Howden is a fast-growing global insurance broker with over 18,000 employees in 50 countries, and serving over a million clients. Our long-standing partnership with Royal Ascot is one of a series of relationships established with international sports events and teams. These not only demonstrate our love for the world of sport, but are key to raising brand awareness and connecting us to both new and existing client bases.

Running for a week in mid-June, Royal Ascot is a world-famous horse racing event attended by a global audience, affording its sponsors a high level of exposure to multiple audiences. The 2024 advertising campaign was conceived and executed in-house by the Howden creative team at its London headquarters. The challenge existed on multiple levels; to raise Howden’s profile with current and new clients; to differentiate us from our competitors in the insurance industry; and to clearly articulate the concept of insurance while reflecting the nature of the event itself.

Following a discovery phase, the project team generated multiple creative concepts, approaching the brief from various angles, each reflecting a facet of Howden while also referencing the Royal Ascot partnership. The chosen concept, ‘Reins, Reigns, Rains’, was selected for its ability to transcend conventional insurance advertising, elevating it from the transactional to the conceptual. Weaving together multiple themes and associations, the campaign met the complex brief on all levels.

Referencing horse racing, the royal presence at Ascot, and the infamous British weather, the wordplay provided a subtle window into the perceived national psyche. With an affectionate, self-deprecating nod to Britishness, the concept was entirely appropriate to the event while avoiding jingoism or arrogance.

The supporting line, ‘Insurance for every national obsession’, provided immediate industry context along with a succinct explanation to tie the elements together. To be imaginative and brave with our messaging is a clear differentiator for Howden in the insurance space – where serious content often leaves little room for creativity.

Visually, the creative needed to be high-impact, and equally arresting on roadside digital applications and small print adverts. Deploying the beautiful typography and bold colour from Howden’s new brand, the graphic elements were kept to a minimum, with the photographer Tom Shaw commissioned to photograph CEO David Howden’s racehorse, ‘Runaway’, in the style of 18th century painter, George Stubbs.

The resulting image gave a rich, textural backdrop to the clean and elegant typography, with the reins of the horse and a dramatic sky providing visual cues to support the headline. Reflecting the spirit of the copywriting, the imagery challenged industry norms and stood out against adjacent advertising campaigns when implemented.

Following sign-off from senior management and the team at Royal Ascot, over 40 artworks were created by Howden’s in-house production team. The project team worked with Brewery VFX to bring the final visuals to life, with an animated version of the creative featuring on selected digital advertising and a takeover of the Howden corporate website.

The campaign first appeared in the Financial Times, the Telegraph, and the Sunday Times magazine, before being rolled out across 81 sites on the London Underground network, in mainline rail stations, and at key roadside locations along the M4 and throughout central London. In addition, on-site digital advertising at the racecourse during the event had high visibility with racegoers, and featured a mixture of still and motion graphics.

On social media, the campaign out-performed forecasted results, achieving a staggering 284,264 impressions and 2,079 clicks, and costing just £2.33 per click. This represented an increased click-through rate of 85%. Overall Howden website views saw a 4.7% increase, with Google search clicks increasing by 33%.

In its entirety, the campaign ran over the course of two weeks leading up to Royal Ascot, with the final day of racing on Saturday 22 June 2024.