A pioneer in visual true-storytelling and concise, compelling copy, USA Today has always been dedicated to the goal of reporting the news in a manner that is relevant to everyday Americans in their daily lives. But 30 years after its splashy 1982 launch, USA Today’s once-unique brand offering appeared to be drowning in a sea saturated with pop news imitators, satirists and digital competitors.

In this rapidly changing media landscape—one in which all print brands are challenged with meeting the demand for paper products and constantly churning content for the world’s proliferating digital platforms—we were tasked with helping this Gannett-owned brand reclaim its place as “the nation’s newspaper.”

Over the course of 2012, we formed a creative partnership with USA Today to transform everything from?the brand’s architecture to the visual identity of all print and digital products. And to introduce this new-and-improved news brand to readers, shareholders and our marketing partners, we designed and implemented a playful, integrated advertising campaign that portrays people as the heart of USA Today through the use of live, human infographics.

Our successful USA Today makeover quickly became one of the largest media-business stories of 2012 thanks to more than 7,000 broadcast and print stories chronicling the year-long effort. These press features resulted in more than 325 million total media impressions for the brand among our intended audiences, which included readers, investors and advertisers. Gannett Inc. reported a first-quarter profit increase of 53%, and USA Today’s digital revenues increased by more than 69%. The number of unique visitors to its now-thriving mobile sites grew by 79%. Social media also got a big boost. USA Today’s Facebook fan base rose 100% after the campaign and the publication also welcomed more than 6,000 new Twitter followers.