WINNER
Hope is Power
by Uncommon Creative Studio, for The Guardian
In 2019, the Guardian broke even for the first time in recent history, with over one million people providing them with financial support. It was a milestone in its strategy as, unlike many newspapers, the site exists without a paywall and so relies on these donations. The brief for Uncommon was to double this supporter base to two million by 2022, across the UK, US and Australia.
‘Hope is Power’ was born from Katharine Viner’s letter when she became the paper’s editor. In it, she said that the title’s role was to “build hope”. From this, a butterfly-themed campaign (featuring a bold yellow colour palette) was born which drew on the Guardian’s independent credentials. One poster read: “When you’re owned by no one you’re free to challenge anyone.” Another said: “Change is possible. Hope is Power.” The strategy also sought to empower people who were feeling increasingly despondent and powerless while reading the news. As well as on billboards, the campaign launched on the Guardian’s landing page, and drew over 200,000 visits. And in the first week of the launch, the Guardian had its biggest week of the year in terms of financial contributions.
The judges said: “This winning entry shows clear, powerful, creative execution, with the strength of the imagery really coming through in the overall messaging behind the campaign. The use of colour and type is eye- catching, and the symbolism of the butterfly image which represents hope, change and life makes this an effective campaign, meeting the brief and achieving successful results for the client.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Redefining what it means to be an exile
by UnitedUs, for London Irish Rugby Club
London Irish brought in UnitedUs to mark the rugby club’s move back to London from Reading, where it had been located for the last decade. The brief was to raise the club’s profile among the crowd of rugby rivals that populate the area around the club’s new stadium in Brentford. The new strategy is based around the idea of exiles and plays on the club’s history – it was originally for Irish expatriates. The Exile Nation positioning shows that the club is a place for exiles to come together: “making up one like-minded nation that cannot be contained by the location of a stadium”. To accompany this message, a visual system inspired by flags was created. UnitedUs created a campaign logo based on the club’s flag and also a custom typeface which evokes the movement of a flag and players’ movements during a match.
Powered by Positive
by Greenspace, for Battersea Power Station Development
To position the Battersea Power Station – one of London’s largest regeneration projects – Greenspace came up with ‘Powered by Positive’. The idea played on the site’s original use as a power station as well as an attempt to create a “shared sense of optimism” for the new living area.
Included in the launch was a three-minute film that used live-action and CGI footage to show the finished development. An on-site immersion room featured an interactive display where visitors can learn about the building’s history and view flats through augmented reality. The focus on digital was an attempt to create a more versatile branding project, which could be added to as the development progressed.
BRAND STRATEGY
UCL - Brand repositioning
by Jack Renwick Studio, for UCL
To help position UCL’s standing on the world stage, Jack Renwick studio played on the university’s “radical” history. It was, for example, the first university in England to offer places to women and to those from any religious background. This resulted in an “attitude-led” core positioning: ‘The home of brave thinkers’. Around this, the studio launched a campaign in the spring of 2019, ‘Disruptive thinking since 1826’, which featured two contrasting images – one showing a current problem for the world, and the second illustrating how UCL is responding. Topics ranged from plastic pollution to driverless vehicles and this was accompanied by a social engagement campaign, which included podcasts and a TEDx talk.