The Economist
Raising eyebrows. And subscriptions.
This was some of my best doing, best directing, and best fun. And it's the kind of transformational campaign I can bring to a brand.
With inspirational clients, a smart media partner and creatives born ready for the brand, we all knew we were a part of something exceptional from day one.
We created great work that worked wonders commercially – recognised by our peers with a Cannes Effectiveness Gold Lion and IPA Effectiveness awards.
[This article showed that female CEOs actually behave
much like men.]
The Economist needed a new base of younger subscribers. These ‘Progressives’ viewed the publication as too narrowly focused on finance and politics, and not especially relevant to them.
So, we had to challenge perceptions – without destroying the intellectual legacy of the famous brand ads of the past. Rather than talking about how clever the readers are, for the first time we’d show how smart the content is.
In addition to creative and strategic leadership, I couldn't help but be hands-on with the writing and concepting. Well, The Economist is the copywriter's Mount Everest.
We hooked readers with smart, contextually-relevant, ads. Then delivered them to our bespoke content hub, primed to experience a full Economist article for themselves. And ravenous for more.
All told we delivered over 5,200,000 prospects and 64,405 new subscribers worth a lifetime value of £51.7m. That's a whole new Economist audience, captured in a completely new way.
It's been a success with awards too. Picking up a Cannes Effectiveness Gold Lion and 2 IPA Effectiveness Golds, as well as a Cannes Innovation Lion and the DMA Grand Prix.
