In a deal brokered by OMD UK media agency, the collaborative ‘Your Voice Your Way’ campaign works directly with young people to create and shape their own media, says the Guardian.
The project will come together in a new one-off magazine — written, photographed and illustrated by creative young voices — that will be published as a stand-alone supplement in a Saturday edition of the Guardian later this month.
‘Your Voice Your Way’ forms part of Levi’s wider ‘Use Your Voice’ message, which celebrates the power of authentic self-expression to inspire change in individuals and communities around the world.
‘Your Voice Your Way’ champions a group of eight creative young voices not often heard in mainstream media. Over the past few months, they have embraced the challenge of working remotely — attending virtual workshops, one-on-one coaching and teambuilding sessions — to collaborate with Guardian Labs and Levi’s in the design and creation of their own media. Each person has a powerful story to share and their own ideas on how to tell it. The stories will come together in a bespoke print magazine to be included as a supplement in the Guardian on Saturday 27 June.
As part of the campaign, a series of online articles focusing on the importance of self-expression and celebrating your own voice launched yesterday ahead of the print magazine. Articles include an introduction to the collaborators and how they found their voice, the ways in which people can be heard and reasons why your voice matters.
The project was conceived at the start of the year, and the team of eight started working on the zine in March.
All coverage is labelled in line with the Guardian’s content funding guidelines.
Imogen Fox, Executive editor, Guardian Labs, says: “In this partnership, Levi’s genuinely wanted to give a platform to young people with stories and backgrounds that we don’t often get to hear. The collaborators were amazing right from the start — funny, creative and ready to adapt. Our zine is testament to the fact that people can collaborate and produce something unified and unique without actually having ever met. There is some real future talent here.”
Jason Kyriacou, Levi’s North Marketing and Experience Director, says: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Guardian Labs to champion the stories of young people across the country. The project brings to life our brand campaign Your Voice, Your Way and we are blown away by how those involved have approached the opportunity, using their individual creativity to address the issues that matter to them the most and striving for a better future, it’s inspiring and humbling. Our brand history is rooted in youthful optimism and progress, we’ve always been a symbol for inclusion and empowerment and those in this project are carrying forward these values.”
Emma Parrett, Executive Director of Partnerships & Social, OMD UK, says: “The team at OMD UK is incredibly proud to have secured this collaboration between Levi’s and The Guardian. Creating an original platform from which young people can share their perspectives of life during this challenging time has provided a genuine, life enhancing opportunity to those involved. The ‘zine’ produced is testament to the calibre of young talent living across the UK right now.”
The partnership with Guardian Labs forms part of Levi’s wider ‘Use Your Voice’ campaign, which aims to illustrate how a wide range of voices can inspire and affect change in individuals and communities around the world.
All collaborators were paid Guardian freelance rates and assigned a mentor throughout the process, says the Guardian.
