By Kath Myers, Partner, UK Managing Director
Every Monday morning, I share a campaign or piece of creative work with the UK team as ‘inspiration’ to kick off our weekly meeting. They aren’t campaigns we’re involved with, just work that I’ve liked, admired, or appreciated; things we can learn from or simply need to be aware of.
When you look at these campaigns collectively, patterns start to emerge about what actually resonates with audiences today. Whether it’s tackling cultural blind spots or leveraging ‘unserious data’, the best work always connects an audience insight with a human truth.
Here are the key themes standing out to me from the campaigns I’ve been admiring and sharing recently, and what they teach us about the evolving PR landscape.
1. The Real Power of a Purpose-Driven Brand Marketing Agency
The campaigns that spark conversation are those that use their platform for tangible change. Brands can’t just talk about an issue or ‘champion’ it anymore; they have to actually take some action.
A great example is the Make Matrescence Mainstream campaign from Peanut and Tommee Tippee. By launching with a full-page ad in the New York Times, they didn’t just sell products; they demanded that lexicographers officially recognise the word ‘matrescence’. As a purpose-driven brand marketing agency, this is exactly the kind of bravery we champion – understanding a cultural blind spot and bringing it out of the shadows.
We saw similar brilliant execution with Clue’s Cost of Bleeding campaign, which launched a petition backed by research to call for free period products. By revealing that menstruating costs women over £20,000 in a lifetime, they grounded their cause in a strong, irrefutable number.
Similarly, the Recognition Gap work from Women in PR and People Like Us put a spotlight on the intersection of gender and ethnicity. It went beyond highlighting data by providing clear, actionable steps for employers and allies to make a pledge.
Likewise, we took an action-oriented approach in our work with the European Climate Foundation (ECF). To secure bipartisan support for the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy we launched the This Is Not A Farm campaign, commissioning surrealist artworks outside the European Parliament to challenge outdated farming perceptions. By blending art with activism, we helped drive over 100,000 signatures to their petition, proving that purpose-driven PR can drive tangible engagement.
2. Championing Authentic Corporate Storytelling
We’re now in an era where AI can generate almost anything, so being authentic and human-centric is crucial to cut through the noise. Brilliant corporate storytelling tells the story of the people behind the products; rather than just trying to sell to them.
Take Etsy’s Shop Other Jeffs campaign. Launched as an anti-Prime Day initiative, it highlighted that there are thousands of non-billionaire ‘Jeffs’ you could spend your money with on their platform. It’s a beautifully human angle that champions small, local businesses.
I had a similar reflection when I saw coverage of the Flatpack World Championships at Grand Designs Live. The winner, Hayley McAuley, runs her own flatpack support business in Wigan. It was a great reminder that the best PR creates a ripple effect. By telling authentic stories, we inadvertently champion real people and small businesses.
We also saw this authentic storytelling in the Norwegian Football Federation’s The Vikings are Coming squad photo. To mark their first World Cup in three decades, the team posed in full Viking costume in front of a fjord. It’s the kind of thing AI could generate, but because they did it in real life, it meant so much more. It was a masterful use of fan culture and entertainment, standing in stark contrast to the cookie-cutter squad photos we’ve come to expect.
We applied this human-centric philosophy in our Hope on Repeat campaign for the UN Refugee Agency (UK for UNHCR). Rather than using traditional, top-down messaging, we empowered refugees to share their own stories through the universal language of music. By launching a podcast series where they shared the ‘Hope Hits’ that gave them strength, we moved beyond simple awareness to generate genuine empathy and solidarity from the British public.
3. Finding the Micro-Joys
Not every campaign has to change the world to be effective. Sometimes, success comes through well-executed simplicity and tapping into shared micro-joys.
A playful summer activation from Love Holidays recently celebrated the British love of foreign supermarkets by opening a ‘Crisps From Abroad’ pop-up shop in Soho. By using ‘unserious data’ revealing 12% of Brits view foreign crisps as their favourite part of going away, they translated digital buzz into a highly shareable, tactile real-world moment.
This mirrors the experiential approach we took with Grammarly to educate their academic partners. Rather than relying on dry presentations, we designed a live gameshow event complete with a Countdown prop and branded ‘merch’. By turning product training into a shared, light-hearted, experiential moment, we secured a 100% email open rate and proved that even technology enablement can thrive when you lean into a bit of joy.
As a B Corp PR firm, we spend a lot of time thinking about our impact and the ethical footprint of our communications. Reviewing these campaigns every Monday is a constant reminder that the best PR, whether it’s fighting for gender equity, supporting local ‘Jeffs’, or debating the ultimate foreign crisp flavour, always puts human connection at its very heart.
If you’re looking to create campaigns that cut through the noise and spark genuine conversation with authentic storytelling and purpose-led communications, we’d love to help.
Get in touch with me today to see how we can bring your next campaign idea to life.
