About UM

UM is a creative media agency, committed to blurring the lines between media and creativity, between data and content, between science and art. A global media network in IPG Mediabrands, UM operates in over 100 countries, with a roster of clients including Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, The Hershey Company, CVS Health, ExxonMobil, BMW and Sony.

Campaign Goals:

  • Thought leadership
  • Social engagement

Campaign Description

As part of UM’s ambition to showcase its expertise in connecting brands with consumers, the agency decided to help fuel industry debate around the role of advertising in creating, perpetuating, and breaking identity norms. The idea was ‘UK by UM’ – a series of audience investigations intended to examine the prevalence and impact of stereotyping in advertising. In practice, these are a series of research projects – each with a different spotlight  – and included Breaking Dad, Pink Pound RIP, and Women in Ads.

To address the severity of the issue of stereotyping in advertising and initiate change, UM understood that authentic conversation needed to happen among professionals in the advertising industry. They leveraged the voices of employees across LinkedIn who wrote in-depth articles that were published on LinkedIn. In addition to traditional viral marketing metrics like views, shares, and likes, UM had one ‘unofficial’ and surprising KPI: each article should be trolled at least once. The thinking here was that if they had not ruffled some feathers then they had not pushed the envelope enough. Since the Publishing series, UM has been invited to present their research findings at industry summits and has been retweeted by the likes of Keith Weed, the UN, and all major trade titles and political bodies. 

LinkedIn Products Used:

  • LinkedIn Publishing