tackling social issues in Bath.
Last year, we helped our friends at Supple Studio create a copy-led awareness and fund-raising campaign for Bath Rugby Foundation. BRF is unique in that it’s the only charity in the UK deeply connected to a Premiership rugby team — along with its army of fiercely loyal fans.
Our joint efforts certainly did the trick. Delighting the client, exceeding targets and picking up a Silver Transform award for ‘Best use of copy style or tone of voice’.
Here's how it all came together ...
Bath is a beautiful place, on the surface. But it’s also a divided city of have and have nots, with around 10,000 young people officially classed as ‘vulnerable’.
Which is where Bath Rugby Foundation comes in. The charity provides vulnerable children and young people in Bath and surrounding areas with the emotional, practical and physical support they so desperately need. It gives them back confidence and self-worth, along with life skills and opportunities. It helps them break free of the prejudices and predicaments holding them back, so they can move onwards and upwards in the world.
Supple created a striking new identity for the charity based around a B logo that reflects the mentorship and coaching that BRF offers young people. And to launch this, they came up with the idea of ‘Lose the Labels’, the starting point for an outdoor and social campaign that challenged stereotypes and assumptions around young disadvantaged people.
This peeled away negative words to reveal the true potential and positivity below. We chipped in with writing support, including positioning statements, headlines, call-to-action and incidental copy.
The words needed to tread a fine line. To feel compelling yet compassionate. Hard-hitting yet heartfelt. To tell a story that did justice to the underserved young people of Bath and the sterling work of the foundation. Hopefully we did that. It’s certainly one of the few times our copy has managed to bring a tear to the client’s eye. For the right reasons, at least.
The brand and launch campaign was revealed on a Bath Rugby match day. It smashed BRF's fund-raising targets on the day and continues to raise much-needed awareness and money through an ongoing social media push.