In a bold move to combat poverty, The Big Issue has launched its first-ever rolling membership scheme, aiming to empower supporters in helping vulnerable individuals work their way out of poverty.

We sat down with Mark Campion, Creative Director at Fearless Union, the agency behind the powerful new campaign, to discuss the creative process, challenges, and the impact they hope to achieve with this initiative. From a simple yet striking concept to a fresh perspective on social change, Mark shares insights into how his team brought the campaign to life and why it matters now more than ever.

What was the brief?

The social enterprise ‘The Big Issue’, famous for its long standing magazine and iconic red-vested vendors, is launching its first ever rolling membership scheme with the mission to take poverty down to zero.

Supporters can choose to give a set amount toward developing social enterprise projects to allow those in poverty to work their way out, with up-skilling, guidance and support. They needed a launch campaign to raise awareness of the new scheme and attract new members to sign up.

How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?

We had some sobering facts to get us focussed. For instance 3.8 million vulnerable people in the UK are currently unable to feed, clothe or keep themselves warm. The brief  was clear; ’enough is enough’.

We needed a bold and striking statement to shake people awake, whilst also really bringing a new distinctiveness to an iconic brand. This was a new product from a very familiar brand on the street.

What was the process behind ideating the concept?

It had to be focussed around ‘membership’ as this was the core of the new news. If the idea became a generic campaign for The Big Issue it risked being misattributed. So, it led us to ideas born out of ‘membership’. We looked at it this way; like it or not,  in this broken system we’re all actually members of the poverty problem.

A 24/7, 12-month, rolling contract of powerlessness and inaction. The good thing about the poverty problem is, we can bring it down, together by joining The Big Issue as a member.

What was the production process like?

In terms of design production, once we had the simple idea of ‘Hitting Cancel on Poverty’ we were able to be quite bold and graphic about how we brought it to life. A fresh and bold perspective to the transactional world of online sign-ups.

We used the now ubiquitous ’finger cursor’ to present the new membership as a colossal movement while inventing a whole new icon for action against poverty. When it came to media production, we were heavily leaning on big donors to share the work with help coming in from The Guardian, The National Trust, and big OOH media partners across the UK.

What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?

Like any emotionally charged subject there were man passionate points of view on how best to launch such an important milestone in the brands long running history. It was a pleasure to work beside such a caring bunch of people who really fought for what was important to each of them - even if that got into heated debates at times.

What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?

This project was heavy on graphic design and our Head of Design, Darren used all the 2D and 3D tools in his arsenal to bring it to life. But, we kept it simple, as it should be. This needed to be striking and single minded.

What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?

There was one point where our designer (who thought the hard work was done when they completed the master assets) found out there was a spreadsheet of bespoke OOH sizes numbering into the hundreds. That was a rather long weekend. But, he promises he laughs about it now.

What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?

As our client Zoe Hayward puts it; "Poverty in this country is a growing, urgent crisis, destroying our society, affecting more of our neighbours, friends and family everyday. The issue is out of control, the government isn’t moving fast enough and we at the Big Issue, can’t look away. We know millions of people in the UK are outraged. We want to bring people together who are demanding change through our new membership scheme. Through becoming part of our community, we’ll amplify the voices of those who are marginalised in our society and show those in power that we won’t tolerate their inaction."

How long did it take from inception to delivery?

This was a quick turnaround from brief to live in around 2 months.

What do you hope it achieves for the brand?

Millions of new Big Issue members.

Credit list for the work?

Brand: Big Issue         

Client name: Zoe Hayward

Creative agency: Fearless Union

Creative Directors:  Mark Campion               

Strategy Director: Cat Wiles

Media agency: December 19, the7stars