Skip to main content
Commsy creative stuff straight to your inbox

Blog

The UnAwards masterclass 2025: lessons from the champions

< Blog home

The UnAwards masterclass 2025: lessons from the champions

What does it mean to be creative? Can we define it with certainty, or is creativity a subjective concept that holds a unique meaning for each individual? Is it something we can capture and define, or is it a wild, untamed beast that looks different to everyone who encounters it?

2024 marked the 9th ceremony of the UnAwards, and we were honoured to judge the Best Creative Comms category, an experience that challenged us to think deeply about what it truly means to be creative. Each year, we ask ourselves, how do you measure creativity?

Creativity is our jam, and we had a whopping 65 incredible entries to review in this category. The standard was off the charts, with entries ranging massively in scale and approach. The ones that stood out demonstrated creativity throughout their strategy and planning, use of media, messaging, content, and of course, execution.

But the UnAwards don’t just stop at celebration. They’re also about learning and sharing best practices. If you bagged yourself a ticket, you’re in for a treat! The UnAwards Masterclass offers a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of the winning campaigns, meet the teams responsible, and soak up their reflections, insights, and lessons learned.

 

What you’ll gain from the masterclass:

  • A behind-the-scenes look at the winning and highly commended projects.
  • The chance to meet the teams behind these standout campaigns and hear about their creative process.
  • Reflections and insights that can help you craft more impactful and innovative communications.
  • An opportunity to connect with like-minded comms professionals and share ideas.

 

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the campaigns that caught our eye:

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR): Kitchen Nightmares

  • Awarded a high commendation for its straightforward, no-nonsense, and impactful messaging.
  • Aimed to raise awareness about the frequency of kitchen fires at home in a way that resonated with the audience.
  • Cleverly and creatively referenced pop culture in their fire safety video, making it memorable and effective.
  • Utilised a clear creative approach and concept, achieving a strong message with a modest budget.
  • Played on people’s predispositions to effectively communicate the message.
  • “Last night a burger saved my life” became a memorable, catchy phrase from the campaign.
  • Brilliant work!

Get a flavour for their campaign by watching A Kitchen Nightmare.

 

Reading Borough Council’s (RBC): Just One Thing

  • Highly commended by the judging panel.
  • RBC launched Just One Thing in 2024, encouraging residents to try something new, ranging from health and wellbeing ideas to exploring local experiences.
  • The campaign showcased the positive impact of council services.
  • It became the council’s most successful social media campaign to date.
  • Focused on small, manageable changes rather than daunting resolutions.
  • Used a warm, relatable tone and creatively reimagined the typical New Year’s resolution.
  • Cleverly avoided the negative connotations of resolutions and offered a positive, sustainable perspective.
  • Innovative and full of creative thinking, Just One Thing effectively connected with the community.

Check out their roll out here.

 

Wigan Council Fettlers: People Make Wigan

  • The branding was a standout success, earning high commendation for its innovative narrative and bold, outside-the-box thinking.
  • Set apart by its collaborative approach, consulting a diverse mix of voices, including local historians, poets, and students, to capture the true spirit of Wigan. Find out more about how they ran their focus groups here.
  • Resulted in a renewed sense of hope and pride for local businesses, fostered by genuine partnerships, such as a local bar creating a Fettlers brew and pie for their menu.
  • The campaign’s storytelling was warm and friendly, proving that creativity doesn’t always mean creating something entirely new.
  • Enhancing what’s already great about Wigan, as designer Mel put it: “We didn’t need to reinvent the wheel but take what was already good about Wigan and make it better.”

 

WINNER! Staffordshire County Council: Little Heroes

  • Used Pixar-like characters to help KS1 and KS2 children manage stress and anxiety.
  • Introduced kids to talking about their feelings through an engaging workbook filled with creative activities.
  • Taught anxiety management techniques using familiar, child-friendly characters.
  • Surpassed expectations, achieving a 3% increase in attendance and a budget boost.
  • Reached 80% of Staffordshire schools through its multipronged strategy, including competitions, rewards, in-school visuals, and more.
  • Addressed Covid-related anxiety and attendance challenges while becoming a trusted resource for children and caregivers.

Congratulations and a huge well done to Staffordshire County Council for such a fantastic achievement! See their campaign in action here.

The UnAwards always remind us why creativity is at the heart of great communication. And now, we get to dive even deeper!

Here’s to thinking outside the box, finding inspiration everywhere, and continuing to prove that creativity is for everyone.

Hopefully we’ll see you at the UnAwards masterclass in April to learn, connect, and be inspired.

 

Whip your cognitive muscles and artistic abs into great shape with the help of our Creativity Bootcamp...

Signup for your fast paced weekly creative bootcamp email

“I feel like they own and care for the project as much as we do! I would not use anyone else for my creative work and think Alive is ahead of the game.”

Jo Hobbs — Communications Manager

“Thanks for all your help. We are delighted with the campaign, both in terms of the creativity and messaging but also the thought taken over the rollout of the materials. All looks absolutely fabulous!”

Sarah Crowdy — Campaign and Media Officer Communications, South East Water

“We went to ‘Alive’ for ideas on how to run a specific employee program in Europe. Alan and his team were brilliant in coming up with fresh, creative and practical approaches. The team took charge and executed brilliantly. We are pleased with the progress made so far and hope to have the same level of partnership and commitment going forward.”

Sobha Varghese — Tata Consultancy Services

“Alive helped us create a video of our response to the floods of winter 2019. Our Chief Officer received messages from all round the country praising us for it and was really pleased with both the video and the response to it.”

Alexander Mills, Communications Manager — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“We had the privilege to work with the Alive team. It was our first time to be involved in creating an animation for our patients within paediatrics. The team were approachable, friendly, creative and very accommodating. Your vision for what you want to create, is at all times acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by the team. They worked effectively and with great passion towards our project and worked not only alongside health professionals but also our patients who really enjoyed the experience of working with the Alive team. It has given our team the confidence and inspiration to do further projects in the future. We highly recommend Alive and their exceptional team.”

DR ELENI ATHANASAKOS, Lead Paediatric Clinical Scientist — NHS Barts Health

“‘The short animation developed in co-production with clinicians and young people is outstanding! Informative, developmentally appropriate, vitally fun and engaging. We are really grateful for the expertise of the Alive with Ideas team for their innovative approach in building children’s health literacy.'”

Kath Evans — Director of Children’s Nursing at Barts Health

“Our mission was to update our brand visuals to better reflect our innovative and forward-thinking organisation. After receiving numerous pitches from different branding agencies, Alive stood out with their clear passion and understanding of our identity and goals. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Alive Team to create an engaging new brand that we are immensely proud of.”

Lianne Springer — Communications and Engagement Lead

“Alive wowed us during the pitch process and they didn’t stop wowing us throughout the whole project. Every person we worked with at Alive were so friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about what they do. They have worked with us to really understand what we do and have created a new brand and website that really stands out from our competitors. Thank you!”

Louise Burnard, Head of Marketing and Communications UK — Be | Shaping the Future

“I think the team have done such a brilliant job, particularly with responding to our requests. It's one of the best mental health videos I've ever seen. Very proud to be associated with your exemplary work. Thank you so much.”

Dr Anna Batho — Clinical Psychologist – Critical Care, UCLH

“We have worked with Alan, Caroline and the wider Alive With Ideas team for many years. In that time, they have provided a dedicated service that is second to none. We appreciate their attention to detail and creative approach to bringing our brand, communications and stories to life. And would recommend them to anyone looking for creative communications support.”

Georgia Beech — Internal Communications Specialist, Ocado Group

“This is brilliant. I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to all of the team who worked on this. You all understood exactly what we wanted to communicate and why, and then managed to do it in a way that was far better than anything I could have imagined. I’m a bit choked up to be honest!”

Sarah Wright, Head of Communications and Campaigns — NEA

“Each time I work with the team, I am always stunned at the effort and creativity that goes into each detail and am always eager for the end result. The team is extremely accommodating and always provide a fresh approach to our projects that elevates our communications materials!”

Alana Khaytin, Communications Specialist — Braskem America

“What I really appreciate about Alive is that they work with us as partners, and care as much about getting it right for our patients as we do.”

Sara Langston, Patient Engagement & Marketing Manager — italk

“Alive are unique in how much they deeply listen and invest in you and your ideas. I have not come across a company that listens as much as they do to ensure your needs are understood and met (actually - they always exceed my needs and expectations). Everyone I recommend Alive to has an equally brilliant experience. When you work with Alive, you are not only getting some genius creativity brought into your life, you are also hanging out with some of the best examples of human beings I’ve ever known.”

Steph Tranter, Hybrid Exec Coach & Psychologist — StephTranter.com

“The (Alive) team were able to creatively pull together and document (in just over 2minutes) everything our service has achieved over the last few months, from thousands of prescriptions deliveries to hundreds of phone calls made to the vulnerable. The final product was so powerful and reflective of what our service has and continues to achieve. It couldn’t have been better received within the service – thanks Alive for once again helping us to communicate our vision!’”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire & Rescue

“We worked with the team at Alive to create our staff recognition video.
At a time like this, its never been more important to share the amazing work that our staff have done and continue to do on a daily basis under very difficult circumstances. We wanted to shout about this and recognise that when the time came, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue stepped up to the plate. We didn’t want an ordinary thank you post on social media or a basic email sent out internally, we wanted something special. Enter Alive. ”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“Our company is fun, we have great brands, but most importantly we’re all about our people – and I wanted an agency who would understand that and help us bring it to life through our website and other comms. Straight away I felt that Alive ‘got’ us and provided the creative inspiration exactly where we needed it, as well as the technical expertise to deliver a well-functioning website.”

Keren McCarron, Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications — KP Snacks

“Boom!
Thank you so much. Incredible work done at incredible speed by incredible people.
Outstanding work as ever and what a turnaround. As for the concepts – wow. These are that good it would be an insult to describe them as just good. It’s a joke, quite frankly. This is exactly the Alive effect I was after. Right now I feel like I am living in an Alive With Ideas wonderland. Thank you!”

Jack Grasby, Campaigns Manager — SYFR

“If you are looking to improve creativity and build teamwork, I highly recommend a session like this for your team. No matter where you are in your creativity journey, a workshop like this can give your team a boost of energy and ideas to invigorate their creative thinking.”

Amy Lilja, IC Manager — Hennepin Healthcare

“Alive were there to help when we were working every hour to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. They gave us the creativity, ideas and support we needed to deliver campaigns which empowered our residents in the most difficult time most of us have ever seen, personally and professionally. The team understood what we needed, worked closely with us and delivered fast without any compromise on quality. Working with Alive has been a joy in the darkest of times and I have no doubt will have helped to save lives. Thanks team x”

Julie Odams, Assistant Director of Communications & Customers — Derbyshire County Council

“We got 'Alive' involved to help us shift mindsets across our organisation and they delivered! Using simple, clear and creative ideas the team have delivered us a campaign which has seen a dramatic increase in idea sharing and development. They’ve also played a significant role in creating a culture of shared success. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with again, in fact, we already are!”

Gavin Buckle — B&Q
Alive logo