Got Your Back
Brand development and cross-media experiential campaign aimed at underage post-exam drinkers in Newquay.
Brand development and cross-media experiential campaign aimed at underage post-exam drinkers in Newquay.
Every summer hordes of teenagers descend on Newquay after their exams, unfortunately often with the intention of getting pissed and starting fights. In 2009 things got really serious when two young people died after falling off the cliffs while drunk, so this year Drinkaware spearheaded a major multi-organisation campaign aiming to ease the problems underage drinking caused for local residents, police and the kids themselves.
Working with Frank PR, Enable were hired to create an offline, experiential campaign in Newquay and a range of digital activity to promote it to the age group nationally. Previous campaigns had been conspicuously unsuccessful, so we recruited a load of teenagers who'd been to Newquay or were planning to go this year and got them to help us out. It was educational, and between us we came up with some great ideas.
The main reason they'd ignored previous campaigns was because they felt like they were being told off just for being young, so I worked with a copywriter to develop a new approach to the campaign messaging. We created a new brand specifically for the age group and, on the grounds that their parents would almost certainly send them away with a crate of cheap beer, focused on helping them avoid trouble if they had been drinking rather than just telling them not to drink.
Our other big insights were that (a) teenagers are surprisingly caring, and (b) they really like free stuff. So we built a venue based around the idea of looking after your mates to ensure an unforgettably great time - a place they could go to hang out and play Wii games if it was raining, to get some free dinner to help soak up all the booze, or for help and advice in case they did find themselves in trouble.
Our original concept was to get three VW combis parked on the beach - the first serving milkshakes and pasta, the second staffed by qualified youth workers and the third incorporating an instant photo booth where young people could go and get a free, lasting momentum of their summer. The photos would be uploaded to Facebook, where the kids could go and tag themselves, thereby spreading the word to everyone in their social circle. Unfortunately budgetary restrictions meant it didn't quite work out that way, but we did manage to get a really great cafe set up in a venue right on the beach. The photobooth stayed, and was a massive part of the wider audience engagement strategy.
As the art director for the campaign, I was responsible for developing the campaign brand and messaging strategy, concepting and designing the venue itself, and also figuring out and executing the various digital elements that gave it a national reach.
Working with Frank PR, Enable were hired to create an offline, experiential campaign in Newquay and a range of digital activity to promote it to the age group nationally. Previous campaigns had been conspicuously unsuccessful, so we recruited a load of teenagers who'd been to Newquay or were planning to go this year and got them to help us out. It was educational, and between us we came up with some great ideas.
The main reason they'd ignored previous campaigns was because they felt like they were being told off just for being young, so I worked with a copywriter to develop a new approach to the campaign messaging. We created a new brand specifically for the age group and, on the grounds that their parents would almost certainly send them away with a crate of cheap beer, focused on helping them avoid trouble if they had been drinking rather than just telling them not to drink.
Our other big insights were that (a) teenagers are surprisingly caring, and (b) they really like free stuff. So we built a venue based around the idea of looking after your mates to ensure an unforgettably great time - a place they could go to hang out and play Wii games if it was raining, to get some free dinner to help soak up all the booze, or for help and advice in case they did find themselves in trouble.
Our original concept was to get three VW combis parked on the beach - the first serving milkshakes and pasta, the second staffed by qualified youth workers and the third incorporating an instant photo booth where young people could go and get a free, lasting momentum of their summer. The photos would be uploaded to Facebook, where the kids could go and tag themselves, thereby spreading the word to everyone in their social circle. Unfortunately budgetary restrictions meant it didn't quite work out that way, but we did manage to get a really great cafe set up in a venue right on the beach. The photobooth stayed, and was a massive part of the wider audience engagement strategy.
As the art director for the campaign, I was responsible for developing the campaign brand and messaging strategy, concepting and designing the venue itself, and also figuring out and executing the various digital elements that gave it a national reach.
The final brand channeled sun-bleached imagery under a bright, eye-catching logo. Simple, heavy typography ensured impact on the more text-heavy executions.
Due to time constraints I did all the collateral and venue design myself, which resulted in a few late nights. Shown here, clockwise from top left: mobile charging station side panel, serviette, staff uniforms / promotional t shirts, two-man deckchair, promo flyer, window sticker.
This is the original concept sketch, drawn after a particularly inspirational focus group.
These are the three original ID concepts we took to the focus group. We were certain Summer of Us was the one, but the kids almost unanimously loved Got Your Back. Nobody thought much of Summersaurus. Except me.
