HMRC Picks UNLIMITED & Pablo For New Creative Agency Partner

Announced today, UNLIMITED & Pablo has been appointed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to handle its creative agency account after a highly contested pitch.

The UNLIMITED & Pablo consortium saw off roster agencies based on the strength of their creative response and cultural fit with HMRC. The extensive pitch process was run through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) the Government Procurement Service and marks one of the first wins out of the Government’s new Framework agreement. The contract runs for two years.

The team will partner with HMRC to continue to develop its brand proposition and help deliver on its vision to be a more helpful and supportive brand that keeps its customers at the heart of everything.

Through UNLIMITED & Pablo, HMRC will tap into two of the UK’s top independents coupling best-in-class creativity, alongside deep expertise in neuro, behavioural and data science from UNLIMITED’s unique Human Understanding Lab.

UNLIMITED & Pablo will be responsible for all strategic and creative brand work as well as key campaigns, such as self-assessment and tax credits, effective immediately.

Jennifer Hepker, Head of Brand & Campaigns, Communications Directorate HM Revenue & Customs said:

“I would like to thank all the agencies who took part in the pitch process for making it such a competitive process; and to congratulate the UNLIMITED & Pablo team who demonstrated exactly the blend of skills and experience we were looking for. They impressed us with their creative credentials; deep understanding of behaviour change; and genuinely collaborative approach. We are excited to start working with their team. Together we will bring to life our new brand proposition and deliver focussed marketing campaigns, supporting government priorities and communicating HMRC’s role as a trusted, modern tax and customs service with our customers at the heart of everything we do.”

Tim Bonnet, President at UNLIMITED: “We’re thrilled to be working with such an important part of the Government. We felt that the customer-centric nature of HMRC’s brief was a particular draw for us given how deeply rooted our partnership is in human understanding. Our creative and strategically challenging work will come to life as we reframe self-assessment, with the power of our Human Understanding Lab. To activate this ambitious strategic proposition, our creative will shift our target audience’s mindset to think about it differently and unlock the power of positivity. Cognitive restructuring like this changes perceptions in the long-term, encouraging our audience to build new associations that will inform their behaviour in future years.”

Harriet Knight, Joint Managing Director, Pablo London said: “We were excited that the client had creativity at the top of their agenda. They are in the rare position of being a brand that talks to every adult in the UK and are looking to continue its journey to change from being perceived as ‘the tax man’ to a modern service that supports and helps people. That felt like a really big challenge, and we hope we can surprise people with how we do it.”

Source: UNLIMITED

  Harriet Knight, HMRC, Jennifer Hepker, Pablo, Tim Bonnet, Unlimited