Long-time no newsletter, you missed us right?! Well fear not as we are back big time and will be bringing you our monthly blog from this point onwards so stay tuned for more WINGperspectives to get you thinking and your industry knowledge expanding…

The last few months have seen a whole range of WING productions and it’s been a great 2021 here at WING HQ. We started September finishing off our Olympic journey over in Japan at the Paralympics with update films QAD for Coca Cola and this then led us nicely to several post event films which are certainly keeping our producers and editors ticking over. To add to this, we also delivered a film in less than 48 hours as part of our WingMan24 offering, working with our friends at CAA to mark Getir becoming the first Official Training Wear Partners for Tottenham Hotspur FC. It was a very fun stint indeed and you can check that out here-

Our Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Race Previews with Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas have been present throughout the F1 season and we have been shortlisted as finalists for a Drum Award for the Digital Industries and also Content Awards for these. The series has had a mega 9 million views and 500,00 interactions so far. Instead of the usual hosted previews, these get into the personal space of the drivers as they reflect on each track and vividly paint a picture for fans’ brought to life through visceral allegory and haven https://winglondon.com/latest-work/petronas-bahrain-race-review/

We finished off September with a great collaboration with Little Dot Sport producing the live Homecoming Event for the LTA with the US Open champions Emma Raducanu, Joe Salisbury, Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett. This went from brief to major live stream in less than a week and was an amazing celebration of four incredible athletes to inspire a new generation; check out a preview here

Whilst on the topic of amazing work, we also thought our Youtube series ‘Life in Stages’ co-produced with the National Theatre back in April was worth a hat tip having delivered 32 million online impressions from episodes and clips, 7 million views, plus a front page in The Times. The series hosts 6 episodes and featured conversations between leading names in British Theatre including Olivia Coleman, Bill Nighy and Josh O’Connor and is certainly worth a watch to those who haven’t seen it https://winglondon.com/latest-work/national-theatre-life-in-stages/ 

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So now onto the nitty gritty... The last 18 months have fuelled some dramatic shifts in our industry, causing a much-talked about inflection point on people's needs, values and behaviours from a consumer and brand audience perspective, so it feels apt to address where we are at this point. Essentially the content landscape has changed and us WINGers know that we need to rethink through the lens of the last 18 months as we move forward. As we went into lockdown in 2020 the digital  provided the means for all our daily activity whether for work, social or leisure, compelling brands to evaluate their strategies in the face of abrupt change and uncertainty. Social media was there to offer distraction and connect us with others, online shopping in some cases became the only option, and what we were digitally streaming from home for entertainment became a common topic of conversation and enjoyment (who DIDN’T watch Tiger King?!). We know that these changes were underway already, but the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated this, with lockdown making access to technology and digital essential.

In this shifting and evolving landscape, at WING we have chosen to do a few things differently by championing new and big ideas and seeking creativity and innovation. Rather than being deterred by what COVID-19 might throw at us, we have spun potentially difficult situations to our advantage whilst remaining creative, productive and efficient. Our work with Coca Cola at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan is a fine example, using international partners to collaborate  safely and effectively within Covid regulations, essentially spreading our ‘wings.’ Unable to travel to the host country as we had for RIO2016, we utilised international partnerships and connections and created daily shows working on a 24-hour production schedule. The time difference was on our side, with rushes being sent from Tokyo at the end of Japan’s working day and then using the time to cut and create in London through our working day whilst Coca-Cola slept in Japan. Had it not been for the pandemic we wouldn’t have adopted this workflow across the countries.

We also know that it’s important to take advantage of emerging tech and the fast advancements in the digital world. Our campaign ‘8,000 Mile Autograph’ for Fuse and Vodafone back in August is a great example of using innovation in the current climate, conducting the world’s first 5G shirt signing and connecting rugby fans who were in the UK and unable to travel with the Lions players 8,000 miles away in South Africa. Using a precision robot, motion control technology and Vodafone’s low latency 5G network, we created a new and inventive way to connect fans to the players, providing a much missed moment of connection for both.

Essentially both are examples of situations out of our control, but which were forces for change that brought about innovation and creative thinking … so the message is, take what you have (in this instance technology and innovation) and use it to your advantage to overcome barriers. Nothing will ever replace our love of live shooting, but when faced with restrictions we know that we can (at the risk of sounding like Ross Geller) pivot - and deliver our content in innovative ways, ensuring meaningful connection between brands and their audiences. 

We don’t know what the future will look like but for the meanwhile, brands and their counterparts must continue to be hyper agile and reactive in the short term whilst trying their best to play for how the future might shape up. Our answer in surviving in these crazy times is to make sure you are adapting and aligning to create a seamless and balanced process that moulds with the current climate - one that takes advantage of digital technology and innovation to rise to the challenge and make your mark in this new and ever exciting content landscape.

Onwards and upwards!