England and Arsenal footballer Declan Rice has partnered with Müller UK & Ireland to launch his very own limited-edition Müller Rice flavour: Raspberry & White Chocolate. The integrated campaign – created by VCCP Blue – kicks off with a takeover of Rice’s favourite London spot, renamed Dec’s Café. The campaign is led by a hero social film featuring Rice as head chef at Dec’s Café, opening up the shop, unpacking deliveries and whipping up his signature Müller Rice flavour. The film has launched across both Rice’s and Müller’s social channels. The campaign extends in-store with accompanying visuals and tactical OOH placements outside Asda stores and in proximity to Arsenal hotspots in London from 17 July.
Guide Dogs, one of the UK’s leading sight loss charities, is working with socially-led agency We Are Social to support its fundraising plans. We Are Social has been appointed as growth strategy partner to change perceptions and move ‘beyond the dog.’ Guide Dogs recently launched ‘Forward, Together’ – a 15-year strategy and positioning across a series of strategic pillars focused on purpose, moving from mobility to access, and self-belief. We Are Social has worked with the charity to connect this strategy with consumer and corporate fundraising audiences, with recommendations backed by consumer research, undertaken by the agency. We Are Social hosted strategic workshops with key stakeholders and delivered a growth strategy aimed at shifting consumer perception, and examined how to consolidate and develop fundraising products to unlock and maximise fundraising potential.
Royal Mail has launched its first-ever talent-led campaign. Devised by independent media agency the7stars, the campaign features popular TV personalities, including Judi Love, Josh Widdicombe, and Micah Richards. It’s running across linear TV, BVOD, and SVOD platforms, targeting key programming Celebrity Gogglebox, Coronation Street, Formula 1, Sky News, and coverage of the Women’s Euros. The AV activity is supported by radio, outdoor billboards, social, and digital channels, while an OOH campaign by AMV will optimise targeting across high dwell time formats in roadside and transport environments.
New research from social agency Billion Dollar Boy has revealed that burnout is a widespread and persistent challenge for creators, with growing implications for the long-term health of the creator economy. The study found that more than half (52%) of creators have experienced burnout as a direct result of their career, leading nearly two in five (37%) to actively consider leaving the profession altogether. The findings are based on a survey of 1,000 creators and 1,000 senior marketers across the US and UK. When asked about the primary causes of burnout, creative fatigue is the most frequently cited (40%), followed by demanding workloads (31%) and constant screen time (27%). Yet when asked to rank these causes by severity, financial instability emerges as the number one factor (55%) among those who have experienced burnout. Three in five creators (59%) say it’s having a negative impact on their careers, and 58% say it’s affecting their overall wellbeing. Encouragingly, both creators and marketers agree that responsibility for addressing burnout is shared across the industry. Three quarters (71%) of creators believe brands and platforms have a responsibility to protect their welfare, and a similar number (68%) say the same for agencies. Among marketers, that number rises to 76% for brands and agencies, and 78% for platforms. Support, however, appears mixed. Only around half of creators feel they receive adequate support from brands (48%), agencies (49%) or platforms (49%). By contrast, 60–63% of marketers believe these groups are providing enough support.
Pilgrim’s Europe has appointed independent agency Joint as its new lead creative partner. The agency will lead creative across the UK brands within Pilgrim’s Europe portfolio, including Richmond and Fridge Raiders. Joint will spearhead the development of insight-led brand platforms for Richmond and Fridge Raiders, with full launches planned for early 2026. The campaigns will span AV, social, and OOH. Joint’s remit will include brand strategy and integrated creative, working alongside Pilgrim’s Europe’s existing agency partners including Dentsu X, Initials CX, and Bloom.
The Department for Education (DfE) has appointed VCCP as its lead strategic and creative agency for the recruitment of Further Education (FE) teachers across England. VCCP has been tasked with developing a bold, integrated platform to attract and retain additional FE teachers.
Customer experience agency Initials CX has announced the launch of ‘100 Ways to Summer,’ an integrated summer campaign for Arriva’s Grand Central Rail. The campaign highlights the different ways people can share experiences across London, encouraging them to book return train tickets. Live across broadcast video on demand, cinema, paid social, programmatic, out-of-home, radio and Grand Central’s owned channels, the campaign targets leisure travellers across the North East, West Yorkshire and London. It will run through to September 2025.
Cornish clotted cream maker Rodda’s has unveiled its first-ever TV campaign. Developed in collaboration with McCann Bristol, ‘It’s Godda Be Rodda’s’ aims to expand the appeal of clotted cream. It takes viewers to a dinner party where a berry tart is about to be served with plain cream. However, the voiceover calls out to the host, breaking the fourth wall, and directs her to Rodda’s clotted cream instead. The creative will run across TV, connected TV, and social, alongside a creator-led content programme throughout July.
Ecommerce marketing agency Nest Commerce has announced an expansion of its US client portfolio, winning ecommerce brands Fresh Clean Threads and Honeylove for paid search, paid social, and creative optimisation. The partnerships will support the brands to strategically expand into the UK and European markets, especially as ongoing US tariff uncertainty makes Europe an increasingly attractive destination. Nest will develop full-funnel strategies and creative optimisation in a bid to build awareness and drive customer acquisition for both brands. Both campaigns will be powered by Hummingbird, Nest’s proprietary technology. Nest will also provide creative strategy and asset optimisation services through its in-house creative studio, Nest Studio.
Cult Kits, a football fashion brand, has launched its first ever campaign and brand platform, ‘The Shirt Matters,’ in collaboration with creative agency VCCP Blue and content creation studio Girl&Bear. The campaign has launched globally across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, targeting adults who love football, fashion and film, and who see sport as part of a wider creative culture. At the heart of the campaign is a short film, ‘Wiseguys,’ written and directed by VCCP creative Paul Kocur and brought to life by Girl&Bear Studios’ production team, with post-production handled by Girl&Bear Post. It places the football shirt at the centre of a classic gangster standoff.
Assembly, a Stagwell-owned media agency, has announced the launch of Assembly Control, a proprietary brand safety and suitability solution built to give advertisers greater control over where their ads appear while unlocking stronger media performance. The product is officially rolling throughout the month of July, supported globally from Assembly’s hubs in New York, London, Singapore, and Dubai. Assembly Control was built in partnership with an ad verification and measurement platform for digital media.
On 3 July, creative agency Elvis and Greenpeace launched ‘They can’t arrest this billboard’ – a simultaneous digital protest across three UK cities which enabled activists to make their stand inside digital out-of-home screens. Presented in partnership with Amnesty International UK, Friends of the Earth and Liberty, the campaign forms part of a growing movement asking the government to restore people’s right to make their voices heard on issues they care about by reversing anti-protest measures in two key pieces of legislation passed since 2022. The virtual protest happened across Ocean’s city centre Loop networks in Birmingham and Manchester, and in a high footfall area of Westfield Stratford City in London on billboards in close proximity to each other to replicate a real protest.
Partyware and greeting card wholesaler Tiger Feet has appointed Leeds-based digital agency Wolfenden to drive a new digital marketing strategy. The agency has been appointed to lead the charge on an all-encompassing digital strategy designed to build brand visibility, accelerate sales, and increase market share.
Miroma Group has strengthened its strategic partnership with Founders Forum Group, which has taken a significant stake in Wake The Bear, Miroma’smarketing and media agency. The agency has rebranded as Miroma Founders Network, expanding on the joint venture launched by the two groups last year. The company offers services including brand & growth strategy, communications planning, media planning and buying, content & partnership, and tech, together with a new AI consultancy offering.
Marketing agency Labelium has announced the acquisition of generative engine optimisation firm, reegen.ai. With this acquisition, Ben Gibson – who founded reegen.ai – will step into the role of UK CEO at Labelium, partnering with UK Managing Director Nina Durasevic, to drive further expansion in the UK market.
Performance marketing agency Connective3 has today announced its appointment by Bloom & Wild, a European flower, plant, and gift delivery company, to deliver a digital PR strategy targeting the German market. The focus will be on key landing pages connected to gifting, special occasions, and seasonal campaigns. In addition, Connective3 will support the promotion of Bloom & Wild’s growing product range.
