The Bulletproof Agency Network, a business growth initiative for digital agencies, will host its first in-person event since the pandemic on 1 May 2024. The “Hitting the Hammer Bell” conference will take place at the HOME arts complex in Manchester from 10.00am to 3.00pm, with sessions led by a range of leading industry figures focusing on key topics for sustainable business growth. Speakers will include James Ashford, founder of GoProposal by Sage, who will talk about how to spin out, scale and sell a software-as-a-service (SAAS) business, the investor and Wayv Hello founder, Sarah McKenna, who will set out “Four Proven Steps to Stability and Profit”, and the consultant and former McDonald’s senior manager, Marianne Page, who will explain how businesses can inspire trust and loyalty through consistent operational excellence.
Whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s is teaming up with artist Wesley Joseph for a new campaign, ‘Jack the locker’, which sees it change the design of its iconic label T-shirt for the first time ever, using Joseph’s own personal interpretation. As part of its ongoing ‘Make your own label’ push, Jack Daniel’s is inviting drinkers to reject societal labels, create their own, and live boldly. The activation, which involves the brand “hacking” parcel delivery lockers to give a limited number of fans the chance to get one of the exclusive tees, was developed in partnership with global creative network Iris Worldwide. Working with Iris, Jack Daniel’s is leveraging one of its most iconic brand assets, the Jack Daniel’s label T-shirt, to give the next generation of JD drinkers a way to ‘Make it Count’ by making their own label, using theirs. The campaign aims to create buzz and engagement on social channels, boosting relevance and brand perceptions as a result.
Science in Sport (SiS), the performance nutrition brand, has unveiled its new brand platform, ‘You can’t beat science’, in a campaign developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi. The push is the follow up to last year’s acclaimed campaign, ‘The Tour’. Science in Sport asked M&C Saatchi to develop a new brand platform that would make it stand out to endurance sport enthusiasts – the sorts of people who go on 100-mile cycles on a Sunday morning, or train for multiple marathons or triathlons a year. The platform needed to demonstrate that SiS was a cut above its competition, due to the rigorous research into fuelling and recovery it employs to produce its energy products. To gain insight, M&C Saatchi’s The Source carried out focus groups with the audience. The research showed that their biggest driver for training wasn’t winning competitions against others, but rather, winning competitions against themselves. Achieving more “personal bests” made endurance training worthwhile and they wanted only the best nutritional support to help them get to that next level. To demonstrate how Science in Sport has exactly the unmatched track record endurance sport enthusiasts need to trust its products, while tapping into the audience’s challenge-driven mindset, M&C Saatchi landed on the brand platform ‘You can’t beat science’, which debuts in a new print campaign. A series of black and white executions depicts real athletes competing, each with a headline that brings the new brand platform to life, and science-inspired art direction and typography.
The founders of social media and influencer agency Happy Yolk, who together created the record-breaking Instagram account @world_record_egg, have sold the account handle for an undisclosed seven-figure sum. Launched in January 2019, @world_record_egg became famous after Chris Godfrey, CJ Brown and Alissa Khan-Whelan, successfully campaigned to get the picture of an egg to become the most-liked image on Instagram and turned the moment into a mental health Super Bowl campaign. Dubai-based investor Mustafa El Fishawy has acquired Talking Egg Ltd, which includes the account, associated creative assets, and the underlying intellectual property. Following the success of @world_record_egg, CJ Brown, Chris Godfrey and Alissa Khan-Whelan co-founded and launched Happy Yolk – a social media and influencer agency, which is now independently run by Khan-Whelan after Brown and Godfrey moved on to other ventures in 2021. The team later developed global partnerships with major players like Cadbury’s, Sony Music, Happy Egg, DJ Khaled, and Mental Health America. Their efforts have been recognised with prestigious awards like Cannes Lions and D&AD Pencils. Today the egg post still ranks as the second most-liked Instagram post*, with over 60 million likes and 3.9 million comments, with visitors to the account still engaging with it to date. Brown, Godfrey and Khan-Whelan will now focus on new ventures.
Aggy Media has announced its official launch backed by Global Experience Design Company, Imagination. A dynamic content studio, Aggy Media, offers innovative solutions for brands seeking impactful social media engagement, specialising in fast turnaround briefs with a strategic focus on brand awareness and community building. Experts in content for social, Aggy’s ambition is to put accountability for performance at the heart of their projects with agencies and in-house brand teams. Founded by ex-Sliced Studio co-founder Alex Graham, Aggy’s mission is to produce content that’s “Made for People Who Hate Ads” – a reflection of the importance of social-first for brands. Aggy Media’s recent work includes Nike Teens campaign, featuring the work of talented director Emu Haynes in the production of “A Day in the Life.” Aggy Media is poised to reshape the landscape of content production for the digital age, distinguishing itself through its cost-effective approach to crafting compelling content for social media platforms.
Adventure-inspired, global ice cream brand NUII, is thrilled to unveil their biggest campaign yet, starring Jason Momoa as the brand ambassador for the new 2024 campaign. The actor, best known for his roles in Aquaman, Game of Thrones and Dune took to Instagram to announce his partnership with the global ice cream brand. The behind-the-scenes video posted highlights content captured whilst filming the TV advert, showing Jason enjoying the flavour of NUII’s Australian Macadamia & Salted Caramel ice cream, whilst on a remote beach. The 30 second TVC will launch into the UK this week with a hero spot on Saturday 20th April, during the prime ITV show Britain’s Got Talent. The advert will see Jason Momoa in his role as global ambassador and temptingly ask viewers “are you hungry for adventure?” Fans of Momoa will also be able to see the campaign across the UK when Joson Momoa will appear as a prominent feature across Waterloo, Westfields and Birmingham New Street, to name a few locations. Media and buying agency, The7Stars, has strategically leaned into Nuii’s distinctiveness to bring the campaign to life using channels such as AV, Display and Social. The activity will be unmissable, and Jason Momoa will be a prominent feature appearing across marketing ecosystems.
Dairylea has launched ‘Discovery Days’, an integrated campaign in partnership with Trainline, with global creative agency of record VCCP London, Publicis Media and Channel 4. The vast, multi-platform campaign aims to highlight the importance of children’s unstructured play. ‘Dairylea Discovery Days’ aims to help families provide their children with more opportunities for essential development and happiness, after new research found that three-quarters of UK children (75%) express their greatest happiness when they have the freedom to play in their own way. To bring the creative concept to life, Dairylea, part of Mondelez, and VCCP created a series of social-first films set across key UK locations: like the woods and beach. Each film follows a child, wearing a GoPro, who has been given the freedom to play outdoors. VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear worked with director Emma Hvengaard, to capture genuine and authentic moments of discovery, highlighting the importance of ‘Discovery Days’. In addition to social, the campaign will feature dynamic out of home and audio creative to ensure that everyone sees the most relevant targeted Discovery Day messaging. The radio actively reflects the weather in each location – so when raining, the audio focuses around playing in puddles, and when the sun is shining, radio reacts, urging the nation to get out to the beach and go rockpooling. The OOH and social is fuelled by retail data to help reach Dairylea’s audience across both of these channels, led by Publicis Media. Something to look forward to is an impending two-part content series with Channel 4, driven by Publicis Media, where Dairylea Discovery Days are brought to life with the help of a pair of the nation’s favourite comedians. Tin Man Communications is leading the PR and influencer arm of the campaign, which aims to drive awareness of the initiative and the benefits of unstructured play through discovery. The PR campaign will see actor and celebrity Dad, Joe Swash, along with his four-year-old son, Rex, enjoy discovering new things together. This is underpinned by a wider influencer programme where family content creators will bring to life what a Dairylea Discovery day looks like for them, providing inspiration for families across the country. VCCP London additionally helped Dairylea forge a new partnership with Trainline: with Dairylea offering families £10 off Trainline tickets across the UK, providing children with more opportunities to explore and discover. This campaign continues to evolve Dairylea’s “Set them free with Dairylea” brand platform, which has been running for three years and aims to create more authentic moments of discovery for the children of the UK.
Independent full-service agency Cream has won a competitive pitch for luxury car rental provider THE OUT powered by JLR to support the brand with its nationwide expansion. Cream’s full-service offering, including audience research and insight, through to media and creative strategy and implementation, will improve strategic focus for the brand while elevating its media and communications to accelerate growth. The new campaign, which launches in June, will consist of a 30-second ad, with cut downs and stills utilised on other channels. The campaign will run across OOH – using Cream Consulting audience analysis to pinpoint the greatest areas of opportunity for THE OUT – broadcast media channels and Video On Demand, including ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and via Samsung connected TVs. It will primarily target high-net-worth individuals who want to escape the city with an easy, luxury rental car service.
