Best Writing at the DMAs: Proximity London and The Economist

In this series we examine the winning work from the 2015 DMA Awards Best Writing category. Peek at the brilliance behind a Bronze win for Proximity London and their client, The Economist.

Stories are most effectively told simply. And that presents a copywriting challenge invoking the three ‘c’s: capture, condense and create.

But let’s rewind a little and set the scene.

Houston, we have a problem

The Economist is a home to analysis, comment and breaking news and has been since 1843.

But they faced a challenge: a battle to move the perception of the magazine beyond its core base. A fight to capture the millennial, born-into-digital. No small ask to re-position a publication seen as narrowly focused on finance and – gulp - politics and point it towards a more modern future.

And that’s not to mention that The Economist operates a paid for content model - levers rarely heaved by click-happy millennials.

The writing challenge: provoking and rewarding the intellectually curious

The Economist is known for an irreverent writing style that sits apart from its perceived persona. If – clearly a big if – potential readers get past its bright red masthead, they plunge into an entertaining, often acerbic world of snappy commentary, brilliantly-written, engaging articles from leading journalists and commentators.

Teaming up with Proximity London, The Economist sought to develop a provocative and engaging campaign. Using banner ads, they sought to marry real-time content delivery to audience insights – UM London stepping up to deliver on the data.

The execution focused on 60 headlines, written by a newsroom of journalists in bite-size. Language wasn’t just eye-catching, but aroused intrigue and urged the reader to scratch newly aroused itches of curiosity.

The writing approach is in three layers: the banner copy to grab attention; allude to article content; and lead readers into that content with intrigue.

Tone here seeks to provoke but works playfully, all in a tiny, less than tweet-sized copy bits. And often worked-up in real-time to react to events as quickly and smartly as possible.

Although “only” a Bronze winner in the Best writing category, Proximity, UM London and The Economist ran the DMA Awards Grand Prix winning Raising eyebrows and subscriptions campaign. Check it out.