Interviews, insight & analysis on digital media & marketing

NDA Agency News: Lucky Generals, alan., Creature London and many more

As part of its ambitious growth plans, Napolina, the Italian cooking brand, has hired Lucky Generals as its creative partner. The agency has been appointed because of its unique and bold creative approach as well as its ability to build big brand platforms that power successful campaigns and drive long-term business growth. Lucky generals will be briefed with giving the brand cut-through in an increasingly crowded category. It will lead the charge in developing an impactful brand idea from which it will launch Napolina’s biggest ever ad campaign, with an unmistakably Italian spirit and bold heroic visuals all with the aim of reconnecting with new and lapsed shoppers across the category. Joining Napolina on this mission alongside Lucky Generals will be Spin, newly hired to lead on organic social, and Honey, appointed to lead on design; the agencies join Weber Shandwick (PR) and Wavemaker UK (media) who already work with the brand. They will all collaborate as an interagency team to drive the brand forward and achieve its mission.

B2B marketing specialist alan. has announced the launch of its brand campaign featuring world-renowned ‘Chief Excuse Officer’ Aiden Scusa, the leading voice in B2B mediocracy. The tongue-in-cheek character represents the average B2B marketer’s arsenal of excuses for boring, average and dull creative work. The new campaign will appear across national print and social channels and will star ‘Aiden’ in a branded podcast alongside alan. agency’s Chief Creative Officer, Benedict Buckland, to discuss the current B2B landscape.

Dunelm, the homewares retailer, is launching a cross-channel Autumn advertising campaign to show how it is aiming to help British consumers during these challenging times. The campaign follows on from 2021’s launch of Dunelm’s new brand platform, Dun Your Way, building on its success and will run on Channel 4 and ITV, alongside BVOD, YouTube and Social activity. The campaign also includes a partnership with Capital FM which will include exclusive sponsorship of Capital Weekends, radio ads fronted by Aimee Vivien and Jimmy Hill, as well as presence on Capital’s website and Tik Tok channel. The campaign was created by Creature London. Media strategy, planning and buying for the campaign has been handled by Goodstuff and Byte/DEPT® created the social media campaign that will run across Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

Supermarket Asda has recently rolled out its new loyalty programme, Asda Rewards, to all its 633 stores across the UK and online via its Asda.com website. The launch, the largest of its kind in the past decade, is supported by a major new advertising campaign from creative agency Havas London and media agency Spark Foundry, which runs until the end of the year. The campaign is inspired by the fact that shoppers using Asda Rewards earn pounds, not points – building up a Cashpot by simply scanning their app when they check out, completing in-app missions (such as the ‘Back to School’ mission, where customers receive £5 into their Cashpots when they spend £25 on George school uniform), and purchasing any of more than 400 ‘Star Products’. At the heart of the campaign is a heavy gaming influence, based on the concept of taking rewards to the next level and the thrill of being a thrifty shopper. A 32-bit arcade game-inspired TVC sees an Asda store ‘gamified’, as shoppers zap coins, complete with retro sound effects, to boost their Cashpots; while playable mobile ads feature Asda-designed games inspired by titles including Tetris and Word Life. The multi-channel campaign also spans social, OOH, and radio.  

Nottingham and London-based digital marketing agency, Impression has reached a headcount of 100, with the milestone triggering a move to a larger office space in London. Alongside its Nottingham HQ on King Street, the agency opened its London office, located in Borough in June 2021 but has now outgrown the space following a surge of new hires.  The agency now has 80 staff based at its Nottingham HQ and 25 in its new, larger Borough location.

London-based adult education provider City Lit has appointed CreativeRace for its retained PR activity, as it aims to amplify its brand and engage with potential students outside of London. In addition to assisting with national, regional and trade PR activity, CreativeRace will also be providing social media and SEO consultancy, working alongside the in-house team to help strengthen City Lit’s organic presence. In addition to retained PR support, CreativeRace will be supporting City Lit with campaign ideation and delivery. The first campaign will be around City Lit’s Mental Wealth Festival, which launches on 10th October, World Mental Health Day.

Healthcare provider Benenden Health and MediaCom North have launched an exclusive creative partnership with Channel 4. Benenden’s Time For A Check-in campaign encourages the nation to talk more openly about their health. It will feature Channel 4 talent including AJ Odudu, Davina McCall, Roman Kemp, Judi Love, Alex Brooker and Rylan Clarke who will star in a 10-month, multiplatform creative campaign which launched this week with a TV ad during the much-anticipated return of The Great British Bake Off. The creative campaign marks the first TV partnership for Benenden Health which kicks off with AJ Odudu cycling through a British town asking the public about their various ailments – from bunions to brain fog! The creative partnership was brought to life by the Nations and Regions sales team together with MediaCom North, and further developed by the 4Sales Creative Hub alongside Bullion Productions who produced the TV ad and social assets.

mSix&Partners and The&Partnership has officially opened the The&Academy, a training-based apprenticeship scheme that enables 18-24 year old’s from the region to gain a valuable first step on the career ladder. Partnering with Google, Meta and TikTok, The&Academy apprenticeship is specifically focused on encouraging and supporting youth from outside the capital, to enter and progress into the burgeoning media and advertising industry. The opening will be attended by representatives from The&Partnership, mSix&Partners and Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street. The official opening of the first-ever bespoke centre of excellence for both media and creative specialists in Birmingham will be taking place on Wednesday the 28th from 13:00 – 16:00 at The&Academy’s purpose-built campus in Digbeth.

A Yorkshire-based, purpose-driven PR agency has been appointed to handle the PR for the second-hand cashmere brand, Nearly New Cashmere Co. LIT Communication is supporting Nearly New Cashmere Co with a tailor-made digital PR strategy and media relations to help grow the digital presence of its eCommerce store. They’ll also be raising awareness on a local and regional level for the fashion company’s physical retail store in Masham, Yorkshire Dales and their busy schedule of pop-up events. The new client win follows a successful first nine months of the year for LIT Communication after securing new PR contracts with Systemise Fulfilment, Bobble Digital, and That Works Agency.