This year's British Arrows Show 21|22 welcomes a brand new category - the Sustainable Impact Award. This category aims to celebrate work that promotes a shift towards sustainability; excelling in creativity, impact, and influence. We caught up with Becky Power, Executive Creative Director at Mindshare UK, to find out more about why the media agency is a great fit to sponsor this category.

Sustainability has always been high on the agenda for Mindshare. The company itself is made up of an inclusive global family of 10,000 people with diverse opinions, cultures, and passions, who are united by their desire to drive good growth for their clients and in doing so, change the world.

In 2019, the media agency launched #ChangeTheBrief, an initiative to bring the industry together to commit to creating work that answers the ‘Now’ brief, to help clients sell their products, but also the ‘Future’ brief, to encourage the attitudes, lifestyles, and behaviours which are consistent with a transition to a carbon-free world. Becky comments: ​​“ChangeTheBrief is all about shifts in media and communications to encourage sustainable consumer behaviours. The climate crisis is something that makes us all feel daunted and powerless but even small changes in behaviours can make a difference at scale. For example, promoting shorter showers by creating 4-minute ad-free 'songs to sing in the shower' playlists on Spotify or developing packaging that encourages people to freeze unused food to avoid food waste – these ideas begin to normalise these behaviours in society through advertising and use media and marketing investment to achieve this.”

​​In 2021, Mindshare joined forces with BBC Studios and Channel 4 on behalf of their client Hellmann’s to launch ‘Cook Clever, Waste Less’ - a branded TV show that encouraged UK families to reduce their food waste, which is a major contributor to global warming. Becky adds: “Unbelievably, if food waste was a country, it would be the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter and, in the UK, the equivalent of one in every six bags of shopping goes in the bin! We’re really proud to have worked with Hellmann’s to raise awareness of the impact of food waste and to have created an entertaining show that helps families save money and the planet – all through delicious food. It shows that brands can play a role in our transition to a carbon-free world.”

Most recently, they partnered with Persil and Sky Nature to launch their ‘Changemakers’ short film series, which aims to inspire young people to take action on the social and environmental issues they care about as part of the ‘Dirt Is Good Project’ - which aims to unite young people who want to roll up their sleeves and help create a better world. Becky adds: “Again, it’s so brilliant to work with clients who genuinely want to do work that makes a difference, and are confident enough to tackle important issues. The young people that were championed in these films were truly inspiring, and together they took ‘Dirt is Good’ to a new place.”

Since joining Mindshare in 2015, Becky has redefined the role of creativity and innovation which has boosted its reputation as one of the most creative media agencies. With this, she’s built up a strong team of talent that she oversees and supports in making great work and bringing these ideas to life.

In addition, Becky volunteers as a ‘Momma’ at Who’s Your Momma? - a mentoring programme for women working in the UK advertising, marketing, and design industry. She comments: “It’s an industry that demands confidence and assertiveness, both of which can be really hard to practise - particularly for young women. After 30 years of doing this job, I still find myself suffering from imposter syndrome and I don’t like the idea that young women who are just starting their careers might feel the same. It's such an important part of my journey and I will always love supporting and mentoring others.”

As we wrap up our conversation, we asked Becky why it's important to support the creative industry: “We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Sustainable Impact Award at the British Arrows. At Mindshare we believe that we can contribute to a more sustainable, more equitable future through our work. Creative thinking plays a huge part in this so we need to make sure that we support and nurture our young creative talent.”

To find out more about Mindshare, visit: https://mindshareworld.com/uk/