Ford and Born Social celebrate the people who keep the UK moving with ‘Another Ford Transit’ in new campaign
Ford Pro and Born Social have launched ‘Another Ford Transit’, a new campaign that aims to celebrate the people behind the popular Ford Transit van and the role they play in getting the working day started. The campaign uses footage that captured 320 of the vans passing a single stretch of road in just an hour at 5am in the UK, setting out to show people exactly how popular the vehicle is rather than simply telling them.
The real, unstaged footage is the campaign’s hero film, transforming Transit’s everyday visibility into a celebration of the people behind the wheel. Building on Ford’s wider ‘Mornings Made Possible by Doers’ territory, ‘Another Ford Transit’ shifts attention from the vans themselves to the tradespeople, business owners and workers already on the road while much of the UK is still waking up.
The campaign will run across organic and paid social, supported by cutdowns, with paid content driving audiences through to book a test drive.
Mint Gecko announces major Asian expansion as Managing Director moves abroad
Mint Gecko has announced a significant expansion into Asia following Managing Director Chloe Lillywhite’s decision to move there. The development marks an important milestone in the company’s international growth strategy. Unlike more conventional market entries, the expansion has required no substantial investment, lengthy regulatory negotiations or expensive regional recruitment drive.
Mint Gecko has confirmed that its new Asian operation will offer the full range of marketing, PR, creative and strategic services available through its UK business, with the added benefit of round-the-clock international coverage and the occasional challenge of establishing what time anyone is actually available for a meeting.
The expansion also reflects a central principle of the Mint Gecko Habitat: that talented, independent professionals should have the freedom to build successful careers around the lives they want to lead, rather than the other way around. The company has spent considerable time developing a model that gives experienced people the infrastructure, support and professional community to work on their own terms. In Lillywhite’s case, this has had the unintended but commercially convenient consequence of turning Mint Gecko into an increasingly multinational operation.
Channel 4 commissions its first microdrama series in partnership with Sol de Janeiro, curly media
In partnership with global beauty brand Sol de Janeiro, Channel 4 has commissioned its first microdrama, The Guest List. A five-part microdrama series produced by creative agency curly media, the vertical drama will dip into the lives of a friendship group of four women in their twenties and their relatable, aspirational stories.
The four characters, Amaka, Aisha, Bella and Mika, are all hard-working women navigating life as young people in London. Across the five vertical shorts, viewers will experience a story of career dilemmas and new crushes, to getting ready for a night out. Watching their lives unfold through the intimacy of their group chat, capturing the energy, humour and unfiltered support of modern womanhood. Each character draws inspiration from a different scent in Sol de Janeiro’s brand-new Intense Mist fragrance range.
The Guest List was commissioned for Channel 4 by Ameenah Taher, Digital Commissioning Executive. curly media’s Emma Walker is executive producer, and Jade Greene is series producer. Zenith UK brokered the partnership, working closely with Channel 4 and Sol de Janeiro to transform the brand’s fragrance portfolio into entertainment. The series will premiere on Channel 4’s Meta, TikTok and YouTube social platforms from 24 October.
Related reading: Authentic engagement and earned attention: Why Co-op ventured into the world of microdramas
A fresh Start: Consultancy marks 10 years with new brand and expanded B2B offering
B2B marketing consultancy Start is marking 10 years in business with a new brand identity and website, reflecting the evolution of the business over the past decade.
Founded in 2016, Start has grown from a marketing communications business into a broader B2B consultancy, with a remit spanning marketing strategy, fractional leadership and delivery. The refreshed brand sees the business drop ‘Communication’ from its trading name as it enters its second decade.
The new identity was developed in collaboration with AJR Creative Advertising, helping Start to articulate its broader remit and collaborative model. Start has built an experienced core team, supported by a trusted network of specialist freelancers, independents and partner agencies. Its clients include Manchester Metropolitan University, Envair Technology and Pure Insight.
The consultancy assembles specialist teams around individual client requirements, working alongside in-house marketing functions and with agency partners. Its model is built around supporting the freelance and independent creative community and the consultancy is proud to extend its values of flexible working, fair pay and the principles of the GM Good Employment Charter to that wider network.
Invest for the Future and M+C Saatchi Group UK team up to make investing feel more accessible
Invest for the Future, the industry-led, nationwide retail investment campaign, has launched a new TV spot starring the character of Savvy the Squirrel, created by M+C Saatchi Group UK. The film is part of a major integrated push and is the second phase of a multi-year campaign designed to shift behaviour at scale and make investing feel accessible to millions of UK savers.
The campaign connects investing to a behaviour that people already understand – saving – and encourages them to consider it as an achievable next step. Savvy aims to embody that shift, investing some of what he saves and taking a more confident, long-term view in contrast to his squirrel counterparts who hoard money and hoping for the best. The campaign aims to educate people at different stages of their investing journey, from those just starting to explore the idea or sitting on the fence to those who are almost ready or looking to take action.
The campaign is running across linear TV and video on demand, alongside radio, digital audio, podcasts, out of home, press, social, display and search. A significantly increased media investment in this second phase aims to extend its reach and build recognition of Savvy and the wider initiative. Media is handled by the7stars.
The new activity follows positive results from the campaign’s first phase, which delivered 124 million paid media impressions and more than 216,000 clicks using 18% of the full year’s planned media spend. In pre- and post-campaign research, the proportion of people agreeing that “investing is for people like me” rose from 59% to 65%. After seeing and hearing the advertising, 49% said they were more likely to consider investing, while 83% said they had taken or would take at least one of the actions listed in the survey, such as researching investing. In the wider survey, the proportion of savers who said some of their savings were invested rose from 36% to 42%.
The Wine Society appoints Art of the Possible as digital customer acquisition and paid media partner
Member-owned wine cooperate The Wine Society has appointed Art of the Possible as its digital customer acquisition and paid media partner. The appointment will see Art of the Possible help The Wine Society introduce its brand to new audiences, test new digital routes to acquisition and convert interest into membership at scale.
Art of the Possible has been tasked with helping the organisation “fill the funnel” by reaching new, attitudinally aligned audiences who have an interest in wine, food, discovery and quality, but may not yet know, understand, or have considered joining The Wine Society. While attracting a new and potentially younger audience forms an important part of the growth opportunity, the strategy will focus on attitudes and interests rather than defining prospective members purely by age.
The initial programme will take a test-and-learn approach, combining paid Meta activity with creator and influencer content and new creative. The challenge will be not simply to generate reach and awareness, but to demonstrate how paid social can become a measurable and scalable acquisition channel for a highly established membership brand. Art of the Possible will bring together paid media, social-first creative and creator expertise within one connected team, allowing the agency to test audiences, creative and conversion routes while continually optimising towards membership growth.
Sycamore Communications joins forces with Podlot Studios
Sycamore Communications, a PR and talent agency based in Bristol and Essex, and Podlot Studios, a professional podcast production studio based in Essex, have joined forces to offer brands, entrepreneurs and industry experts a more comprehensive approach to podcasting.
The new approach will combine professional production, strategic guest booking and PR support in order to help clients create compelling content and reach new audiences, while empowering creators to establish themselves as credible voices in their industries. The partnership brings together Sycamore’s expertise in media relations, podcast guest placement, personal branding and thought leadership with Podlot Studios’ professional recording and production capabilities.
As podcasting continues to become an important part of the digital media and marketing landscape, this partnership aims to give businesses the opportunity to connect content creation with a wider publicity strategy, in order to create high-quality podcasts and talk shows, bring in strong guests, and generate the publicity needed to grow their audiences.
Further reading: NDA Podcast Network launches as a hub to celebrate the industry’s best podcasts
Just Eat and VCCP launch new long-term global brand platform
Takeaway brand Just Eat has announced the launch of its new global brand platform, Stay Just Where You Are. The platform is built around a simple, relatable human truth: when you’re in a moment that brings you joy, the last thing you want to do is leave. The insight is backed by research showing that 81% of people say they want to spend more time in the moments they enjoy.
Developed in partnership with global creative agency VCCP, the new work is directed by Michael Spiccia through production company MJZ. At the heart of the campaign are eight films, exploring the moments in life people don’t want to leave: from a grandad bonding with his grandchild for the first time to friends locked in trying to secure festival tickets or making the most of that last hour of sunlight.
Supporting these core assets, VCCP’s content creation studio Girl&Bear produced an additional eleven social films shot by Pip & Lib, and six OOH executions photographed by Amanda Fordyce. These use a minimalist style to observe a suite of moments spanning gaming, watching football, hanging out with friends and a family enjoying game night. Stay Just Where You Are is designed as a long-term platform for Just Eat, providing the foundation for how the brand shows up across its marketing and beyond.
The campaign spans TV, OOH, social, print, radio and PR activations and was developed in collaboration with agency partners, with creative led by VCCP, media managed through WPP Media, PR executed by VCCP Roar, and social delivered via Fabric.
Gousto and The Romans set out to tackle food label confusion with ‘What the Food’
Creative PR agency The Romans and recipe box brand Gousto have launched ‘What The Food’, a new campaign and AI-powered tool to help Brits decode the ingredients on the back of food packets. The launch comes as new research from the brand reveals that one in three Brits admit they wouldn’t be able to explain some of the ingredients found in everyday foods, while 21% have simply given up trying to understand ingredient lists altogether.
At the heart of the campaign is Gousto brand ambassador and comedian Katherine Ryan, who brings her trademark sharp wit to some of the UK’s most head-scratching ingredients – proving nutrition doesn’t have to be dry or daunting to be informative.
The AI-powered tool enables users to search for ingredients on the go and get a simple, accurate and amusing definition. An AI-powered scanner extension also lets shoppers scan the back of a food packet for an instant explanation mid-shop. Keeping the laughs grounded in fact is registered nutritionist Rob Hobson, who brings the nutritional expertise behind the tool – the ‘Science’ to Katherine Ryan’s ‘Sense’. Together, the pair aim to bring a more relatable approach to understanding what’s on our plates, moving away from simply labelling ingredients as “good” or “bad” and instead helping people to make more informed choices about their diet.
The campaign is part of Gousto’s aim to make nutritional knowledge more accessible, giving Brits the confidence to make better choices at dinner time. The campaign was brought to life through stills shot by Serpell-Rand Ltd, alongside social content shot and produced by Lightfoot Agency; while the ‘What The Food’ tool was developed by Synergy Group.
Search Magic makes major UK push with specialist SEO for pharmacy, beauty and health brands
Search Magic, a UK-based search engine optimisation agency, has announced an expansion into the UK pharmaceutical and supplements sectors, launching a specialist offering designed to strengthen brand demand and visibility across traditional and AI-powered search.
The new offering focuses on two priorities for pharmaceutical and supplement brands: increasing the number of consumers searching for them by name, known as branded search demand, and strengthening their visibility within AI-powered search platforms.
As AI-powered search introduces new ways to discover and compare products, a brand’s presence in generated answers is becoming another important area of competition. The new offering combines SEO, digital PR, content strategy and AI search optimisation to increase branded search demand and improve the likelihood of brands being discovered and referenced in relevant search results and AI-generated responses.
The expansion builds on Search Magic’s experience through its long-standing partnership with online pharmacies and the extension of its work with British pharmacy chain Weldricks Pharmacy.
Say Yes and Verse merge to form Common
Ecommerce and creative marketing agencies Say Yes and Verse have merged to create Common, a design and build practice centred around commerce systems and digital experience, with migrating key accounts including Mitchells & Butlers, Myomaster and Union Coffee.
Co-founder and CEO Phil Clark has appointed commerce specialist John Brolly to the newly-created role of Chief Orchestration Officer to strengthen the existing senior team. Brolly brings extensive experience from previous agency work across accounts including Percival, Montirex, Nicole Farhi, Puma, Size? and more.
He will work closely alongside Creative Lead Jordan Donnelly, who has previously worked on accounts including Viviene Westwood, Virgin Media and Sipsmith Gin, while Hayley Gardener takes up the role of Account Director at Common after a close to 10-year tenure at Verse leading the Mitchells & Butlers account. The Common team is based across offices in London and York, backed by a team of 30 staff.
Rakuten Viki and Unfold launch new brand campaign featuring K-Pop group Le Sserafim
Asian entertainment destination Rakuten Viki has launched a new brand campaign starring global K-Pop group Le Sserafim, “Viki Pass It On”. It aims to celebrates the passionate fans powering Asian entertainment’s skyrocketing global popularity with a video spot running on CTV as well as major social and digital channels. In addition, Le Sserafim has curated a watch list for Viki subscribers of the group members’ favorite Asian series.
Created in partnership with creative agency Unfold, “Viki Pass It On” launches as Viki’s audience approaches 130 million registered users. It follows the recent premiere of Viki’s original K-drama co-production Dive into You, with the debut of another co-production, Korean animated series The Painted Soul, coming to Viki on October 21.
The ad spot celebrates fans’ passion for Asian entertainment. As Le Sserafim prepares to take the stage, the group passes around a mobile device, with each member spotlighting a favourite Viki show that reflects her personality. Each handoff captures the essence of how fan culture spreads: the thrill of discovering something you love and sharing it with friends.
