14-18 NOW is the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary. Working with arts and heritage partners across the UK, it commissions new artworks from contemporary artists, musicians, film makers, designers and performers, inspired by the period 1914-18.

14-18 NOW came to us with a brief to engage millions of people, across the UK, with its final anniversary project. Both in person, at the events, and online. Creating relatable and shareable content that would capture the imagination of a generation who wouldn’t necessarily engage with Armistice Day.

On 11 November 2018, tens of thousands of people gathered on 32 beaches around the UK and Ireland for Danny Boyle’s Armistice commission, 'Pages of the Sea': A unique moment marking 100 years since Armistice - the end of the First World War.

Over several hours, portraits of individuals from the War emerged from the sand. Then, as the tide rose, they were washed away as we said a collective ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ to the millions of men and women who left their shores during the War, many never to return.

The project aimed to engage millions of people, across the UK, with the anniversary. Both in person, at the events, and online.

Our strategy was to build an engaging and very personal creative mechanic which could live purely on social platforms and would be as engaging on mobile as it was on other channels. At the same time, we had to ensure that the experience had depth and emotional resonance, something we achieved by bringing in archive photographs and biographies from the archives of the Imperial War Museum. As basic details were required to match participants, signup was frictionless, which meant that 14-18 NOW were able to contact everyone who participated in the social campaign with details about the Armistice Day events. We worked closely with Facebook to ensure that the experience was as seamless as possible, delivering highly personalised information to every participant and allowing them to share details on the individuals they would be saying goodbye to quickly and seamlessly.

A digitally-led, multi-channel campaign was designed to spark awareness, and drive involvement on the day itself.

Tangible, personal connections between today’s generation and a generation from 100 years ago were forged through original photos and personal stories across all channels.

On our website, participants were paired with individuals from the War – people from their hometown, those of their age and even those who shared their name. Bringing poignant relevance to the black and white images from wartime.

We drove engagement through a resonant messaging strategy wrapped in an impactful identity – which lived online, out-of-home, in press and PR.

Multiple partners, including the National Trust and Eden Project, as well as influencers such as Dawn French, Christopher Ecclestone and Sanjeev Bhaskar were engaged to reach the broadest possible audience on both a local and national level.

And with the events captured through breath-taking aerial photography, we created a national, social moment which extended well beyond the beaches, engaging 25 million people.

We're proud of the results achieved, including:

48% of the UK adult population were aware of Pages of the Sea

279k site visits - 1m page views

97k visited the site on 11/11 alone

Site visitors from 172 countries

43k conversations

2.4 million people engaged with 14-18 NOW on Facebook

39k tweets generated 249 million impressions

Videos on Facebook have been viewed 1.4 million times.

We're proud of the results achieved, including:

48% of the UK adult population were aware of Pages of the Sea

279k site visits - 1m page views

97k visited the site on 11/11 alone

Site visitors from 172 countries

43k conversations

2.4 million people engaged with 14-18 NOW on Facebook

39k tweets generated 249 million impressions

Videos on Facebook have been viewed 1.4 million times.