GWI Engages the Ad Industry with Reactive OOH Campaign

GWI – the leading audience insights company – has tasked Truant London to globally activate its new brand and substantially increase brand awareness through a highly provocative OOH and digital campaign that spans both London and New York.

Launching in mid February 2022, The campaign uses culturally relevant yet provocative lines like “Who cares about the far right?” to drive an unfair share of attention for GWI’s refreshed brand, proposition, identity and evolved platform.

The campaign encourages GWI’s core target of brands, agencies and media companies to find out what their audiences care about, using real data and insights as the starting point for hot button messaging that engages media businesses in a way that is contextually relevant. For example, in London, “Who cares about the NHS?” ads will be placed next to chemists and their NHS logos. Similarly, at a site outside Arsenal’s stadium, passersby will be able to see “Who cares about the Gunners?” next to “Who cares about Spurs?”.

In New York, two giant placements near Times Square will read “Who cares about America?” juxtaposed against “Who cares about Russia?”. Similarly, a “Who cares about advertising?” poster will be placed near flagship advertising agencies. The US strategy encompasses key calendar moments ranging from the Super Bowl (“Who cares about the Rams?” and “Who cares about the Bengals?”) to the midterms later in 2022.

Contextual placements will be further supported by digital OOH in landmark locations, including a massive full-motion takeover in Waterloo Station brought to life by animation studio The Berry. Programmatic display ads will follow the same strategy by being positioned alongside topical news stories on an ongoing basis. 

Truant London’s ECD, Simon Labbett said: “GWI’s insights, data and reports act as fuel for the world’s change makers. Problem is, our industry is the audience, and this audience is arguably the world’s most critical. So we needed to be provocative by appearing dismissive with some of the most critical issues facing the world. And that’s where the genius is: every ad has a twist.

“On the face of it, they are cold. But in truth, they are highlighting the depth of knowledge that GWI harnesses. They know who cares passionately about the issues facing your audience, and in turn your business. Cultural relevance is also key. So another key strength is the campaign’s ability to react to the world. If a story breaks in the morning, we will have relevant ads out by the afternoon.”

Ryan Burnham, director of The Berry: “Working with Truant is always such a lovely, collaborative team effort. The GWI project was another brilliant addition to our partnership. The in-house team at Truant developed and created a collection of outstanding and disruptive GWI assets, that were then delivered to The Berry in order to be visually brought to life. The Berry approached the animations with a ‘glitchy’ and ‘static’ creative, combined with quick-fire, montaged image visuals, to really stand out on digital out of home screens throughout London and New York City.”