Digging back through the archives
We work with some of the biggest organisations in the world, with rich histories and hidden treasures. It’s our job to dig up those treasures and turn them into fascinating – and shareable – stories.
One of the joys of being a brand journalist – especially when you work with historic brands like Barclays and Royal Mail – is being able to rifle through company archives jam-packed with fascinating relics; hidden stories just begging to be told.
While the vast majority of content we produce for such clients is forward-looking, digging into the history books is a great way to find long-forgotten anecdotes that reinforce still-relevant values and world-changing innovations.
Take, for example, our regular series for Barclays – ‘From the Archives’. Every month, our Content Works team delves through the archives, to share a little slice of the bank’s history with our readers. From mobilisation during WWI to Britain’s first ever woman bank manager, from a photoshoot with David Bailey to a charming essay by children’s author J.M. Barrie, there’s a whole world down there just waiting to be unearthed.
Or our work marking 500 years of Royal Mail. The company challenged us to deliver an engaging strategy to spark interest in the brand’s unique position in British social history. We built the campaign around our online gallery –commissioned by both Royal Mail and its heritage partner The Postal Museum – which served as a home for the digitised key historical artefacts that tell the brand’s fascinating story.
We were also challenged by outdoor clothing manufacturer Berghaus to create a brand book for colleagues, focusing on inspirational stories that would communicate new brand messaging, in an emotive way, to international teams. We took a look back through Berghaus’ remarkable history– from its beginnings in a shop in Newcastle to becoming one of the most iconic outdoor clothing brands in the world – to tell the stories that we knew would resonate most with colleagues.
It just goes to show that, sometimes, the best stories are right under your nose.