- UK government partners with the Evening Standard and many other UK newspaper titles on COVID-19 ad campaign.
- The campaign coordinated by Newsworks has come from the UK Government to share the message to the UK to Stay at home
The UK government call on UK Newsbrands to unite to convey one single message to the UK population to 'Stay at home for the NHS, your family, your neighbours, your nation, the world and life itself'.
The campaign, coordinated by Newsworks, is the start of a 3 month partnership which further down the line will include branded content element to further amplify public information, as well as more tailored campaigns and messaging.
It kicked off today with many regional and national titles running a cover wrap in the many colours of the rainbow. The Evening Standard ran the cover wrap, as well as standard.co.uk and independent.co.uk running the campaign digitally on a home page take over.
On the back cover the ad doubles up as a poster and features the rainbow, which has been adopted as the symbol of support for key workers throughout the crisis, along with the copy: 'Staying at home for Britain'.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said: “Newspapers are the lifeblood of our communities and we need them now more than ever. Their role as a trusted voice and their ability to reach isolated communities is especially vital at this time. With this campaign we are both saving lives by providing essential information to the public, and supporting cherished local institutions.”
Tracy De Groose, executive chair Newsworks, who led the industry’s unified response to the government’s brief, said: “We are working with the government throughout this crisis to deliver their important advertising messages in a way that will resonate with readers. This is an amazing first for the newspaper industry and a clear demonstration of how we can bring it altogether for a brand campaign of this scale.
“As we all know the trusted flow of information is more important now than ever before and this partnership is a powerful endorsement of the strong relationship we have with our growing audiences across our local, regional and national news brands.
“Of course, our journalists will continue to scrutinise the actions of the government at every turn of this pandemic and they will continue to play their part in defeating this terrible virus.”
