Financial Times / Letters To This New World, The New Agenda

Resetting Capitalism with the Bible of The City.

Letters To This New World was born from the insight was that the world wouldn’t switch instantly into recovery mode post-COVID, but rather enter a period of profound transition and opportunity to remake better. The campaign solicited pledges and commitments from thought-leaders in politics, business and culture who championed the change that FT readers have a collective responsibility to affect.

Letters is the latest chapter in The New Agenda brand positioning – a three-year platform designed to diversify the FT’s appeal and the first time the FT had repositioned itself since the financial crash. To date it has generated more earned coverage than any in the FT’s history and helped the publication push past the one million subscriber mark since it was launched in 1888.

‘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.’ - Finola McDonnell, FT Chief Marketing Officer.

The campaign launched by cover-wrapping the paper with a bold declaration for Capitalism to be reset and was then fully integrated across digital, social, OOH and tactical retail. We also removed the paywall for a day – opening the world of FT editorial to as wide an audience as possible. The New Agenda fuelled conversation – from Sky News debates to panels at the United Nations Summit and even eager tweets from heads of state.

The New Agenda platform has always adapted to the context of the changing world, including the 2020 COVID crises TV spot Lost For Words which Dave Trott described as one of the few modern ads he truly liked. The platform continues to evolve with a new chapter launching in September 2022 that positions the FT as a trusted guide for a world on the brink of profound uncertainty.

The New Agenda was spotlighted in Contagious’ ‘World’s Best Strategy’ feature and Letters, one of its ‘Most Contagious’ campaigns of 2021. Letters also won The PR Week Global Award for Corporate Branding and helped the FT secure the Brand of the Year at the British Media Awards.