The publisher’s first major brand campaign since the global financial crisis, The New Agenda will position the FT at the forefront of debate about the disruption of established corporate and economic models and what should come next. Launching with the line - Capitalism: time for a reset - it will encourage business leaders to find opportunity in the new normal and promote stronger corporate purpose, says the FT.
Introducing the concept to FT readers, editor Lionel Barber said: “The liberal capitalist model has delivered peace, prosperity and technological progress for the past 50 years, dramatically reducing poverty and raising living standards throughout the world.”
“But, in the decade since the global financial crisis, the model has come under strain, particularly the focus on maximising profits and shareholder value. These principles of good business are necessary but not sufficient. It’s time for a reset,” he continued.
The campaign, developed with The Brooklyn Brothers, foregrounds FT journalism and is entirely content driven. Through a series of provocations, audiences will be encouraged to consider the implications of major economic and societal change, including the ethics of investing, the potential perils of big tech and the future of the corporation itself.
On September 18, print copies of the FT will be wrapped with the highly visible campaign creative. On the same day, the publisher will make FT.com free to read globally for 24 hours in what it calls FT.com Open Day, when new readers are invited to explore the FT’s journalism online.
The global brand creative will run out of home, on digital, mobile and display, and will be complemented by an integrated acquisition campaign that will run throughout autumn across all regions. The New Agenda will also manifest in the weeks and months ahead at FT events and through field marketing; in partnerships, sponsorships and all external communications.
Finola McDonnell, FT’s chief communications and marketing officer, said: “Our readers want a guide to the risks and opportunities that disruption brings. But they also want to be challenged: The FT has the authority and credibility to ask fundamental questions of business and, with this campaign, we are highlighting the choices that will determine the future of the economic order, reflecting what we do every day through our unrivalled journalism.”
