News - Karmarama

Positive perception of LGBTQ+ representation within advertising drops
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Positive perception of LGBTQ+ representation within advertising drops

Positive perception of LGBTQ+ representation in advertising falls from 74%^[1] to 65%* in 2020, while brands’ portrayal of LGBTQ+ community still viewed as tokenistic
Just 32% of marketers engage with the LGBTQ+ community independently of Pride, despite 84% of LGBTQ+ consumers calling for it

Only two thirds (65%) of LGBTQ+ people in Britain currently feel that representation of the community in adverts is positive, inspirational and pushes boundaries – a significant (9%) drop from the three quarters (74%) of those that felt this way in 2019. The second annual research – commissioned by Karmarama, part of Accenture Interactive in partnership with GAY TIMES and conducted by YouGov – surveyed more than 6,500** consumers and marketing decision makers to build a picture of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in Britain, and reveals representation in adverts has regressed significantly in the eyes of the community.

Currently, just over a third (36%) of LGBTQ+ respondents feel adverts are truly reflective of LGBTQ+ people, a sharp decline from almost half (48%) of last year’s panel. The majority (82%) of those surveyed also feel that representation of LGBTQ+ people is tokenistic – almost exactly the same as in 2019 (81%) – with brands more focused on the optics of diversity than addressing diversity related issues head on.

Beyond Pride

This tokenism extends to brands’ activity during Pride Month, which is a marquee moment for brands’ inclusivity campaigns in Britain. Only a third (32%) of the marketers surveyed said their campaigns and events engage with the LGBTQ+ community independently of Pride celebrations, despite a huge proportion of LGBTQ+ consumers (84%) wanting brands to make an effort to engage with the community outside of Pride.

With more than two thirds (67%) stating they’d be more willing to spend with a brand that engaged with LGBTQ+ people, there is a clear opportunity for brands to tune in to the wants and needs of the community.

Marketers need to do more

Despite the clear and growing disappointment of the LGBTQ+ community, marketers seem largely unaware of their frustrations. Only a quarter (25%) of marketers do not agree their business successfully represents and engages with the LGBTQ+ community, and less than half (43%) of marketers agree their business sense checks or tests their messaging with LGBTQ+ audiences.

Ben Bilboul, CEO of Karmarama, part of Accenture Interactive, said: “This research shows that we as an industry are failing to make proper progress on representation. Too often, our industry’s commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion does not translate into meaningful, long-term change. Consumers are smart, and they can see when brand purpose is and is not authentic. Equal representation has to be part of a company’s entire culture, and at every single level.”

Tag Warner, CEO GAY TIMES said: “Although the results may not show the most positive picture, they clearly demonstrate that we need to work harder and smarter as an industry. We’re encouraged to see consumers demanding more from brands – especially when it comes to committing to the community outside of Pride. Marketers should respond by thinking of LGBTQ+ marketing as a year-round responsibility, and not a calendar celebration. The consumer base is more diverse and aware than ever, which means what was ‘good’ a number of years ago simply doesn’t cut it in 2020. We should be taking this year of reflection to engage with our colleagues and the community and ask their honest opinions – the time to start is now.”

Authentic Allyship: Five steps for brands

Diversity of thought: Hire an inclusive workforce to ensure that all outputs – creative or otherwise – are based on a range of diverse perspectives. It is also important that LGBTQ+ representation is intersectional, which enables creative to be more inclusive and nuanced
Listen to customers: To avoid stereotypes and oversimplifying the LGBTQ+ experience, act on customer insights and sense check your communications with the LGBTQ+ community when it comes to creating campaigns
Become a year-round ally: Ensure your representation of the LGBTQ+ community extends past Pride celebrations. Authentic representation should be an ongoing commitment, not just a moment in time
Engage with underlying causes: Work with dedicated LGBTQ+ organisations and get involved with LGBTQ+ causes to ensure brand commitment goes beyond the bottom line
Define your commitment: Authentic LGBTQ+ representation must be a growth journey and a constant learning curve for brands. Set out a clear road map for achieving brand goals that focus on a long-term commitment to inclusive representation

About the research

*The consumer sample from 2019 was also based on respondents that had ever seen LGBT+ actor, character or storylines within advertising campaigns.

**Based on a survey of 6,428 consumers, of which 754 were LGBTQ+, and 150 marketing decision makers, of which 19 were LGBTQ+. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th – 16th June 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures for the consumer sample have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

2019 consumer sample size was 2052 adults, of which 740 were LGBTQ+ respondents. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th – 29th May 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

U OK UK? Why brand purpose is more important than ever
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U OK UK? Why brand purpose is more important than ever

Ben Bilboul, CEO of Karmarama & Managing Director at Accenture Interactive introduces a new report to help the marketing sector understand the changes in customer priorities taking place during lockdown.

The world has faced a lot of turmoil of late, presenting unprecedented challenges for people across the globe. These challenges have shifted the role of the marketer too; consumer spend across many areas is dwindling, marketing budgets are declining, whilst they’ve simultaneously been tasked with orchestrating their brand’s response to huge global issues, no mean feat.

To add to the challenge, marketers are well aware of the lasting impact their brand’s response will have, with consumers cognisant of the brands they rated, and those they didn’t, during this time. Sites such as didtheyhelp.com and its leader board of companies’ positive and negative responses to this crisis, will serve as a lasting reminder.

With all that in mind, the pressure is on for marketers to ensure a strong sense of brand purpose that resonates with consumers now and long after COVID-19 subsides, whilst ensuring they steer clear of the COVID clichés that have become commonplace during these times.

So, to help our peers in the marketing sector understand these changes in customer priorities, here at Karmarama we’ve launched our U OK UK? report, analysing conversations from the Twittersphere, as well as conducting research on our panel of Brits living their lives under lockdown. Here are some key takeaways:

7 in 10 people don’t intend on spending a single penny on holidays abroad this year
the word ‘neighbour’ is 8 times more likely to appear in a social post
86% of customers agree that looking after staff is the most important thing for brands to prioritise during the pandemic

Empower your customer

According to our lockdown panel, 7 in 10 don’t intend on spending a single penny on holidays abroad this year. Instead, they’re investing their time in wholesome activities such as, surprise, surprise, baking, with ‘bread’ six times as likely to appear in social posts these last few months.

It’s but one example of how creativity and adaptability have come to the forefront as people work around the confines of lockdown life, making the most of what they do have and thinking laterally when it comes to keeping themselves occupied by embracing a ‘DIY’ mindset.

Brands should, therefore, empower their customers to ‘do it themselves’, allowing them to recreate their own experiences at home. A number of brands are doing a great job here, whether it’s McDonald’s, Nando’s and Pret a Manger releasing their top-secret recipes or Brew Dog creating virtual pubs that people can socialise in from home.

More than ever before, recreating these experiences in their own safe habitat is so important for consumers, so even if it’s not driving immediate revenue, these empowered customers will be sure to feel a stronger brand affinity in the long run.

Buoy community spirit

According to our report, the newfound sense of community people feel has really heightened during these times, with the word ‘neighbour’ eight times more likely to appear in social posts. Those involved in our panel feel less focussed on their own individual concerns and more on how their actions affect others, finding joy in acts of generosity and kindness, whether that’s signing up to be an NHS volunteer, donating to charities or even adopting a new pet which has, interestingly, also boomed.

Brands, therefore, need to ditch the mindset that consumerism is solely individualistic. Customers aren’t thinking of ‘me, me, me’ anymore, they’re engaging with brands that benefit entire communities and groups instead. The likes of Leon, EE, John Lewis Partnership and Wagamama, amongst hundreds of others, for example, are offering discounts to key workers, donating items to hospitals, and creating product lines whose proceeds go to charities.

Supermarkets have also done a good job of highlighting their value within communities and showing they genuinely care. They’ve been praised for going above and beyond to look after the most vulnerable in society and, of our respondents who named a brand that they thought responded well to COVID-19, over half (59%) mentioned a supermarket. Customers are also keen to see brands display a strong sense of care within their organisations, as well as in their consumer-facing strategies. The vast majority of customers (86%) agree that looking after staff is the most important thing for brands to prioritise during the pandemic.

Whilst lockdown measures continue to slowly ease, people will appreciate their friends and family even more and this heightened feeling of compassion and empathy towards others is a sentiment that’s here to stay. According to our research, two thirds of customers are keen to maintain a greater sense of togetherness in a post-pandemic world, so brands really need to consider how this will affect consumer behaviours and desires going forward.

More than ever, consumers want to invest financially and emotionally in brands that understand the pursuit for a greater meaning in their lives, whether that’s offering a higher purpose or empowering people to recalibrate their own. Consumer needs have shifted dramatically and will continue to evolve from here depending on how things play out. Brands should remain considerate of the guidance and support they can provide during this time, creating meaningful engagement with their existing and prospective customers, both now and long-term.

You can download the latest U OK UK? Reports here

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands such as Lidl, The Army and Plusnet better engage with consumers using human insight. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix and an IPA Effectiveness Gold as well as a Cannes Lion for its work for The Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2020, coming in at 22^nd place of all companies in the UK.

Karmarama Launches U OK UK? Research Initiative
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Opening Doors charity calls for support to help isolated older people from LGBTQ+ communities during COVID-19 outbreak
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Opening Doors charity calls for support to help isolated older people from LGBTQ+ communities during COVID-19 outbreak

Opening Doors London, the biggest UK charity providing support services for the over 50’s LGBTQ+ communities, has launched an urgent crowdfunding campaign in a bid to secure £15,000 of funding to help train volunteers use their telefriending service to reach those who need care the most and support telephone services.

The recent COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the charity having to halt hundreds of face-to-face services to prevent any risk to their older members and volunteer supporters, so there’s a real issue with reaching lonely and socially isolated members of LGBTQ communities, many having no access to digital services.

As a result, they are asking for donations so that they can train current volunteers in telephone befriending and increase staff capacity to support more of the community, so as many LGBTQ+ people over 50 who are at risk of isolation have someone to speak to if needed.

One such member of the community benefitting from this is Mike, a retired doctor, who says: “I don’t have anyone else to talk to. I am self-isolating and so I won’t even get to talk to the shopkeeper. It is a great relief to know that I will actually have someone to speak to.”

Meghan Herring, Befriending Coordinator at Opening Doors London says, “As the COVID-19 outbreak affects all members of society we are working hard to protect those most a risk of being overlooked – the elderly, lonely and most isolated groups. We urgently need support crowdfunding so we can help train our volunteers in telefriending so they can continue to provide those small services, which make a big difference.

Telefriending is a lifeline. Our volunteers check in with clients at least once a week, identifying if they have enough food, determine any possible concerns that need to be escalated but most importantly talk to them about how they are feeling. It is an essential service to help address truly urgent needs during this crisis. Therefore, any donations will be appreciated and will make a huge impact as Opening Doors work to support those who are most isolated.”

Donations can be made here: https://www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk/appeal/help-us-reduce-isolation

To find out more about how you can volunteer visit: https://www.openingdoorslondon.org.uk/Pages/Category/volunteer

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands such as Lidl, The Army and Plusnet better engage with consumers using human insight. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix and an IPA Effectiveness Gold as well as a Cannes Lion for its work for The Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2020, coming in at 22^nd place of all companies in the UK.

Karmarama promotes Luke Prebble to Head of Employee Experience
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Karmarama promotes Luke Prebble to Head of Employee Experience

The newly created role will be critical in ensuring that all employees at Karmarama have access to meaningful work, a compassionate and inclusive working culture as well as learning and career opportunities to help them grow and do good work.

Since joining Karmarama five years ago as an Operations Assistant before moving into HR, Luke has spearheaded several employee initiatives such as setting up front line emotional council for all colleagues and Karmarama’s in house mindfulness offering – “Calmarama”.

Karmarama sees HR as the driving force of Employee Experience (EX); and more than ever, recognise the need for greater emphasis on giving our colleagues an authentic and meaningful experience at work.

Ben Bilboul, chief executive officer at Karmarama said of the promotion “Our HR team have become one of the most valuable departments in our business, nurturing our culture, reducing churn and working with our leaders to find the very best talent in the industry. And Luke has been one of its star performers in his journey to leadership. Luke literally is a rock star, having hung up his guitar to join us.

Promoting him to Head of Employee Experience will help remind us how important his role is and how much great work he’s done to date. His new title will help keep him and us keep focussed on our main task: to create the best environment for the very best people to do Good Work.”

About Karmarama

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands such as Lidl, The Army and Plusnet better engage with consumers using human insight. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix and an IPA Effectiveness Gold as well as a Cannes Lion for its work for The Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2020, coming in at 22^nd place of all companies in the UK.

Army Confidence Lasts a Lifetime: Karmarama launches fourth evolution of This is Belonging campaign for The British Army
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Army Confidence Lasts a Lifetime: Karmarama launches fourth evolution of This is Belonging campaign for The British Army

Karmarama, part of Accenture Interactive, today unveils its latest recruitment campaign for the British Army – Army Confidence Lasts a Lifetime. The campaign shines a light on the unique and long-lasting sense of confidence earned in the Army, in contrast to quick hits of confidence that fade fast in the modern world.

The campaign is the fourth execution of the ‘This is Belonging’ series, showing how the Army helps recruits build a unique lifelong confidence through strong bonds and support from within in the Army, unique training and the achievements reached along the way. With 89% of Gen-Z believing that self-confidence is important to achieving success in life, but 80% admitting it’s hard to find it in today’s society, the campaign shows how the Army offers an alternative path to achieve this self-belief.

The campaign is supported by new research that reveals 80% of Gen-Z believe they could achieve more in life with a stronger sense of self-confidence, with the same amount admitting it’s hard to find long-lasting confidence in today’s society. In a world with the pressures of social media, 72% check their social media channels more than ten times a day and a third of people see ‘likes’ on their posts as a short-term confidence hit. When it comes to long-term confidence, the majority of young people state that achieving a goal (62%) and support from others (53%), helps achieve this.

The TV spot follows a metaphorical journey of a soldier confronted with distractions from quick confidence hits, like fast fashion, intensive gym sessions to achieve a ‘beach ready’ body and a night out, set against encouragement from a fellow soldier, demonstrating an unshakeable confidence that belonging in the Army gives.

A further series of films and radio ads reveals moments within the Army which build individuals’ lifelong confidence.

Posters challenge the promises of confidence that surround us in the modern world, which are easily gained but quickly lost, in contrast to a deeper, longer lasting confidence that can be found in the Army.

The campaign will also be supported with further integrated PR campaigns planned for 2020.

Nik Studzinski, Chief Creative Officer at Karmarama said: “Building on the foundations of the ‘This is Belonging’ campaign, this year’s campaign highlights another benefit of a career in the Army, the sense of confidence you develop as a recruit. A deep sense of confidence that, just like the friendships you make and the skills you learn, lasts a lifetime. We’re looking to build on last year’s success, with more than 16,000 people applying to join the Army in January 2019, an increase of 71% on the previous year.”

Nick Terry, Chief Marketing Officer Recruiting Group, comments: “It is really satisfying to see candidates grow into strong and confident soldiers throughout the recruitment process. Many have previously been in jobs where they did not feel valued, but by joining the Army they develop self-confidence and we want to show just how valuable this confidence can be. The recruitment campaign evolves each year and we are looking to build on the success of last year where applications reached a five-year high and 1.5 million people visited the recruitment website in January alone.”

Previous ‘This is Belonging’ campaigns landed the emotional benefit of the strong bonds experienced in the Army(2017), how it’s not only one type of person who finds their place in the Army (2018) and how the Army looks beyond stereotypes to see young people’s potential (2019).

The 2019 campaign drove 95,000 applications in 9 months, and the highest number of recruits started basic training in September 2019 than in the last ten years as a result. The work was most recently awarded at Cannes Lions, APG for creative strategy, Masters of Marketing, and the Drum DADI Awards amongst others.

Army Confidence Lasts a Lifetime launches on 2 January 2020. Search Army Jobs or follow the hashtag #ArmyConfidence.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

NCS and Karmarama launch new campaign platform inciting teenagers to say ‘No We Can’
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NCS and Karmarama launch new campaign platform inciting teenagers to say ‘No We Can’

NCS (National Citizen Service) and Karmarama today launch ‘No We Can’, their inaugural campaign featuring a new brand identity and multi-channel activation co-created with teens, encouraging them to declare what they are passionate about in 2019.

NCS aims to incite independence in young people by turning a lifetime of beingtold they’re too young, into a collective voice that tells the world what they can achieve. Backed up by the insight that young people feel their opinions are not respected or listened to, NCS and Karmarama worked together to develop a new visual identity and brand platform co-created with teens, ensuring the primary audience was at the heart of the creative development.

The multi-channel campaign launches from 18 th October and includes a provocative OOH campaign featuring flyposters using real social media posts articulating the extent of the ‘No’s’ and the negative preconceptions youth face from wider society.

The hero film asset is a 60” brand film which will be rolled out in cinemas across the country. Directed by Finn Keenan of Riff Raff, the film is driven by the energy, playfulness and empowerment of young people, showing a cross section of teenagers and the societal and internal ‘No’s’ they face in the UK right now.

The film features a cast of young people, including some previous NCS grads, and shows patronising ‘no you can’t’ grow up cheek squeezes, dismissive news reports, judgemental external voices questioning clothing decisions, and the self-doubt of internal dialogues. Through the diverse voices, including the online influencer Lewys, young people stand up and cut through the negativity with a consistently bold response of “No We Can”.

Following the release of the brand film in cinemas nationwide, a multimedia campaign will kick off including AV, Outdoor, Social, Digital, Search, Radio as well as PR and influencer initiatives that aim to build upon and explore in depth the issues facing young people today. The campaign has also been translated into school assembly presentations to introduce the programme to young people.

Miriam Jordan Keane, CMO at NCS, said: “Young people face a lot of pressures and challenges in their lives today. At NCS we’re passionate about listening to them, understanding them and creating a space for them to bridge social divides. ‘No We Can’ gives a voice to a generation ready to speak their minds and acts as a rallying cry encouraging them to overcome boundaries on a micro and macro scale. It is not about promoting rebellion, but about inciting independence at a key transitional age.”

The NCS brand identity has also had a refresh, from a new logo that steps up to the challenge of ‘No We Can’ with every letter, to an unapologetically bold, digital first look and feel, and UGC centric photography, the new branding has been developed with and for the very young people who use it.

Karmarama is the lead creative agency behind the new campaign and was appointed to work with NCS due to its deep understanding of the nuances of how teens feel and behave. Karmarama will be working alongside MediaCom & Omnigov for media planning and buying respectively.

James Denton-Clark, managing director at Karmarama, said: “ We’re proud to be delivering a campaign that embeds NCS into teenage culture. This is a campaign that has been developed by teens for teens. It helps this generation have their voice heard as they transition into adulthood. After years of being told they can’t do this or that”, NCS helps turn “No you can’t” into “No, we can”.

At its core, the campaign is about enabling young adults to subvert the societal stereotypes about their generation and build a youth movement. Almost 600,000 young people have already taken part in the programme. NCS is currently attracting one in six eligible young people, with an ambition to grow this to one in three by 2023 making NCS a natural part of growing up. The new brand is one of many developments NCS Trust is launching to ensure this ambition is reached.

The new brand campaign and refresh will cost just under £1million this year.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

How brands win by creating better human experiences
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How brands win by creating better human experiences

Sid McGrath, Chief Strategy Officer, Karmarama

Customers are damn important. Their experience of a brand is almost more important still. Speak to just about any company in the world and they will recognise the power customer experience has. It can mean the difference between success and failure. A ringing till or discarded shopping trolley. Top marks on TripAdvisor or a vitriolic tweet. But what is great customer experience? So much effort goes into efficiency, streamlining processes, automation, SPEED – are we actually engineering out all of the good stuff? The human stuff?

This is a question we’ve been asking ourselves at Karmarama. Last year we set out to answer it by exploring whether a more human experience, or HX, could be powerful a driver for preference and a way to form lasting bonds with increasingly disloyal customers. We banned the word customer, choosing to think about people as living breathing humans rather than spend-bots. And we found some very interesting things.

We identified eight steps that companies could consider to make their brands more human and ultimately more successful. Our steps included things like having a human purpose, continuous innovation, reciprocal relationships and enlightened employees. Our research also found that not only is treating customers as humans a nice idea – people are willing to spend an impressive 47% more with a brand that treated them like a human. All of a sudden Phil in accounts is paying attention.

In many ways we felt we had found the path to brand nirvana – eight steps to transform the way a business can connect with people. But it did leave us with even more questions. Are all steps born equal? Is there a different ROI on each one and if so, which area should time poor companies focus on to get more bang for their buck? The answer, we discovered, is yes.

Our findings pointed to committed service and human purpose as the biggest drivers of increased spend – encouraging 32% and 31% increases respectively. Committed service means responding to people with empathy and understanding – treating complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve rather than deny or get defensive. Human purpose meanwhile requires greater consideration of what your product or service could mean to people. How it impacts their lives and how you can go even further to support them.

With a clearer idea of HX hierarchy, we also wanted to see who was doing it well. Are there sectors that perform better than others when it comes to human behaviour and if so, what can others learn from them? Unsurprisingly the answer, again, was yes. For example, supermarkets scored well on human purpose because of things like affordability, while sports brands did well on continuous innovation, coming across to people as fearless and inspirational.

Overall what we learned was that people appreciate a more human touch and regardless of sector or industry, there are ways to improve, lessons to be learned and steps to be taken towards brand nirvana. A place not just filled with the warm fuzzy feeling of greater human connections, but of ROI and improved profits.

Find out more about getting to Brand Nirvana here and don’t miss Sid McGrath’s talk at The Festival of Marketing, where he’ll reveal more of the latest findings and how you can embrace HX to great effect. Talk: How brands win by creating better human experiences, 10 Oct 2019, 14:00 – 14:35, MW Strategy & Leadership Stage.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Confused.com launches sponsorship of ITV coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan
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Confused.com launches sponsorship of ITV coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan

Confused.com are the joint-headline sponsor for the ITV and STV coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, and have released a series of nine sponsorship idents which will surround the coverage in broadcast and online.

The sponsorship creative, created by advertising agency Karmarama, uses Japanese concepts to bring clarity to the unwritten rules and hidden art of the game of rugby, and in doing so, provides a fresh perspective on the sport.

Confused.com aims to provide clarity in a world of confusion, taking what can be overwhelming deals and insurance options and helping consumers make clearer, more confident decisions. This is reflected in its Rugby World Cup sponsorship creative, which brings clarity to the unspoken principles of rugby.

The visually arresting idents feature a mix of Japanese cultural concepts, idioms and philosophies interpreted in the context of the game of rugby, giving a new perspective on elements of the sport, for example ‘Wa’, ‘Nintai’, and ‘Danshari’.

The idents were directed by Basak Erol of Blink Productions, who brought together choreographers and rugby coaches to collaborate in creating a balance of visually interesting movements captured onscreen. Each execution features carefully choreographed rugby players, captured in-camera in a live stage setting.

The sponsorship idents will run from the Opening Ceremony on Friday 20^th September, through to the final on 2^ndNovember.

Sam Day, CMO of Confused.com said: “We’re really excited to be part of what promises to be one of the most exciting world cups ever – with all Home Nations playing on top form. We’ve created beautifully crafted idents based around key rugby insights that fans will enjoy recognising, integrating references from host nation Japan and bringing a new perspective to the art of the sport. This is a key part of our media and sponsorship strategy to get the message of clarity out to the UK.”

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Brand Nirvana: Step One – Human Purpose
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Brand Nirvana: Step One – Human Purpose

The concept of giving a brand a sense of purpose is now commonplace. People are increasingly looking to brands to have a deeper meaning beyond positioning or selling, as confirmed by our research, which found that an average of 73% of people care about the impact of brands above and beyond their products. By blending profits with purpose, it’s possible to give people another reason to buy – aligning to what they believe in or giving something back to society to create goodwill.

However, it’s easy for a brand to have a purpose that is worthy and self-serving – too much about client ego and too much of a leap of credibility for what the brand genuinely is or does.

The new opportunity for brands is to deliver a greater sense of purpose within the heart of the experience itself.

This is the key distinction between brand purpose – which is rapidly becoming a hygiene factor in marketing circles – and human purpose, where the brand seeks to involve, share and encourage people to share in their purpose. A human purpose is about the heightened experience a person can have with the brand, not the heightened experience the brand wishes to play for its own gain.

A distinct human purpose provides a more significant role for a brand to play in people’s lives, where it can solve bigger, more profound problems. It is the foundation upon which every other aspect of the experience is formed and allows the brand to be seen as genuinely helpful and necessary.

While awareness of this important step is increasing, our research found that only 19% of people feel their favourite brands care about them as humans, not simply as customers.

Our research highlighted some strong performers in human purpose – brands that people feel go beyond merely providing a service and give them closer access to something they really believe in.

The Co-operative Group was often referred to, with its community-led status and investment decisions cited as a clear symbol of the brand’s integrity. Importantly, this strength of conviction and purpose has been able to shield the brand when things have gone wrong.

Vox Pop

“Their ethical policy is second to none. They don’t invest any of their money in arms or in anything unethical, and that means a lot to me. I’d rather my money went to something good. I have stuck with the Co-operative Bank despite recent difficulties that they’ve had and I will continue to do so.”

Vox Pop

“I like the idea that it’s a co-operative and the members, including myself, get some sort of slight loyalty bonus. Also, they do give money to the local community and they tend to be in locations where other shops aren’t, so they serve a need for those people who can’t really get to a large supermarket. They’ve got my loyalty.”

We hope you found this blog post helpful. In terms of what’s happening next, we’re busy working on two things: a Karmic Index which will allow us to understand the HX performance of brands in relation to their competitors and their category average; and a series of workshops that can help brands improve their experience around each one of the 8 steps. If either of these two things interest you, or you’d like to chat some more about any aspect of this report, please do get in contact.

Extract taken from Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap. Download your copy

Sid McGrath, CSO, Karmarama

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Brand Nirvana 2019 Update
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Brand Nirvana 2019 Update

When we first published ‘Brand Nirvana…’ in 2018 we were really pleased with the response, from client and agency folk alike. And as useful as we’d hoped the 8-steps to help close ‘the human experience gap’ would be, the thing that really caught people’s imagination was the figure of 47%. When we looked at the data from the analysis of people’s relationships and buying behaviour around brands that offered a more human experience, we discovered a willingness to spend up to +47% more with them, than brands that just created a typical customer experience.

This figure proved incredibly useful. As much as we’re all aware of the importance of things like purpose, enlightened employees, committed service etc., putting a value to it elevated this thinking from ‘nice to do but a drain on profits’ to ‘must do to actually increase profits’.

Such was the interest in this figure, that it got us thinking: if brands that delivered a more human experience could see that sort of increase in spend, could we break that down by each of the 8-steps to help people understand their individual commercial potential?

So we did just that. We conducted further research through YouGov, based around the 8-steps, asking people to tell us how much more they would be willing to spend with a brand that showed, for example, a reciprocal relationship. Although we had to be careful to define each step so that respondents could understand what we were asking, and then give them an easy metric to demonstrate an increase in spend, we got the type of insightful results we were looking for.

What you’ll see is that people are willing to spend significantly more with a brand that delivers any one of the 8-steps.

Two scores stood out for us in particular:

1. The first was around ‘committed service’ where we discovered the enormous importance of what can be thought of as ‘brand atonement’. When asked how much more money people would spend with a brand that goes beyond expectations to sort out a problem when things go wrong, we saw an average increase of +32%. This is an amazing figure when you think about it and a great testament to acting in a more human, self-aware way – a brand doesn’t need to launch a new product, drop its price, widen its distribution or even spend money on a marketing campaign to increase sales. It just needs to be prepared to remedy a screw up, even when that screw up is the brand’s fault.

2. The second accompanied the step around ‘full transcendence’ which is the ultimate human experience for brands where they demonstrate they are ‘more interested in you than making a profit’. We saw an average spend increase of 31% here. So for anyone that ever doubts that a brand having virtue or empathising about its audience will compromise how much people are really willing to spend, rest assured, it’s actually possible to make a lot more money without actually trying to make money at all!

We hope you’ll find this new research helpful. In terms of what’s happening next, we’re busy working on two things: a Karmic Index which will allow us to understand the HX performance of brands in relation to their competitors and their category average; and a series of workshops that can help brands improve their experience around each one of the 8 steps. If either of these two things interest you, or you’d like to chat some more about any aspect of this report, please do get in contact.

You can download a copy of Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap here

Sid McGrath, CSO, Karmarama

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

SXSW Panel Picker
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SXSW Panel Picker

Breaking & entering the future home

The ‘home’ has always been a cocoon for humans, away from the world and its commerce. Yet with smart technology entering this space, so are brands. How they do that is a sensitive issue – they should feel like a friend coming for dinner, rather than someone breaking and entering your private space.

Precisely at a time where people want more places that are noise and commerce free, more and more purchasing decisions are being made from the home. How can brands ensure they are behaving appropriately?

New research has unveiled a new way of looking at how people live at home that goes beyond typical segmentation, but instead focuses on behaviours. We’ll share a set of mindsets from which will help brands develop products and services that ensure their place in the future home.

Karmarama’s Jon Wilkins and Dr Kate Stone are hoping to speak at SXSW 2020 about ‘Breaking & entering the future home’ if you’d like to hear more please read (and vote for our session!) at: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/100708

How to be unforgettable in the frictionless future

For some time, brands and businesses have been in a race to remove the pain points and create frictionless experiences; from one-click ordering systems to voice enabled reordering. But what happens when this is taken to its natural conclusion?

Are we failing to see that brands may become meaningless, unseen, commoditized and forgettable as we remove all relationship with their audiences? Are we unintentionally destroying what makes a brand memorable and leaving behind ‘ghost brands’?

We will explore how memories are actually made – and the lessons for brands on how to stay memorable in the frictionless future. This session will share practical steps for adding friction into experiences and give tips for helping brands be memorable and engaging in a frictionless future.

Karmarama’s Hattie Matthews is hoping to speak at SXSW 2020 on the subject of ‘How to be unforgettable in the frictionless future’ if you’d like to hear more please read (and vote for our session!) at: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/101861

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

WFA and Karmarama Putting People First: 10 Years of Learnings from Project Reconnect
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WFA and Karmarama Putting People First: 10 Years of Learnings from Project Reconnect

WFA’s Project Reconnect has been one of the most important initiatives we have been involved in. That’s because ultimately we’re all in the people game.

Understanding, motivating and engaging customers is the number one priority for everyone involved in marketing.

Today, there are so many distractions; whether it be budget fragmentation or the proliferation and digitisation of channels, simultaneously creating huge distractions and opportunities for us in equal measure. However, all these new opportunities need to be constantly framed by putting people first.

From the customers’ point of view, with so much choice, people are increasingly looking for brands they trust, who stand for something over and above what they make or provide and they are looking for creative storytelling that is differentiated consistent across their experience.

In marketing we call that integration, but it’s not just about communications integration, it’s increasingly about consistency of language, assets and behaviour, something that’s hugely challenging when we’re all moving so fast.

The future of brands, and thus marketing, depends on consistently striving for Better Marketing. Holding our customers and creativity tightly, whilst enjoying the newfound freedom of expression we now all have, will be critical.

Jon Wilkins,

Executive Chairman, Karmarama

You can download Putting People First 10 Years of WFA’s Project Reconnect here

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Karmarama promotes Charlotte Farrington to Head of Account Management
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Confused.com calls out 2019 as the most confusing year yet in new ad campaign
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Confused.com calls out 2019 as the most confusing year yet in new ad campaign

Confused.com has unveiled its new ‘2019 Confusion to Clarity’ advertising campaign, continuing to establish Confused.com as a brand helping to bring clarity to the world – finding the best insurance deals for customers in a world of ever-increasing confusion.

The new ad campaign, created by Karmarama, draws on customer research and data insight, using qualitative and quantitative analysis to reveal how we’ve never lived in more confused times. The Karmarama insight team first conducted a round of netnography to reveal the volume and nature of confusion in the UK, uncovering the most prevalent sources of confusion from Brexit to data privacy, recycling, memes and much more. Qualitative research was then used to uncover the nature of confusion around these subjects, and to tease out further topics of confusion in 2019.

This year’s campaign highlights the most resonant confusions of 2019 that everyone can agree on, offering a refreshingly clear voice of reason in an increasingly overwhelming world.

In the TV campaign execution directed by Tom Kuntz, actor Timothy Murphy finds himself at the wheel of his Blue Mercedes, stuck behind a lorry piled high with an assortment of 2019’s most confusing subject matter, but is able to navigate his way past the confusion to the clear road ahead – with the rallying cry that ‘We can get past the confusion’.

The campaign will be live across TV, Cinema, Radio, Press and OOH.

Sam Day, Chief Marketing Officer at Confused.com, said of the new campaign ““We already know that our ‘Don’t Be Confused. Be Confused.com’ campaign resonates with people because it’s dramatically shifted our brand awareness dials. We’ve put the name back into the heart of the campaign and reclaimed the concept of ‘confusion’ in connection with our brand. Now we’re taking it a step further and tackling some very poignant confusions head-on.

“We’re not claiming to be able to clear up confusion around all of these themes – although where we can we will. We’re saying we know it’s confusing, let’s take a little bit of that pain away by giving you a clear way to buy your finances – particularly for some of the more complicated products like insurance.

“Audience insight has been integral to the concept of this campaign. We live in confusing times, but people don’t want to be confused. They want someone to be on their side and guide them through the nonsense. We’re all about being Confused.com. That’s what gives us the right to play in this space.”

Nik Studzinski, Chief Creative Officer at Karmarama, added “It’s 2019. The most confusing year ever. The perfect time to launch our new confused.com campaign. Finally, somebody offering some clarity. Gets my vote.”

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Karmarama and GAY TIMES launch new UK research on perception of LGBTQ+ in advertising
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Karmarama and GAY TIMES launch new UK research on perception of LGBTQ+ in advertising

The research was commissioned by Karmarama, part of Accenture Interactive and GAY TIMES and conducted by YouGov. The total sample size was 2,052 adults based in the UK, of which 740 were LGBT respondents. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24 – 29 May 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

KEY FINDINGS

Only 36% of 18-24-year olds now identify as completely heterosexual versus 48% who identify as somewhere in between
Of those who answered, one in ten 18-24-year olds identifies as transgender
Half of recent Instagram users identify as completely heterosexual (50%)
64% of the adults surveyed think it’s positive for the LGBTQ+ community to be visible in advertisements
72% of the LGBTQ+ community think the way that LGBTQ+ people are presented in advertising is tokenistic

BACKGROUND

Ahead of Pride in London 2019, Karmarama wanted to prove the importance of building year-round, long-lasting and meaningful relationships with the LGBTQ+ community.

Generational shifts mean that marketing that is progressive and positive in its representation of the LGBTQ+ community is more important than ever, especially for younger consumers.

Fewer 18-24-year olds identify as completely heterosexual than those who identify as somewhere in between.

Trans representation is also more crucial. Of those who answered, one in ten 18-24-year olds now identify as trans, a 400% increase on the generation above them.

While LGBTQ+ perceptions in society are generally improving, stigma remains, as 72% of the LGBTQ+ community think that the way the LGBTQ+ people are presented in advertising is tokenistic.

64% of the adults surveyed think it’s positive for the LGBTQ+ community to be visible in advertisements and therefore advertising has an important role and responsibility in challenging conventions and defining what is “normal”.

This research has been featured in:

GAY TIMES, Charlie Craggs a trans activist and the founder of Nail Transphobia, and Karmarama part of Accenture Interactive came together at the Cannes Lions Festival, to talk through the research findings in detail and discuss how the creative industry can forge better connections between businesses and a community that historically has been ignored, misrepresented, and, more recently, leveraged with cynicism. Through their discussion, they aimed to show how as an industry we can push for progress in better representation, fight LGBT+ stigma at a global level, and do it with authenticity.

Pride over Pinkwashing: Building Real Connections with LGBT+ Audiences.

Monday 17th June, 15:30 – 16:00 CEST, The Terrace Stage – LGBTQ Programme.

Ben Bilboul, CEO, Karmarama:

“The LGBTQ+ community doesn’t just appear for Pride, it exists year-round. If you want to build a brand you have to expect that today, it’s society’s choice if they want it to represent them. These exciting findings show how the LGBTQ+ community is growing and how society expects brands to step up and positively represent them.”

GAY TIMES:

Tag Warner, CEO, GAY TIMES

“These research findings may seem surprising to some, but they absolute align and support the continued connection we have to our queer audience here in the UK and overseas. The binary world many of us have become accustomed to (“gay” and “straight”) is no longer relevant to most young people. This powerful research should be the catalyst to step-change thinking for advertising and marketing leaders when it comes to LGBTQ+. In tandem with Karmarama and YouGov, we’re keen to further the understanding that LGBTQ+ related media is both vital, but often misdelivers.”

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Karmarama to speak at Cannes – Pride over Pinkwashing: Building Real Connections with LGBT+ Audiences
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Nando’s encourages customers to claim the rewards which are rightfully theirs in interactive campaign by Karmarama
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Nando’s encourages customers to claim the rewards which are rightfully theirs in interactive campaign by Karmarama

Nando’s encourages customers to ‘cash in’ their rewards points in a new campaign created by Karmarama.

Almost 2 million customers have rewards on their Nando’s Cards but aren’t using them. To give back to Nando’s loyal fanbase, Karmarama has created an innovative new campaign which reminds people of the rewards sitting dormant in their wallets.

The concept of the campaign is to make an example the great lengths people could go to to get Nando’s rewards, in comparison to just using the rewards on the card in their pocket.

The new campaign sees an interactive use of out of home, with giant rewards cards being placed onto billboard sites across the country. The first phase of the campaign encourages customers to pull XL rewards card off of out of home sites and claim a meal for 10 people. The campaign is then being rolled out onto smaller out of home sites across the country, at smaller flyposter sites, with a reward of dinner for one.

The innovative campaign will be targeting customers with a series pre-roll ads which example the great lengths customers could go to get their rewards, or instead just use the ones sat in their pockets. The digital work also includes an element which involves customers interacting with Nando’s owned social channels, screen-shotting their Nando’s Card which animates together for a split second to win a free meal.

Nik Studzinski, chief creative officer at Karmarama said of the work “Whether it’s their unique PERi-PERi sauce, their menus or their Fanta and Coke mix, Nando’s do things differently. And their new Nando’s card campaign is no exception. Sure, you can get your hands on a regular, credit card size Nando’s card. No problem. Or you could also keep an eye out for one of their limited edition, three metre by two metre Nando’s cards that need ten of your mates to carry into the restaurant.”

The work will run until 5^thMay 2019.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Karmarama places 8th in Sunday Time Best Companies to Work For survey 2019, in highest position yet
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Karmarama launches LGBTQ+ network, Pridearama with series of events to celebrate LGBTQ+ history month
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Karmarama launches LGBTQ+ network, Pridearama with series of events to celebrate LGBTQ+ history month

Karmarama has launched their internal LGBTQ+ network, with the aim of making Karmarama an even more progressively inclusive place to work for people of all genders and sexualities. The network will implement internal initiatives such as policy reviews and will promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity within the creative output of the agency.

Paddy Paddison and Joe Parker, co-founders of Pridearama, said of the launch “We’re really excited to be launching Pridearama, especially with a focus on members of the community who can be sidelined or forgotten about in the industry. We hope that the work we are focusing on helps establish Karmarama as one of the most progressively inclusive agencies to work at.”

Ben Bilboul, Chief Executive Officer at Karmarama said “It is hugely important to Karmarama to be an inclusive and diverse place to work for any and all people. The steps that Paddy, Joe and the Priderama team are taking to making this more visible to the LGBTQ+ community will only improve on our existing open and collaborative culture.”

He continued, “I hope that the network will see more diverse representation in our work too. Like Gok’s Global Pride Makeover, out campaign for LGBTQ+ rights charity, All Out, that won the chair’s award at this year’s Drum Social Purpose Awards.”

This month, Pridearama are hosting a series of events to celebrate LGBTQ+ history month including:

Pridearama Portfolio Masterclass in collaboration with The Dots
Stemming from the lack of LGBTQ+ talent in the industry, this PMC will enable junior LGBTQ+ creatives to have their work reviewed by leading LGBTQ+ mentors in the creative industry. You can apply for a place here.
Can brands trans*form? – in collaboration with InterComms LGBT Network
Despite the increasing representation of the LGBTQ+ community in comms, this panel (the UK industry’s first all trans/non-binary advertising panel) facilitated will focus on the lesser-represented trans and non-binary identities, discussing what authentic trans representation looks like. Sign up for a ticket here.
Sound Session with Peyton Music
As part of a wider set of Sound Sessions highlighting up-and-coming talent in the music industry, this month’s event features a stripped-back performance from singer-songwriter and gay advocate, Peyton, as well as a Q&A about being LGBTQ+ in the music industry. Register to attend here.
Charlie Craggs Pop-Up
Featuring as part of a wider internal push on LGBTQ+ education, trans activist and author Charlie Craggs will be hosting a nail pop-up at Karmarama for all employees. Whilst getting their nails done, you can chat to Charlie about her experience as a trans woman and her activist work in a totally safe space.

To keep up to date on these events and future Pridearama events, follow @karmacomms on Instagram and @karmarama on Twitter.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019.

Karmarama Army and Plusnet campaigns win big at The DMAs
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Karmarama wins big at the Drum Social Purpose Awards
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Karmarama wins big at the Drum Social Purpose Awards

Karmarama have been awarded the Chair’s award for Gok’s Global Pride Makeover at this year’s Social Purpose Awards!

Created for this year’s Pride, we worked with Gok Wan, Gay Times, and LGBTQ rights charity All Out to produce a makeover show like never before. The work was featured on This Morning, Sky News, The Sun, The Mirror, and promoted organically by countless celebrities and influential voices, raising awareness of the challenges and dangers faced by the LGBT+ community beyond our borders.

The award recognises and celebrates all modern-day marketing which drives forward socially responsible marketing, brand purpose and a truer representation of society today.

Jerry Daykin, head of global media partnerships at Diageo and the chair of the judging panel said, “It’s been fantastic to see the acceptance around Pride/LGBTQ+ issues in the UK increase hugely over the past few years, and to see more and more companies finding a way to get positively involved.

“That said, the Gok campaign was a powerful way of highlighting just how different that situation can be in other parts of the world, and using a seemingly light hearted piece of content to bring attention to really serious issues which still affect millions of people’s lives.”

If that wasn’t all, our Planning Director, Matthew Waksman, was awarded the Champion of Change award, recognising his ability to push change for social good and to deliver cultural change projects in our industry. He spearheaded one of the most talked about Army campaigns of all time, which broke down gender, faith, and sexuality stereotypes, hitting headlines across every major publication and broadcaster.

During Pride, his proactive hard-hitting content campaign for LGBTQ+ human rights organisation All Out was played out to the nation on This Morning and Sky News, reaching over a million people (with zero media spend).

Outside of his campaigns that have created genuine social change, he has written for Gay Times, The Drum, Campaign and has given talks to Pride AM, and The DMAs about how others in the industry can effectively engage our diverse society in the right way.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama create campaign for revolutionary healthcare service Babylon GP at hand
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Karmarama create campaign for revolutionary healthcare service Babylon GP at hand

Karmarama have created an advertising campaign promoting digital healthcare service Babylon GP at hand, which exists to bring instant, high quality healthcare into the hands of everyone. The Babylon GP at hand service has been created with people in mind to better serve the ever-changing needs of patients, and in turn, gives patients more control of their health.

The disruptive, copy-led campaign heroes the immediacy of the service which puts the power in patients’ hands. Among many features, the app allows patients to book an appointment with an NHS GP via video chat, send prescriptions digitally to a local pharmacy and allows them to check their symptoms with an AI-enabled symptom checker.

From the 5^thNovember 2018 the work will run on Instagram and Facebook, as well as OOH sites across the capital. Punchy headlines across OOH play on the phrase “Get Well Soon”, which have been edited to “Get Well Now” against vibrant backgrounds. On social, the tongue-in-cheek executions play with cultural memes and references, positioning Babylon GP at hand as the most 2018 way to access healthcare.

Brian Williams, Executive Creative Director at Karmarama, said “For many, healthcare is less accessible than an artery-clogging pizza. Babylon is bringing change to this space akin to the changes that have revolutionised travel accommodations, music, and transportation, and we’re proud to collaborate with them as they shrink the distance between Londoners and healthcare to a matter of minutes.”

The Babylon GP at hand service is currently available in London, and the Babylon app is available globally. Karmarama were awarded the campaign following a competitive process run by the AAR.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama launch The Future of Service whitepaper
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Karmarama launch The Future of Service whitepaper

We have launched The Future of Service whitepaper. To get your digital copy please click here.

The Future of Service is characterised by the delivery of experiences. Making the shift from a transaction-led brand to one that’s experience-led requires time and strategy. There’s no easy solution, but we hope our whitepaper will give you some key focus areas that can help your brand along the way.

It would be easy to look to The Future of Service and see AI-enabled chatbots and not a lot else. It’s true that technology is taking traditional roles away from humans, but it’s also shifting the way that brands function and the role they play in people’s lives. This presents an enormous opportunity. An opportunity to put people at the very heart of the transformation, so they are not replaced by technology but enabled by it.

If we all have more time to do what we’re good at, essentially to be human, the possibilities are endless. In theory, we’ll be happier, more fulfilled and theoretically, more prosperous. It sounds like a utopian fantasy but with the right behaviour now, it could start to become a reality.

Making the most of this opportunity requires a different mindset and a willingness to adapt. It may seem a daunting task, but, when the new world on offer is one defined by enriched customer relationships and all that brings with it, it’s worth the extra effort.

If you want to hear more about The Future of Service, and how you could apply this thinking to your brand – please get in touch at newbusiness@karmarama.com

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

first direct Work by Karmarama picks up best financial services campaign at the Masters of Marketing Awards
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Karmarama win Gold IPA Effectiveness Award for Army Campaign
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Karmarama Launch ‘Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap’ Research
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Karmarama Launch ‘Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap’ Research

Have you noticed that the world is obsessed with the customer? The customer is always right. Customer is king. Customer service. Customer journey. Customer-centricity. And, of course, ‘the customer experience’, any self-respecting company’s number one priority.

It all comes from a good place. Everyone’s trying to do their best for the people who buy their products, use their services and consume their content. But perhaps everyone’s got it wrong. Perhaps this relentless focus on the c-word has lost sight of what’s behind it – a human.

The research has been designed to guide you through the eight steps to enlightenment, so you can elevate your thinking, your brand and its performance…because the customer is dead, so long live the human being. You can download a copy of Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap here

“Getting down to brass tacks, people want brands to treat them like humans. And humans need to feel that something is worth buying or interacting with. If brands can bring together these rational and emotional reasons to buy, they stand a chance of becoming more than a seller and start to play a more meaningful role in their audience’s lives.” – Sid McGrath, Chief Strategy Officer for Karmarama

If you want to hear more about HX, and how you could apply human experience thinking to your brand – please get in touch at newbusiness@karmarama.com

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama win four BIMA awards for the Army
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‘Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap’
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‘Brand Nirvana: Closing the Human Experience Gap’

Our research paper has now launched, to download the full report click here.

Have you noticed that the world is obsessed with the customer? The customer is always right. Customer is king. Customer service. Customer journey. Customer-centricity. And, of course, ‘the customer experience’, any self-respecting company’s number one priority.

It all comes from a good place. Everyone’s trying to do their best for the people who buy their products, use their services and consume their content. But perhaps everyone’s got it wrong. Perhaps this relentless focus on the c-word has lost sight of what’s behind it – a human.

There’s a famous saying that if a person spoke to you in the way advertising does, you’d punch them in the face. Rather than smile and brush this sentiment off, it’s worth considering what’s behind it: people don’t necessarily want to be spoken to like a “customer” – they want to be engaged with as the living, breathing, well-rounded human beings they are.

This is where things can start to go wrong in the communication and marketing industries. Reducing a target audience to the term “customer” strongly influences the way brand custodians behave. Nowadays, few relationships with brands or services exist solely in the moment of consumption. Only thinking, talking and pursuing people as the transaction they might make, as faceless figures with credit cards and pound signs over their heads, means brands and clients will only ever be sellers and the audience will only ever be buyers.

We’re missing a trick here. These people are so much more than “buyers”. They have full and active lives, of which they’re only spending money for a small percentage of time. Yet this is where brands choose to spend the majority of their communication budgets.

The rest of the time the audience is participating in culture, feeling human emotions such as love and excitement at best, and frustration and anxiety at worst. If brands can speak directly to these moments – with insight and empathy – they can become more than a seller and start to play a more meaningful role in their audience’s lives.

Imagine then if we all started seeing and empathising with ‘customers’ as human beings and equipping brands with more human characteristics? There’s a very simple way to do this: upgrade ‘customer experience’ to ‘human experience’ switching out ‘CX’ for ‘HX’. This simple move can open up a completely new way of communicating.

But it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve reset the way you refer to your target audience, you can start to think about how this will affect the way you behave. What does a “human-centric” brand look like? What kinds of things does it do? Where and how is it distributed and who does it partner with?

We have long embraced this kind of thinking at Karmarama but we’ve decided to test it out – find the true value of treating people as humans rather than customers and distil tangible steps to do so.

With a little help from our friends at Accenture Research, we’ve made an interesting discovery: brands that demonstrate more human-like behaviours and treat their audience more like humans than customers, create such strong emotional bonds with people that they become irreplaceable – a highly-preferred necessity that people desire, often irrationally, and are even willing to forgive when things go wrong.

However, our research also shows that many brands and businesses still aren’t getting it right, with a significant number of people still feeling like they are being treated transactionally rather than cared about as a person.

As we’ll see it doesn’t have to be this way. Through a variety of research techniques, we have identified the eight steps necessary to get to a more empathetic, near transcendental state that we’ve called “Brand Nirvana”.

Our research is to launch this September, this document has been designed to guide you through the eight steps to enlightenment, so you can elevate your thinking, your brand and its performance…because the customer is dead, so long live the human being.

Ahead of this, if you want to hear more about HX, and how you could apply human experience thinking to your brand– please do get in touch at newbusiness@karmarama.com

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama continue global Creative Exchange programme for second year
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Karmarama continue global Creative Exchange programme for second year

Karmarama has kicked off global Creative Exchange, its transfer programme that gives employees from Accenture Interactive agencies around the world the chance to job-swap for a month.

Now in its second year, the Creative Exchange was started with the goal to build a global creativecommunity within the Accenture Interactive family of agencies.

Nik Studzinski, chief creative officer at Karmarama, who initiated the programme, said: “Understanding and appreciating new and different working cultures helps young creatives find the empathy they need to create great work. The experiences gained from the exchange can be brought back to their work at the end of the programme and spread through their home agencies too. Everyone Wins.”

This year, the programme has been opened up to employees from both creative and planning departments, of Karmarama (UK) and The Monkeys (Australia).

The programme runs for four weeks from 10^th September and selected teams will take part in training; attend local conferences and events; take part in workshops to exchange ideas about creative culture and opportunities with the host agency; and participate in cultural and social activities. The teams will also be documenting their experiences on the Instagram account @kangarama

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Battle of the Extremes: An AI Moderated Debate
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Battle of the Extremes: An AI Moderated Debate

In its infancy, the internet was heralded as the answer to many of society’s problems. It would connect us, enrich us, assist us in problem solving, and ultimately, it would advance our capacity for good. Just a few decades later, can we say that’s been the case?

On one hand, there’s been some phenomenal progress. We can share information around the world in seconds, collaborate without borders, and explore technologies that once seemed impossible. On the other, the world has never felt more divided. We’ve seen the continued fragmentation of opinion, the rise of the echo chamber, relentless cyberbullying, and extremist sentiments spread like wildfire. For every breakthrough, there’s a breakdown.

In this age of extremes, we need to ask ourselves; how can the technology that seems to have torn us apart also bring us together? How can it help people at opposite ends of the spectrum to debate, moderate, and ultimately resolve some of their tensions?

This isn’t just an issue close to my heart – this is the defining issue of our times. We must all resolve to work within our own skillset, using our own platforms, to fulfil the dream of the internet founders and create an open, tolerant, and progressive society.

We must work to futureproof our planet, so that our children, and our children’s children can thrive. We must make society worthy of the wonderful advancements we have at our disposal. If we do, who knows what we could achieve?

I’m hoping to speak at SXSW 2019 about the ‘Battle of the Extremes’ if you’d like to hear more please read (and vote for our session!) at:

https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/89037

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Dan Moran and Andrew Child promoted to Managing Partners
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Dan Moran and Andrew Child promoted to Managing Partners

Karmarama has promoted Dan Moran and Andrew Child to Managing Partners. They will lead Karmarama Creative Products, the digital platforms part of the business.

Karmarama has fully integrated the Nice Agency business, rebranding it Karmarama Creative Products. This division will continue to provide clients with digital and platform design that creates human experiences.

Child and Moran joined Karmarama as part of Nice Agency in 2014 and have been operating in leadership roles for the last 12 months, under the supervision of Nice Agency Co-Founder Ryan Hall. Hall will be leaving the business to set up his own company in a non-related field.

Child has over 10 years’ experience in digital, working with global brand operating at both a national and international level, for clients including Proctor & Gamble, Ralph Lauren and BT. Child has been behind the emergence of Karmarama’s Product Strategy team, as well as leading the agency onto the BT Group’s digital roster.

Moran has been working in the industry for 16 years with experience at Isobar, ICN and ICOM creating digital experiences for the likes of The Times, Diageo and Channel 5. Moran has developed the Agile Product Management function within Creative Products.

The pair will co-lead the division, reporting into Karmarama’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Bilboul, who said of the promotion “Dan and Andrew have been key players in the digital transformation of our business, and thoroughly deserve their leadership roles. They’re smart, popular and talk in plain English – they’re going to go far.”

He continued “It’s sad to say goodbye to Ryan, but we thank him for all of his hard work, for bringing Nice into the Karmarama family and wish him the very best for the future.”

Nice Agency was acquired by Karmarama in 2014, providing Karmarama’s clients with over 100 developers, digital designers and platform specialists building creative products for the likes of EE, Trainline and Flybe.

Now named Creative Products, Nice Agency formed the foundations of the agency’s digital platforms and products discipline, responsible for the design, implementation and management of mobile products and platforms to create more immersive brand experiences.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

AO.com launch brand transformation with help from Karmarama
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AO.com launch brand transformation with help from Karmarama

AO.com, the online electricals store, announces the launch of a bold new advertising campaign, with a new brand strategy courtesy of Karmarama.

The new campaign titled ‘Delivering Tomorrow’ celebrates the efficiency, scale and humanity of AO through the most extraordinary analogy.

Imagine if the universe’s largest electrical appliance broke down and needed replacing? We’d need to call on some pretty superhuman people with extraordinary skills and endeavour. Well, that’s what happens when, early one morning, the sun goes on the blink and it doesn’t look like tomorrow is going to happen. AO.com delivery men power to the rescue, replace the sun with one they happen to have in their huge warehouse, and bring the world back to order with their amazingly efficient service.

Commenting on the new advert, Chief Brand and People Officer, Michael Bates stated; “The appliances in our homes are, in a way, the unsung heroes of our everyday lives. Whether it’s washing our family’s dirty clothes, vacuuming up the mess after a party or helping us enjoy the big match at home, I think we sometimes forget how reliant on them we really are.

“We asked ourselves what would happen if other things in our lives broke down like an appliance could. What would we do if the sun stopped working?”

“At AO, we understand the importance of things often taken for granted. When an electrical appliance breaks at home, it is a disaster. This is why we always deliver when the customer needs it and we do it in the most stress-free way possible.”

The tongue-in-cheek advert was directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen, who is well-known for his surrealist style, previously directing Samsung’s Ostrich campaign.

Adam Kean, Executive Creative Director at Karmarama said of the work ‘Scientists agree that our Sun will most likely die out in around 4 – 5 billion years. If, if, they’ve got it completely wrong and it happens much sooner, say next week, don’t panic. ao.com will sort it.’

The campaign consists of a 60” TV advert, with 4 cut downs of varying length, with media being planned by MediaCom North.

As well as delivering a brand and creative platform for the TV campaign, Karmarama has supplied a design platform for future communications to be used by ao.com’s in-house communications team.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama create #GlobalPrideMakeover with shocking twist hosted by Gok Wan
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Karmarama create #GlobalPrideMakeover with shocking twist hosted by Gok Wan

Karmarama have created a piece of content for LGBTQ movement All Out in partnership with Gay Times, calling for people to consider the purpose of Pride and continuing fight for LGBTQ rights around the globe.

In the exclusive film, created especially for this year’s Pride in London week, Gok dresses a group of people looking for their perfect pride outfit that they can wear anywhere in the world. However, in an unexpected twist, each must-have item represents the persecution faced by members of the LGBTQ community globally.

Items include a distressed leather jacket which would have been an essential protective layer at Pride in Istanbul last week when police fired rubber bullets into the crowd or a hat to cover the hair of the trans people in Indonesia who, earlier this year, were rounded up by police and had their hair forcibly cut.

Gay Times and All Out are encouraging the public to share the film and add their voice to the fight for global love and equality by pledging their name at AllOut.org

Matt Beard, Executive Director at All Out said “Every single day, people face violence, jail time, death threats, or worse, just because of who they are or who they love. As a global movement for love and equality, our aim is to mobilise thousands of people around the world to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights.

Through our partnership with Gay Times we continue to fight for a world where no one has to sacrifice their family, freedom, safety, or dignity because of who they are or who they love.”

William Connolly, Editor of Gay Times followed, “All Out is a global initiative devoted to the liberation of queer people no matter where in the world they live. As we approach Pride in London, we at Gay Times have been reflecting upon how fortunate we are to be in a city that not only sees us equal in the eyes of the law, but also provides a safe space and platform for the varying identities within our community to celebrate openly and freely. Sadly, this is far from true elsewhere in the world.”

“We’re proud to partner with Gok Wan and All Out to deliver this campaign, which will hopefully raise awareness of the hardships that many LGBTQ people endure. We should feel uncomfortable upon hearing about these things, and must not allow our celebration to lead into complacency”

Nik Studzinski, Chief Creative Officer at Karmarama said “In the midst of the festival that Pride has become we sometimes forget that there are parts of the World where the LGBTQ community are still isolated, victimised and persecuted. Working with Gay Times and All Out, our campaign aims to draw attention to the fact that while there is still much to celebrate, there is also much to keep fighting for.”

The work launches on Friday 6^th July and runs across the Pride in London weekend. The content will be hosted online, on ITV’s This Morning, as well as being shown on outdoor screens during the Pride in London March on Saturday 7^th July.

The full film can be found here.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

TukTuk Trio Take Good Karma to India for Charity Challenge
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TukTuk Trio Take Good Karma to India for Charity Challenge

As part of the Dreamcatcher initiative, Karmarama trio Zahra Mair, Vicki Murfitt and Demi Osman completed the Rickshaw challenge, driving a tuk tuk across the Malabar Coast of India.

The Dreamcatcher intiative involves Karmarama employees sending in a dream to the internal Dreamcatcher team, who select a winner that receive £1000 and a week off to make it happen.

This year, Zahra Mair, Vicki Murfitt and Demi Osman won with their combined dream to take part in the Rickshaw challenge. The Rickshaw challenge involves teams racing TukTuk’s against the clock to a daily destination. Covering almost 1100km, with no directions or help with mechanical malfunctions, the experience sees the groups immersing themselves in Indian culture, asking locals for help when they breakdown or directions when they get lost.

As part of the challenge, Zahra, Vicki and Demi were fundraising for the agency’s charity of the year Shelter from the Storm. Over months of fundraising, TukTuk themed events, Karmarama lunches, and activities around the office, the ladies smashed their initial £3,000 target and raised over £5,000 for the shelter!

You can see a review of their trip here or check out the trip step by step on their Instagram.

And if you missed the chance to donate you can still do so here

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama hires Jamie Mancini as Creative Director for PR and Influencer Discipline
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Karmarama hires Jamie Mancini as Creative Director for PR and Influencer Discipline

Karmarama has appointed Jamie Mancini as Creative Director to join the PR and social influencer discipline. Mancini will bring his considerable experience in this area to work with the agency’s PR clients which include Virgin Trains, IKEA and Unilever.

Jamie will lead creative for the PR discipline within the agency whilst also working as part of the wider advertising and integrated creative team and report into Nik Studzinski, Chief Creative Officer at Karmarama.

Jamie, one of PR Week’s 2017’s 30 Under 30, leaves his role as Creative Associate at John Doe after 8 years working on accounts such as Facebook, Beats by Dre, Oatly, Itsu, and a global Pernod Ricard portfolio ranging from Absolut Vodka to Havana Club Rum.

Nik Studzinski said of the appointment “Jamie joining the Karmarama family will allow us to create work with even greater cultural currency and reflects the growing demand from our clients for connected creativity. He’s also teaching himself to speak Mandarin which tells you everything you need to know about him.”

“The industry is at an interesting juncture” Jamie said, “it’s not enough to simply be well versed in PR anymore. The best campaigns take inspiration from every corner of culture to create work with true resonance, which is exactly the type of work I’m looking forward to doing at Karmarama, with some of the best brains in the business.”

Jamie starts on the 25^th June and joins Rosie Holden, who recently left John Doe to be Managing Partner at Karmarama in April of this year.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

first direct win Re-brand/ Re-launch Strategy of the Year at Drum Marketing Awards
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Sarah Blackman joins Karmarama as Data-Driven Creativity Strategy Lead
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Sarah Blackman joins Karmarama as Data-Driven Creativity Strategy Lead

Karmarama have announced the appointment of Sarah Blackman to Data-Driven Creativity Strategy Lead. Sarah joins to bolster the data-driven creativity credentials of the agency, reporting into Will Hodge.

Spanning 13 years, Sarah’s career in digital communications has seen her specialise in strategy and innovation for brands, winning numerous pitches at award-winning agencies across Paris, Berlin and London.

Sarah has led European and Global strategy for brands including Nestle, Philadelphia, Maybelline NY and Wella Haircare. Since 2012, Sarah worked at Proximity’s London office, leading pitch strategy and developing the agency proposition, joining as a Planning Partner, and becoming the Chief Innovation Officer shortly after. Sarah has won two gold and two silver DMAs in 2015 and 2017, Best Email Programme in all of Europe and the Middle East from the Adobe Business Awards 2018, for her work with Money Supermarket and Virgin Holidays.

Sarah has written articles for a number of publications including the Guardian and Campaign, on her favourite topics of data ethics, and digital anthropology. Her extensive knowledge of the industry has led her to lecture at the Ecole Superior de Publicite in Paris and the Oxford Institute of the Internet, as well as developing digital brand strategy training for international marketing teams such as Kraft Foods.

Karmarama is the UK’s most progressive creative agency, part of Accenture Interactive, working across advertising, PR, data-driven communications, mobile platforms and products, digital and innovation. The agency is known for its ability to blend creativity, digital and data, to help brands better engage with consumers. Or as Karmarama calls it – Connected Creativity. It is one of the most effective agencies in the UK and has won the DMA Grand Prix for the last two successive years, in 2017 for its work for the Army. It was again the highest ranked creative agency in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2018.

Karmarama wins D&AD Pencil for CBeebies
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