Uncommon has beaten Saatchi & Saatchi and adam&eveDDB in a pitch for BT’s creative and business accounts, and will take over both agencies’ duties on the brand going forward. The new brief is to build “a long-term creative platform for the BT brand, aiming to help it build cultural relevance.”
Added to its British Airways business, this latest win is turning Uncommon into an unlikely custodian of “brand Britain.” Founder Nils Leonard, who has recently been spending most of his time in New York, will now spend more time in the UK.
After announcing a while back that it was going to make BT a business brand and EE its consumer arm, BT seems to be doing a u-turn and will maintain BT branding on broadband and landline services for all customers.
Cilesta van Doorn, BT Group managing director of group brand, said: “We had a responsibility to find the right partner to help us think beyond advertising, one who could help us redefine the role BT should play in modern Britain. Uncommon’s thinking and ambition stood out from the start. Their ideas go to the heart of what BT means to our customers and our people, and we’re excited to bring this to life together and shape this next exciting chapter for BT.”
Nils Leonard, co-founder at Uncommon Creative Studio, said: “It is a huge privilege to partner with one of Britain’s most-loved and important brands, and to see them recognised once again for the incredible contributions they have made not just to British culture, but to our very way of life. This partnership with BT at the highest level will see every facet of the studio brought to bear on their behalf.”
Uncommon have succeeded in making a strong creative stand for British Airways, so it will be interesting to see if the agency can match it for BT – and to find out exactly what van Doorn means by “beyond advertising.”
