Stories of conviction

When purpose and performance must share the same stage.

Image credit: Oleksandra Zlunitsyna / National Ballet of Ukraine

Behind every enduring brand is a moment of decision - when belief had to become action. I thought I’d revisit and assemble a few I’ve had the privilege of contributing to.  If only for my own entertainment. They’re not about best practice -  but about what it takes (in the immortal words of Dolly Parton) to find out who you are and do it on purpose, when the easier path might have been to compromise.

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Like what do you do when a group of refugee ballet dancers from Ukraine meet in Amsterdam, form a dance company and want to use their platform to highlight the horrors unfolding back home? Oh, and when it’s not an agency assignment, and the budget is virtually zero?

That was the challenge facing the United Ukrainian Ballet.

You navigate a complex group of potent and vocal non-marketing stakeholders. You respect the dignity and trauma of those you are serving. You avoid the clichés of tutus and tights. You understand that is dance is a visceral, muscular expression of the most beautiful and profoundly human parts of who we are. You assert your artistic superpower - resistance to all that is inhumane. And you call Charlotte Moore, truly one of the most fearsome writers in the business.

Sometimes there’s nothing like having a network of A-list creative friends.