In today's fast-paced media landscape, the ability to react quickly and effectively to breaking news and cultural moments can significantly boost a brand's visibility and relevance. When a client, media team, and creative studios operate as one cohesive unit, the results can be extraordinary. 

This harmony of copy, creative, and media placement garners a disproportionate share of attention—the currency we all strive for in a cluttered market. Reactive media isn't a new concept, but its impact in culture is undeniable – brands like Paddy Power and Specsavers have been successfully utilising this strategy for years.

Marketing lessons from Who Gives A Crap

Throughout Summer and spoiler, the remainder of 2024, we have had the license to play in reactivity on behalf of eco toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap. Collaboration and agility have meant that within moments of events happening in real time, we have had copy, creative and media space ready in print titles such as the Metro.

It takes an ambitious and brave client to bring something like this to life - embracing the uncomfortable, making decisions at speed, and pushing us all to be better. Thankfully for us, David Titman and his team at Who Gives A Crap have given us the freedom to move at pace to get work live.

When we heard that raw sewage was being pumped into Lake Windermere, we were horrified. But instead of merely expressing outrage, we saw an opportunity to align with Who Gives A Crap’s mission of providing clean and safe sanitation. Within an hour, our team had developed a creative concept, secured media space, and launched a campaign that spoke directly to the issue at hand.

This rapid response not only highlighted the environmental issue but also reinforced Who Gives A Crap's brand values. It showcased their commitment to sanitation and clean water while engaging their audience with a timely and relevant message.

The result was a campaign that not only drove awareness but also cultural currency, making Who Gives A Crap part of the conversation around environmental sustainability.  Since then we have activated in the same manner tactical pieces responding to the snap-general election decision (‘prepare for crap’) and another nearly moment for England’s Euro 2024 squad (‘celebrating number twos’). Having the rules of engagement and guard-rails set-up for planned reactivity has helped us move at speed and insert ourselves into culture, whilst remaining authentic to Who Gives A Crap.

The Importance of Cultural Currency

But cultural currency is about more than just being part of the conversation—it's about influencing it. Brands that can effectively leverage cultural moments not only stay relevant but also position themselves as leaders in their industry. This requires a deep understanding of the cultural landscape, the ability to predict or quickly react to trends, and the agility to execute swiftly. Mark Ritson encourages brands to be true to themselves and "consistently disruptive". Maintaining a confident tone of voice as well as having an innate understanding of which stories your brand has licence to comment on, can allow brands to enter cultural conversations rather than sit on the sidelines.

Collaborative Success

The success of our campaign moments with Who Gives A Crap illustrates the true power of collaboration - it takes an army to achieve ambitious work like this. From early work crystallising the strategic approach with Phoebe Dent, Harriet Sumner, Will Richardson and Sam Fowler at Craft Media, to brave decision making from our client group; David Titman, Emily Kraftman, Amanda Parker and Jason Brain. Through to planning and execution by our team of specialists; Tom Goodall, Emma Martin, Katie Nelson, Merryana Khalife, David Morgan, Laura Piggott, Vanisha Patel, Michael Trigg and Joe Green.

Somewhat uniquely, given the turnaround times and agility required, What’s Possible Creative, a full-service creative shop integrated with The Specialist Works in London, was instrumental in producing every asset. Our in-house capability to swiftly adapt, produce, quality-check, and deliver to press ensured that we could react to cultural moments with the speed and precision necessary to make a real impact. This seamless integration allowed us to align creative with strategy instantly, ensuring that every piece not only resonated with the current cultural context but also maintained the authenticity and boldness that 'Who Gives A Crap' is known for

When media strategists, planners, buyers, and creative teams work together seamlessly, the results can be extraordinary. This integrated approach allows for real-time optimisations and ensures that every element of the campaign is aligned with the brand’s objectives.

Leveraging Reactive Media for Brand Growth

When executed well, reactivity can drive significant brand growth. It allows brands to be part of the cultural conversation, demonstrating relevance and engagement with current events. This approach is particularly effective for entrepreneurial brands, which are often built lean, highly ambitious, and operating in competitive categories with larger, more established competitors.

At The Specialist Works, our model is built to support these entrepreneurial brands. We believe in the power of diverse specialists, the importance of human-centric business practices, and the measurable impact of effective marketing. Our bespoke client-led trading and media activation strategies are designed to deliver disproportionate business impact for our clients – who often exist behind category leaders within their fields.

Reactive media can be a powerful tool for driving cultural currency and brand growth. By acting quickly and effectively in response to cultural moments, brands can demonstrate their relevance, engage their audience, and influence the conversation. At The Specialist Works, we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver these results through collaboration, agility, and a client-first approach. Our work with Who Gives A Crap is just one example of how we make what other media agencies say is impossible, possible.

Embracing the uncomfortable and making decisions at speed can push all parties involved to be better, delivering extraordinary results. Sewage and lakes shouldn't mix, but at The Specialist Works, we believe that media and creative should - creating campaigns that resonate with the world around us.