Oliver Agency

Client: the Guardian
Product: News Brand
Title: Guardian 200 Years, a Work in Progress
Media: Media / Entertainment
Country: UK
Date Of Campaign: 05/05/2021

Background: In 2021, the Guardian turned 200. The brief was to celebrate the milestone with existing readers whilst gaining new subscribers and supporters.Our objectives: Increase awareness among future generations (18-25). Bring 1m impressions to our G200 birthday content. And increase acts of financial support, above business as usual, across subscriptions, contributions, and events.

Idea: Most brands, when turning 200, would choose to celebrate past achievements. But the Guardian – never one to follow the herd – chose to focus on what comes next. Since the very beginning, their mission was to make the world a better, fairer place for everyone. But it’s a mission that’s far from being finished as our creative platform, and campaign line, acknowledged with its double meaning: The Guardian. For 200 years, a work in progress. As a news brand, we felt copy should be the beating heart of our campaign. The press, display, social, podcasts, film, emails and DM all had copy led executions crafted to be as bold as the newspaper itself. Our provocative headlines were carefully aligned to the enduring values and product-points that only the Guardian news brand could lay claim to.We knew also that the Guardian have always had a special, purpose-driven relationship with their readers. And this milestone would have significance for them too. So, many of our executions were crafted with a knowing nod to our audience who passionately share the same outlook on the world.For the art direction, we delved into the archives and referenced the historic typography and designs that defined the look of the brand since its founding. The campaign comprised multi-city OOH, with special builds in meaningful and poignant locations –alongside press, display, social, film and limited-edition editorial collaborations.

Results: It was one of the Guardian's best performing campaigns ever: boosting awareness among our target audience, and affinity among existing readers; achieving 6 million campaign page views; delivering significant financial support across single and recurring reader revenue; and delivering an incredible 16% increase in awareness with non-readers – thus successfully laying the foundations for the next 200 years.