over national team pride allowed the iconic players to become our media channel to the next generation of global rugby fans. The results? We, earned their attention and their trust: $552.7K earned social media value. 229 million campaign views. 37 million impressions. $2.3M total earned media value for Mastercard across Rugby World Cup. 68.3 million social engagements for Mastercard across Rugby World Cup. Mastercard’s brand metrics: Driving a 49% uplift in Brand Affinity. Building a 44% increase in Trust. Mastercard is proud to be part of the legacy of this great sport - and to invest in Rugby and its fans bright future.

Dr. Martens has been Made Strong since 1960. Resilient. Bold. Loud. But their wearers redefine that strength every day. Vulnerable. Courageous. Reflective. They’re a new generation with a new perspective. That revels in the joy and rebellion of self-expression. No longer the rigid toughness of old, but empathetic and flexible. Strength has been redefined. But the boot remains Made Strong. As Dr. Martens overarching creative campaign celebrated what makes wearers strong today, this key London brand experience needed to illustrate the diversity of the new definition of strength, collectively and individually, an enable the brand to reassert its relevance to a new generation of wearers. Introducing… Made Strong (Live).

After the pandemic, many people had fallen out of love with the cinema, turning instead to the ease of streaming platforms and TV. ODEON wanted to remind people of the unrivalled sensory experience that you get from going to a cinema, and they wanted to do it through the world's fastest-growing app - TikTok! The Goat Agency was enlisted as ODEON's official influencer and TikTok partner to help them capture and bottle that amazing "movie-going feeling" and drive excitement for new releases in 2023; a year that, thanks to #Barbenheimer, was set to be a make or break year for cinemas! Goat created a theme around #FeelsGoodToFeel, then we set about bringing this to life through TikTok creators. Our strategy was to base content around Excite. Engage. Educate. which led to creative ideas such as incorporating VFX and animation, comedy and sketch content, themed playlists, brand challenges, creator takeovers, and reactive content around films such as Barbie, Matilda and Spiderman. We also amplified through paid media and creator-led content for ODEON's own channel. From "in the lobby" interviews with big-name creators, to family and parent aimed campaigns, the 6-month campaign was hugely varied and brilliantly successful. In 6 months, we grew their channel from 4,000 to 100,000, drove millions of views and engagements, and we’ve delivered an impressive ROAS of £14.70. Most importantly, we succeeded in reminding people that it #FeelsGoodToFeel and that NOTHING quite beats the cinema when it comes to watching a movie.

The festival was conceived with a vision to transform urban landscapes into a canvas of cultural expression and community engagement. It aimed to showcase the diversity and transformative power of street art, bringing together a blend of styles and techniques from both local and international artists. This initiative sought to bridge the gap between different artistic practices, creating a melting pot of creativity, and focused on engaging the community and enhancing the urban aesthetic, turning overlooked spaces into vibrant areas of artistic display and expression. The interactive workshops, lectures, and performances engaged the public, creating an environment where collaboration and knowledge-sharing flourished. The permanence of selected artworks by local and international artists, installed in various city locations in Riyadh and Jeddah, reinforced the festival's lasting impact. These artworks now contribute to the city's cultural landscape, serving as enduring symbols of the event's commitment to enhancing art and culture and empowering the community. Through these endeavors, the festival transcended its initial goals. Featured in 657 publications spanning 27 countries and presented in five languages, it reached an impressive audience of 398 million people worldwide. This extensive coverage showcased the festival's highlights and stories in renowned publications like Bazaar, Esquire, and List, emphasizing its international significance. On social media, the festival resonated deeply, with 264 posts amassing over 8.5 million views. This robust online engagement highlighted the festival's ability to captivate and connect with a diverse audience, sparking widespread interest and conversations across various platforms.

RPM brought Nouveau Nostalgia to the masses with USC's 'Playback' Stage at Reading Music Festival in 2023. The stage was a unique celebration of USC's individual style and iconic throwback remixes with the aim of connecting USC and the brand purpose (Inspire the Original in Everyone) with the festival crowd in an authentic and distinctive way. Our stage featured a mix of talent throughout the day aligned with a nostalgic / playback set list. Festival goers could experience back-to-back DJ sets, capture their festival ‘fits’ in the gif booth, engage with retro arcade games, grab a drink from the bar or relax on our seating platforms. We built on the fun, optimism, and freedom that the trend for Nouveau Nostalgia provides. It also gave us a unique and magnetic angle on music that made us a sought out, expressive experience, as well as having a strong fit with USC brand and style – building on icons and originals with contemporary attitude. There were over 22,000 visitors over three live days, 1,200 brand sign-ups and 10.3m social impressions.

A complete reboot of the Royal Navy digital experience is the latest evolution in the organisation’s storied history. At the heart of this radical new digital experience was the need for a landmark website. And while the Royal Navy needs to appeal to several audiences, one group remained a clear priority in the evolution of a diverse, inclusive, cutting-edge maritime force of tomorrow: Gen Z. The Royal Navy requires a steady flow of new recruits to ensure the strength of the service, but the patriotism that once compelled young adults to sign up for a life at sea is no longer enough. We took on the challenge of reinventing a site originally built for an entirely different user. With over 10,000 pages of text-heavy content, information was hard to navigate and hard to digest. It simply wouldn’t cut it for its new digital-native audience. An urgent new approach was needed to drive Gen Z to action and increase the number of submissions for Expressions of Interest – the crucial first stage in the recruitment process. Ultimately, the site needed to influence, inform and convert potential recruits. To meet this unique target audience on their level, the Royal Navy needed to redefine its digital experience and its visual expression of the brand. Alongside a refreshed digital identity, our collaboration with the historic organisation set out to launch a new website to transform the digital experience for the next generation of Gen Z recruits.

Our goal was to create a digital experience that truly conveys the luxury of INFINITI vehicles and the legendary Japanese-inspired hospitality of the brand. But how can you convey luxury through a website? How can you turn the deeply sensory experience of being in one of INFINITI’s vehicles into something meaningful in the digital world? That was the challenge we faced.

Factory Direct Flooring (FDF), an established eCommerce flooring business, sought to revitalise its neglected and stagnant customer database post-pandemic. The seismic shift in the home interiors eCommerce market, and ensuring customer experience expectations commanded swift and expert input to place FDF toe-to-toe with its competitors. The strategy unfolded in two phases: firstly, transparency around data was increased to reignite the database. Secondly, a migration to a more robust platform aimed to supercharge customer experience through cutting-edge automation and data insights. Insights gleaned from the database revealed key customer segments and behaviours. Leveraging this, StrategiQ implemented tailored communications and automation series at crucial touchpoints along the customer journey. The migration to Klaviyo in phase two marked a pivotal moment. It introduced new welcome and abandoned cart series, yielding substantial revenue increases. Notably, email-driven revenue skyrocketed from a mere 0.08% to 13.21% of total revenue. Results were staggering: exponential growth in email subscribers, revenue, and transactions showcased the efficacy of the CX strategy. Moreover, the data interrogation has unlocked new omnichannel opportunities, helping FDF sell the right flooring, to the right person, for the right price. The customer experience strategy has further solidified StrategiQ as an indispensable partner for FDF, creating digital buying experiences that drive business growth and develop long-standing relationships with consumers.

You need a new lease car, and quite fancy the new KIA Sportage. WAIT. Is the Nissan Qashqai that just drove by even nicer? You head online to compare these two popular SUVs, and are met with a plethora of complicated information relating to upfront fees, engine sizes, and horse-powers. Overwhelmed, you close your browser, no closer to being behind the wheel of a brand new lease car. At LeaseLoco, we make it our mission to provide the best experience to our customers, simplifying the data and making car leasing comparison quicker and easier. We believed we could take this to another level in 2023, and really give people a helping hand throughout the journey, ensuring they get the best deal for their budget and needs. To do this, we completely revamped our unique 'configurator' style site, focusing on the following improvements: 1) Simplified interface 2) Price previews 3) First-class comparison 4) PCP comparison 5) Touchpoints Each improvement has played a crucial role in delivering a superior experience. Results include a 50% improvement in NPS score, and a 42% uplift in click-through-rate with a drop in both exit rates and bounce rates of 7%. These results show that, through the utilisation of innovative CX strategies, we truly bridged the gap between data complexity and leasing simplicity.

ADARA was presented with a challenge to launch and boost the viewership of Bihter: A Forbidden passion, a Turkish show streaming on Prime Video in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Initiative Media, the lead agency approached us to choose a precise audience in KSA and target them to drive engagement towards the show. Prime Video aimed to penetrate the Video on Demand (VOD) market in Saudi Arabia. To engage the Arab audience, it was important to recognize the influence of Turkish dramas on Arab tourists' increasing interest in Turkey. Adara's real-time first-party traveler intent data was utilized to precisely target females aged 18-45 with recent or intended travel to Turkey, ensuring compliance with Prime Video's data privacy policies. We used programmatic ad servers and YouTube, while implementing brand safety measures to exclude conflict-related content. ADARA’s data and expert-led campaign management, led to "Bihter" ranking No.1 on Prime Video in KSA post-launch. Video viewability rate and display viewability rate stood at 82% and 83%, respectively, ensuring authentic engagement. Brand safety metrics reached 99%, mitigating risks associated with conflicts. The video campaign yielded a 50% VCR and a 0.98% CTR, surpassing industry benchmarks by 66% and 2X more than the overall benchmark. This contributed to a positive brand perception. Overall, the collaboration between Prime Video, Adara, and Initiative Media MENA successfully navigated the challenges, driving awareness and viewership for "Bihter" while upholding brand safety standards.

‘Data’. It’s amazing. Media agencies can do wonderful things with it, but it can also be pretty complicated. So, it’s not every day that we get to talk about using data to make things simpler, and that’s exactly what this entry is about. This is the story of how we used data to help TfL tell travellers arriving from all over the world about the ease and convenience of the new Elizabeth Line service from Heathrow Terminal 5. Real-time train data, live flight data, hundreds of flight arrivals, and thousands of creative variations in five different languages, all in the space of a few hundred square feet. We could talk here about dynamic creative, real-time data, or data synthesis – all very impressive. But really, this is a great example of an audience-focused use of data to create a really effective campaign, because the way we used data made the campaign more relevant and the messaging more useful. It doesn’t sound simple, yet the result was beautiful simplicity for millions of travellers – because it literally spoke their language.

Last Summer Magnum launched two new delicious variants – Sunlover, for daytime indulgence and Starchaser, for an evening treat. With these fantastic new products, Magnum’s aim was to increase penetration and market share. With new challenges facing the ice cream industry, including upcoming changes to advertising rules due to HFFS regulations in the UK, squeezed wallets and cookie deprecation against us, this wasn’t an easy task. With this campaign we needed to deploy a future proof data set that would help us understand which customers are most receptive to Magnum advertising and be able to utilise this knowledge in a premium brand TV environment. An environment where our wonderfully crafted advertising would resonate most with our audiences. As a result, we partnered with ITVX and Tesco Retail Media in a media first Beta campaign. We overlaid Tesco Clubcard data to our broadcaster VOD audience and were able to target key retail audiences likely to trial the new Magnum’s. The campaign saw particularly strong results, delivering a significant uplift in sales and successfully launching Sunlover and Starchaser as number 1 and 2 new product developments of the year according to Nielsen.

If word-of-mouth was the seed, our door drops were the Miracle Gro! This is how we saw a 120% increase in response rate… In the veg box game, Abel & Cole are an established brand with a loyal and engaged crop of customers. BUT, due to multi-box discounts and diminishing return on ad spend, their acquisition costs were growing as fast as a leggy onion. Knowing that consumers are influenced more by those around them than by direct advertising, they wanted to tap into that offline influence and find the communities where their media would work hand-in-hand with this influence to increase the impact of their send. Their data showed that customers in Abel & Cole hotspots spent 10% more, on average, than those outside them. So, they wanted to focus a door drop campaign in those fertile areas. That’s where we come in, Join the Dots partnered with behavioural science powerhouse Herdify. Their innovative community detection insights platform taps into the herd mentality of humans. This allowed Abel & Cole to identify where their brand communities had sprouted in the real world – the streets, towns and cities where community recommendations and word-of-mouth had the most influence on sales and brand growth. This partnership meant we could use our combined expertise to help Abel & Cole get the most out of their first-party data. Our door drops worked alongside the offline influence in these communities creating a response rate 120% higher than in areas where no community influence was

Every so often a product comes along that has the power to genuinely change people’s lives for the better. 1-in-2 post-menopausal women suffer from vaginal atrophy, but many suffer in silence. This shocking insight is the driving force behind our launch campaign. We needed to break the taboo to get people talking about vaginal atrophy and how to treat it - to each other, to their families, and to their pharmacist. So we set out to create a ‘quiet revolution’ - empowering women to spread the word peer to peer, friend to friend – asking the question, “Have you heard about Gina?” It’s a conversation starter... an invitation to engage. Different to anything else in the category... it shows women that they’re not alone. 

The backbone of every Opticians is eye test bookings. However, demand for eye tests across the country is varied. Whilst some of our stores were fully booked, others were struggling to fill appointment slots, impacting on our profitability. This presented us with a unique challenge. To address this, we collaborated with SolvedBy AI – a specialist AI solutions company who helped us to understand eye test demand across the country and plan our clinics accordingly to increase profitability. With significantly less marketing budget than the market leaders our second challenge was how we could make every penny we had work harder for us to avoid wastage and improve the efficiency of our media spend, whilst driving eye test bookings in those areas where we had the most opportunity to drive additional volume. We ditched our traditional media planning approach, opting to take advantage of new and innovative flexible media planning tools to get the results we needed: 1) Unmissable – a hyperlocal, programmatic strategy platform which enable you to target digital media to specific locations and optimise whilst in-flight 2) Smartly – a third party tool integrated into Meta used for dynamic targeting to run social conversion-led activations in specified locations The approach delivering impressive results that outperformed expectations: • Eye test bookings in the targeted areas +3% vs the pre-campaign period • New customers +7.4% vs the pre campaign period – showing growth was incremental • Increase in media ROI and +30% efficiencies in media spend

We turned an insight around the the deep-rooted societal bias against women’s pain into a simple but powerful multi-channel campaign, delivering a market share increase in a declining market.

Laithwaites is a family business born direct to consumer, raised on mail-order, and matured on subscription. The 2020 pandemic was like rocket fuel for the category and Medialab helped Laithwaites maximise this extraordinary situation with relentless acquisition focused on harvesting the market demand at an effective cost per order. Post-pandemic the category landscape shifted with: • Disposable incomes under pressure from inflation, affecting sales and consumer intent. • Supermarket supply chains recovering and shopping patterns returning to normal, affecting demand. • Category turning into a discount/price war, pressuring already challenged margins. So, by the time the rocket fuel ran out and growth slowed, there was a need to create sustainable future demand by building a brand people would feel merits the effort and price they were being asked to pay in non-pandemic times, moving away from the historical advertising that was about harvesting demand rather than differentiating the brand.

In Q4 of 2022 KFC came to us to help launch their nationwide owned delivery service. Our innovative programmatic cross-channel solution generated £888k profit and a 16% uplift in delivery sales, so for 2023 we needed to maintain the growth trajectory and increase share of their overall delivery sales vs the aggregators. Looking into KFC’s store delivery data and past campaign data allowed us to identify that we could further optimise KFC’s overall delivery performance by analysing the characteristics that drove performance for each store individually. With over 600 stores, and tens of thousands of data points, this would be an immense amount of data to analyse, so we built a bespoke data model to help us identify and understand the nuances that were driving the differences. The working title for the model was District Robot, a name that sounds much simpler than the technology and algorithms behind it! With its help we were able to fuel our multi-channel campaign with an added layer of ultra-granular targeting, gathered from the insights that District Robot provided. The campaign was a success and surpassed all objectives, achieving 187% above target of owned delivery sales. It is a superb example of how KFC collaborates with us to continue to evolve and develop their innovative approach to delivering media to drive sales.

As we approached Belstaff’s 100th year, we reflected on the people, passion and pioneering spirit that have built this great British brand. The ‘First’ word in the campaign title held weight. For all of us, this year is the beginning of what’s to come. It’s a start, not a stop. It has been a privilege to be part of this milestone, and we sought to honour it by celebrating the first 100 years of Belstaff, while readying the brand for 100 more. Through research, one thing resounded: Belstaff was not shaped by a single person or event, but endures because of many smaller, more personal moments throughout the decades. Our story is a human one. The company founders, Eli Belovitch and Harry Grosberg, built a company around its people; “People matter” said Harry Grosberg in a newspaper article in 1984, “I always had a wonderful team of people who looked out for each other and were always right behind me.” The ‘OUR FIRST 100 YEARS’ campaign pays tribute to these pivotal people and moments – both in our own history, and in the lives of our partners and fans around the globe. We also charted Belstaff’s legacy through the ‘OUR FIRST 100 YEARS’ book. Co-edited by Jodie Harrison, Belstaff Brand Director, and Charlie Porter, menswear journalist, it’s a book about discovery, detailing the true history of the brand for the first time.

‘Here for humanity’ highlights The British Red Cross’s vital emergency response in the UK and around the world in over 190 countries. It shows how together with our supporters, we are the world’s emergency responders. Our creative spotlights our internationally recognised red cross emblem as a visual cue for being ‘here’ and present for humanity whenever they are in crisis, and draws on authentic footage, imagery and experience to show the incredible work of our responders to support humanity.

Part of Kimberly-Clark’s personal care portfolio, Kotex stands as a pioneer at the forefront of the global feminine hygiene industry. For centuries, menstruation has been a hidden topic in societies across the world – dealt with in silence, rarely spoken about and associated with judgement and embarrassment. Determined to shift this narrative, Kotex tasked us to create an educational brand, this particular brief was all about empowering tween girls in South African schools, engaging with both the girls and their mothers or guardians. The brand comes to life with the creation of a physical first period kit – and with a set of four friendly characters to be utilised as part of educational materials: Leaflets, posters and digital presentations – using a gamified aesthetic that resonates with the tech-savvy Gen Alpha audience. The Pack by Kotex is designed to demystify menstruation stigmas and empower young girls with the knowledge and confidence they need to embrace their journey to womanhood positively.

Our brief was to create a compelling, positive and iconic visual identity and tone of voice for The Hidden 20%, a media-led charity and campaign led by the entrepreneur behind Seedlip, Ben Branson, designed to alter perceptions of neurodivergence globally. The initiative sought to highlight the positive aspects and potential of individuals with conditions like ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and Tourette's, which affect an estimated 20% of the population.

The M&S Food x ZOE Gut Shot had great importance for our biggest client. More than just another health drink, M&S Food saw the ZOE Gut Shot as a category-defining product, leading its ambition to become a go-to retailer for health needs. We were asked to create a visual identity and brand comms for the biggest product launch in the history of M&S Food, appealing to health-conscious customers at a crucial time of year. Our work needed to be bold, confident, and create definitive appeal to the target audience. In response, we created: - A vibrant visual identity that took the colour from the ZOE brand, bringing sunshine and excitement to stores and social channels. Bombastic copy and powerful messaging created intrigue above the line and in-store, leveraging the drink’s benefits and the brilliant partners who created it: Professor Tim Spector and the nutrition experts at ZOE. - Store signage to raise awareness and drive customers to product shelves, and a variety of point-of-sale (POS) designs to emphasise our key messaging once they got there. We also created a bottle standee to capture attention, plus in-fills and footers for fridges, so customers were consistently met with messages about this innovative new product. Results: - Since launch, M&S Food now sells more Gut Shots than Coke and water. - 75% more Gut Shots have been sold than forecasted pre-launch. - The product was the biggest Food on the Move volume line, outselling the benchmark rate of sale lines by over 300%.

A beloved institution finally stepping into the limelight? Must be Napier A bold step towards brand building in the face of new competitive pressures? Must be Napier A focus on people over privilege? Must be Napier. Results that blew the benchmarks out of the water? You guessed it…

The largest building society was being challenged. How could it represent itself in a new way for its oldest values, and bring new members to its cause while keeping current ones? The tension of modernity and tradition was at the core of our response. Applying historical typography to digital executions. Balancing minimalism with detail. Sitting between the trends of traditional and challenger banks. The results: a reductionist and recognisable approach to a 36-year-old logo. A complete overhaul of a brand from question to answer in under 79 days.

The idea is as simple as it is ambitious, creating the largest nature reserve in Europe – one lawn at the time. Rewilding Mode is the world ́s first feature designed to rewild private gardens so pollinators can thrive. Using state-of-the-art radar technology, the mowers were programmed to leave 10% of each lawn uncut, creating small nature reserves for pollinators. The innovation turned Husqvarna’s entire European fleet of 150,000 Husqvarna robotic lawn mowers into fighters for biodiversity.  Featured in over 200 major outlets like Fast Company and Forbes, it has touched 218 million people across 20 countries, achieving a PR value of 50 million Swedish crowns. Notably, 8.5 million customers engaged, and over 3 million viewed our YouTube film, shedding new light on what can be achieved by simply saving 10% of your lawn. The true victory? Over 267,000 square meters of lawn have transitioned into habitats for pollinators, with numbers growing daily. The goal is to keep increasing this area designed for pollinators, and for that to also work as a conversation starter when talking about what the perfect lawn may be. 

Telia, Sweden’s foremost 5G distributor, has swiftly ensured nationwide 5G coverage, albeit at a slightly higher cost due to significant network investments. However, the abstract nature of 5G made it challenging to explain its value. To ensure that people continued to choose Telia over other telecom brands, we needed to make sure that people felt the power of 5G and understood how it would improve their lives. The solution was to transform the most mundane of everyday items, an onion, into a 5G-powered innovation of the future. Using 5G-powered agricultural field robots, the “5G-onion” promised reduced pesticides, enhanced taste, longer shelf life, and increased harvest – benefits that were tangible and relatable to many. The 5G-onion was launched just like any other tech innovation: pre-launch teaser, online and print ads, social media content, and media outreach to reveal Telia’s revolutionary new product. By replacing what one would expect, a phone with an onion we created a way to cut through the clutter where communication from telecom companies look more and more similar. The strategy to bridge the digital and physical realms was key to the campaign’s effectiveness, leveraging tech references and digital platforms, tasting events and nationwide product distribution. With the help of an ordinary everyday object, we brought Telia and something as hard-to-grasp as 5G into the physical world, – demonstrating how the connectivity of the future can improve our daily lives, one onion at a time.

In the shadow of a harrowing statistic where 200 lives are lost daily to smoking in the UK, the challenge of piercing the collective numbness to smoking's devastation has never been more daunting. Amidst stringent advertising restrictions and a weary public, Riot Labs embarked on a heartfelt crusade, "A Year to Change the Status Quo of Smoking Cessation," aiming to rekindle the conversation on this silent epidemic with a series of bold, thought-provoking stunts. Our journey was one of creative rebellion, from the whimsical yet poignant "King Charles Sausage Finger Vapes" that captured the nation's imagination during a momentous royal event, to the nostalgic echoes of East 17's "Merry Quitmas," a melody against smoking wrapped in the warmth of Christmas spirit. The "Morbid Mother's Day Cards" laid bare the grim reality of smoking with a love that dared to speak the truth, while "Fight The Vape Tax" stood as a defiant cry against policies that hinder cessation efforts. These acts of creative defiance not only broke through the media's clutter, earning national and international spotlight, but they also stirred conversations, and drove a significant surge in engagement. Riot Labs' campaign was a testament to the power of emotion and innovation in reigniting the urgency of smoking cessation, proving that even the most entrenched battles can be fought with creativity, compassion, and courage.

2023 saw women’s football reach astronomical heights, but misogyny and inequality continued to dominate headlines, from sexual assaults, to disputes over pay and oppressive regimes winning World Cup bids. Presiding over this controversy was FIFA – football’s international governing body. Its president, Gianni Infantino, had run unopposed at the last two elections and was seen by many as perpetuating a culture of misogyny and cronyism. In its entire history, FIFA has had nine presidents, all male. There has never been a female candidate in the running. Any women in football who stood up to the patriarchal status quo have been systematically undermined and sidelined. We wanted to create a solution that would aggregate the collective voice of women in football from around the world, and challenge the power structures in a way that hasn’t been possible before, without fear of retribution. So we created Hope Sogni – the 10th FIFA President. Built using AI, her knowledge and outlook were formed exclusively by women, using thousands of hours of interviews and opinion pieces, creating an encyclopedic understanding of the sport, its policies and the key issues it faces. We launched her hypothetical candidacy with an exclusive interview in the Guardian newspaper, and within a week, Hope’s campaign had reached a total audience of 364 million, across 42 countries, in multiple languages, featuring in national press from around the globe. And this is just the beginning, with NGOs and charities now contacting Hope to help shine a light on their own plights.

Our ‘Take the LEAP’ campaign leveraged creativity to disrupt the chilled fish category and educate UK shoppers on the many benefits of wild over farmed fish. No easy task, as even a foodie audience knew nothing of the differences between wild and farmed. This is why wild salmon accounted for under 1% volume share of total chilled fish versus 40% accounted for by farmed salmon. Research revealed that once people did understand the full story behind the brand and our sustainable wild Alaska salmon, they developed a clear preference for wild over farmed. The challenge was to educate consumers and force reappraisal of the entire fish category: a gigantic task for a tiny brand. We had to shake up the industry and shine a light on an issue shoppers didn’t even know existed; that the best fish swim free. As a true challenger, we recruited the fishy singing sensation, ‘Big Mouth Billy Bass’, as our surprising spokesperson. He sang our wild fish story and captured our audience’s imagination across a blend of ground-breaking OOH, TV, digital and content partnerships for just 3 months between 9th October and 31st December 2023. In that short timeframe, thanks to the transformative power of creative marketing, we doubled brand awareness and penetration, encouraging millions to reappraise the fish category and ‘Take The LEAP’ to wild fish. Brand owners New England Seafood International and partners, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute couldn’t be more proud.

P&O Ferries were facing the lowest YouGov brand scores ever recorded, a shrinking ferry category as people defaulted to low-cost airlines and a travel market decimated by Brexit and COVID-19. Not good. Travellers saw ferries as old and outdated, so how could we get them to reappraise the category and therefore P&O? Not easily. Stealing back share from the wider travel market is difficult, these brands were bigger than us - bigger budgets, bigger share of voice with better prices. To cut through we couldn’t outspend them, we’d have to disrupt the travel category. So, whilst P&O Ferries competitors might be faster and cheaper, that didn’t necessarily mean better. A summer of travel chaos therefore became an opportunity, we could improve the perception of the brand and drive consideration by reminding people of a simple fact: there is another way. Our campaign positioned them as the most enjoyable way to travel, the top driver of consideration for the category. The ads pointed out our competitor’s short-comings right in front of them, with geographically-targeted (around P&O Ferries key ports) and contextual placements (around key UK travel hubs) to maximise impact. The campaign saw a brand with a tiny share of voice boost disrupt the category to boost its awareness, consideration, key brand metrics and even bookings.

To spark a new, less scary public health conversation about hearing loss with zero paid budget, Specsavers turned one of the most famously misheard songs into the world’s first mass hearing test by re-recording Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up with the lyrics people have been mishearing for years, then ‘Rick-Rolling’ the UK by releasing it without explanation to make Brits question their ears. Driving a national conversation around hearing loss, over 20 million organic social plays in 8 hours, blanket media coverage and a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings.

E.ON Next were suffering from the constant barrage of negative news coverage of energy companies, despite supplying 100% renewable energy. Needing to improve brand perceptions and awareness they bravely went to their biggest critics to help turn the narrative around on E.ON Next. The partnered up with news brand The Independent to create a #Powershift. Emphasising their eco based values, they provided created a 6-month long multiplatform content partnership, bravely confronting negative media sentiment and sharing practical energy-saving tips, that didn’t require any sacrifice from consumers.

Our client, DC Thomson wanted to break into a new market, going beyond providing quality journalism to establish an exclusive proposition for key energy industry players to come together to influence and drive change in the energy transition space. An ambitious brief. Numerous workshops unearthed key findings and market analysis developed key messaging with target audiences. Here, exclusivity and curation were key. We developed the brand from scratch, devising a name that would resonate. Bold typography. An instantly gettable icon to drive home the message of a faster transition while landing nicely on social. Fresh colourways with colour transitions from blues to greens brought a fresh approach to the energy space. Activation-wise, initial work posed interesting questions to provoke thought. Powerful lines established the brand’s intelligent, pragmatic and grown-up tone of voice. Then we hit home with more tactical sign-up activity. We experimented with multiple versions of every CTA and image to optimise what landed and what didn’t for such a new and unusual offer. The results were excellent. We went beyond creating awareness and generating debate. We didn’t meet targets. We greatly exceeded them. High calibre membership subscriptions were so high, that the client completely reinvented their membership structure to cope. The first E-FWD event was massively popular, with high profile key speakers like former prime minister Gordon Brown and major industry leaders. This is a new space they’re not merely competing in, but a space they now own. Everyone’s absolutely delighted. Including us.

Sustainability is is more important than ever. It’s no wonder that ‘sustainability’ was mentioned a staggering number of times in 2023. But there is still a long way to go. The challenge? A lack of awareness of companies on how to effectively address the climate emergency. The solution: “Take Control.” Enter Schneider Electric Iberia. With the launch of the Take Control campaign, the company empowered others to manage their energy and reduce their carbon footprint. How did they do it? In three ways. 1. Launching an employee advocacy program​ 2. And a pioneering a training program for journalists 3. Deploying a powerful social media, press and content strategy. Schneider Electric became a Top Voice in sustainability matters across the country. Sustainability became their most synonymous keyword for 2023 in Spanish media with 535k mentions (100+ dedicated articles & interviews)​. The Employee Advocacy program has 1,000+ active employees​. 50+ journalist attended their energy training. Not only did the company help others take control, it went beyond words with real action.

2023 was the year of the smart meter. Against a backdrop of high energy prices and a cost-of-living crisis, there has been no greater time to shout about the benefits of those grey boxes under our stairs in a bid to help the nation manage their energy use and finances. Whilst 59% of households and small businesses have smart meters, 41% are still to be persuaded, with many of these people on a low income or struggling with the cost of energy. The key was bringing to life how smart meters could genuinely help manage our increasing energy bills in a way that felt relevant, authentic and would emotionally engage our audiences. Our Year of Super Smart Home Hacks did just that. Using a bit of TLC (Tech, Laundry, Cooking) we focused on key areas of home management we knew our audience were concerned about, and shared rich, warm stories of how to improve energy use. Enlisting relevant, trusted talent, credible partners, fun content and news, we answered some of life’s big questions and made smart meters a must-have in our audiences’ lives. And the results are still rolling in: ● 1550+ media articles and counting including 31 nationals ● 1 million impressions across influencer content ● Significant uplifts in 10 out of 17 positive attitudes associated with smart meter seeking behaviour following campaign exposure (post campaign consumer research) ● +7% point increase in interest in getting a smart meter (38% pre-campaign to 45% post campaign exposure)

The mobile gaming industry is well versed with the immersive power of gaming. But when game developers Wooga wanted to celebrate the 6th anniversary of their iconic 1920s Detective mobile game June’s Journey, with a groundbreaking campaign, it presented a unique challenge - create a distinctly novel gamified experience for an inherently gamified brand! The solution? ‘A Party to Die For’ - a transcendental gaming experience that fulfilled the ultimate player fantasy; bringing the ‘June’s Journey’ world alive through a multi-day gamified live-action murder-mystery solving challenge distinctly inspired by the game. 12 global contest winners were flown to a historic English Estate and immersed into a sinister murder conspiracy plaguing estate owner Sir Charles Ringwald; a meticulously created world and thrilling experience straight out of the ‘June’s Journey’ universe. The contestants were hosted overnight at the estate as they unveiled the mystery- solving intricate 1920s themed puzzles, uncovering secrets, interacting with inhabitants of the estate (secretly Wooga Employees in disguise to up the ‘Brand Personalisation’ ante!), whilst dressed in authentic 1920s outfits like the game’s characters! This experience was filmed and transformed into a reality tv-style web-series incorporating QR-code giveaways for wider home-bound audiences to test their detective skills through a novel social-digital gamified experience too! The campaign exceeded expectations, generating 39M+ impressions, 9M+ reach, and 5M+ views across platforms. With a 21.7% brand sentiment boost, resoundingly positive feedback, and global surveys indicating significant interest in future events, the campaign marked a novel spin on experiential and game marketing.

Launching on June 2nd, 2023, our Spinnaker team led the charge with an innovative organic marketing strategy for the UK release of 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'. Adopting a multifaceted approach, we strategically leveraged prominent platforms such as TikTok and Interactive Digital Media sites. Through these creative executions, we effectively sparked widespread conversation and anticipation surrounding the film's imminent release in the UK market. Harnessing the conversational essence of 'Anyone Can Wear The Mask', our creative stance amplified this concept and infused organic copy, trends, and premiere content. The campaign was fueled by the cast-led creative and native conversation that helped drive a UK box office exceeding 30M, more than doubling the revenue from the 2018 initial release. The resounding success of the campaign reverberated across platforms, as attested by the growth of an additional 187K followers on TikTok as well as surpassing platform benchmark engagement rates by 9%. GumGum (Digital Media) benchmarks guided our creative efforts for media, ensuring a focus on driving clicks. By the campaign's conclusion, we achieved an impressive Click-Through Rate (CTR) of 82%, surpassing the benchmark by 12%. The remarkable outcomes highlight our team's excellence in delivering captivating 360 marketing campaigns that showcased innovation and creativity while driving film-focused box office messaging.

In 2023, we faced a unique challenge with one of the channels biggest shows. Married At First Sight (MAFS) had both a UK version and an Australian version living on our platform. Naturally, we were aiming to supercharge the growth of our UK version when we realised there was an audience 2.3 million MAFS Australia fans, who loved the concept, but weren’t coming to watch the British version of it. So how do you persuade such a large audience group with vastly different viewing behaviours to come and watch the UK version? We created a campaign which focused on all the stuff they love about MAFS Australia and its undeniable presence in the MAFS UK. Less focus on ‘wannabe’ influencers, more focus on love story. Less about why they’re on the show and more of the drama. The results? whilst the season was airing, MAFS UK was the number 1 most viewed BVOD show and the number 2 VOD show overall, only beaten by Netflix’s Sex Education and also became the most watched series in Channel 4’s history.

We were tasked with the challenge of launching the third series of Audible’s beloved Kurupt FM podcast. With their comedic mockumentary, the Kurupt FM gang have become UK comedy icons – and, of course, Brentford’s biggest export! With limited budget, we needed to create hype around the show that would get noticed by loyalists and would-be fans alike. Riffing off the fictional world of a comedy mockumentary about the ‘world’s biggest pirate radio station’ we took three fan favourite hallmarks of the show and brought them to life in the real world. From a pseudo-pilgrimage site in a drab London suburb, to a take-over of Chabuddy’s favourite fast-food shops, we showed that a small budget is not a hinderance to achieving a big impact campaign. Our media creativity turned the show into one of the most listened to podcasts of the year. Big Up Brentford!

In a grey UK summer (both metaphorically AND meteorologically), we created an entertainment campaign that placed the Barbie movie’s positivity and playfulness at the heart of British pop culture – on the streets, on social media, in entertainment, in music, in retail and beyond. Through the entire campaign, every touchpoint was designed to either place the movie – and its trademark Pink – into popular culture or create a moment where the British movie audience could place themselves into the pop culture moment that was being created around the movie. The result? An integrated campaign that delivered a fantastic ROAS and a movie that became Warner Bros.’ biggest UK box office release EVER.

Planet Earth III is the sequel to the multi-award-winning Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, the 2nd and 3rd highest-rated TV series of all time (IMBD). To match the scale of production, 5 years in the making our marketing campaign was as ambitious, targeting global U35s – while tapping into the nostalgia of generations of fans. The task – to bring people together for an event TV moment, focusing on reaching new younger audiences. At the heart of the campaign was creativity and collaboration, featuring multi-award-winning music artists (RAYE, Bastille, Hans Zimmer), gaming platforms (Minecraft), digital publishers (LadBible), influencers (Hayley Morris) and Hollywood actress (Shailene Woodley). A 360 immersive global launch attended by 200+ including David Attenborough, Gillian Anderson, Jade Thirlwall and Benedict Cumberbatch kicked-off the campaign delivering 24 pieces of content on talent socials (12m+ followers) as well as significant press coverage. The bespoke soundtrack written by RAYE for the launch trailer world premiered on Greg James’ Radio 1 show and was then published globally. Bold creative concept threaded through the whole campaign, using the ‘III’ as a creative device through on and off air. Our always on, multi-channel approach saw us deliver 2,500+ marketing assets globally. Through innovative partnerships we reached new audiences. Episode 1 was viewed by over 10.6m people on BBC One – one of the most watched pieces of TV across ALL platforms in 2023, delivering new, younger audiences to the BBC. We also saw a huge 170m+ views across social with a 1m+ hours

For 10+ years, American Express and AEG have partnered to create top-tier live experiences across the globe. Then in 2023, the mission to redefine entertainment benefits for Gen Z and Millennials became a reality: Amex Afters innovates the after-party experience, extending the magic of live to 'Keep the Vibe Alive' beyond the main event. Through Amex Afters, American Express offers fans exclusive experiences curated around their favourite music talent, plus intimate performances from the hottest emerging talent and immersive experiential elements to get them feeling closer to the artists they love. Through a meticulous strategy, Amex Afters has achieved remarkable results: from increased brand consideration, to amplified engagement and unforgettable moments, the success of the platform continues to grow with each activation. Amex Afters is more than just a sponsorship: it’s a ticket to the future of entertainment.

The COVID-19 pandemic almost obliterated the travel industry. But as destinations opened, it was a crucial moment for Abu Dhabi. Partnering with Wanderlab at Tripadvisor, who had already developed a hit travel show for Abu Dhabi on Amazon Prime and an award-winning Amazon Alexa skill, they created an immersive, virtual voyage at Outernet London. This personalized adventure in a wonderland helped guests discover the unique experiences that make Abu Dhabi great. At ‘The Arcade’ – a stunning entrance tunnel filled with interactive screens - guests were greeted by 20 Travel Guides who led them through the ultimate travel planning experience. Upon entering the NOW Building – the main area of the event – guests were immersed in an ever-changing scene of Abu Dhabi, complete with linear animation filled with data particles created by visualization artists. Information kiosks were dotted around the venue, providing visitors with invaluable information. The NOW Trending room, adorned with Arabian-style seating and digital ‘windows’, transported people to a place where they could breathe in the magic of Abu Dhabi. Artisan workshops, Oud perfume-making workshops, and artisanal weaving demonstrations further enhanced the experience. We successfully transformed sentiment toward Abu Dhabi as a travel destination, with the likeliness of consideration skyrocketing +25% after the event. Seven in 10 guests expressed positive sentiment for Abu Dhabi and 65% of respondents rated the event as 9 or 10 in promoting Abu Dhabi as a desirable destination. Our total public footfall over 2 days was 100,000 within the four areas.

1920s glamour, a lavish English Estate, and….. Murder!? "A Party to Die For," immersed players of the beloved detective mobile game, June's Journey, into an experience distinctly inspired by the game- with a multi-day live-action murder-mystery challenge at a lavish, historic, English Estate. To celebrate the game’s 6th Anniversary, Developers Wooga wanted to thank the global June’s Journey community and encourage their continued support, while attracting new audiences and reinforcing Wooga’s commitment to delivering novel experiences. Together, we put together a production that brought alive the most iconic and beloved aspects of June’s Journey. 12 contest winners and their partners were flown down from 15 different countries to join the ‘Athena Detective Agency’ in uncovering a murder conspiracy at Sir Charles Ringwald’s lavish English Estate. In a unique, gamified immersive experience reminiscent of their favourite game, the contestants were hosted overnight at the historic estate as they unveiled the mystery- solving intricate puzzles, following clues, uncovering secrets, interacting with the inhabitants of Charles Ringwald’s world (secretly Wooga Employees in disguise to up the ‘brand personalisation’ ante!), whilst dressed in authentic 1920s outfits! Transformed into a web-series incorporating QR-code giveaways, watch-parties, and social and influencer content for global engagement; the series generated 39M+ impressions, 9M+ reach, and 5M+ views across platforms, testifying to a successful transcendence into the digital space. With a 21.7% brand sentiment boost, resoundingly positive guest feedback, and global surveys indicating significant interest in future events, the experience was a resounding success, exceeding expected performance 15 fold.

2023 marked Disney’s 100th anniversary. To celebrate a century of friendship, Disney wanted to give Gen Z a fresh, meaningful way to connect – both with each other and with Disney as a brand. We created an ultra-personalisable, hyper-immersive ticketed Gen Z pop-up event that toured four of Europe's coolest cities. Launching with a killer London PR party full of influencers and press, we teased the public’s timelines gaining coverage across VOGUE France, Metro, Stylist, Adweek, Time Out, Campaign, and more before opening to the public… This multi-sensorial event brought classic characters, groups of guests and Disney’s brand partners together under one unifying theme – ‘Wonder of Friendship’. With the help of some of Disney’s most iconic pals of the century, guests explored, played and sang their way through four immersive zones – each celebrating a specific friendship quality through the stories and characters in four classic franchises. To personalise guests' journeys, we teamed up with Snapchat to create custom filters bringing our installations to life. RFID-powered ‘friendship keys’ helped guests unlock unique friendship insights at every turn. With picture-perfect backdrops everywhere guests pointed their phones, content capturing was irresistible. We wowed over 40,000 guests in 40 days across 4 countries, achieving over 90% of ticket sales – surpassing our KPI of 74%. The event was a neon-glowing success, smashing ticket sale goals, achieving a reach of over 1.4 billion, and helping Disney to reinforce that coveted spot in the hearts and social feeds of Gen Z across Europe.

What do you do when your experiential activation wins a Drum Award for Marketing? Bring it back for another year - even bigger, even more customer focused and even more impactful… to win a second Drum Award! We know winning back-to-back Drum Awards could be a tall order – but our team grasped the challenge. Using insight from Year 1, once again we tapped into students’ love for donuts and elevated it to create a series of high energy, high impact and Gen-Z tailored social gatherings. The experience formed the centrepiece of our wider Unite Students #whywait marketing campaign – positioning sector-leading Unite Students as the obvious choice for university accommodation. We created a value experience for students, a lead-capture opportunity, and a content engine to feed other channels… ensuring our 2024/25 sales launch kicked off with a bang! With 56 ‘Donut Drops’ impeccably delivered in 17 cities across the UK over the course of just 8 event days, including newly-designed on-campus events at unis, we helped elevate and unify the Unite Students brand at a national level. Through eye-catching donuts and a unique and vibrant in-real-life activation, we captured the imagination of our target Gen-Z audience with a carefully curated experience that increased dwell time (for those all-important sales conversations), sales leads and brand engagement. The results speak for themselves... with objectives over-achieved, and performance targets smashed, this tasty activation truly delivered… and even had other universities on the phone asking if the activation could be brought to them!

2023 marked the 150th Anniversary of the iconic Levi's® 501® jean and to celebrate this historical moment, 160over90 was commissioned to create the brand’s largest-ever pop-up initiative in London, for a combination of invite-only and free-to-attend events. It was the creative brief of dreams: beyond a traditional product marketing brief and a huge salute to the brand’s iconic role in culture; to pay homage to “The Greatest Story Ever Worn”. Over the course of four days in May, 160over90 needed to make sure that media, influencers and consumers (primarily a new generation of consumers aged 18-25) would engage with the Levi brand and the 501. The experience needed to turn heads – to stop people passing by and scrolling through their social media feeds. Music, bass cultures and sound systems were the defining factors of our creative concept. We took the original orange 501® thread as the starting point to connect all generations and chose bass music as a unifying force, spanning reggae, drum and bass, electronic and hip-hop genres - all well-loved by Levi wearers around the world. The results speak for themselves. Levi’s London stores saw a +31% YoY increase in footfall despite train strikes and London footfall being -18%. A legacy extending campaign also translated to revenue. London revenue was up +8% versus the +2% target, exceeding objectives. Finally, hard to shift consideration metrics also saw the biggest quarter-on-quarter shift since Levi's tracking began, up +9% points.

Virtual reality headsets had a perception problem. Most people, even our tech savvy target audience Gen Z, saw them as complex and irrelevant. In a world where people are looking to experience as much as possible, a headset that cut you off from reality didn’t fit the bill. The launch of the Meta Quest 3, the world’s first mass market, competitively priced, mixed reality (MR) headset, fixed that problem. No more retreating from reality, no more isolation, people would now be able to blend their physical and virtual worlds seamlessly. But explaining MR at scale wasn’t easy. With little opportunity for trial, we had to rely on media to describe one of the headset’s most indescribable features. We needed an idea that mirrored what the headset could do, that literally dramatised its power whilst shaking the public’s perceptions. Our solution; to turn one of the most understood but least interactive formats - OOH - into an exploratory experience. At Halloween, when Gen Z would be looking for the most immersive scares possible, we transformed two billboards into terrifying worlds, inviting people to break the barrier of the medium and literally ‘step in’, and try some of the headset’s scariest MR games. Like MR, we took something singular in dimension and turned it into an experience that blurred the lines between physical and virtual. Both in person and across social, influencer and earned, our campaign didn’t just tell people about the new headset, it showed them.

When Channel 4 commissioned a programme about one of the biggest British scandals of this generation, our marketing team had a unique opportunity. Not only was there a chance to drive views for the show, but a far greater one in reminding the nation that we are the most challenging public service broadcaster in the country. This is the story of how we turned a brilliant piece of factual entertainment into a full-blown rave on the doorstep of Downing Street. From DJ BJ himself, to rave posters up and down the country inviting the nation to watch our show, we created a stunt which captured the nation’s attention and gained widespread press coverage. All this resulted in staggering results for the campaign, with 78% of people believing Channel 4 was the leading channel for raising social issues and achieving over 2.8 million viewers for the show itself.

The idea is as simple as it is ambitious, creating the largest nature reserve in Europe – one lawn at the time. Rewilding Mode is the world ́s first feature designed to rewild private gardens so pollinators can thrive. Using state-of-the-art radar technology, the mowers were programmed to leave 10% of each lawn uncut, creating small nature reserves for pollinators. The innovation turned Husqvarna’s entire European fleet of 150,000 Husqvarna robotic lawn mowers into fighters for biodiversity. Featured in over 200 major outlets like Fast Company and Forbes, it has touched 218 million people across 20 countries, achieving a PR value of 50 million Swedish crowns. Notably, 8.5 million customers engaged, and over 3 million viewed our YouTube film, shedding new light on what can be achieved by simply saving 10% of your lawn. The true victory? Over 267,000 square meters of lawn have transitioned into habitats for pollinators, with numbers growing daily. The goal is to keep increasing this area designed for pollinators, and for that to also work as a conversation starter when talking about what the perfect lawn may be.

It’s getting harder for charities like WWF Germany to engage people with climate issues – particularly those in their 20s and 30s. Donation requests and climate news are too easily (and often) ignored or swiped away. But there are some notifications people don’t ignore: messages from friends.
 To regain people's attention, WWF entered a new habitat: WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the most popular chat app in Germany, and a place where friends hang out and 90% of messages get read. But getting attention is one thing. How do you keep it? We created the world’s first fully automated WhatsApp adventure. In “The Tree of Hope”, players make choices to save a forest’s ecosystem, while spending 20 minutes learning about climate issues. Now, with this new game engine and thousands of new friends, WWF is set up to get help whenever it needs it.

Newcastle United is the beating heart of a one-club footballing city. Yet, for so long fans were starved of success to shout about. In 2023, NUFC were returning to the UEFA Champions League after 20 years; now with Sela, a dynamic creator of spectacular experiences and iconic destinations, as their front of shirt sponsor. 48 hours before European football returned to the city, Sela provided a moment for fans, the club and the community to celebrate. For Newcastle, a drone show of this scale had never been done before. Using 500+ drones, the eight-minute drone show saw NUFC’s magpie mascot soar across the skies before transitioning into the black and white team shirts adorned with the names of Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali. After recreating the club emblem, the drones formed to make a statement about Newcastle's return to the biggest stage: "We're Back". The show concluded with Sela's 'Spectacular Everyday' tagline. Millions engaged globally, with ‘spectacular’ reviews from football fans, stakeholders and institutions. Content reached 1 billion+ people in 162 countries, was published by 80+ media outlets and on UEFA and Premier League channels, became an incredible talking point across sport and the community, and helped Sela establish its brand.

Thumbstoppers created a completely fake Michelin star restaurant which allowed diners to experience first hand the injustice and frustration of the growing problem of food disparity in a world of abundance. Our client World Vision (a top global NGO) challenged Thumbstoppers to deliver a live experience-to-social campaign that promised to be their most ambitious campaign stunt ever as part of their 'Enough' campaign to end world hunger. Our fake VIP restaurant experience came equipped with real food, fake staff and of course, a fake Michelin star chef. We recruited famous foodie creators such as @FoodReviewclub, celebrities, and press to dine at our 'exclusive' venue and filmed their experience in the style of first dates with the uncomfortable suspense of the movie: The menu. They entered our tense, strange restaurant with the theatre of exclusive fine dining with one major theme: Inequality. Each of our couples had a frustratingly-luxurious Instagrammable experience and were encouraged to record as they normally would in any food review or VIP experience. One of them was served a full Michelin prepared experience - the other, most definitely wasn't. Food was always so close, but so far away and sharing was NOT allowed. The experience was captured on 8 hidden cameras and edited into a 2 min hero film while our creators recorded and shared their experience from their perspective entertaining and educating their audience at the same time to break with traditional non-profit communications norms and beat the attention challenge of compassion fatigue.

IWC Schaffhausen is known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking. Founded in 1868, the brand combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. The 10 Group has maintained a strong relationship with IWC for several years, working together with the brand on global media relations strategies and content creation. Ahead of the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, The 10 Group was challenged to activate and manage a global event to launch the new IWC team partnership watch and the new Mercedes-AMG GT Coupé car. IWC and Mercedes-AMG have been partners since 2004, making their collaboration one of the most long-standing between two brands from the watch and automotive industries. Taking over iconic location Speed Vegas, IWC set up “IWC X AMG Speed City” – an event space utilizing a desert camp area showcasing product and panel discussions and the racetrack for a never seen before race performance. The global activation took a major risk, taking place just days before the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It also put Mercedes drivers Sir Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the center of the event, which could have jeopardized their race debut had anything gone wrong. The goal was to grab the attention of a global audience, both on the ground in Vegas and across the world, generating international cut-through.

Each year Fragrance Foundation UK announces National Fragrance week as an opportunity to celebrate the power of scent. Whilst many retailers use this week as an opportunity to drive sales through discount, at Space NK we created A World of Fragrance campaign; a journey of sensorial discovery brought to life across multiple marketing touchpoints, elevating brands and products, and providing our community with the opportunity to fall in love with a new fragrance. The week-long campaign included an exclusive sell-out fragrance edit, a wealth of stand-out social content and an experiential pop-up with three hour queues. The activity resulted in strong commercial numbers, including triple digit year-on-year growth from a number of the included fragrance brands, alongside positive feedback from creators, customers and brands.

As a relatively new entrant in the UAE, AvaTrade has challenged the trading category by introducing unique products like AvaTradeGo & AvaProtect. However, brands like Equiti, Multibank FX, ADSS enjoy a higher share of voice in the UAE. Before our efforts commenced, the brand faced hurdles of brand recognition, customer engagement, and overall market share. Our objective was three-fold: increase brand awareness in the country, increase brand consideration & increase new customer sign ups by 25%. Launched in early 2023, the collaboration between AvaTrade and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1® Team showcases a fusion of shared values: confidence, safety, excellence, and innovation. This alliance signifies a commitment to unparalleled brilliance, blending the fast-paced world of F1® racing with the precision and cutting-edge technology of online trading. It echoes the rigorous standards observed in F1® racing, evident in every aspect of AvaTrade's offerings. As we stand at the tipping point of a cookie-less future, contextual advertising is regaining prominence, emerging as a key media strategy. Fueled by AI innovation, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning & Semantic Analysis, we added new life into traditional methods. Leveraging the world’s first AI-led in-video context detection solution, we redefined the boundaries of contextual brand suitability in video advertising. The campaign surpassed its objectives with encouraging success. Numerically, we observed a 150% increase in brand search volumes demonstrating higher brand awareness, 68% increase in new users to the website signifying higher brand consideration, & 33% rise in new-user sign-ups to boost market share.

In September 2021, we at Chase UK set out to do the seemingly impossible: launch a new digital challenger bank into the already saturated UK marketplace. Undaunted, we wanted not only to take on digital challenger rivals such as Monzo and Starling, but the Big Four high street banks as well. Less than three years later, we’ve consistently smashed all targets, with 2m customers under our belts, and a whopping £16bn in deposits. Consequently, we’re due to turn our first profit next year, easily outstripping other challengers’ performances (e.g., Monzo took seven years to turn its first profit, and has only £6bn in deposits today). Key to achieving these successes? The Hub. This digital magazine tackling consumer money matters is a far cry from the content produced by most banks. With it, we aimed to demystify high street finance for the masses, providing customers and the public alike with genuinely useful, easy-to-understand, inclusive financial content that supports financial wellbeing. That we can take some credit for the bank’s phenomenal success is evidenced in the results of our March-2024 survey of Hub readers (where over a third strongly agreed we’d increased their likelihood of banking with Chase). Readers are also voting with their feet. Of those who read a Hub article, 16.6% then visited our investment brand site, Nutmeg (following a series of investment articles). Our role has been recognised internally too, with the Head of Customer Experience commending The Hub for its integral role in driving our wider success.

2023 presented challenging market conditions. Managers were launching fewer funds, and the industry was set to slow down. Undeterred, Aztec – a provider of outsourced fund administration services to private fund managers – set an ambitious revenue target for FY2023. Our plan was to drive growth plans with a disruptive campaign that targeted fund managers dissatisfied with the service they were receiving from their current administrators. Fun fact: 1 in 3 of our clients have moved or ‘migrated’ their business to us from other providers; we monitored market conditions and decided that a migration campaign would be a great growth strategy for our business, so ‘Drive2Aztec’ was born. Drive2Aztec is a multi-channel integrated campaign based on a racing car analogy where we ask prospective clients, ‘Is your fund administrator on the right track? – Perhaps it’s time to #Drive2Aztec?’ We outline the outsourcing ‘red flags’ they may be experiencing with their current provider before showing them how our business is ‘engineered for success’ and highlighting how they can benefit from our operational best practice. Since its launch in October 2023, Drive2Aztec has enjoyed a 75% engagement rate. In an industry where 10% is considered successful, this high engagement has led to unprecedented pipeline results and a desire to evolve and expand the campaign’s reach across our group, with a US iteration currently in planning.

Business banking has become something of a necessary evil for many UK SMEs. Against a backdrop of seemingly constant branch closures, the very idea of personalised, relationship banking is fading to a distant memory, with automated phone systems, rigid lending rules and limited personal contact taking its place. Thankfully, there’s a solution. Established in 2019, Allica is an award-winning fintech set up with one core mission – combining traditional relationship banking with modern technology to give established business owners the business banking they deserve. While Allica had reached many of its existing customers via direct partnerships and affiliations within the accountancy sector, in 2023 it was time to hit the mainstream. With a shiny new creative proposition and a healthy six figure budget, the campaign objective was simple: put Allica Bank, and its new high-interest business savings accounts, on the map. In a fully-integrated media campaign that spanned TV, radio, OOH, YouTube, LinkedIn, Meta, Google Display Network and programmatic, this campaign sported a prime focus on building brand awareness in the key regions of Manchester, Birmingham and South Central England, while promoting the benefits of Allica’s newly launched range of highly-competitive business savings accounts. Kicking off in October 2023, this 3-month campaign over-delivered on all expectations, achieving 58M impressions across the campaign period, against a target of 33M. Branded searches jumped significantly, while subsequent brand awareness research indicated a marked increase in brand awareness across all target regions. Not bad for the newest business bank on the block!

Every year, almost 1 million students leave India to study abroad. They move to gain a better education and to expand their horizons. But what they gain from movement, they sacrifice in belonging. Their parents about their child’s physical and emotional wellbeing, and the students sacrifice their sense of belonging when they are living alone in a foreign country. As the world’s largest international bank, we wanted to firmly position our credibility as an international bank for international students and their parents, by developing an idea that inspires international students to create a new sense of belonging in their new home abroad. As a heart-warming reminder of home and a chance to create a new sense of belonging, we invited international and local students to play a game of ‘Gully Cricket’, literally translating to ‘street cricket’ which is the heart of Indian streets. But what the students didn’t know was who was about to join them. For these International students, Virat Kohli is an idol, so when Virat emerged from his car and approached their game of gully cricket, the students were absolutely starstruck. The chance to play Gully Cricket with one of the world’s greatest cricketers, and to talk to him about their challenges of moving abroad for study, was a truly unforgettable experience for these students. The activation video touched millions with impressive results across India, UK, UAE, Singapore and Australia and delivered a staggering 132% YoY uplift in new International Student customers from India to the UK.

What do Queen Boudica and QuickBooks have in common? They both owe much of their heroic status to accountants. Despite this, accountants aren’t celebrated. Before this project, we also were guilty of not giving accountants the emotional validation they deserve. But after-work drinks revealed a whole new side of our Finance department. Despite being vital cogs not only of our agency, but all UK small businesses, they are trapped behind lazy stereotypes and not acknowledged for their contributions and charisma. Accountants are an important source of influence for QuickBooks’ primary audience, small business owners. However, QuickBooks had a history of neglecting them. They loved the brand but felt they didn’t ‘celebrate’ them in the same way as our competitors. As a result, QuickBooks had dropped from market leader to third place. The launch of three new products and a creative platform signalled a new dawn for QuickBooks’ relationship with accountants. We overturned perceptions that QuickBooks sees them as just numbers and showed how our new products allow them to fulfil their aims of spending more meaningful time with their clients. ‘For the hero behind the heroes’ shows that behind every small business client – even the historical, mythical and fairy-tale ones – is a hard-working but very human accountant. Our results quickly went from zero to hero. QuickBooks recommendation score increased by two-thirds during the campaign and acquisition costs dropped by nearly 60%. The quality of these leads doubled and web traffic growth over-indexed from the previous year by 95%.

Hiscox faced a challenge in revitalising its brand amidst shifting budgets away from brand advertising, leading to declining metrics and increased acquisition costs. To reverse this trend, Hiscox aimed to increase brand awareness and reignite growth. However, in a low-interest category where it’s hard to create impact, especially when you don’t have the budget to match that of the leading high-street insurers, how could we make Hiscox unmissable? Introducing the most disastrous campaign ever. Guided by key insights revealing significant commonality among SMEs despite offering a premium product and the critical importance of awareness regarding the risks of being underinsured or uninsured, we crafted a campaign that reached the entire small business insurance market with ads purposely peppered with contextually relevant mistakes to emphasise the myriad of challenges confronting small business owners. To distinguish ourselves in a market dominated by industry giants, we adopted a strategy of leveraging channels Hiscox could truly 'own' to create a disproportionate impact. This included groundbreaking OOH builds, a shockingly blank front cover wrap of Metro, an engaging WeTransfer takeover, WeWork domination, and disruptive radio ads. Despite the campaign’s apparent “disastrous” nature, the results were far from it. Increased awareness and sales propelled Hiscox to achieve its highest-ever annual profit.

When it comes to content about payments, talking about protection and security can make young people switch off. Reaching younger audiences is critical for Visa’s brand metrics, but how could they get these younger audiences to care about how they pay in a fun and inspiring way? Enter LADbible Group, the world’s largest social publisher. Firstly, Visa commissioned a ‘State of the Nation’ research study via LADnation, LADbible Group’s consumer research panel made up of 55,000 participants. The insights uncovered then fuelled the wider ‘How You Pay Matters’ social first campaign and informed the creative output for each phase. Focusing on the key passion points and cultural trends which would engage young audiences, the content series showcased everyday people achieving interesting and exciting ventures thanks to Visa, as well as also highlighting their impact on powering small businesses and real people achieving their dreams. In total we created a total of 26 assets and delivered 43.3 million impressions across TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram & Facebook – 106% above target – resulting in 12 million video views and 331,000 engagements. Crucially, we drove an astronomic 9 percentage point rise in ‘intent to use Visa’, as well as rises in all key brand metrics.

As a challenger brand adding +£3.8m RSV to the category (in the last 52wks) and growing 3.8X faster than the market, ahead of all brands and OL, The Collective is disrupting the world of yoghurt for kids and parents alike. As the ‘dairy shaker uppers’ our insight-led, through-the-line brand campaign utilised bold, insight-led creative and copy, plus corridors of media influence to challenge the status quo and capture consumers’ attention in a cost-effective and emotionally engaging way. The Collective succeeding in using our irreverent insight-led parenting humour to win hearts and stick in minds, with brand awareness amongst households with kids increasing +35% per campaign burst. With household penetration +8% when the rest of the segment is -6.3%, The Collective has grown market share +18% YOY.

Our brief was to make OREO more meaningful to UK audiences, drive cultural relevance and engage a growth audience of Gen Z (18-26 year olds). We also needed to bring to life the brand’s purpose of helping people reignite their playful selves. Challenge accepted! You can’t talk about youth culture without mentioning the cult status of chicken shops. They’ve become part of the fabric of youth culture, with Gen Z’s favourite comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg hosting a podcast in one and Beyonce hitting the headlines by famously ordering £2,000 worth of chicken from Baker’s Street original Chicken Shop whilst touring in the UK. We needed to join this party. Enter a unique partnership featuring the classic OREO cookie and Chicken Shop. A shockingly good limited-edition menu played with different sweet and salty flavour combinations, fusing the incredible taste of OREO cookies with delicious fried chicken. And when we say this campaign went viral, it went VIRAL. The campaign got people talking, tasting and twisting - and being more playful with their cookies than ever. Thousands of fans queued for a taste of our collab, others recreated their own versions of the menu on TikTok - and media and influencers went wild for it. Cue 200+ media articles, 10% growth in the OREO social community (IG & TikTok), 11K new eCRM subscribers and brand sales through the roof.

The "Brooklyn Summer of Music" campaign focused on awareness and promotion Brooklyn Brewery's Pilsner in the competitive "Premium World Beer" category. With origins in NYC’s Brooklyn, we had a different backstory to the majority of ‘Premium World Beers’, most of which are marketed alongside food. In this gastro-obsessed category, we saw that no brand was playing in the music space. An opportunity to differentiate and stand out, by not fitting in! We jumped on this and partnered with two heavy hitters. Universal Music and Glastonbury Festival. Our client negotiated headline sponsorship of the world’s most iconic festival becoming the ‘Official Beer of Glastonbury Festival 2023’. Exposing this ‘new kid on the block’ to 138k consumers/day across five days, and we worked with Universal Music to plan out a series that would allow us to be consistently tapping into music. Fred Again was notably one of the hottest names in 2023, so why not tie into this and work with his friends - a rapidly rising dance duo - Henry Counsel & Louis Curran, aka. Joy Anonymous. Synonymous with joy, they enjoyed a fast rise from playing street pop-ups on the Southbank during Covid, to touring the world’s biggest stages including Glastonbury and Coachella. With this team we created a short brand film in Brooklyn and the UK that showcased the duos journey and both the artists and brands ties to creativity, diversity & inclusivity. As well as running popup gigs, social series and an exclusive album and documentary launch party.

Coca-Cola is iconic but faced a challenge with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Despite its excellent taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar needed to grow their existing Gen Z audience, who were increasingly trialling emerging brands. The goal was to make Coca-Cola Zero Sugar as loved amongst Gen Z as Original Taste is to its established audience. Coca-Cola needed to make the jump from media prompt to grocery trial short and immediate. For this they launched the #TakeATaste campaign to drive trial by using a clear innovative strategy that harnessed out-of-home, tech, social media, influencers, and retail to surround Gen Z in layers of communication - all leading to trial. Cutting-edge AR technology allowed users to interact with DOOH through their smartphones, serving savi’s mobile coupon for a free Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in local Tesco stores nationally. The strategy was twofold: using visually captivating media to attract consumers to download a coupon, thus enticing them to trial in-store. Results surpassed benchmarks fivefold, outperforming like-for-like redemption records by an astonishing 17 times, and eclipsing the all-time redemption record by an impressive 2.5 times. Amongst Gen Z a whopping 57% who saw the ads said they would choose Coca-Cola Zero Sugar over other carbonated drinks compared to 34% saying the same amongst a non-exposed audience, showing the effectiveness of the campaign.

From identifying a market gap that there were no wine brands within the top 10 alcohol brands purchased by 18-25-year-olds, to full circle ‘major wine glow up’ brand vision - the sassy and relatable world of JOY wine was created to engage the untapped Gen Z category. Armed with a powerful end-to-end marketing strategy with thematic and influencer-driven campaigns, competitions, events and always-on social networks, JOY has remained impactful across Instagram @joywineofficial and joywine.co.uk. Bringing a much-needed, Gen Z inspired alternative into the wine mix, JOY has ditched the overcomplicated grape-focused descriptions, and replaced with an accessible approach, teamed with a visually dynamic, multi-channel world, created by leading marketing agency, Paradise. The launch party at Menagerie Restaurant in Manchester saw singer songwriter, Ella Eyre, perform live, whilst guests explored the world of JOY by sampling the flavours. Since launch, it’s been an award-winning time for JOY… Product of the Year’ in a survey of 8,000 consumers conducted by Kantar ‘Best wine launch’ in The Grocer Top Product Awards £350k in sales since the August 2023 launch (as at December 2023) 53% of sales were from new customers previously not buying wine 19% switching from lifestyle wine brands A community of 4,800 followers 3.2m people reached in 2023 7.6m content views 800k social engagements 45k potential customers generated Secured listing in ASDA with accompanying quote ‘Best Marketing Pitch we’ve ever seen.’ Interactive content and campaigns have kept JOY front-of-mind, alongside a forward-thinking, three-year plan to continually celebrate individuality and inclusivity.

Butterkist is the market leader where popcorn is concerned, but microwavable was letting the side down, leading to a decline in sales. To stabilise we created moments of mid-week joy when people needed it most, by turning DOOH sites across the UK into giant multi-sensory microwaves!

Taylor Herring has an on-going brief from Subway to boost brand love and relevance amongst Gen Z. However, when challenged to come up with something for Easter, the PR team hit a bit of a head-scratcher... How could Subway crash the chocolately conversation in an authentic and ownable way? Subway already offered an array of SubMelts® – usually filled with gooey cheese, but sweet-flavoured sandwiches were unexplored territory... At Easter, a chocolate frenzy sweeps the nation and there is one brand that reigns supreme: The Cadbury Creme Egg - and much to the brand’s delight, Gen Z’ers were already sharing unique ways to eat them online... This gave rise to a creative spark - what if Subway launched a special edition sweet Sub for Easter, with the nation’s favourite choccie egg? Enter the limited-edition Subway X Cadbury Creme Egg SubMelt®! A truly barmy sarnie, that had everyone thinking the brand’s PR team had well and truly cracked...! The weird and wonderful mash-up was featured in almost every major UK newspaper; graced the tastebuds of ITV’s This Morning hosts – Dermot O’Leary & Alison Hammond – as well as being featured on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. The news even reached our transatlantic neighbours – and was featured on Good Morning America. The campaign generated 880+ pieces of editorial coverage with a 787.5M reach and strong consumer engagement online – which resulted in Subway securing a notable share of voice over the Easter season.

In January 2024 M&S food launched a world-first collaboration with nutrition science company Zoe after year-long product development journey. What we believe to be the world’s best gut shot. Last year M&S Food set out to create a market-leading product to help our customers support their gut health in an easy and accessible way. To achieve this, we reached out to ZOE, a nutrition science company co-founded by gut health expert Professor Tim Spector, for their help. After a year of hard work, and multiple iterations of the product, the M&S Food x ZOE Gut Shot landed in all M&S stores across the UK on 2nd January 2024. The launch of the shot was supported by an all-out integrated marketing campaign to create buzz around a world-first collaboration of its kind. The delicious daily shot is packed with over 5 billion live cultures from 14 strains of gut-friendly bacteria, fibre and is also a source of calcium which contributes to the normal functioning of digestive enzymes. The M&S Food x ZOE Gut Shot was an instant success. In the first week alone, it sold over 7,000 units – 2,000 units above estimate, sold more units than market leading soft drinks brands a day and even outsold still water 2 weeks in a row. To this day (early March) it is consistently in the top 50 products sold in the Foodhall and has seen huge buzz amongst customers, media, and the health industry as a whole, even trending on Google

This campaign revolutionised whisky gifting, tackling £1.2bn wasted on mismatched gifts whilst boosting Benriach's market share. Partnering with Buzzfeed, Spark Foundry and Benriach launched the UK's first whisky amnesty, through captivating social media animations, influencer marketing and a 'Grand Exchange' where Benriach invited people to swap mismatched gifts for a bottle of The Original Ten. This innovative campaign sparked a sensational surge in brand awareness and perception, establishing Benriach as the ultimate whisky gift and industry trailblazer.

Laithwaites is a family business born direct to consumer, raised on mail-order, and matured on subscription. The 2020 pandemic was like rocket fuel for the category and Medialab helped Laithwaites maximise this extraordinary situation with relentless acquisition focused on harvesting the market demand at an effective cost per order. Post-pandemic the category landscape shifted with: • Disposable incomes under pressure from inflation, affecting sales and consumer intent. • Supermarket supply chains recovering and shopping patterns returning to normal, affecting demand. • Category turning into a discount/price war, pressuring already challenged margins. So, by the time the rocket fuel ran out and growth slowed, there was a need to create sustainable future demand by building a brand people would feel merits the effort and price they were being asked to pay in non-pandemic times, moving away from the historical advertising that was about harvesting demand rather than differentiating the brand.

An often dark and status-driven category, cognac was rapidly becoming outdated and losing relevance with modern consumers. Spotting an opportunity to reappraise and expand cognac, a category with limited occasionability, Courvoisier had to challenge conventions and reinvent itself. With a vision to establish itself as a global icon of luxury, it aimed to redefine the cognac experience, targeting brunch, lunch and sundowner occasions with a lighter, brighter brand world. Recognising the power of a winning serve to create lasting impressions with consumers, Wonderworks created "Welcome to The Gala," a campaign that embraced Courvoisier’s spirit of joie de vivre through the modern Courvoisier Gala cocktail and converted a new generation of drinkers to the brand. Showcasing The Gala across the on-trade, off-trade, OOH, and digital channels throughout London & the UK during the summer of 2023, “Welcome to The Gala” invited consumers into the joyful world of Courvoisier with a fresh take on the brand's historic cocktail. The results were exceptional, surpassing targets and increasing brand consideration by 20% in the UK market. Out-of-home presence exceeded expectations with a remarkable 57% increase in set targets, garnering over 18 million impressions. Digital engagement resonated strongly with the coveted 25-34 year old market, achieving 26 million impressions. Additionally, a strategic partnership with Time Out resulted in 8.8 million digital impressions. Having a global impact, the campaign not only set a new standard for cognac drinking within the category, but solidified Courvoisier’s position as a premium spirit, converting shoppers into steadfast brand advocates.

The mobile gaming industry is well-versed with the immersive power of gaming; but when game developers Wooga wanted to celebrate the 6th anniversary of their iconic 1920s Detective mobile game 'June’s Journey,' with a groundbreaking campaign, it presented a unique challenge - create a distinctly novel gamified experience for an inherently gamified brand! The solution? ‘A Party to Die For’ - a transcendental gaming experience that fulfilled the ultimate player fantasy; bringing the ‘June’s Journey’ world alive through a multi-day gamified live-action murder-mystery solving challenge distinctly inspired by the game. 12 global contest winners were flown to a historic English Estate and immersed into a sinister murder conspiracy plaguing estate owner Sir Charles Ringwald; a meticulously created world and thrilling experience straight out of the ‘June’s Journey’ universe. The contestants were hosted overnight at the estate as they unveiled the mystery- solving intricate 1920s themed puzzles, uncovering secrets, interacting with inhabitants of the estate (secretly Wooga Employees in disguise to up the ‘Brand Personalisation’ ante!), whilst dressed in authentic 1920s outfits like the game’s characters! This experience was filmed and transformed into a reality tv-style web-series incorporating QR-code giveaways for wider home-bound audiences to test their detective skills through a novel social-digital gamified experience too! The campaign exceeded expectations, generating 39M+ impressions, 9M+ reach, and 5M+ views across platforms. With 21.7% brand sentiment boost, resoundingly positive feedback, and global surveys indicating significant interest in future events, the campaign successfully leveraged alternative gamification formats, marking a novel spin on game marketing.

With declining brand metrics and sales amongst the male demographic vs. the category, Mitchum needed to inject some fresh thinking to grow awareness and sales amongst this target demographic. This is a story of how Mitchum gave gamers the power to skip a shower – and broke a world record while doing it. To hit ambitious goals for Mitchum, we knew we had to face into where the brand was under-performing vs. the category. The answer was a male audience. We found our audience are heavy gamers and a killer stat - 30% of Brits admit they have skipped a shower to play games! We were ready to set the ultimate challenge to break the Guinness World Record for “Longest Sports (Soccer) Video Game Marathon” and still smell fresh with Mitchum! Not only did we beat the World Record, but we also generated 15 million impressions, delivered 13 million video views, 790k live streams, and 469k engagements. Independent post campaign research catapulted the dial on brand metrics, awareness increased by 92%, consideration of Mitchum increased by 158%, more than doubling among the exposed audience and Mitchum moved from 7th place to 4th place within the competitor set.

More than a decade on from the launch of LEGO® Friends, the LEGO Group has re-imagined the LEGO Friends universe, with the introduction of new diverse characters, to enable more children to feel represented during play and to celebrate diverse friendships in the modern world. As part of the new LEGO Friends experience, the LEGO Friends team challenged Gameloft to create a space where digital friendships could flourish. With 51% of kids preferring gaming to TV, we realised that in order for us to engage them we needed to be inherently more interactive like the games they love. This led to the development of the LEGO Friends Heartlake Friendship Zone: A free immersive gaming experience on mobile and computers aimed at ages 6+ that allows children to craft avatars and helps foster interactions and friendships through quests and mini-games. True to the nature of the LEGO Friends franchise, the Heartlake Friendship Zone is a boundless digital game that encourages self-expression, creativity, and social skill development. It is a fun, positive gaming experience where diverse friendships are celebrated and nurtured. A year on from launch, the Heartlake Friendship Zone has welcomed 5+ million kids, positively engaging the kids gamer community and giving them a chance to play natively in a friendly gaming environment. 59% of kids wanted to know more about LEGO Friends, 28% loved interacting with other players and 50% intended to recommend the experience to their peer group, having played the gaming experience. Play it for yourselves: https://heartlakefriendshipzone.com

Trafalgar Square Takeover brought a brand new baseball experience to life in a 3-day fan festival, presenting existing and new fans with an exciting, fresh and interactive take on the game. To engage a younger and more diverse audience MLB wanted to bring baseball into the city. But the dimensions of a ballpark field make that almost impossible. Enter Home Run Derby X: The Cage - a dimension-defying baseball game that seamlessly blended reality and virtual gameplay. Using the latest ball-tracking technology, players smashed physical baseballs that were then digitally visualised soaring over Nelson’s Column and London’s skyline, all within an epic cage structure in the middle of the festival. A high-energy experience where fans got to watch explosive matchups between teams of MLB Legends, Superstars and Big Hitters from the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and St Louis Cardinals, all competing to be crowned champions. The Cage provided the perfect stage set for a live-streamed head-to-head battle in what turned out to be the most-watched content of this year’s London Series weekend. Delivering a new format, on new channels and engaging new fans to the brand all around the world, we successfully achieved the objective of taking all of the most compelling parts of the HRDX format - and found a way to execute them in a central city location, streamed to thousands of people. 64 matchups 574 Home Runs 36,000 watching IRL 512,000 unique live stream viewers

Natural Elements partnered with Twitch to educate 18-34-year-olds about their eleven natural supplements. Gamers love to collect power-ups for their avatars but often forget to prioritize their own well-being by consuming the vitamins, minerals, and nutrition they need. Recognizing gamers' tendency to prioritize their avatars over their own health, we provided four streamers and their communities the opportunity to boost themselves and their avatars in a 16-hour live speedrun competition. To promote self-care, a custom Minecraft map was developed where players could collect power-ups representing Natural Elements' ingredients. Throughout the 16-hour live event, four streamers journeyed through eleven realms to collect all the necessary ingredients with the help of their communities. The map was designed to illustrate to gamers how nature can benefit them while playing their favorite game. This experience provided valuable insights for both streamers and their communities, emphasizing the importance of caring for both their avatars and personal well-being.

The Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 marked a groundbreaking collaboration between Porsche and its partners within the esports realm. With the objective of leveraging brand awareness, engagement, and the global gaming community's enthusiasm, the competition unfolded as a thrilling showcase of speed, skill, and brand synergy. Set against the backdrop of Asphalt 9: Legends, the competition engaged players worldwide through a series of branded qualifying rounds, culminating in a spectacular finale in Barcelona. The strategic approach integrated seamless branding across the gaming experience, with Porsche's iconic cars dominating the tracks adorned with Porsche's partners branding. The immersive experience extended beyond the virtual realm, with a real Porsche branded car making a grand appearance at the finale, captivating both in-person and online audiences. Live streaming and interactive elements ensured maximum engagement, with participants vying for prestigious prizes. The results speak volumes of the competition's success, with a remarkable reach of 7.5 million and over 2.2 million unique participants. The high participation rate of 29% underscores the effective integration of branding and the compelling nature of the competition. Through exclusive branded content and lucrative prizes, the Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 not only elevated the gaming experience but also provided extensive brand exposure for Porsche and its partners within the gaming community. In summary, the Porsche Asphalt Series 2023 exemplifies the transformative potential of strategic partnerships and immersive branding in the esports landscape, showcasing the power of collaboration to captivate and engage audiences on a global scale.

COMEDY BEATS BORING: The brief: get new gamers (and lapsed players back) into Sea of Thieves. With this lofty objective in mind, we put our ear to the … water, with a concept of social listening + comedy = defusion. We listened to thousands of conversations around the title – grumbles, delights, disappointments, and general feedback from around the globe led us to a handful of golden insight nuggets. Tonally, Sea of Thieves has always been about fun. Sure, it's thrilling to battle sea monsters and get lost on the open ocean, but at its core, it's light, exciting, and heartwarming. We took all of these onboard as we set sail to combat frustrations with a transparent, tongue-in-cheek delivery and authentic proof points arising from all the latest updates and features, which players may have missed over the last half decade. BUILT FROM THE... SEA UP? We split the campaign strategy into "Hook, Line, and Sinker". These three distinct content routes played hugely unique parts across different social platforms for numerous audiences, and were all designed from the ground up to speak directly to our target groups. The result, in terms of content, was a high profile, high performing Hero Video, supported by smart cut-downs, bespoke edits, auxiliary content, and some of the biggest viewing figures we've seen for the client in recent years.

‘Data’. It’s amazing. Media agencies can do wonderful things with it, but it can also be pretty complicated. So, it’s not every day that we get to talk about using data to make things simpler, and that’s exactly what this entry is about. This is the story of how we used data to help TfL tell travellers arriving from all over the world about the ease and convenience of the new Elizabeth Line service from Heathrow Terminal 5. Real-time train data, live flight data, hundreds of flight arrivals, and thousands of creative variations in five different languages, all in the space of a few hundred square feet. We could talk here about dynamic creative, real-time data, or data synthesis – all very impressive. But really, this is a great example of an audience-focused use of data to create a really effective campaign, because the way we used data made the campaign more relevant and the messaging more useful. It doesn’t sound simple, yet the result was beautiful simplicity for millions of travellers – because it literally spoke their language.

Fare evasion on our railways costs the UK around £240 million a year, according to the Rail Delivery Group, the UK cross-industry body that represents passenger and freight rail companies. Money lost that could be reinvested into improving the network. Northern Trains found that they alone were losing £6 million in revenue each year due to passengers short-faring or skipping the ticket altogether. This loss is one to the taxpayer and means that money that should be re-invested back into rail services is lost. Fare dodging also erodes trust between paying passengers and rail companies, and staff needed help to curb tickles travel. Northern Trains needed to create a campaign to help deter fare evaders and persuade them into buying a ticket. However, with a small budget, this campaign needed to be as agile and targeted as possible. Our creative strategy needed to strike a balance between clear deterrent and encouraging purchase. This campaign needed the full power of teams across Northern. We came together to deliver a powerful campaign to deliver behaviour change. ‘No ticket, No excuse’ has become a rallying cry across the business for fairness and helping passengers avoid prosecution. In previous years, ticketless travel across the network was at 11%, through our work we’ve managed to bring this number down to 3.3%. Our work in 2023 has helped us save £2 million in what would have been lost revenue, so that we can continue to reinvest in our network.

The traditional commuter is dead. With flexible working and WFH the new normal, white-collar workers are exercising their newfound freedom. But did you know 60% of jobs in the North aren’t office based? This statistic was the catalyst for an industry-first approach from Northern Trains; to speak to often overlooked professions to encourage them to rethink their everyday travel habits. From doctors to construction workers, beauticians to baristas, the aim was to show these sectors that the train can work for them, whatever their workday. Northern set out with a campaign persuading them to simply, ‘Try the Train’, promoting advance tickets to get to work for less for the first time, not just the traditional season ticket. Key to this campaign was reaching these potential new commuters on their current commutes. Through strategic OOH at roadsides, radio, TV and digital, paired with tactical offer billboards, we were able to create disruption and show them that there was a better way to travel to work. Our key campaign aim was to help build back commuter revenue to pre pandemic levels and we’ve significantly grown recovery from a static 70% to 76% of pre pandemic levels. We’ve also pushed train commuting into a new era, one defined by choice and the ability to plan ahead, leaving the old ways behind.

How do you make sure that your annual campaign doesn’t drown in a sea of tweets and news, positive and negative, created by NHS 75th birthday? “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”. In NIHR’s collective experience, the NHS 70th birthday was huge. After COVID, during a period of strikes and with an election looming, the NHS 75th was only going to be bigger. These challenges created an opportunity; to use the outpour of love for the NHS to highlight how research changes healthcare and to recruit volunteers for studies in health and social care. The objectives were: increase the number of volunteer registrations by 15% in May 2023 and ensure that 10% of all #NHS75 tweets mentioned “research” or #BePartOfResearch. Did we achieve this? Yes. The number of registrations grew by 30%. The number of tweets mentioning research reached 43% in May and 12% in June. We did this using a variety of channels; paid, earned, shared and owned. More importantly, we produced campaign content that created an emotional response, adding storytelling and vulnerability to every single campaign product. The campaign achieved a remarkable result. We made the audience teary and emotional. But tears and reflections turned into hope and a sense of community. The story of Stephen Cossins, “Grandad with cancer 'all over his body' cured without chemo” generated 7,000 shares on Facebook. A record number of volunteers signed up to Be Part of Research. We gave the public an opportunity to act on their feelings, they took it.

By 2023, the installation of new Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) along the railways of South Wales was underway. The construction of electric wires would pave the way for new trains, designed to be smoother, quieter and more environmentally friendly. This project would be great news for everyone…well, apart from teenage boys, that is. Between 2021 and 2022, there were around 1000 cases of teenagers trespassing on railway lines around the valleys. Usually this involved young lads mucking about, daring each other to run across tracks. Now, teenage mischief is inevitable– but this particular mischief resulted in 15 deaths in one year. And that’s before any electrification. With OLE on the way, Transport for Wales needed to communicate the increased risk of trespassing – with 25,000 volts of overhead electricity, what was once a fun game might be the end game for local teenagers. Our campaign went where most people don’t want to go – into the minds of teenage boys. We uncovered what drives their appetite for risk and how best to curb their enthusiasm for danger. Rather than focusing on safety messages, we piggy-backed on stuff that interested them – namely social media and the world pre-loved clothing. Our ‘No Second Chances’ campaign delivered hard hitting messages through fake fashion ads and a popup shop. The campaign was a huge success. Awareness of the new track electrification shot up by 17% in a few weeks and we saw a 50% drop in trespassing between 2022-2023.

NHS Blood and Transplant have an urgent shortage of paediatric organ donors, with 233 children on the waiting list for a transplant. The Waiting to Live campaign made this invisible wait public, telling the real-life stories of children seeking a lifesaving donation. The campaign, which launched in November 2023, centred around an emotive stunt in waiting rooms across the country. 233 bespoke dolls, representing individual children, appeared in hospitals and GP surgeries. Visitors were able to scan a QR code to learn more about the children's stories and register as organ donors. The installation was accompanied by OOH, TV, press, and influencer, generating over 1.5 billion impressions through earned media alone.

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week highlights the critical importance in attending your cervical screening when invited. In 2024, we can effectively say we now have a method of preventing cancer by use of a HPV vaccine however due to the prevalence of HPV in this demographic, this group still requires regular screening. Our challenge was to reach communities who currently don’t engage with cervical screening and provide a deeper understanding to these groups to debunk the common misconceptions in the hope that we can change behaviour to have these women choose to attend. The campaign broke away from traditional NHS campaigns which use shove and scare tactics, to one where we sat down and created a national conversation using straight-talking trusted celebrities of what actually is cervical screening and how important it is, as well as addressing key questions that are never answered but are relevant to marginalised groups. Using digital platforms primarily, we went out across Meta, Snapchat, Tiktok, SkyVOD, News & Health Sites, as well as reaching our underrepresented groups across Tinder, capturing a huge audience of the back of January dating season, whilst reaching health conscious people across 140 low-cost gyms across the city of London. The campaign was huge success which generated national attention when launched attracting over 6.7 million reach in a week with national NHS data showing an uplift of 9.3% in cervical screening examinations. The campaign's legacy will help in the NHS’s goals of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040.

Every so often a product comes along that has the power to genuinely change people’s lives for the better. 1-in-2 post-menopausal women suffer from vaginal atrophy, but many suffer in silence. This shocking statistic is the driving force behind our launch campaign. We needed to break the taboo to get people talking about vaginal atrophy and how to treat it - to each other, to their families, and to their pharmacist. So we set out to create a ‘quiet revolution’ - empowering women to spread the word peer to peer, friend to friend – asking the question, “have you heard about Gina?” It’s a conversation starter... an invitation to engage. Different to anything else in the category... it shows women that they’re not alone. 

Dentures have always been associated with one thing: being old. Advertising hasn’t helped – perpetuating clichés of old people biting into apples with misty-lensed smiles. Truth is, 1 in 5 adults wears dentures globally, with the average age of New Denture Wearers being 45*. Unsurprisingly, 45-year-olds don’t think of themselves as old. With declining sales and low brand relevance, Polident (and the whole category) faced a huge challenge. So, to engage a generation of alienated customers, as market leaders, we overhauled our entire strategy to transform the category. Based on the human truth that our mouths are constantly giving us signals when something is wrong, Polident created If Your Mouth Could Talk, It Would Ask For Polident. By showing mouths calling out to their owners to ask for better care, we spoke to denture wearers like never before in the industry’s history – making their own mouths the ultimate expert of their oral health, as well as ambassadors for the brand. We smashed decades of category stigma - swapping out lab coats for mouth characters, 75-year-olds for 45-year-olds and category clichés for Dracula – all with a charmingly cheeky humour that flies in the face of stiff, saccharin denture advertising. The results? • 100% ad breakthrough • Up to 96% purchase intent • +25% growth in Europe – 2x the rest of the category • +17% growth globally - 1.5x the rest of the category *Based on US data.

Natural Elements partnered with Twitch to educate 18-34-year-olds about their eleven natural supplements. Gamers love to collect power-ups for their avatars but often forget to prioritize their own well-being by consuming the vitamins, minerals, and nutrition they need. Recognizing gamers' tendency to prioritize their avatars over their own health, we provided four streamers and their communities the opportunity to boost themselves and their avatars in a 16-hour live speedrun competition. To promote self-care, a custom Minecraft map was developed where players could collect power-ups representing Natural Elements' ingredients. Throughout the 16-hour live event, four streamers journeyed through eleven realms to collect all the necessary ingredients with the help of their communities. The map was designed to illustrate to gamers how nature can benefit them while playing their favorite game. This experience provided valuable insights for both streamers and their communities, emphasizing the importance of caring for both their avatars and personal well-being.

We turned an insight around the the deep-rooted societal bias against women’s pain into a simple but powerful multi-channel campaign, delivering a market share increase in a declining market. ​

SUMMARY More than 140000 people in Italy suffer from multiple sclerosis, yet its symptoms are often invisible. With the help of A.I., we finally made them visible. We listened to the stories of people who suffer from MS, and inserted their symptoms, as they described them, into an A.I. text-to-image generator. The A.I. generated surreal and exaggerated images, which we showed everybody through open air and digital exhibitions. Any person suffering from MS could become part of the digital exhibition, by uploading a picture of themselves and a short description of how they feel. In the end, millions of people finally saw what this invisible disease really looks like. This campaign brought the issue to the attention of many parliamentarians who signed a bill of rights of people suffering from MS, an important step in making them feel truly seen.

Boots is an instantly recognisable high street retailer, but in the eye care category Boots Opticians are a challenger fighting for attention. This is up against a category leader with a strong brand and a heritage of famous advertising. As a business, we needed to meet short-term sales targets while also building brand equity longer-term, raising the key question of whether both these objectives can be met in the same campaign. Added to this challenge was a category in decline (reduced eye test bookings) due to the cost-of-living crisis, where we were out-spent on promotional activity. By subverting category conventions – flipping the norm of problem-solution, avoiding negativity and prioritising emotional power over functional benefits – we found success, leveraging the powerful social and emotional influences on consumer purchase decisions. The resulting campaign, See Every Detail, brought to life all the positive possibilities of eye care by focusing in on the intimate social connections vision supports between loved ones. Original, distinctive and ownable, while building on our broader brand platform: See What’s Possible. In the campaign period, eye tests increased by 3.4% YoY, delivering 3 weeks of record sales, while brand perceptions increased across the board: quality, value, impression and likelihood to recommend. We delivered against sales objectives and our larger brand goals, proving that campaigns can deliver in both the short and long term. The campaign is also testament to the enduring power of emotive consumer truths as foundation of creative effectiveness.

In a bold and visionary move, Voltarol utilized its steadfast commitment to Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DE&I) in 2023 to catapult VoltarolNaturals, a new entrant, into the fiercely competitive natural-based remedies market. The campaign innovatively married TV and social content, targeting 'Body Pain Sufferers' through a strategic alignment with Channel 4 and Gay Times, with the Rugby World Cup as the focal point. The heart of the campaign was a powerful four-part documentary, 'My Right To Move: The Unity Ball,' championing inclusivity in rugby and society at large. Revolutionary campaign elements, such as an 'Amplify Unit' and sampling through Ad tech partner GemzAtWork, emphasized Voltarol's commitment to innovation. The campaign's impact was staggering for a new product launch: we narrowed the competitive gap, increased consideration to 64%, and most impressively contributed towards +19% sales growth. A strategic alliance with LadBible expanded the campaign's footprint, through additional social content, while independent research corroborated the effectiveness of the chosen partners. Legacy? Meet the 'Unity Ball'— a physical symbol of inclusivity we sent to grassroots’ teams nationwide. A seismic success, VoltarolNaturals will now leave an indelible mark on DE&I and its category through every pass. This trailblazing campaign has put Voltarol on the map for future event sponsorships, fortifying the brand's commitment to 'More Than Movement.’

To spark a new, less scary public health conversation about hearing loss with zero paid budget, Specsavers turned one of the most famously misheard songs into the world’s first mass hearing test by re-recording Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up with the lyrics people have been mishearing for years, then ‘Rick-Rolling’ the UK by releasing it without explanation to make Brits question their ears. Driving a national conversation around hearing loss, over 20 million organic social plays in 8 hours, blanket media coverage and a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings.

We were tasked with elevating Rightmove's TikTok presence and amplifying brand awareness of the "Believe It" tagline among first-time buyers and renters. We know that our Gen Z audience are primarily using TikTok for search, so we showcased Rightmove's offerings on the app by creating content that resonated with all stages of the rental to purchase journey. Understanding Gen Z preferences on TikTok was pivotal. Users seek relatable content that entertains and informs. By tapping into existing communities and aligning with their interests, we forged connections through engaging content. We adopted a dual posting strategy to drive awareness of Rightmove's TikTok channel, collaborating with a diverse group of creators with over 2.5 million combined followers. Each creator delivered organic content with a CTA to follow Rightmove for part two. The second piece of content was posted through the Rightmove channel and boosted to reach a wider audience. Exceeding expectations, our campaign achieved exceptional growth and engagement metrics. Rightmove's TikTok channel saw an extraordinary 1127% follower growth from 1.4K to 17.2K over the 4.5 week period –ranking among the top 1% of growing accounts. The campaign garnered 1.1 million engagements and reached 139.3k people, surpassing these targets. Meanwhile our CPE outperformed industry benchmarks, reaffirming the campaign's success in resonating with our audience. Our campaign effectively leveraged TikTok to drive brand awareness and expand Rightmove's audience. Through diverse creator collaborations and engaging content, we successfully connected with our target audience to attain an overwhelmingly positive sentiment and exceeded reach and engagement expectations.

Who doesn’t love a good challenge? To celebrate the release of the brand-new series of David Mitchell’s Outsiders on Dave channel, the Social team delivered a dynamic, challenge-fuelled influencer campaign on Tik Tok. To drum up awareness around the show, Dave set the influencers a series of at-home tasks and invited them to prove their survival skills by taking part in a perilous Tik Tok game (produced in-house at UKTV). The campaign was made up of 1 show, 7 influencers, 3 challenges, 1 game and produced 168,000+ engagements and 11.5 million views: making it one of UKTV’s best ever influencer campaigns to date.

With declining brand metrics and sales amongst the male demographic vs. the category, Mitchum needed to inject some fresh thinking to grow awareness and sales amongst this target demographic. This is a story of how Mitchum gave gamers the power to skip a shower – and broke a world record while doing it. To hit ambitious goals for Mitchum, we knew we had to face into where the brand was under-performing vs. the category. The answer was a male audience. We found our audience are heavy gamers and a killer stat - 30% of Brits admit they have skipped a shower to play games! We were ready to set the ultimate challenge to break the Guinness World Record for “Longest Sports (Soccer) Video Game Marathon” and still smell fresh with Mitchum! Not only did we beat the World Record, but we also generated 15 million impressions, delivered 13 million video views, 790k live streams, and 469k engagements. Independent post campaign research catapulted the dial on brand metrics, awareness increased by 92%, consideration of Mitchum increased by 158%, more than doubling among the exposed audience and Mitchum moved from 7th place to 4th place within the competitor set.

How do you celebrate a brand’s birthday whilst also challenging negative perceptions of their industry? In 2023, Arla celebrated 25 years of Cravendale; their milk and dairy based brand that stays "Fresher for Longer". They wanted to use this opportunity to drive awareness and engagement with the brand, reach new younger audiences, communicate their messaging, and importantly, showcase the brand's farmer-first values, dispelling some of the misconceptions around the dairy industry today. They enlisted social-first marketing agency, The Goat Agency, to help. Goat created an incredible social campaign featuring two well-known but very different creators; Big Zuu and Kaleb Cooper (of Clarkson's Farm fame). Goat hosted a 25th birthday party on a real, working Cravendale farm, inviting Zuu and Kaleb as hosts. There they created high quality and social-first content for channels like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Kaleb took on the role of teacher and represented Cravendale’s farmers, whilst Big Zuu represented Cravendale’s audience; people who don’t know much about the farming/dairy industry but is still highly relevant as a foodie creator and recipe book author. The content created was then used in both organic and paid media, allowing us to tap into Zuu and Kaleb's audiences whilst also reaching new people through performance-led targeting. The results were incredible driving 18 million impressions (vs 15 million KPI), 5 million video views (vs 4 million KPI), 39% view through rate (vs 26% KPI) and 42,000 clicks to the Arla website.

LUSH is a handmade vegetarian and cruelty-free cosmetics brand with products available to purchase online and in stores across the globe. The LUSH brand is well known for producing colorful, creative, and interactive product lines, from long-standing best sellers to limited edition seasonal ranges. During the 2023 holiday season, LUSH released 3 limited time only product ranges; Lord of Misrule in October for Halloween, Snow Fairy in November, and Intergalactic in December. To showcase the artistic, and cosmetic delights across these three seasons, LUSH turned to Digital Voices to produce an influencer campaign that would engage UK and North American audiences with their enchanting products. Having previously seen success producing the influencer campaign for LUSH’s Lazy Oaf collaboration, Digital Voices’ was perfectly aligned with LUSH’s goals. We were primed to partner with influencers who would authentically and seamlessly integrate LUSH into their content. Influencer content across YouTube and Pinterest was posted between September and December 2023. Encouraging consumers to head to the LUSH website to purchase their holiday gifts, or visit their local LUSH store to try before they buy. We guaranteed 1.4 million views across all influencer content, and as of the reporting period, impressions had soared to 6.3 million. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the perfect alignment of the influencers with the vibrant, unconventional spirit of the LUSH brand, embodying its unique essence in every aspect.

How do you keep teens playing with NERF? How do you make Gen Z men want to have a NERF battle with their mates? NERF had to show up differently and taking cues from adult immersive play experiences & shooter games, we enrolled YouTube titans, Beta Squad, in a content partnership to create a heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping NERF "Hide n Seek" battleground. Infiltrating TikTok, we partnered with a dynamic cast of influencers who injected their own energy, from football trick shots to hilarious pranks. The result? NERF dominated online and trended on YouTube. The creative, engaging content resonated deeply, sparking excitement for NERF Pro Gelfire blasters. NERF had grown up.

OBJECTIVE We needed to make people aware of Oatly and their Semi Skimmed product and encourage the audience to try it out instead of milk. Not just as a drink but as a milk replacement in all instances. Well, almost all instances. IDEA Oatly isn’t afraid of being honest. For example, their Oatly Semi Skimmed is the perfect milk alternative most times... but it probably doesn’t work in all instances. And they’re not afraid of admitting that, which became the big idea: Oatly Works In (Almost) Everything. STRATEGY & EXECUTION To deliver this message online, they needed an authentic channel: content creators on social media. We sourced 46 creators to reach our broad audience range across seven EU markets. Our diverse creator selection reflected the audience’s diverse passions e.g. magicians, comedians, anime artists and traditional foodie creators. We collaborated with some of the biggest names in the social (and IRL) food scene to really put Oatly on the map. From breakfast to chai, tingly ASMR to sumptuous cinematography, milk rolls to national dishes it was all delicious. Well, not all. One creator presented an instance when our oat-based alternative just wasn’t the right ingredient. The audience appreciated creators’ honesty and Oatly being open to the truth - a refreshing treat for social media. RESULTS 13.1M organic Views. 2.8 years (1,047 days) of Playtime. Or the time it takes to hand milk 300,000 cows. 11.48M Reach 788K total Engagements 97.7k Link clicks And @Poppycook’s video went VIRAL with 7.8M organic Views!

YouTube briefed THE FIFTH to increase brand love and engagement on the platform by producing and promoting YouTube Edition: a content series that spotlights the UK’s favourite creators’ favourite creators, helping Gen Z audiences to discover their new fav creators. THE FIFTH were tasked with producing six x three-minute episodes, shaking up the original format. To make the content feel more native to the platform, the strategy was to move away from the studio-produced high production from season one, to authentic content created directly by our hero creators. The campaign included both online and offline communication and PR activity, integrating influencer marketing with guerrilla marketing style flypostering and digital stickering, culminating in an event. Our approach started with deep talent research to find six hero creators who were diverse, had a high UK Gen Z audience on YouTube and Instagram, and ultimately were followed by fellow creators. Each video featured our hero creators presenting to the camera in their usual style. They introduced 4-5 of their favourite up and coming creators, showcasing snippets of their content. The campaign was a huge success. Over four weeks, we saw 216 pieces of content go live with a mix of long form videos, Shorts, Instagram Stories, Reels, Carousels and Live streams. The series received 22M YouTube video views, 55M Instagram impressions, an average engagement rate above 5% and a cumulative 572K engagements.

To spark a new, less-scary public health conversation about hearing loss with zero paid media budget, Specsavers worked with musician & internet icon, Rick Astley, to Rick-Roll the nations ears. Re-recording his famously misheard song 'Never Gonna Give You Up' with the lyrics people have been mishearing for years, then releasing it across social and radio with no explanation as the world's first Mass Hearing Test. Driving a national conversation around hearing loss, over 20 million organic social plays in 8 hours, blanket media coverage and a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings. Changing the future of the nations ears.

University is a core moment for Gen Z in which their identities are formed - where they face big questions surrounding sexuality, preferences and interests, and currently feel a lack of support in guiding them through this chaotic and turbulent time. As Tinder’s priority is to shift perceptions of their app by forging authentic and meaningful relationships with their audience, the solution we identified was to establish Tinder as the companion to Gen Z’s journey of self-discovery at University. Our ‘Embrace Every New Experience’ campaign aimed to establish authentic connections to the Gen Z audience through leveraging micro-influencers across multiple channels to show how Tinder understands what students are going through. The campaign aimed to bring to life the core values of adventure, connection, empowerment, diversity and spontaneity - particularly focusing on allowing Gen Z to explore their dating preferences and embrace the chaos that comes with dating at this age. Our campaign comprised three key channels, all featuring student micro-influencers to create authentic content - TikTok creators, OOH and an owned channel content series ‘Tinder House’, where six single students lived together for a week to forge meaningful connections. The series opened up conversations around sexuality and identity, normalising the fluidity of the student dating experience. Students created their own content to tell their Tinder dating stories at University with their own perspectives. Our campaign really resonated with Gen Z, with viral content and OOH reaching 28.61m, and Tinder House alone generating a reach of 12.5m.

Virtual reality headsets had a perception problem. Most people, even our tech savvy target audience Gen Z, saw them as complex and irrelevant. In a world where people are looking to experience as much as possible, a headset that cut you off from reality didn’t fit the bill. The launch of the Meta Quest 3, the world’s first mass market, competitively priced, mixed reality (MR) headset, fixed that problem. No more retreating from reality, no more isolation, people would now be able to blend their physical and virtual worlds seamlessly. But explaining MR at scale wasn’t easy. With little opportunity for trial, we had to rely on media to describe one of the headset’s most indescribable features. We needed a campaign that mirrored what the headset could do, that literally dramatised its power whilst shaking the public’s perceptions. At Halloween, when Gen Z would be on the lookout for the most immersive scares possible, we turned one of the most well understood, but least interactive formats - OOH - into an exploratory experience that you could literally step into. We amplified the experience across other 2D media channels with similarly immersive and reality bending creative. At every campaign touchpoint we took something singular in dimension and non exploratory and turned it into something that blurred the lines between the physical world and imagination. Both in person and across social, influencer and earned, our campaign didn’t just tell people about the new headset, it showed them.

In a grey UK summer (both metaphorically AND meteorologically), we created an entertainment campaign that placed the Barbie movie’s positivity and playfulness at the heart of British pop culture – on the streets, on social media, in entertainment, in music, in retail and beyond. Through the entire campaign, every touchpoint was designed to either place the movie – and its trademark Pink – into popular culture or create a moment where the British movie audience could place themselves into the pop culture moment that was being created around the movie. The result? An integrated campaign that delivered a fantastic ROAS and a movie that became Warner Bros.’ biggest UK box office release EVER.

At the Guardian, we know that the two most frequently cited factors stopping people from supporting us is that they think we’re too expensive and we’re free. Yet, people continue reading our journalism – because they know they can trust our rigorous, facts-first approach. This creates a compelling challenge. How can we persuade people that even (or especially) in an economic crisis, it is vitally important that an independent, open news source is not only available, but worth paying for? We looked to our existing supporter base to understand their motivations for contributing to the Guardian. Those reasons are: our independence, the quality of our journalism, and the fact that it remains free to access. Equipped with these insights, we created a new internal vision: that we are open to all, funded by many, beholden to no one. From this we built a new campaign, with Lucky Generals, that sought to educate our readers on the fact that we are not for sale. Editorially, September 2023 was a landmark moment for the Guardian. We launched the Europe Edition of our website, meaning increased editorial coverage for our European readers. It was the perfect time to launch our global support campaign. We worked with PHD to create a media strategy and plan which achieved a reach of 94m and increased organic search by +476%. Working in coordination with our Europe Edition launch, we combined paid channels and owned channels to speak to both loyal readers and new audiences, to drive support.

Audaciously transforming the 16-25 Railcard into a vibrant essential for university students, Spark Foundry leveraged gaming insights to design an immersive, non-intrusive trainline for Rail Delivery Group in the Roblox universe. Targeting the digitally native demographic, our innovative digital train service, complete with branded elements and rewards, seamlessly connected various gamers travelling between Roblox worlds while reinforcing Railcard as the ultimate travel companion.

Results from M&S's first-party research revealed that 90% of customers prioritised taste and the origin of food over price, offering the company a unique understanding and competitive edge. This insight paved the way for the Farm to Foodhall initiative. Collaborating with Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, M&S launched their most extensive fresh produce campaign, spotlighting high animal welfare standards, notably their exclusive 100% RSPCA-assured milk production, through a compelling narrative. In a world-first, the campaign went beyond traditional CGI in 3D out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Filming exclusively on-location and in-camera, the team showcased a real M&S dairy farm. This first of its kind method involved intricate layer-by-layer focus and stitching, creating an authentic and immersive viewing experience. At the campaign's core was Daisy the cow, meticulously prepared for calm and confident on-camera presence, resulting in a playful and interactive representation of M&S's commitment to ethical practices. Displayed on prominent digital screens in major UK urban centres, the initiative set a new standard in OOH, resonating authentically with urban audiences, and positively impacting perceptions among UK adults, as evidenced by internal tracking and YouGov data. This campaign not only made a notable mark in a competitive market but also delivered substantial business results, showcasing M&S's commitment to innovation and ethical values.

There is a tension at the heart of media decarbonisation - the most sustainable media plan is no media plan. If our only advice to clients is that in order to decarbonise their media plan they need to ‘do less media’, this ignores the effect that we’re trying to drive for them. Wavemaker’s market-leading Eco-Effectiveness approach fuses Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) data and carbon emissions data to create a new optimisation currency – Return on Carbon (ROC). ROC allows us, for the first time, to look at the emissions of the plan in the context of the effect that plan drives. Quantifying ROC demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for media decarbonisation, and we needed to find a way to decarbonise each and every client’s plan. So, we built the Eco-Effectiveness optimiser, enabling teams to utilise bespoke MMM data and benchmarks to create scenarios tailored to individual brands. These scenarios illustrate how they can decarbonise their media plan by up to 43% and maintain, or often boost, ROI. Rather than an abstract concept, this innovative tangible solution is meaningfully changing our client conversations around decarbonisation and ultimately the impact on their ROI.

In a world of escalating media costs, loss of data visibility, increased competition and changeable buying habits, dynamic brands need innovative ways to maximise the potential of search. In their quest to elevate their brand - as well as achieve a target of 5% growth in search revenues - premier jewellery and accessory brand, Swarovski, partnered with global performance marketing business, Jellyfish, to launch an integrated media search campaign. United in their approach, they knew that PPC and SEO work better together to achieve these key goals. In fact, within 18 months, Jellyfish and Swarovski transformed their global search performance across 38 markets, driving more revenue, through less media investment, achieving greater search ROI. Jellyfish and Swarovski worked closely throughout the campaign to align the brand’s search channels (PPC & SEO) through an innovative One Search media strategy, looking at category, campaign, landing-page or keyword-level data to discover new opportunities for growth. Together with Swarovski’s performance marketing team, Jellyfish built the One Search strategy around three core pillars; Technology, Talent & Process. This enabled them to move away from siloed search delivery to an integrated One Search model that included: Search Incrementality experiments Optimising online content strategy using performance insights Perfecting product launches and peak moments Dynamic investment model to accelerate acquisition Today, Swarovski can ‘own’ more of the consumer search experience and be more relevant, while enjoying: -14% YoY reduction in paid search media investment +19% YoY incremental growth in one search revenue +16% YoY growth in website traffic

The Pub has been the spiritual home of the UK for centuries. So why, during the most dispiriting month of the year, are pubs sat empty? With so many great alcohol-free options, Dry Jan doesn’t have to be a quiet month at your local. This January, Lucky Saint got Brits back into the pub without breaking their Dry January, proclaiming…Thou Shalt Go To The Pub! Partnering with one of the UK’s biggest pub groups, Mitchells and Butlers, Lucky Saint vowed to giveaway thousands of pints in January. The campaign ran across targeted OOH 6-sheets as well as paid social. The Brief: Dry Jan is Lucky Saint’s time to shine. The brand believes that the greatest reward of drinking is the social connection, not the alcohol. Driving draught listings is a focus. The problem? Pubs hate Dry Jan. Why support a month where people don’t drink? Since 2000 a quarter of all pubs have been forced to close, with the situation only worsening during Covid and January being the hardest month of all for hospitality. How could Lucky Saint support the hospitality sector, bring in customers and gain taps? The Solution: Lucky Saint proclaimed: Thou Shalt Go To The Pub, partnering with pub group M&B, to give away 10,000 pints. Lucky Saint located posters close to pubs, ran individual creative with the pub’s name and address and included a QR code to scan for a free pint. The campaign also ran on paid social.

Movember wanted to raise awareness around men’s mental health on World Suicide Prevention Day to educate people on the signs that may indicate someone is struggling with their mental health whilst giving people the tools and knowledge to reach out to them to prevent them getting to crisis point. As a charity most known for the initiative ‘Movember’ we knew we had to be bold to make an impact and so through research, identified two ways to reach our audience: infiltrating the culture they love: sport and digital channels. We crafted a two-pronged approach starting with a partnership with two northern football clubs (where male suicide in the UK is highest) to turn empty season ticket seats into a powerful message - ‘Where’s my mate?’ - to encourage people to look around and see who’s missing, as well as a QR code to direct them to helpful literature on Movember’s website. We captured pictures, and worked with club spokesperson for interview opportunities, to further reach. Then, on WSPD itself, we helped Movember become the first ever charity to use the news push notification via MailOnline to convey a message to 1.8 million, reading ‘How’s your mate?’. The notification took people through to an article with info and tools on how to support a loved one who may be struggling.

Audaciously transforming the 16-25 Railcard into a vibrant essential for university students, Spark Foundry leveraged gaming insights to design an immersive, non-intrusive trainline for Rail Delivery Group in the Roblox universe. Targeting the digitally native demographic, our innovative digital train service, complete with branded elements and rewards, seamlessly connected various gamers travelling between Roblox worlds while reinforcing Railcard as the ultimate travel companion.

Binance is the world’s largest crypto-exchange, the backbone of the web3 economy. To them, the metaverse isn’t a novelty, it’s their reality. With their success deeply intertwined, for Binance to grow they needed to galvanize the next generation of metaverse innovators. Their existing incubator programme, for metaverse entrepreneurs to apply for investment, worked well for direct recipients but made no impact on the wider ecosystem. This is something Binance needed to change. They came to Tommy for an idea that would disrupt the disruptors and put all eyes on their incubator scheme. Reaching these tech-obsessed crypto-heads, Tommy needed to understand this new thriving micro-community and create a truly original idea to win them over. Frustrated with technical, boring brand approaches, the metaverse community were desperate for their own source of entertainment and between the daily fights on X, that community loves one thing above all else - drama. So that’s what we gave them. A first of its kind reality show directly from the metaverse. Taking place in a beautifully crafted virtual production studio, this pitch-style show saw 12 major startups compete in front of a live audience and a judging panel of web3 experts to win a prize of 2 million dollars in investment! The action was then streamed over 7 episodes on Binance’s own channels and YouTube to over 370 millions viewers. Driving conversation, inspiration, and excitement, this was the biggest event you’ve never heard of. For the metaverse community, however, it was their moment to shine.

‘Data’. It’s amazing. Media agencies can do wonderful things with it, but it can also be pretty complicated. So, it’s not every day that we get to talk about using data to make things simpler, and that’s exactly what this entry is about. This is the story of how we used data to help TfL tell travellers arriving from all over the world about the ease and convenience of the new Elizabeth Line service from Heathrow Terminal 5. Real-time train data, live flight data, hundreds of flight arrivals, and thousands of creative variations in five different languages, all in the space of a few hundred square feet. We could talk here about dynamic creative, real-time data, or data synthesis – all very impressive. But really, this is a great example of an audience-focused use of data to create a really effective campaign, because the way we used data made the campaign more relevant and the messaging more useful. It doesn’t sound simple, yet the result was beautiful simplicity for millions of travellers – because it literally spoke their language.

Coca-Cola is iconic but faced a challenge with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Despite its excellent taste, Coca-Cola needed to grow their existing Gen Z audience, who were increasingly trialling emerging brands. The goal was to make Coca-Cola Zero Sugar as loved amongst Gen Z as Original Taste is to its established audience. Coca-Cola needed to make the jump from media prompt to grocery trial short and immediate. For this we helped Coca-Cola launch the #TakeATaste campaign to drive trial by using out of home, tech, social media, influencers, and retail to surround Gen Z in layers of communication - all leading to trial. We used cutting-edge AR technology allowing users to interact with DOOH through their mobiles, serving savi’s mobile coupons for free Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in local Tesco stores. The strategy was twofold: visually captivating media with user-friendly interfaces and enticing consumers to trial in store with a coupon. Results surpassed benchmarks fivefold, outperforming like-for-like redemption records by an astonishing 17 times, and eclipsing the all-time redemption record by an impressive 2.5 times. Amongst Gen Z a whopping 57% who saw the ads said they would choose Coca-Cola Zero Sugar over other carbonated drinks compared to 34% saying the same amongst a non-exposed audience, showing the effectiveness of the campaign.

What is more important to you right now? Saving money or saving the planet? The cost-of-living crisis has rapidly shifted consumer priorities away from the long-term and altruistic needs of sustainability and the environment to the immediate personal pressures of putting food on the table and heating the family home (Source: Goodstuff Cost of Living Dashboard/YouGov June 2023). OVO Energy (OVO’s) Power Move product provides eco-conscious customers a way to do both, by rewarding them for shifting their energy use from when the National Grid relies on fossil fuels at peak times, to when it is fuelled by a higher proportion of renewable energy. To support OVO’s Power Move initiative, The Greener Grid platform was created - the world’s first programmatically traded digital out of home (DOOH) campaign connected to National Grid data, informing the nation in real-time when their energy use would be most sustainable, whilst also reducing the carbon impact of the campaign’s media activity. The Greener Grid programmatic DOOH activation ran alongside a multi-channel campaign for Power Move which included emails and paid social, creating a cohesive and powerful message to the nation.

Laughter truly is the best medicine. And Audible, as the home of comedy storytelling, is the pharmacy. Our campaign aimed to showcase Audible’s awesome library of top-tier comedy talent and position Audible as the ultimate prescriber of life-affirming comedy content. We showcased comedy’s ability to make a terrible day immeasurably better, through visceral OOH executions which brought the brand position to life, and a hilarious AV ad targeted to the mundane moments in the day when our audience would be reflecting on their mishaps. We not only grabbed the attention of the industry, but captured the imagination of our audience with significant increases in interest for our comedy content throughout the duration of the campaign (+133% increase in listeners month on month).

Tennent's isn't just Scotland’s No. 1 lager – it’s a cultural icon. It’s kept things fresh for almost 140 years, powerfully connecting with generations of drinkers in culturally significant ways. Yet inconsistency, and a focus on entertainment over quality, had damaged the brand’s overall health scores and sales. Tennent's tasked us with developing new brand positioning and an ATL campaign that would win new hearts and create lasting impact. By delving into the Scottish psyche, and determinedly focusing on the quality of the lager, we communicated provenance and taste through culture like only Tennent's can – boosting brand health and outstripping our competitors. And we did these big things with one little word that holds cultural significance in Scotland. OOOFT! We created an iconic TV ad, but faced with broadcast media budgets during peak summer, OOH was a must-win channel. Creative put Tennent’s thirst appeal front-and-centre, using ultra-macro photography of carbonation and condensation in pints and cans to create the word ‘OOOFT’. We bolstered this with large-scale OOH of pints with typography that matched the anticipation of that refreshing first sip. From high-footfall building wraps across Glasgow and Edinburgh to Rugby World Cup tactical down to the trams that transported fans to Murrayfield – it hit the spot. Campaign creative was recalled by 1 in 3 Scots and spontaneous brand awareness increased from 50% to 63% amongst their target audience. Crucially, brand health jumped to record highs and Tennent’s share grew to almost 30% within on and off-trade channels combined.

In 2023, we changed the Christmas story – ensuring Pepsi Max was unmissable vs competitors over the festive period. This was the most multi-faceted OOH campaign that Talon has executed for PepsiCo over the last 10 years, using as many of OOH’s brilliant formats as you can think of to deliver our better with Pepsi Max message. With a major shift to experience OOH, we blended formats and creative OOH to deliver Pepsi Max’s best performing Christmas ever with Pepsi Max’s market share significantly increasing YoY! Christmas and OOH - better with Pepsi Max!

Butterkist is the market leader where popcorn is concerned, but microwavable was letting the side down, leading to a decline in sales. To stabilise we created moments of mid-week joy when people needed it most, by turning DOOH sites across the UK into giant multi-sensory microwaves!

Columbia embarked on a strategic mission to solidify its position as the top choice for outdoor activities and gear ahead of the winter holidays in Europe. Collaborating with Displayce DSP and Spinnn agency, Columbia executed a crafted pDOOH campaign targeting audiences preparing for winter adventures as part of its Speak Mountain global campaign. The campaign unfolded in two phases: the Warm Campaign (November to December 2023) and the Ski Campaign (December 2023 to January 2024). Designed to resonate with consumers aged 25-55 during the pivotal winter season, the Warm Campaign aimed to boost brand awareness, while the Ski Campaign focused on driving purchase intentions. Covering five countries - France, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Germany - Columbia strategically placed its messaging across 5,764 locations, including urban panels, train stations, metro stations, and bus shelters. By leveraging temperature-triggered programmatic activations, Columbia ensured its ads appeared when the outside temperature dropped below 8 degrees, aligning seamlessly with consumers' winter preparations. The results were outstanding, surpassing objectives in both awareness and consideration. The campaign generated 71,396,417 impressions and 7,802,059 plays across all markets. A brand lift survey conducted by Happydemics revealed a significant increase in brand awareness, with an average uplift of 25 points across all markets. Notable achievements include Germany's exceptional performance in consideration and specific intent metrics, while Switzerland excelled in brand familiarity. The results underscore Columbia's effectiveness in capturing and retaining consumer attention amidst the competitive landscape of winter gear retailers.

Hiscox faced a challenge in revitalising its brand amidst shifting budgets away from brand advertising, leading to declining metrics and increased acquisition costs. To reverse this trend, Hiscox aimed to increase brand awareness and reignite growth. However, in a low-interest category where it’s hard to create standout, especially when you don’t have the budget to match that of the leading high-street insurers, how could we make Hiscox unmissable? Introducing the most disastrous campaign ever. Guided by key insights revealing significant commonality among SMEs despite offering a premium product and the critical importance of awareness regarding the risks of being underinsured or uninsured, we crafted a campaign that reached the entire small business insurance market with ads purposely peppered with contextually relevant mistakes to emphasise the myriad of challenges confronting small business owners. To distinguish ourselves in a market dominated by industry giants, we looked to OOH as a channel we could truly 'own' to create a disproportionate impact, whilst providing the ideal platform to build fame, familiarity and frequency. We meticulously orchestrated the UK’s largest-ever use of special builds in history to dramatically bring to life the risks SMEs can be protected from by Hiscox. Despite the campaign’s apparent “disastrous” nature, the results were far from it. Increased awareness and sales propelled Hiscox to achieve its highest-ever annual profit.

Newcastle United is the beating heart of a one-club footballing city. Yet, for so long fans were starved of success to shout about. In 2023, NUFC was returning to the UEFA Champions League after 20 years; now with Sela, a dynamic creator of spectacular experiences and iconic destinations, as their front of shirt sponsor. With fans filled with anticipation, Sela surprised all by staging a UK-first: an awe-inspiring, football-themed drone show above the iconic St. James’ Park stadium on the eve of their return. Sela alerted fans to the live show providing an iconic experience the people of Newcastle, a population of 800,000+ people, will never forget. The eight-minute show, featuring +500 drones, saw NUFC’s iconic magpie mascot soar across the skies before transitioning into the famous black and white team shirts adorned player names. Concluding with the statement, “We’re Back,” the show unified a city in excitement, tapping into a renewed sense of pride, and captivated audiences to an extent rarely seen in football sponsorship. Millions engaged globally, with ‘spectacular’ reviews from football fans, stakeholders and institutions. NUFC’s Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Silverstone, said the show was “the most spectacular sponsorship activity in club football that we’ve seen in a long time, it has put both Sela and our club on the global stage.” The show went viral, reaching 1 billion+ people in 162 countries, was published by 80+ media outlets, and delivered against Sela’s wider brand objectives: to be seen, to be known, and to be loved.

St. Pancras International and Hatchards, a pillar of London’s literary community, set out to create a literal and physical opportunity for customers to relax and reconnect with literature in London’s fast-moving transport hub last Christmas. The whimsically designed Book Tree, complete with a winding staircase and nearly 4,000 individually painted books went viral on social channels and saw the station competing with famed Christmas shopping destinations in terms of brand awareness and notable commercial performance growth for both partners.

As a relatively new entrant in the UAE, AvaTrade has challenged the trading category by introducing unique products like AvaTradeGo & AvaProtect. However, brands like Equiti, Multibank FX, ADSS enjoy a higher share of voice in the UAE. Before our efforts commenced, the brand faced hurdles of brand recognition, customer engagement, and overall market share. Our objective was three-fold: increase brand awareness in the country, increase brand consideration & increase new customer sign ups by 25%. Launched in early 2023, the collaboration between AvaTrade and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1® Team showcases a fusion of shared values: confidence, safety, excellence, and innovation. This alliance signifies a commitment to unparalleled brilliance, blending the fast-paced world of F1® racing with the precision and cutting-edge technology of online trading. It echoes the rigorous standards observed in F1® racing, evident in every aspect of AvaTrade's offerings. As we stand at the tipping point of a cookie-less future, contextual advertising is regaining prominence, emerging as a key media strategy. Fueled by AI innovation, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning & Semantic Analysis, we added new life into traditional methods. Leveraging the world’s first AI-led in-video context detection solution, we redefined the boundaries of contextual brand suitability in video advertising. The campaign surpassed its objectives with encouraging success. Numerically, we observed a 150% increase in brand search volumes demonstrating higher brand awareness, 68% increase in new users to the website signifying higher brand consideration, & 33% rise in new-user sign-ups to boost market share.

Our brief was to make OREO more meaningful to UK audiences, drive cultural relevance and engage a growth audience of Gen Z (18-26 year olds). We also needed to bring to life the brand’s purpose of helping people reignite their playful selves. Challenge accepted! You can’t talk about youth culture without mentioning the cult status of chicken shops. They’ve become part of the fabric of youth culture, with Gen Z’s favourite comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg hosting a podcast in one and Beyonce hitting the headlines by famously ordering £2,000 worth of chicken from Baker’s Street original Chicken Shop whilst touring in the UK. We needed to join this party. Enter a unique partnership featuring the classic OREO cookie and Chicken Shop. A shockingly good limited-edition menu played with different sweet and salty flavour combinations, fusing the incredible taste of OREO cookies with delicious fried chicken. And when we say this campaign went viral, it went VIRAL. The campaign got people talking, tasting and twisting - and being more playful with their cookies than ever. Thousands of fans queued for a taste of our collab, others recreated their own versions of the menu on TikTok - and media and influencers went wild for it. Cue 200+ media articles, 10% growth in the OREO social community (IG & TikTok), 11K new eCRM subscribers and brand sales through the roof.

We brought together Robbie Williams, one of the great entertainers from the world of music, with Felix, the feline entertainer from the world of petfood. Objective Launch a new comms platform for FELIX that went beyond promoting products and instead celebrated the joy of being a cat. Strategy Cat owners don’t think about cat food more than 5 minutes a day but what they do think about - a lot - is that thanks to them, their cats are living the best of lives: beloved, waited on hand and foot, with delicious food on tap. This resonates across all Europe, and as the best-selling cat food brand, FELIX is best placed to highlight why It’s Great To Be A Cat! The Robbie & Felix Partnership We chose Robbie to partner with Felix because the brand is fundamentally about entertainment. And they are the perfect match! Mischievous, lovable, and true performers. Plus, Robbie´s massively popular with our core buyers across all of Europe. So together on stage, cat lover Robbie and Felix performed a Robbie-composed song that ran across Europe via a YouTube premiere - timed also to coincide with Robbie´s pan-European XXV Tour. This content was then rolled out across multiple platforms. The results endorsed the decision by Robbie and Felix to do something different: • 200M+ Tik Tok shares #igtbac • €2.1M in earned media value for Robbie and Felix • PR reach of 873M+ people • Sell-out Robbie XXV Tour • 2023 Felix sales increased by 24% YoY

What do Solange Knowles, the president of Sierra Leone and comedian Munya Chawawa have in common? They loved our GuinnessXLabrum collaboration. So, why bring Guinness into the fashion world? Because we had a problem. In the UK, Guinness was only associated with British and Irish pub culture and was perceived as an old man’s beer brand. We knew this wasn’t the reality, so researched far and wide to prove it. We found that Nigerians drink more Guinness than the Irish, and for the West African diaspora in the UK—Guinness reminds them of home. It was this untold connection between Guinness and West Africa that helped us bust perceptions and show young drinkers another side of the brand. To tell our story, we did the unexpected and partnered with emerging label Labrum. Together, we created the first generation of co-created fashion prints that paid homage to everything from Labrum founder, Foday Dumbaya's fond memories of his grandfather sipping Guinness on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, to those that have migrated to the UK from West Africa and brought their social traditions with them. With a sold out collection, Guinness was labelled a ‘fashion icon’ and the brand that ‘rose from pub bore to flavour of the year’. The community commended our campaign as a powerful attempt to challenge outdated norms around pub culture and sold 5.6M extra pints in the summer compared to the year before. Brand ‘meaning’ grew by 11pp with increased brand ‘relevance’ by 7%. Sláinte!

It’s fair to say that accessible travel comes with complex challenges. However, post-covid, the nation’s love for travelling has sky-rocketed, so why should certain groups of travellers miss out? From working with two brands, we understood the importance of making travel accessible so were delighted when two of our key clients came together to start making a difference in this space. Virgin Atlantic, a brand which prides itself on a progressive approach to diversity and inclusion, wanted to take a leadership position in making travel more accessible to more people. Whilst Guide Dogs wanted to showcase its range of services designed to help those with sight loss live the lives they choose. It was the perfect pairing. Introducing ‘High Flying Hounds’, an industry leading partnership between Virgin Atlantic (VA) and Guide Dogs, that upskilled VA cabin crew in how to make air travel a more inclusive experience for those with sight loss, using best-in-class bespoke training and resources from Guide Dogs. All the while, delivering masses of coverage and positive reputation building for both brands. The results were sky high… • 5,400 minutes of Guide Dogs training completed by VA’s people • In-depth coverage in 53 media titles with 86% including both Virgin Atlantic and Guide Dogs in the headline • A 4pt increase on Virgin Atlantic Google Searches on the day after launch (double the benchmark) • A 12pt increase in spontaneous awareness for VA • A third more visits to Guide Dogs’ Sighted Guide online training information

How do you keep teens playing with NERF? How do you make Gen Z men want to have a NERF battle with their mates? NERF had to show up differently and taking cues from adult immersive play experiences & shooter games, we enrolled YouTube titans, Beta Squad, in a content partnership to create a heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping NERF "Hide n Seek" battleground. Infiltrating TikTok, we partnered with a dynamic cast of influencers who injected their own energy, from football trick shots to hilarious pranks. The result? NERF dominated online and trended on YouTube. The creative, engaging content resonated deeply, sparking excitement for NERF Pro Gelfire blasters. NERF had grown up.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup is an icon - across the world people have had the beloved ketchup tattooed on their bodies, they demand it in homes and restaurants, stockpile it and even steal it; consumers want the beloved sauce in every format possible. Wonderland Communications, together with The Kitchen (Heinz’s internal social agency), developed an insight-driven, unforgettable brand collab that brought the masters of sauce, and the masters of paint, together to make that happen. Introducing Heinz X Lick. Bringing together the most iconic red of all reds, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and the authority on colour in the home, Lick Paint, the brands collaborated to create ‘Red HTK 57’ - a paint in Heinz’s iconic shade of tomato red - that brought the sauce into consumer’s homes in a way that had never been seen before. The campaign drove hundreds of millions of impressions, benchmark-breaking engagement rates, a sales uplift for the sauce, and leveraged Lick’s expertise in the sector to credibly bring Heinz’s brand purpose to life: that they exist to inspire acts of irrational love. Because what’s more irrational than wanting our sauce on your walls?

Purple Goat, the world’s first and only disability-led, social-first marketing agency teamed up with Strongbow to create the most inclusive and holistic brand activities that have ever been seen. We’ve been on a collective mission to support Strongbow in becoming the world's most inclusive cider brand. Across insights, consultancy, events and social activation, Purple Goat worked collaboratively with Strongbow to bake the disabled community authentically across the DNA of media plans in a logical order that took learnings and baked them into activities moving forward. Purple Goat did a large-scale macro survey to understand the relationship with socialising, accessibility and inclusivity of drinking establishments and drinks brands, and thoughts and feelings around representation of inclusive narratives within the industry, we then crafted a creator-led panel, The ‘StrongBros’, to get under the skin of the insights on a human level - understanding how these conversations and perspectives play out in real life. Purple Goat supported from a consultative perspective, helping cast and craft creative for strongbow’s ‘Take a Bow’ TVC, and bring to life the most inclusive space at Brighton and Hove Pride festival to ensure that the ‘Strongbow Yard’, was inclusive to all with ramps and accessibility throughout, training for all staff and BSL performers and interpretation. We also have been activating across wider Social campaigns, both for PRIDE and ‘Take a Bow’ campaigns - with fantastic results. Strongbow have taken to this activity with open arms, driving change as a brand, in the industry and beyond into society.

What does a premium mattress company have in common with a next-gen video game? On the face of it, TEMPUR® and Starfield seem like an unlikely pairing, but with a history deeply intertwined with real world space travel, TEMPUR®’s partnership with Starfield may as well have been written in the stars. TEMPUR® Material is born from NASA technology. In the late 60s, NASA scientists invented a completely new material that was then used onboard Space Shuttles. TEMPUR® founders realised the material’s unique potential, so took the original NASA invention and spent years perfecting it into TEMPUR® Material, creating the world’s first viscoelastic mattresses and pillows. Starfield’s “NASA Punk” in-game universe and aesthetic could not be more aligned. From 60’s style LED screens to Space Shuttle inspired vehicles, every element of Starfield is dripping in retro Sci-Fi vibes. This partnership campaign was conceived to launch Starfield, one of Xbox’s flagship AAA releases for 2023. The creative execution connected the game’s spacefaring narrative and aesthetics with ‘technology driven mattress manufacturer’, TEMPUR®, and its shared NASA heritage. We tapped into one of the cornerstones of global gaming culture, “gaming rigs”, and envisaged “the Dream Chair” as the ultimate, one-of-a-kind gaming chair, featuring NASA grade materials and a Sci-Fi infused aesthetic. This was an innovative brand partnership, boldly going where no brands had gone before, bringing together one of the world’s leading gaming platforms with an unexpected space-age mattress manufacturer and delivering a unique, immersive experience through highly crafted experiential and digital storytelling.

When the entire automotive sector is making claims around Innovation and Technology, how does Audi stand out? Well, “Vorsprung durch Technik” is more than a campaign line for Audi – the brand lives progress in all they do. Equally, Sky Sports’ heritage in innovation stretches 30 years, continually raising the bar for Sports coverage, underpinned by the ethos of ‘believe in better’. This fuelled the collaboration idea that led to Audi becoming the first ever Official Innovation Partner of Sky Sports in 2022 - bringing to life Audi Innovation stories through the lens of sport, which led to an increase in consideration and “innovative” perceptions of Audi; positioning it as the number one EV choice. But with great results and multiple awards on the shelf, we knew we had to raise the bar higher and work even closer for the 2023 partnership. So, for the big comeback, one innovation wasn’t enough. Instead, we created two: ‘Force Plates’ and ‘Zen Eye’, plus, an entire studio, the ‘Audi Performance Zone’ dedicated to hosting these Innovations alongside live coverage of the PGA Tour. And to our (putter) delight, 2023 revealed even more engagement than 2022’s award-winning work - with higher dwell times driving even greater impact on perceptions and consideration.

We uncovered how important clothes are to young autistic girls, but had no budget. So we created a campaign out of nothing, drove awareness of autism and improved perceptions of Vanish.

Verizon Business partners with leading social enterprise Unloc to empower young people from disadvantaged communities to become changemakers. Young people growing up in challenging socio-economic communities face a lifetime income earning potential up to 40% below the national benchmark, and more than half feel totally unprepared to enter the workforce. Verizon partnered with Unloc in the UK to create a multi-pronged programme to nurture the next generation of leaders. Together with employees and clients, Verizon combined its resources, talent and platforms to harness the entrepreneurial and leadership skills of young people. Young people’s stories of transformation were amplified through a unified marketing campaign across video, social media, events and sales activities, inspiring even more businesses to take part, multiplying the partnership’s impact and helping Verizon’s achieve local impact, far-reaching engagement and relevance within the UK market. Last year alone, nearly 70 customers and prospects from Verizon’s clients engaged with projects delivered through this partnership, and more than 230 Verizon employees served as programme mentors and guest speakers.

From the outset, the collaboration between talkSPORT and Amazon Alexa in 2023 was a masterclass in the art of harnessing brand strengths to secure win-win business achievements. Both entities embarked with complementary aims: Alexa aimed to broaden radio listening through its devices, by targeting growth audiences, while talkSPORT sought to boost connected listening hours for higher ad revenue. The campaign’s genius lay in its recognition of sports radio’s dynamic nature. Unlike its music counterpart, sports broadcasting generates active engagement. talkSPORT’s magic was in marrying this engagement with listeners' hectic lifestyles, providing seamless access to sports content through Alexa, thus integrating the device as an indispensable part of fans’ home listening rituals. Employing academic theories on habit formation and leveraging AI for insightful audience analysis, the campaign crafted a narrative that resonated deeply with fans, demonstrating Alexa’s utility across various home scenarios. The campaign creative, "The Mighty Slide," perfectly encapsulated the product's value proposition through relatable, humorous storytelling, highlighting multiple Alexa functionalities within the context of sports fandom. Executed across a meticulously selected media mix, the campaign not only reinforced brand affinity among existing users but also attracted new ones, evidenced by impressive metrics: a significant uplift in active customers, increased talkSPORT listening hours, and a noticeable intent among consumers to engage with talkSPORT content post-campaign. This strategic partnership between talkSPORT and Amazon Alexa exemplifies how understanding and tapping into the passion points of target audiences, combined with smart use of technology and data, can transform routine interactions into cherished rituals.

Xero’s purpose is to make life better for people in small businesses, their advisors and communities all around the world. Xero identified that improving the financial health of football clubs and small businesses that support clubs, helps improve the health of the women’s game. As Official Partner of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM (FWWC) and England Senior Women’s (The Lionesses), Xero could leverage these high profile partnerships to tell the stories of women and businesses driving the beautiful game forwards. This also gave Xero the opportunity to associate its brand with the positive emotion felt by UK audiences over the history-making FWWC, with the ambition to skyrocket awareness and build brand equity amongst football-loving prospective customers. Partnerships were activated across commercial and marketing channels by Xero’s ‘Dream Bigger’ campaign, headlined by the sponsorship of ITV’s coverage of the FWWC. The results were exceptional in the UK. Not only did it supercharge Xero’s brand growth (unaided brand awareness and brand equity hit all time highs), it doubled the number of football clubs using Xero to manage their finances, saving them hours of financial admin and giving them time back to spend on growing the women’s game.

Telia, Sweden’s foremost 5G distributor, has swiftly ensured nationwide 5G coverage, albeit at a slightly higher cost due to significant network investments. However, the abstract nature of 5G made it challenging to explain its value. To ensure that people continued to choose Telia over other telecom brands, we needed to make sure that people felt the power of 5G and understood how it would improve their lives. The solution was to transform the most mundane of everyday items, an onion, into a 5G-powered innovation of the future. Using 5G-powered agricultural field robots, the “5G-onion” promised reduced pesticides, enhanced taste, longer shelf life, and increased harvest – benefits that were tangible and relatable to many. The 5G-onion was launched just like any other tech innovation: pre-launch teaser, online and print ads, social media content, and media outreach to reveal Telia’s revolutionary new product. The strategy to bridge the digital and physical realms was key to the campaign’s effectiveness, leveraging tech references and digital platforms, tasting events and nationwide product distribution. With the help of an ordinary everyday object, we brought Telia and something as hard-to-grasp as 5G into the physical world, – demonstrating how the connectivity of the future can improve our daily lives, one onion at a time.

It’s a well-known trope of the music industry that songs are released posthumously after a singer’s death. But what if the artist had control of the legacy they left to fans? We worked with renowned opera singer, Russell Watson, making him the first musician to proactively write an exclusive track into their will for Worldwide Cancer Research, only to be released upon his passing. A track we hoped would have the greatest impact of all, turning a difficult conversation into a positive one – highlighting the incredible legacy we all can leave behind through a donation to the charity in our will.

Cadbury Fingers was entering the second year of its ‘Sign With Fingers Big and Small’ initiative - a partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society, aimed at encouraging the nation to learn some BSL and help deaf people feel more included in everyday shared moments. Research told us that football is the most popular sport amongst deaf people. But the fact that 55% of people with deafness regularly feel left out of match day experiences due to a lack of deaf awareness is no cause for celebration. We leveraged an existing commercial partnership with Chelsea FC, and developed an emotive campaign that started with 40,000 football fans making history at Stamford Bridge with a heart-warming half time performance of iconic Chelsea club anthem ‘Blue is the Colour’ in British Sign Language. Chelsea’s top players got in on the action, learning a range of everyday BSL phrases and long-term commitments were made to improve deaf inclusion across the club. The campaign achieved: • Blanket coverage in the media • 4.6 million organic views of our content in one month • 17% increase in association of the Cadbury Fingers brand and its purpose of ‘everyday moments of connection’ • Since the campaign, 50% of Brits would now consider learning some BSL for the purposes of inclusion The campaign also contributed to the brand’s double digit growth leading Cadbury Fingers to take the number 1 spot in the sweet biscuits equity index in 2023

In late 2023, Weber Shandwick received an unusual request from long-term client, the Royal Society of Chemistry; help promote a new book it was publishing on the chemistry of tea, Steeped. Written by an American scientist, Dr Michelle Francl, it would go into great depth about the history of tea and how to use science to improve your tea-making skills. Knowing how Brits love their tea, the team quickly hit upon an idea – we would brew up a storm by getting Dr Francl to ‘school’ the UK on how to make a cuppa. Working together, Weber Shandwick and the Royal Society of Chemistry created a press release filled with Dr Francl’s top tips, including the shocking suggestion that a sub-par cup of tea could be saved by salt! We pitched the story to every newsdesk in the country, securing interviews with The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph - the UK’s fiercest protectors of the cuppa - and brewed up a debate that sent ripples right across the world. Not only did all copies of Steeped sell out within 24 hours, creating an instant best-seller, but we created a transatlantic diplomatic incident and delivered a combined global digital news and social reach of 19.5 billion. Now that’s how to spill the tea!

In celebration of Disney's 100th anniversary, PrettyGreen executed a highly successful PR campaign titled "Disney 100: The Landmarks." This campaign revealed the real-world locations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa that have inspired Disney's most beloved stories. By unlocking the magic behind Disney's heritage, the campaign generated mass awareness and positive brand love, exceeding all KPIs, and becoming a landmark campaign in its own right.

Direct Line have a mission to keep the nation's roads safe. With drink driving convictions at their highest rate since 2009, UK police forces reporting an 8% increase in motorists failing breathalyser tests in the morning hours, and 25% of British adults admitting to driving the morning after a night out, despite feeling under the influence of alcohol, it was clear that something needed to be done to get people to check themselves the morning after the night before. With no language or ritual existing that described or prompted morning checking, we needed to create one to normalise the behaviour. So we coined the phrase Rise Responsibly. Then we gave people the means to check themselves. Introducing The Brushalyser. We created the world’s first breathalyser toothbrush, a game-changing new concept designed to freshen up the drink driving conversation and make people think twice before driving the morning after a night out. It got the nation talking with 231 pieces of coverage, 113million potential reach, and 25 pieces of broadcast coverage with Direct Line mentioned in 99.5% of the coverage. More importantly though, it changed attitudes and behaviours, with 57% of 18-34 year old men saying they would reconsider driving the morning after consuming alcohol, 54% would talk to others about checking themselves the morning after, and a third would now make alternative plans ahead of time to avoid having to drive the morning after.

What do Solange Knowles, the president of Sierra Leone and comedian Munya Chawawa have in common? They loved our GuinnessXLabrum collaboration. So, why bring Guinness into the fashion world? Because we had a problem. In the UK, Guinness was only associated with British and Irish pub culture and was perceived as an old man’s beer brand. We knew this wasn’t the reality, so researched far and wide to prove it. We found that Nigerians drink more Guinness than the Irish, and for the West African diaspora in the UK—Guinness reminds them of home. It was this untold connection between Guinness and West Africa that helped us bust perceptions and show young drinkers another side of the brand. To tell our story, we did the unexpected and partnered with emerging label Labrum. Together, we created the first generation of co-created fashion prints that paid homage to everything from Labrum founder, Foday Dumbaya's fond memories of his grandfather sipping Guinness on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, to those that have migrated to the UK from West Africa and brought their social traditions with them. Cue blanket coverage and a sold out collection. Guinness was labelled a ‘fashion icon’ and the brand that ‘rose from pub bore to flavour of the year’. The community commended our campaign as a powerful attempt to challenge outdated norms around pub culture and sold 5.6M extra pints in the summer compared to the year before. Brand ‘relevance’ increased by 7.2% and ‘authenticity’ by 11.4%. Sláinte!

While January is a quiet time for Tesco Mobile’s competitors, it’s a busy time for consumers booking holidays – with search interest in ‘cheap’, ‘all-inclusive’ and ‘Europe’ holidays peaking. As one of the few networks still saying bon voyage to EU roaming fees until 2025, this was a key differentiator for us - so we decided to jet set the proposition into the limelight. Further research showed our audience had a strong affiliation with 90s boybands – particularly Ronan Keating – so we decided to have a little pun... We announced Ronan as Tesco Mobile’s new Roaming Ambassador, with the singer-turned-presenter changing his name to ‘Roaming’ Keating on social, before 'roaming’ around TM stores the week of Blue Monday. He surprised those who spotted him with impromptu performances of his most famous hits (with a holiday twist) and gifted free travel vouchers. We seeded ‘leak’ content of Ronan performing to pre-planned ‘surprised shoppers’ to press, alongside further information on our roaming proposition, and supported with influencer and social activity. The campaign secured 39 pieces of high quality earned digital media coverage, including seven national hits - exceeding our KPI of 36. Our SOV was the highest of all key competitors and 100% of the coverage was positive in sentiment, with a total reach of 55.2m people and 90% of coverage including brand imagery. But that wasn’t our only destination - supporting social activity garnered 750k video views with 800 people entering an organic on-feed competition. C’est magnifique.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup is an icon - across the world people have had the beloved ketchup tattooed on their bodies, they demand it in homes and restaurants, stockpile it and even steal it; but there was a challenge when it came to PR; the need to take Heinz out of the food news pages to create impact and talkability for the brand through an earned and owned campaign that transcended categories. Wonderland Communications, together with The Kitchen (Heinz’s internal social agency) developed an insight-driven, unforgettable brand collab that brought together the masters of sauce and the masters of paint. Introducing Heinz X Lick. Bringing together the most iconic red of all reds, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and the authority on colour in the home, Lick Paint, the brands collaborated to create ‘Red HTK 57’ - a paint in Heinz’s iconic shade of tomato red - that brought the sauce into consumer’s homes in a way that had never been seen before. The campaign drove hundreds of millions of impressions, benchmark-breaking engagement rates, a sales uplift for the sauce, and a clear demonstration of Heinz’s new global creative platform and purpose: that they exist to inspire acts of irrational love. Because what’s more irrational than wanting our sauce on your walls?

We need to rethink the value of the lawn. One third of green areas in European cities are made up of lawns. But private gardens are often overlooked in the discussion around loss of pollinators and biodiversity.The loss of pollinators is a global problem, requiring local engagement. At Husqvarna, they had recognized that they had a role to play when it comes to biodiversity but had not found the right approach. We came up with an idea is as simple as it is ambitious, creating the largest nature reserve in Europe – one lawn at the time. Rewilding Mode is the world ́s first feature designed to rewild private gardens so pollinators can thrive.Using state-of-the-art radar technology, the mowers were programmed to leave 10% of each lawn uncut, creating small nature reserves for pollinators.The innovation turned Husqvarna’s entire European fleet of 150,000 Husqvarna robotic lawn mowers into fighters for biodiversity. Featured in over 200 major outlets like Fast Company and Forbes,it has touched 218 million people across 20 countries, achieving a PR value of 50 million SEK.Notably, 8.5 million customers engaged, and over 3 million viewed our YouTube film, shedding new light on what can be achieved by simply saving 10% of your lawn.The true victory?Over 267,000 square meters of lawn have transitioned into habitats for pollinators, with numbers growing daily.The goal is to keep increasing this area designed for pollinators, and for that to also work as a conversation starter when talking about what the perfect lawn may be.

Imagine not being able to afford the basics to keep yourself or your loved ones clean. That’s hygiene poverty, and it has a heart-breaking impact on children’s health, wellbeing and in particular, their education - leading to absence, bullying and loss of self-esteem. Together with household and personal care cleaning brand, smol, we set out to support schools and families by not just pushing awareness of the issue but to raise funds to provide a solution within schools themselves. Based on insight and research amongst teachers and parents in the UK, smol’s Suds in Schools project provided free mini-laundrettes in schools across the UK, installing a washing machine/dryer and providing all the laundry detergent needed to launder uniforms and sports kits for however long families and schools need it. Timed to coincide with the start of the new 23/24 school year, an earned media driven crowdfunder campaign raised enough money in just two weeks to fund over 35 Suds in Schools and has opened conversations between smol, The Royal Foundation and Donate to Educate about its ongoing development as it looks to reach 75 schools by the end of 2024.

To spark a new, less scary public health conversation about hearing loss with zero paid budget, Specsavers turned one of the most famously misheard songs into the world’s first mass hearing test by re-recording Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up with the lyrics people have been mishearing for years, then ‘Rick-Rolling’ the UK by releasing it without explanation to make Brits question their ears. Driving a national conversation around hearing loss, over 20 million organic social plays in 8 hours, blanket media coverage and a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings.

To drive awareness, relevance and sales of Walkers’ ‘Giants’ snacks range amongst adults at Halloween, and support Walkers’ ‘Scarily Giant’ creative platform and TVC, we launched limited-edition ‘Scarily Giant Snackstumes’; Walkers’ first ever range of Halloween costumes, giving big kids all over the UK the chance to dress up as scarily giant versions of their favourite snacks. The multiphase campaign got everyone eating and talking about the ‘Giants’ snacks range in the lead up to and over Halloween, generating mass media coverage and social conversation – plus a 35% uplift in sales YOY for Monster Munch Giants over the campaign period.

Imagine a world in which Winnie-the-Pooh didn’t have the Hundred Acre Wood. No homes for Owl, Eeyore or Piglet. Christopher Robin, wandering through a baron landscape. This is the alternate telling of the classic tale of Winnie-the-Pooh, which we showed the world to frame the problem of deforestation from non-recycled and non-bamboo toilet paper. In this award entry, you’ll read about how this re-telling of this classic story sparked discussion around the globe - from NPR to the Washington Post, The Australian, The Guardian and beyond, and inspired 3,000 households to make the switch to eco-friendly toilet paper.

For a roastery of 8 distinctive tattoo-covered team members. The Craft House Coffee brand lacked distinction. They had no story. No personality. They simply blended in with the competition. A passionate bunch, their love for coffee borders on obsession. But whenever they met with peers, the Craft House Coffee team would get the same heckles “You roast wrong”, “too hot”, “too fast”. Conformity has never been in the Craft House Coffee team’s vocabulary. Roasting wrong is the reason their coffee tastes so right. This brand truth allowed us to create a brand with attitude. We created a contemporary, bright but premium refreshed brand, featuring an unruly and defiant tone of voice, alongside charmingly absurd, bespoke illustrations that reflected the Craft House Coffee team’s alternative values. Being bold and doing things differently informs everything Craft House Coffee do, whether it’s roasting their beans, how they behave, or how they market themselves. They blend out. Never in.

In 2023, EA made the decision to undertake the largest rebrand in gaming history. For 30 years, the FIFA franchise has been the dominant football gaming franchise in the industry, but with the termination of its partnership with the FIFA football association, EA faced an unprecedented challenge: rebranding FIFA into EA SPORTS FC. The objective was to solidify EA SPORTS FC's position as the World’s Game by showcasing innovation and fostering global engagement with the audience by leveraging mass media channels, immersive activations, and strategic partnerships. Key to our strategy was reinforcing brand recognition through unmissable media moments, strategically placed across global platforms. From Times Square to Shinjuku Cross, our OOH placements resonated with audiences worldwide, imprinting EA SPORTS FC as a household name. Furthermore, our global collaborations with Spotify, Twitch and Amazon not only showcased the vast community already engaged with EA SPORTS FC but also pioneered the integration of real-time in-game data across creative assets, revolutionising our approach. Authentic connections with the world of football were created through strategic partnerships with key stakeholders such as Sky Sports and DAZN, helping to make EA Sports FC synonymous with football. The results were resounding, delivering against the media KPIs by driving significant increase in brand awareness, and a substantial uplift in net bookings.

In July 2023 we became Heartwood Inns, a new name to articulate our ambition and vision as a premium pub brand with growth and a bold new move into pubs with rooms under a new investor (Alchemy Partners). Heartwood being the strongest part of a tree from which growth flourishes, with our roots in Brasserie Blanc we are restaurateurs running pubs, with a fresh food ethos awarded a top 3-star award by the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Our rebrand has given us the platform to become nationally known and our new brand world has captured the curiosity and personality that has already made us locally loved. Our brand DNA has brought to life through a new identity and engaging brand characters which give us licence to bring out our conversational tone of voice with an extra layer of intrigue – from our seasonal menus and digital comms to our internal learning platform. Our branding has brought to life the creative flair and premium positioning we are so well known for. With three new pubs opened already since rebrand (including our very first pub with rooms which achieved significant national coverage) and a growing pipeline, a significant increase in web traffic and database growth and in the running for a number of national awards, we were also delighted to be awarded best Food-Led Pub. Our rebrand is accelerating growth and a differentiated position in a cluttered hospitality industry. We are very excited about what's next.

P&O Ferries are a heritage British brand, leaders in the ferry category and a well renowned name amongst the UK audience. But a heritage brand facing a national PR crisis alongside a RECORD low level brand score, a leader in a category that has been shrinking for over 30 years and a well renowned name in a travel market that had been decimated by a toxic combination of Brexit and COVID-19. So, how could we get travellers in the UK to reappraise not just a brand, but a category that was seen as old and outdated? Not easily. We needed to pivot the way we positioned the business: from leaders in the ferry category to challengers in the broader travel market. We knew we couldn’t compete in price with the likes of EasyJet, and we weren’t faster than the Eurotunnel, but we were the most enjoyable way to travel. Our campaign therefore positioned them as such. The ads pointed out our competitor’s shortcomings right in front of them, with geographically targeted (around P&O Ferries key ports) and contextual placements (around key UK travel hubs) to maximise impact. The campaign used a new message, look, line, and feel to drive home that there is another way to travel. The relaunch of P&O Ferries helped boost the brands YouGov scores, becoming the most improved brand of 2023. Ad awareness increased; consideration went up we even saw a healthy impact on bookings.

In response to the evolving landscape of sports entertainment, the British Basketball League embarked on a transformative journey to redefine its identity and connect with a broader audience. Collaborating with Designwerk agency on this challenge, our aim was clear: to create a new brand that transcended traditional sports, positioning the League as a cultural phenomenon within the British youth lifestyle landscape. The concept of "UNBEATABLE" emerged as the cornerstone of our strategy, encapsulating the unwavering spirit of the British basketball community. This tagline not only resonated with fans but also projected an aura of resilience – an emotional bond between the League, its players, and supporters. Central to our vision was the creation of a visually striking brand identity anchored by the iconic 'B' monogram. Drawing inspiration from fashion rather than conventional basketball motifs, we unleashed a bold and dynamic aesthetic that stood out in a crowded market. But this was more than just a visual identity; this new brand is part of everything the League does, both within the game and outside of it. The new brand comes to life across all of the League's channels, including the style and quality of gameday broadcasts and of course, on-court. From visual and audial experiences and everything in between, 'UNBEATABLE' is the new mindset of the British Basketball League.

It’s 2021, Andy Burnham has just been re-elected as the mayor of Greater Manchester, and a monumental change to public transport in the city region is announced as part of his manifesto. As park of the landmark moment which will see Greater Manchester take buses under local control (for the first time in four decades) the soon to be integrated transport system will be badged under a new brand: The Bee Network. Our challenge: make it happen, and that we did! We built a brand from the ground up, bringing staff, Greater Manchester residents and stakeholders on the journey. Navigating a complex brand heritage landscape, and multiple modes, products and services to consider, as well as the fact it would need to be phased across a three-year period, so not everyone would feel the benefit straight away. As a result we are very quickly turning Greater Manchester yellow. Our brand is now visible across buses, bus stops, on the web on an app, via our Travelcards (The Bee Card) and our initial results are more than promising… an increase brand awareness from 36% to 82% in the 6 months across launch, generating an NPS score of +22 vs average of +11 for the wider transport sector, and our brand is quickly becoming a Greater Manchester icon. Based on our results so far, we’re definitely a brand to watch and we can’t wait to see where our journey takes us!

Hiscox faced a challenge in revitalising its brand amidst shifting budgets away from brand advertising, leading to declining metrics and increased acquisition costs. To reverse this trend, Hiscox aimed to increase brand awareness and reignite growth. However, in a low-interest category where it’s hard to create standout, especially when you don’t have the budget to match that of the leading high-street insurers, how could we make Hiscox unmissable? Introducing the most disastrous campaign ever. Guided by key insights revealing significant commonality among SMEs despite offering a premium product and the critical importance of awareness regarding the risks of being underinsured or uninsured, we crafted a campaign that reached the entire small business insurance market with ads purposely peppered with contextually relevant mistakes to emphasise the myriad of challenges confronting small business owners. To distinguish ourselves in a market dominated by industry giants, we adopted a strategy of leveraging channels Hiscox could truly 'own' to create a disproportionate impact. This included groundbreaking OOH builds, a shockingly blank front cover wrap of Metro, an engaging WeTransfer takeover, WeWork domination, and disruptive radio ads. Despite the campaign’s apparent “disastrous” nature, the results were far from it. Increased awareness and sales propelled Hiscox to achieve its highest-ever annual profit.

Telia, Sweden’s foremost 5G distributor, has swiftly ensured nationwide 5G coverage, albeit at a slightly higher cost due to significant network investments. However, the abstract nature of 5G made it challenging to explain its value. To ensure that people continued to choose Telia over other telecom brands, we needed to make sure that people felt the power of 5G and understood how it would improve their lives. The solution was to transform the most mundane of everyday items, an onion, into a 5G-powered innovation of the future. Using 5G-powered agricultural field robots, the “5G-onion” promised reduced pesticides, enhanced taste, longer shelf life, and increased harvest – benefits that were tangible and relatable to many. The 5G-onion was launched just like any other tech innovation: pre-launch teaser, online and print ads, social media content, and media outreach to reveal Telia’s revolutionary new product. The onion was then made available in every store nationwide, sharing shelf space with other coveted items like iPhones, headphones, and smart tablets, enhancing its accessibility and impact. The strategy to bridge the digital and physical realms was key to the campaign’s effectiveness. With the help of an ordinary everyday object, we brought Telia and something as hard-to-grasp as 5G into the physical world, – demonstrating how the connectivity of the future can improve our daily lives, one onion at a time.

Boots faced a significant challenge in 2023; to become the top destination for Christmas gifting. First, with customers demanding lower prices due to tighter budgets, retailers were fighting harder to win them over not just with competitive offers and great Christmas experience but with powerful brand campaigns. This Christmas 22 ads hit System1’s 5-star rating in the UK. Second, we weren’t perceived as a primary Christmas destination, for thoughtful gifting, but rather as a Christmas destination for stocking fillers and your everyday one-stop-shop for essentials. Third, the cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and pressures on public sector services all took their toll on the national mood. Yet, the feeling of frustration and discontent wasn’t solely connected to finances; people felt undervalued. As a brand that truly cares of the well-being of the nation this gave us a clear mission: to become the Christmas destination of thoughtful gifting by bringing back the true meaning of Christmas; gratitude. Our aim, create a gratitude revolution while offering great experiences and value removing the stress that this season causes to our core audience, Christmas shoppers.

Bathroom specialist hansgrohe faced a challenge. How do you drive growth amongst multiple target segments with just one page on one channel, without dramatically increasing budgets? McCann Central set out to target segments via a full-funnel organic and paid Instagram strategy to increase front-of-mind presence with only one focus: ‘achieving more with the same’. By optimising existing resources to carefully segment two target audiences, the team were able to increase front-of-mind presence, boost brand engagement, expand reach for the brand and achieve staggering results. This campaign exemplifies effective budget management and demonstrates the team’s ability to respond to objectives and deliver staggering results through careful planning and firm knowledge of the audience and channels.

Dia had just launched its new App and although it is already nationally known as the convenient and well-priced supermarket chain in Spain, we had to find a way to communicate that in order to do the best shopping, we don't need anything special other than our finger and the new Dia App. We created a 360 campaign combining our own media such as Dia stores, leaflets or dia.es, and external media such as social media, influencer marketing, television, radio, cabs and magazines, among others. In addition to showing how to benefit from all the advantages of the new Dia App, we did it from an eye-catching, fun and educational approach with the Finger Coach: a funny character that will become a key element for Dia customers (or rather, their fingers!) to feel identified. His trainer tone was just what we needed for our customers' fingers to learn how to do their shopping without almost moving a finger. And we playfully relayed it on special occasions like Halloween or Christmas. The result spoke for itself: massive increase of almost 1 million downloads of the new Dia App -mainly coming from Google Ads, Appcelerate, Meta and Tik Tok-, a total reach of 952 grps, with an 80% reach and 7 OTS, an impact of 62% of our target with an OTS of 7.7 on conventional TV, a reach of 9% with 1.3 OTS on connected TV and online video and +58M impressions broadcasted in other media.

Tesco Finest launched in 1998, establishing the first premium own brand in the grocery market. The challenge was that whilst Tesco was trusted to deliver on the everyday needs - when it came to popping out for something a little more special, customers thought of M&S and Waitrose. We identified a group of 1.5m affluent customers who typified this behaviour; despite visiting Tesco regularly, they were only buying Tesco Finest 25% of the time. We needed to get them to put one more Tesco Finest product in their basket each month. To achieve that we needed them to reappraise Tesco Finest as a brand that could help them enjoy the best every day. Not an easy task when data told us that they’re a naturally marketing-sceptical audience. A traditional campaign simply wouldn’t cut it.So, we created a campaign from the inside out. Rather than focusing on telling them about the taste of Tesco Finest, we wanted them to experience it. We delivered the largest Tesco Finest sampling programme ever undertaken, reaching 800,000 customers across 300 stores. To supplement the reach, we also did an editorial partnership, to create content they genuinely wanted to engage with, and importantly could trust. During the campaign sales averaged +3% every week, with the campaign helping drive double-digit growth in the Finest brand. This delivered our commercial ambition to grow Tesco Finest to a £2bn brand

No7's social purpose is to enhance the confidence of women through breakthrough skincare innovation. After the pandemic, the brand had started to lose market share to new category entrants. To get women to reappraise, try No7 again, and ultimately benefit from the brands products, we needed to pull off the biggest beauty launch, not only in No7’s history, but in the history of UK & Ireland. By conducting consumer research, we uncovered a rich insight; No7 consumers felt they hadn’t taken good care of their skin in the past, but wish they had. There was a consistent theme that they wanted to ‘go back in time’. This insight led to the creation of a breakthrough skincare product regime called No7 Future Renew, leveraging world-first peptide technology called 'pepticology' – 15 years in the making - led by the brand’s lead scientist, Dr Mike Bell, in partnership with the University of Manchester. Our retail launch strategy focused on credibility, reach, and memorability, centring our social purpose around giving real women confidence and meeting their concerns. Scientific validation preceded the launch, followed by a widespread rollout across all Boots stores and media platforms on one single day, anchored by the sign-off, "Don't Regret. Just Reverse." Real women's stories highlighted the product's efficacy and confidence-boosting effects. The outcome? We’re proud to say that Future Renew became the UK’s biggest beauty launch, selling 1 product every 7 seconds, attracting 3.8 million new consumers - 13% of these were new to Boots.

On average, £8 million is spent on unwanted gifts on Valentine’s Day, with money going towards cliche romantic gifts that partners don't appreciate. That single insight sparked the idea behind The Valentine’s Hinting Service, a multi-channel campaign for the No.1 air fryer and multi-cooker brand, Ninja. The Valentine’s Hinting Service gave individuals the opportunity to share hints with their partner about what they really wanted on Valentine’s Day — not flowers, fragrance or confectionary — but an Air Fryer from Ninja. The strategy leveraged digital PR, email, social, and pay-per-click advertising to reach audiences on channels where they spend the most time. The results? 380 orders were made thanks to the hints partners received, generating more than £60,000 in revenue for the brand. The campaign had a huge impact on Ninja's search visibility too. They ranked page 1 on Google for the keyword ‘Air Fryer’, increased their monthly website traffic by 10,000 visitors and captured 3,000 new marketing contacts along the way.

Bella is a self-starter who not only meets expectations, but exceeds them. She embodies the essence of creativity, proactivity, commercial acumen and team spirit. Managing campaigns for entertainment clients like BBC Studios, Disney Home and UKTV, Bella's contributions as an Account Executive have resulted in a remarkable 21% YOY revenue growth for the UKTV account. One standout achievement was her management of the Dave's Big Zuu Big Eats campaign, surpassing all KPIs and achieving a +90% increase in engagement. Bella's proactive approach and commitment to growth are evident in her enrolment in a Chartered Institute of Marketing course. She brings a unique perspective to ideation sessions and infuses each project with innovative ideas. But her insightfulness isn't confined to her day to day; it also extends into thought leadership. With regular contributions to our company blog. One particular article stands out - a heartfelt piece on her journey with ADHD and how TikTok played a pivotal role in her diagnosis. Proactive in both work and play: she co-created the agency's Social Committee of Fun, fostering unity and a supportive environment, while she showcased her entrepreneurial spirit pitching a podcast idea for THE FIFTH's channels. Her strategic thinking and excellent communication skills captivated the senior leadership team, leading to the approval and production of the first series. Our team is made up of great people, but Bella’s light is particularly bright. Her achievements and contributions have made a significant impact on our success. She represents the future of our industry.

In less than three years, Elle has established herself as a true "mover & shaker" in the influencer marketing industry. This is unsurprising given that in the first 6 months of her career as a marketing executive at a vitamin supplement and skincare brand, she literally introduced them to influencer marketing as a previously untapped channel. Quickly rising to Campaign Manager and "Pod Leader" at global influencer agency, Goat, Elle has led influencer campaigns for major clients including Tesco, Meta, UNiDAYS, ODEON and Headspace. In 2023 alone, she helped ODEON grow their TikTok account from 4K to 100K followers in less than 6 months, she worked on the pitch team that successfully retained Tesco for 3 more years after a competitive pitch, she produced results that led to a consumer tech client quadrupling their budget YoY, and she delivered an influencer partnership between Tommy Fury and Meta Quest that drove 10 million impressions. Oh, and she won the "Star Player" award at The Goat Agency's annual awards ceremony (the top award). Now she continues to grow her role implementing new processes to drive efficiency within the business, mentoring and leading a pod of Campaign execs, and partnering with TikTok for a workshop series. As one of the youngest ever to lead a Campaigns team within the agency, and with less than three years experience in the industry, Elle is consistently considered "one to watch" and a Rising Star at Goat and beyond.

Bini's transformative journey at Gong cha epitomises the spirit of a "Rising Star" in the marketing industry. Over 2.5 years, she has evolved from managing B2B marketing in EMEA to spearheading global community marketing efforts, demonstrating versatility and impactful leadership. Gong cha, a rapidly growing global tea brand under the visionary leadership of Global CEO Paul Reynish, aims to scale up to 10,000 stores worldwide by 2032. Bini plays an important role in this expansion, particularly in EMEA markets, where she continues to contribute to new market entry openings. Central to Gong cha's success is its vision "to serve a billion cups of happiness," which Bini actively champions. She has played a key role in rolling out Gong cha 2.0, introducing a new visual toolkit, brand strategy, global website and store design, setting the stage for the brand’s sustained growth. Bini's leadership skills shines through having been a successful project manager of the "Shake up the season" (Gingerbread bottle) campaign, which achieved remarkable success globally. Collaborating closely with Gong cha's global CEO, Bini has contributed to shaping the brand's future through the development of a comprehensive brand strategy. Her journey reflects a commitment to excellence and continuous growth, making her a deserving nominee for the "Rising Star" award. Gong cha proudly nominates Bini, confident in her potential to continue making significant strides in the marketing industry.

Connie is just at the start of her career in advertising, but we at Good-Loop have witnessed her tenacity, determination and strategic mindset and it’s clear she is going to go far in this industry. In less than two years with the business, Connie has been responsible for researching, producing and launching two research projects, which drew over 1.5k in website traffic and over 300 new lead opportunities in addition to garnering 10 press mentions, including with The Drum. Identifying knowledge gaps in the industry through research projects and working with the team to create upskilling routes for the industry, Connie has helped to launch reports, learning courses and best practice case studies for the next generation of media leaders. Connie led on the ‘Counting Carbon’ pilot webinar series which attracted more than 400 sign-ups, and also developed a brand-new campaign results directory and case study hub for Good-Loop’s website (increasing website visits by 133% year-on-year and 255% in its key growth market). With these tangible results, press mentions and engagements, Good-Loop awarded Connie the coveted internal prize ‘impossible to ignore’ - one of the business’ key values. This recognised the breadth of her impact across the team. We expect Connie will grow into a defining individual both within Good-Loop and the wider marketing industry, and as such is a perfect candidate for Rising Star.

Since joining Indicia Worldwide after graduating from University, Li has been the epitome of a rising star. Their journey has been nothing short of remarkable, marked by creativity, a thirst for knowledge, and a remarkable lack of ego. In the few years that Li has been with us, they have carved out a reputation as a trusted designer whose talents transcend their junior job title.

thortful is the UK’s largest online greeting card marketplace, supported by a community of independent creators. Our partnership with thortful spans almost five years, during which we have managed all aspects of SEO and have more recently taken on PPC management. In Q3 2023, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, our key objective was to drive Valentine’s Day visibility, and position thortful as the #1 brand in organic search for core search terms. We implemented a two-pronged strategy, combining on-site activity with Digital PR - focussing on planned Valentine’s Day campaigns and proactive PR using thortful’s card content. The results we achieved leading up to Valentine’s Day truly speak for themselves. We achieved placements in the likes of Yahoo, Daily Star, The Standard and more. We captured 75% traffic share in the final two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day and we achieved multiple keyword improvements. Our agility and relentless focus on our goals, alongside working closely with thortful’s internal teams, allowed us to really attack the two core fundamentals of SEO in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, which proved to be the key difference in achieving our incredible results.

How does a small, specialist home insurer with low brand awareness compete in the world of search against well-known brands who are household names and have much bigger budgets? This was exactly the challenge facing Homeprotect, a specialist home insurance provider dedicated to catering for the underserved in the home insurance industry. Despite being a much smaller brand, with less budget and lower awareness, we are now the number one seller of home insurance via PPC in the UK – with YoY sales up 35% and customer lifetime value (LTV) up a staggering 90%. Not only have we sold more via PPC than any of our competitors, but we have won the top spot efficiently, with a CPA that is the third lowest in the market. We gained the top spot against the odds by making three key changes. These were: Completely restructuring the account to move all keywords to broad match and remove over 2,000 negative keywords (this alone delivered a ROAS of 300%); Utilising Performance Max campaigns to reach an audience who had previously only heard of our competitors; and moving to real time online conversion tracking using real customer data (not modelled) to avoid issues caused by third party cookies. These changes allowed us to both gain share in the hyper-competitive generic home insurance space and move up the funnel – increasing our PPC sales by 35% YoY and making us the number one seller of home insurance via PPC in the UK.

The challenge Search marketing has become a complex world to navigate in recent years, with escalating media costs, loss of data visibility, increased competition and changeable buying habits. To maximise the potential of the channel, leading jewellery and accessory brand, Swarovski, partnered with global digital marketing company, Jellyfish, to achieve two goals: elevate the brand, and reach a growth target of 5% in search revenues. The solution To harness the combined power of PPC and SEO, Jellyfish worked closely with Swarovski’s Data & Analytics team to build an overarching One Search strategy using proprietary technology to extract and organise paid and organic data - uniquely ‘coupling’ the information at category, campaign, landing-page or keyword level to unearth opportunities for growth. Built around Technology, Talent and Process, the strategy enabled Jellyfish and Swarovski to move away from siloed search delivery to an integrated One Search model driven by: - Search incrementality experiments - Optimising online content strategy using performance insights - Perfecting product launches and peak moments - Dynamic investment model to accelerate acquisition The result Within 18 months, Jellyfish and Swarovski transformed their global search performance across 38 markets, driving more revenue, with a lower media spend, achieving a significantly higher search ROI. Owning more of the consumer search experience, Swarovski was able to be more relevant throughout the journey. Exceeding its target growth of 5%, Swarovski achieved a -14% YoY reduction in paid search media investment, a +19% YoY incremental growth in search revenue and a +16% YoY growth

Established in 1851, Moss is one of the UK’s top menswear retailers. Previously the e-commerce team had hoped to move away from standard shopping campaigns to the much more automated Performance Max campaigns, however their transition hadn’t been smooth and the results weren’t what they had hoped for. They were not afraid to test and learn, and were keen to ensure that they were working with the latest technological rollouts from Google. They were keen to focus on incrementality, therefore wanted to do: - An A/B test of Performance Max campaigns vs Standard Shopping campaigns to determine whether Performance Max would truly give them better results or not. - Both campaigns would be set up with brand negative keywords such as “Moss” or “Moss Bros” (so they wouldn’t bid on their own brand). By using best practices, our PMax campaigns significantly outperformed our Standard Shopping campaigns and drove an impressive 50% increase in revenue during Q4 compared to the previous year, while efficiency was boosted by 24%. PMax success was not limited to a single campaign type. The implementation of PMax campaigns unlocked growth opportunities throughout the entire account, with a 37% raise in overall revenue in Q4 compared to last year, as well as a 44% increase in ROAS.

Beauty powerhouse Space NK had been making strides in the UK, so decided it was time for their next challenge: conquering the French market. However, faced with historical challenges of low brand awareness in the region coupled with subpar conversion rates and negative ROAS, Croud was entrusted with leading the charge and overseeing this process - tasked to not only drive growth but ensure profitability. Our strategy encompassed a thorough understanding of the French consumer landscape through tools like Google Ads, and by leveraging our Croudie Network, we facilitated website translation QA, ensuring a truly localised marketing effort. Our bespoke solution for Dynamic Search Ads resulted in a remarkable 90% improvement in conversion rates. Optimising Shopping feeds and introducing a modern search approach with broad match techniques further solidified our success, and migration to advanced Floodlight tags and Auction Time Bidding within Search Ads 360 resulted in an astounding 285% YoY increase in ROAS. Despite challenges posed by website limitations, Croud developed a custom feed-based solution, resulting in a 200% increase in sales (from 1,000 to 3,000) and a 285% higher ROAS. This momentum in France has been carried forward and learnings are being applied to conquer new markets, including our ongoing success in the Netherlands. Together with Space NK, we’ve not only exceeded expectations but have raised the bar for international expansion in the beauty retail sector.

WeDiscover, a Performance Marketing & Marketing Technology agency founded in 2020, worked with the AA driving school to tackle the complex issue of balancing supply and demand in a hyper-localised way across the UK. To do this, WeDiscover created a novel approach to the utilisation of internal first-party data within marketing platforms, building sophisticated models allowing for real time decision making, ensuring marketing budget is spent in a localised and efficient way across the country, whilst serving highly relevant ads to engage customers. The project involved first working with the AA on their data warehousing and integration, before moving on to calculate both supply and demand-side logic to assess driving instructor and pupil need. From there, a budget allocation model was created and we underwent experimentation to determine the final, optimum, account structure, segmented at a postcode level, while using automated processes for scalability. Following rollout of the new structure we achieved a 77% uplift on target volume for pupils for a 70% lower CPA than target. The approach to the build means that the AA owns all the IP of the technology developed, and as the final model is fully automated with little manual input now required, they can continue to use it to acquire pupils at a much higher efficiency than previously estimated. As we move into a cookie-less world where reliance on first-party data becomes increasingly important for businesses, this project is an exciting exploration into how advertisers can better utilise that data to drive extraordinary results.

The year 2023 presented an unprecedented challenge: to eclipse the remarkable revenue milestones connective3 achieved for Wren Kitchens in 2022 amidst a burgeoning cost-of-living crisis, a surge in DIY enthusiasm, and a startling 17% shrinkage in the kitchen market. Despite these obstacles, connective3's ambitious digital acquisition targets aimed for unparalleled growth in website traffic, leads, sales, and revenue. At the heart of connective3’s strategy was a deep understanding of the diverse and dynamic UK kitchen market. Through meticulous audience research and a pivot away from traditional sales-driven creatives, the agency crafted compelling, inspiration-laden messages that resonated across varied demographics. This was coupled with enhancing Google's algorithm further with enriched first-party data. Facing a constricted market and lofty goals, connective3 harnessed the power of Google's expansive algorithms, integrating broad match keywords and optimizing for high-value conversions through targeted ROAS bidding strategies. This approach, coupled with a focus on behavioural science focussed ads, and strategic 'near me' searches, not only countered the adverse effects of rising CPCs and declining search volume but helped Wren to further increase their market share. The outcome was nothing short of extraordinary. Against all odds and industry trends, connective3's campaign triumphantly achieved 102% of its sales target, driving a significant uplift in website visits and successfully capturing leads with a staggering value of over £6 million. These achievements exceeded the set revenue and sales targets, affirming Wren Kitchens' number 1 position in the UK market.

In 2023, Dave finally took its inevitable step from beloved television channel to nation state and entered the Eurovision Song Contest… sort of. With Eurovision being held in the UK for the first time since 1998 fresh off the back of Sam Ryder’s rocketing success, and being a mainstay across all social media platforms, this was the perfect time for Dave to leverage a key moment in the cultural calendar to boost positive brand recognition and reputation as a home of new, quality comedy. We Also Wrote A Song was a premium music video created with musical comedian Jazz Emu and starring Rachel Parris, Abi Clarke, Darren Harriott, Josh Jones, and Helen Bauer; a celebration of all things Eurovision and the community that make it what it is. This organic social media campaign smashed its aims and channel averages; achieving over 500k views and 1million impressions, a 3,600% increase in YouTube likes per channel average, a 400% increase in comments against Dave’s TikTok channel average, and coverage offline in over 80 national and regional publications. Dave Does Eurovision lead one user to comment “Whoever thought of this is an absolute genius”, we agree.

Frubes by Yoplait is a popular yogurt snack in the shape of a tube loved by children and parents in the UK. In summer 2023, the brand wanted to change the snacking game, saying goodbye to sugary ice cream, and hello to delicious yet nutritious yogurt treats! Having worked with Frubes on a previous campaign for Halloween 2022, global Influencer Marketing agency Digital Voices’ spent time reading through every single comment on the content to produce a comment sentiment analysis and provide key customer insights for our client. It was discovered that a lot of people freeze their Frubes and enjoy them like healthy, child-friendly ice cream! We passed this information on to the client and shared the insight that freezing your Frubes would be a great idea for a summer campaign. This directly helped spark the idea for ‘Frubes #TryMeFrozen’, the first campaign from Frubes that was developed off the back of social media comments. The campaign was an experimental venture to explore whether audiences show heightened engagement with content and product ideas suggested by them. Thanks to the #TryMeFrozen campaign, +34% more consumers bought into the brand from the Frubes campaign. While Frubes grew their sales 6%, the total yogurt category declined -1%. This campaign was essential for both Yoplait and Digital Voices, showcasing the trust we've built as partners, and emphasizing how our campaigns play a crucial role in effectively conveying the voice of Yoplait's target audience.

After the pandemic, many people had fallen out of love with the cinema, turning instead to the ease of streaming platforms and TV. ODEON wanted to remind people of the unrivalled sensory experience that you get from going to a cinema, and they wanted to do it through the world's fastest-growing app - TikTok! The Goat Agency was enlisted as ODEON's official influencer and TikTok partner to help them capture and bottle that amazing "movie-going feeling" and drive excitement for new releases in 2023; a year that, thanks to #Barbenheimer, was set to be a make or break year for cinemas! Goat created a theme around #FeelsGoodToFeel, then we set about bringing this to life through TikTok creators. Our strategy was to base content around Excite. Engage. Educate. which led to creative ideas such as incorporating VFX and animation, comedy and sketch content, themed playlists, brand challenges, creator takeovers, and reactive content around films such as Barbie, Matilda and Spiderman. We also amplified through paid media and creator-led content for ODEON's own channel. From "in the lobby" interviews with big-name creators, to family and parent aimed campaigns, the 6-month campaign was hugely varied and brilliantly successful. In 6 months, we grew their channel from 4,000 to 100,000, drove millions of views and engagements, and we’ve delivered an impressive ROAS of £14.70. Most importantly, we succeeded in reminding people that it #FeelsGoodToFeel and that NOTHING quite beats the cinema when it comes to watching a movie.

We ignited a Christmas shopping frenzy with our non-traditional take on the advent calendar competition. As a small Cotswold brewery up against iconic brands with global scale, we faced a challenge to make Hawkstone front of mind when it comes to Christmas drinking and gifting. We had a powerful asset in our outspoken founder Jeremy Clarkson, but past performance had shown that his persona doesn’t guarantee engagement or sales. If we were to meet the ambitious D2C targets, we needed an idea that would not only get people talking but also sharing and shopping. Our solution was to take a classic Christmas trope and subvert it in a uniquely Hawkstone fashion. Jeremy announced the Christmas Advent giveaway with ‘eccentric’ prizes he’d sourced from his Farm - some straw, twine, a welly boot. Even the grand prize, a dinged-up-and-dusty Jeep from The Grand Tour Colombia Special, was dug out from his barn. The giveaway sparked multiple viral posts and national news coverage while opening up a whole new customer base for the brand. With 22 million organic impressions and a whopping 1.7M engagements, the campaign delivered social performance scores that trampled those of industry giants. Even more impressively, it created real business impact, contributing to a 515% increase in y/y revenue, an ROI of 1520%, and considerable uplift in brand awareness and consideration metrics. Jeremy Clarkson’s celebrity may have given Hawkstone a head start, but the year-on-year growth proves that it’s the creativity of the approach that supercharged the performance.

When Chupa Chups requested McCann Birmingham deliver a new social media strategy that resonates with a Gen Z audience, we had to think big. Without hesitation, our team dove into a creative, innovative, and engaging organic content campaign for TikTok. The campaign blended careful social listening, and tactical trend-jacking while aligning the content with the brand’s ‘Forever Fun’ mantra to capture the attention of this new audience. Throughout 2023, we nailed our brief, shifting Chupa Chups audience targeting with relevant and imaginative TikTok content that surpassed our expectations. And with over 78,000 hours watched and a total of 33.3m video views, the results speak for themselves.

The "Sat-Cif-Faction" campaign was Cif Cream's cheeky wink, proving that even a heritage brand can crash the digital party and go viral, especially among the swipe-happy Millennials and Gen Z. With the ambition to significantly enhance penetration and secure a notable incremental turnover opportunity, the initiative adopted a digital-first approach, aligning with the evolving media consumption habits of its target audience. Central to this bold strategy was a first-to-market collaboration with TikTok, leveraging the #CleanTok movement to transform cleaning from a tedious task into an engaging, entertaining experience. The team crafted 10 TikTok-style videos that showcased Cif Cream's dirt-busting magic, all while backed by a soundtrack that would shock its audience enough to pause their scrolling. This wasn’t just advertising; it was a rallying cry for sponges everywhere demonstrating the wide usage versatility of the cream, the main barrier amongst the coveted millennial & gen-z audience. The campaign heroed Cif’s iconic DBA – it’s vibrant yellow creams bottle – with it front and centre of each creative. The campaign didn't just hit the mark; it blasted through it, setting records in engagement, VTR, and brand lift. Racking up over 240 million views and 741K likes, it didn’t just walk the digital runway; it sashayed. Notably, in France, it drove a 17% sales hike, raking in €1.2 million in incremental sales of creams. Cif Cream didn’t just talk at its audience; it authentically connected with them – driving reappraisal of the brand, making it the Unilever Homecare's most viral campaign ever

Constipation is no laughing matter. But when DulcoLax asked Weber Shandwick to help it address a category challenge, the agency spotted an opportunity to innovate and educate, with the UK’s affinity for toilet humour laying the foundations for a truly sh*t social campaign!

To spark a new, less-scary public health conversation about hearing loss with zero paid media budget, Specsavers worked with musician & internet icon, Rick Astley, to Rick-Roll the nations ears. Re-recording his famously misheard song 'Never Gonna Give You Up' with the lyrics people have been mishearing for years, then releasing it across social and radio with no explanation as the world's first Mass Hearing Test. Driving a national conversation around hearing loss, over 20 million organic social plays in 8 hours, blanket media coverage and a 1220% above target increase in Specsavers hearing test bookings. Changing the future of the nations ears.

Across 2023, Twisted partnered with Pepsi MAX to position it as the go-to drink for UK football fans. So we tapped into the food culture around football and leveraged insights on cooking trends among 16-34-year-olds to launch ‘15 minutes MAX’. In our social series we enlisted Big Zuu to cook up affordable, quality dishes inspired by Champions League games, in 15 minutes or less. From Loaded Animal Style fries to a Chicken Tikka & Chip Sandwich, we set out to show football fans the mountain of recipes they can make during the half time and pair with Pepsi MAX. And to truly allow our audiences to experience our recipes, we worked with Amazon to create a bespoke Amazon Fresh hub where viewers could order the recipe ingredients straight to their basket. And our audience loved it…

How do you get an audience to reappraise a brand that’s already famous? Challenge the status quo around women+’s health; uncensor the words that most social media channels ban… Vagina. Vulva. Clitoris. Uncomfortable? Are you wanting to edit this award entry and ‘tone it down’? Why? Women+ need to be able to say these words and talk openly about their health. Bodyform uncensored 40 words that women+ shouldn’t be afraid / censored from saying to create a permanent change that will benefit our audience and future generations to come. Bodyform not only became front of mind today, but made a positive difference that will last a lifetime.

Global audience growth sits firmly at the heart of Wimbledon’s strategic goals. As part of our long-term growth projections, our social media target was to reach a unique audience of 38m during Wimbledon 2023, up from 35m in 2022. But 2023 also marked the end of an era for Wimbledon; for the first time in 25 years, none of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams competed at The Championships. Shorn of these three fan favourites, who historically drove significant levels of organic engagement on social media, Wimbledon needed a new gameplan to reach its audience growth goals, and so set about implementing a more wide-ranging and engaging content strategy than ever before. Prominent among these plans was the aim of diversifying our content output, thereby reducing reliance on (increasingly absent) star names and on-court events, while also boosting interest in next-generation players. To execute our objectives, editorial freedom and storytelling - particularly in vertical formats - were placed firmly at the heart of Wimbledon's social strategy in order to further amplify the many on and off-court stories that make Wimbledon unique. The result? A Championships that broke all social engagement records for a tennis event, with: - 2.3bn impressions (+110% YoY) - 1.2bn video views (+104% YoY) - 105m engagements (+235% YoY) - +2m follower growth (+89% YoY) proving that the social media appetite for Wimbledon - and tennis - is stronger than ever.

In the shadow of a harrowing statistic where 200 lives are lost daily to smoking in the UK, the challenge of piercing the collective numbness to smoking's devastation has never been more daunting. Amidst stringent advertising restrictions and a weary public, Riot Labs embarked on a heartfelt crusade, "A Year to Change the Status Quo of Smoking Cessation," aiming to rekindle the conversation on this silent epidemic with a series of bold, thought-provoking stunts. Our journey was one of creative rebellion, from the whimsical yet poignant "King Charles Sausage Finger Vapes" that captured the nation's imagination during a momentous royal event, to the nostalgic echoes of East 17's "Merry Quitmas," a melody against smoking wrapped in the warmth of Christmas spirit. The "Morbid Mother's Day Cards" laid bare the grim reality of smoking with a love that dared to speak the truth, while "Fight The Vape Tax" stood as a defiant cry against policies that hinder cessation efforts. These acts of creative defiance not only broke through the media's clutter, earning national and international spotlight, but they also stirred conversations, and drove a significant surge in engagement. Riot Labs' campaign was a testament to the power of emotion and innovation in reigniting the urgency of smoking cessation, proving that even the most entrenched battles can be fought with creativity, compassion, and courage.

At Tesco Mobile we believe that, like food or toiletries, connection is one of life’s essentials. Yet 1.7 million UK households are currently without internet connectivity at home. With an ambition to be the leading voice in human connection, we partnered with the Trussell Trust to launch the Little Helps Databank – a means to distribute SIMs and data to people facing hardship via the organisation’s network of food banks. We were tasked with using PR to not only raise awareness of the partnership, but also answer why the Little Helps Databank exists. Digital exclusion is a little spoken about topic in the UK and many don’t understand its severity. We needed to change that. So, we had a clever idea – what if we tackled the issue of digital exclusion by using a digital first? We released the world's first 'infinite zoom' children's e-book, using ground-breaking technology to create a dynamic story that readers could directly interact with. Written in partnership with author and activist, Katie Piper, ‘Alfie’s Magic Phone’ followed the story of a young boy living without connectivity and explored how his world was transformed when he discovered a magical phone that transported him to ‘Dataville’. Inspired by first-hand accounts from the Trussell Trust and supported with research and interviews, the campaign secured a magical 1,297 pieces of coverage across broadcast, digital and print (1197% higher than our KPI). And with 100% messaging inclusion, it brought the issue of digital exclusion to a reach of 246 million.

In 2022, we launched the Barclays Community Football Fund (BCFF) with our charity partner, Sported. The aim: create opportunities for underrepresented communities in society to access football for its wider benefits – connecting communities, increasing confidence, and providing life skills for greater social mobility. The innovative programme focuses on women and girls; lower socio-economic areas; racially diverse communities; people with disabilities; and people from the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve provided 2,910 community groups with access to vital funding and support reaching 431,163 young people. 96% of groups said they were able to engage new young people from underrepresented groups.

Cadbury Fingers was entering the second year of its ‘Sign With Fingers Big and Small’ initiative - a partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society, aimed at encouraging the nation to learn some BSL and help deaf people feel more included in everyday shared moments. Research told us that football is the most popular sport amongst deaf people. But the fact that 55% of people with deafness regularly feel left out of match day experiences due to a lack of deaf awareness is no cause for celebration. We leveraged an existing commercial partnership with Chelsea FC, and developed an emotive campaign that started with 40,000 football fans making history at Stamford Bridge with a heart-warming half time performance of iconic Chelsea club anthem ‘Blue is the Colour’ in British Sign Language. Chelsea’s top players got in on the action, learning a range of everyday BSL phrases and long-term commitments were made to improve deaf inclusion across the club. The campaign achieved: • Blanket coverage in the media • 4.6 million organic views of our content in one month • 17% increase in association of the Cadbury Fingers brand and its purpose of ‘everyday moments of connection’ • Since the campaign, 50% of Brits would now consider learning some BSL for the purposes of inclusion The campaign also contributed to the brand’s double digit growth leading Cadbury Fingers to take the number 1 spot in the sweet biscuits equity index in 2023

49% of British farmers expect to be out of business within the next 12 months. The cause? The behaviour of the ‘Big Six’ supermarkets and their suppliers – a lack of commitment, long payment terms and unnecessarily wasted produce – driving British farmers to the brink of extinction. Enough is enough – organic veg box company Riverford took action. Riverford’s #GetFairAboutFarming campaign led to over 113,000 signatures on a government petition, a response in the House of Lords, the backing of farmers, celebrities, MPs and industry bodies, and a Parliamentary debate on the issue on January 22nd 2024, along with unmissable media headlines.

The rail network is all too often the backdrop for tragic incidents of suicide. But did you know that these incidents can act as the trigger for more such tragedies? Because sadly, for people whose mental health is already low, hearing about a suicide in their area can activate their own suicidal thoughts. So, Network Rail works with Chasing the Stigma who maintain a mental health app called Hub of Hope. This connects people instantly to sources of support, letting them know that help is always out there, ready and waiting. But research showed that we faced a big challenge: the critical periods are the immediate 48 hours after the incident and 10 days later. So how could we target people with our vital message within that critical window? It couldn’t be the old way, where the incident had to be reported and verified, before the post message was briefed and created, then approved and, finally, went live. We realised that the best way to help our fellow humans was to take the human out of the process. We created a bespoke tech solution that triggers a Dynamic Local Response ad via Meta in real time using what3words to precisely geotarget the message and pre-loaded creative parameters to build the post. Because this is one kind of human intervention that can’t wait for human intervention.

For World Mental Health Day, ASICS wanted to spread a positive message: "A personal best is not a number. It's a feeling." The goal was to highlight the mental health benefits of exercise and encourage people to embrace exercising publicly, regardless of societal expectations. So, Starcom and ASICS teamed up with Good-Loop to launch an innovative campaign to make a real difference. Working with Good-Loop, ASICS partnered with leading mental health charities across Europe, including Mind in the UK, to promote the benefits of exercise on mental health. Together, they not only amplified mental health messages on social media but also raised funds for a good cause through Good-Loop's ‘don’t skip to donate’ video feature. This initiative aimed to put ASICS' support for mental health into action and create a positive connection with the brand. The partnership between ASICS and Good-Loop allowed Starcom to take the brand’s paid campaigns to new heights. The team achieved astounding results that eclipsed usual performance, whilst – most importantly – earning donations to support those in crisis. This was truly a campaign for good, delivering results for both ASICS and the mental health charities involved.

By 2023, the installation of new Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) along the railways of South Wales was underway. The construction of electric wires would pave the way for new trains, designed to be smoother, quieter and more environmentally friendly. This project would be great news for everyone…well, apart from teenage boys, that is. Between 2021 and 2022, there were around 1000 cases of teenagers trespassing on railway lines around the valleys. Usually this involved young lads mucking about, daring each other to run across tracks. Now, teenage mischief is inevitable– but this particular mischief resulted in 15 deaths in one year. And that’s before any electrification. With OLE on the way, Transport for Wales needed to communicate the increased risk of trespassing – with 25,000 volts of overhead electricity, what was once a fun game might be the end game for local teenagers. Our campaign went where most people don’t want to go – into the minds of teenage boys. We uncovered what drives their appetite for risk and how best to curb their enthusiasm for danger. Rather than focusing on safety messages, we piggy-backed on stuff that interested them – namely social media and the world pre-loved clothing. Our ‘No Second Chances’ campaign delivered hard hitting messages through fake fashion ads and a popup shop. The campaign was a huge success. Awareness of the new track electrification shot up by 17% in a few weeks and we saw a 50% drop in trespassing between 2022-2023.

Sound is a bilingual anti-violence platform for young men, saying no to violence against women and girls. It has one aim: Make Wales the safest place in the world to be a woman. Within six months the campaign has changed the national approach to violence prevention. It has been mentioned at Westminster and the UN as best practice and global anti-violence practitioners have hopped on a plane to find out more. Sound was co-produced with men through extensive community engagement. It listens to men and supports them to discover their role in finding solutions to gender-based violence, to benefit everyone. In a world of polarised attitudes towards equality, men in Wales want to be part of the solution – their overwhelming response to this campaign proves it.

NHS Blood and Transplant have an urgent shortage of paediatric organ donors, with 233 children on the waiting list for a transplant. The Waiting to Live campaign made this invisible wait public, telling the real-life stories of children seeking a lifesaving donation. The campaign, which launched in November 2023, centred around an emotive stunt in waiting rooms across the country. 233 bespoke dolls, representing individual children, appeared in hospitals and GP surgeries. Visitors were able to scan a QR code to learn more about the children's stories and register as organ donors. The installation was accompanied by OOH, TV, press, and influencer, generating over 1.5 billion impressions through earned media alone.

Thumbstoppers created a completely fake Michelin star restaurant which allowed diners to experience first hand the injustice and frustration of the growing problem of food disparity in a world of abundance. Our client World Vision (a top global NGO) challenged Thumbstoppers to deliver a live experience-to-social campaign that promised to be their most ambitious campaign stunt ever as part of their 'Enough' campaign to end world hunger. Our fake VIP restaurant experience came equipped with real food, fake staff and of course, a fake Michelin star chef. We recruited famous foodie creators such as @FoodReviewclub, celebrities, and press to dine at our 'exclusive' venue and filmed their experience in the style of first dates with the uncomfortable suspense of the movie: The menu. They entered our tense, strange restaurant with the theatre of exclusive fine dining with one major theme: Inequality. Each of our couples had a frustratingly-luxurious Instagrammable experience and were encouraged to record as they normally would in any food review or VIP experience. One of them was served a full Michelin prepared experience - the other, most definitely wasn't. Food was always so close, but so far away and sharing was NOT allowed. The experience was captured on 8 hidden cameras and edited into a 2 min hero film while our creators recorded and shared their experience from their perspective entertaining and educating their audience at the same time to break with traditional non-profit communications norms and beat the attention challenge of compassion fatigue.

What do you think of when you think about football? Most people envision male players, male fans, the male game. Women's football is – still – only a marginal sport in Germany and most other countries. In addition to a lack of media coverage, there is also a lack of symbols and rituals with which fans and the public can identify. With the "Audi x FC Bayern Fan Jacket", Audi and FC Bayern Women have tackled precisely this issue: Using a reinterpretation of the deeply masculine fan jacket, the campaign broke down outdated thought patterns and created a platform that uses creativity and design to create a positive, inclusive future for football. A future in which the distinction between men's and women's football will eventually become obsolete.

The challenge was substantial. At more than one hundred years old, Wimbledon is one of the most traditional sporting events in the world. Meanwhile, live terrestrial TV sports viewership has been declining -7% year on year, and fans mirrored ageing populations. Trends which must be reversed if Wimbledon is to thrive for another hundred years. The plan was to modernise the brand, drive acquisition without alienating its core. Balance heritage and innovation, engage and entertain audiences globally: through a fresh campaign, media strategy, content, digital activations and experiential. Wimbledon put the challenge at the core with an inclusive campaign, ‘Always Like Never Before’. With little media budget it gained a 32:1 ROI via free broadcast play globally. We crafted a viral that delivered over 500m engagements pre-Championships, led the way as No.1 brand on Roblox, smashed it on Fortnite, innovated with AI commentary, and even took the iconic spectator Hill to New York. Unprecedented results followed: a +4% increase in digital content garnered, +135% in engagements and +89% in followers with +9bn engagements globally. TV viewership bucked the trend increasing +9%. Top and bottom line financials broke records and as a not-for-profit we returned a record breaking £52m to the LTA to develop grassroots and high performance tennis in Britain. Not bad for a 14-day event with flat marketing budgets. The long term result matters most; the broadest ever audience is engaged, demonstrated by demand to attend in 2024 up +50% versus the highest ever year both domestically and internationally.

This all started with a question- how could we use our platform to help save a life? Our #YouAreNotAlone video was the latest activation that Norwich City Football Club delivered on the subject of mental health, and was the culmination of our activity around World Mental Health Day 2023. A data point provided the foundation- the average age of our season ticket holders correlates to the age bracket most likely to take their own life (45-49). Our short film, produced entirely in-house, was designed to show two supporters who fall into the high risk age bracket, and dispel the myth that just because someone appears okay on the surface, they may not be. The video went truly viral- it's been viewed over 146 million times in over 150 countries. More importantly, it was responsible for over 7500 inbound messages to Samaritans, which accounted to 63% of all messages around World Mental Health Day. However, this was part of a wider campaign. Ahead of World Mental Health Day 2023, our shirt sponsors generously gifted their logos to Samaritans, helping to raise awareness of the vital work the charity offers. Shirts were then auctioned, with profits donated to Samaritans. We then invited all Championship clubs to take part in a matchday social media initiative, where a fictional line-ups graphic showed the importance of checking in with loved ones. Remarkably all took part, achieving 3.3m organic impressions and ensuring we could spread this important message to supporters across the country.

SailGP is the world’s most exciting racing on water. It’s grand prix racing like you’ve never seen before – and one of the world’s fastest-growing sport & entertainment properties. As SailGP focused on expansive fan growth in Season 4, the League recognised the need to fight for attention within the next generation of sports fans, driving awareness among new audiences. SailGP worked with agency partners WePlay to identify an audience targeting strategy focussed on a ‘racing audience’, develop a creative route and launch a breakthrough Season 4 global brand campaign. ‘We Are Racing’ launched with a media-first 3D out-of-home takeover at the world-renowned Piccadilly-Lights in London and Al Qana site in Abu Dhabi. The social media campaign engaged over 33 million new racing fans in 12 markets across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, exceeding forecasts by 112%. Website traffic saw a 5x uplift with 93% of those visitors new to the site. Google searches for ‘SailGP’ increased by 80% during the campaign. Campaign creative ran throughout the season in official broadcast products, event marketing including OOH and on-site event branding, showcasing a breakthrough 360-campaign. This resulted in SailGP being the fastest-growing sports property in the UAE in Q2 & Q3 2023*. SailGP awareness in the market is now 16% - which has almost doubled in 8 months, placing our awareness in the market above the PGA Tour in the latest survey results. * (Brand awareness growth Vs other major sports brands, ref YouGov wave 2 study) **(Benchmark 8.9% in S03)