Best Writing at the DMAs: Proximity London and The Economist

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Best Writing at the DMAs: Proximity London and The Economist

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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.

Hear more from the DMA

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This article is written by MBA Group Ltd.

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