Bringing businesses together to create a better Bankside.
Better Bankside is one of London’s longest-established Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), bringing businesses and communities together to create a better place to work, live and visit.
With a new funding proposal approaching, securing continued support from local businesses was vital to maintaining its work and delivering future improvements across the neighbourhood.
A distinctive campaign and visual identity were developed to demonstrate the tangible value of Better Bankside’s work, making its achievements more visible to local businesses and giving them a compelling reason to support the next funding period. The campaign connected past progress with future ambitions, helping build confidence in the BID’s continued role in shaping Bankside.
Understanding what matters to local businesses
Winning the ballot depended on businesses understanding the value of the BID and how continued investment could benefit them and the wider area.
Working with stakeholders, we explored Better Bankside’s priorities, achievements and ambitions alongside the needs of local businesses.
Those insights shaped an accessible campaign that turned a potentially complex funding document into something people would want to explore.
Rather than creating a conventional BID document, we took inspiration from editorial design.
The proposal adopted the character of a newspaper, combining magazine-style articles with bold typography, infographics and an energetic visual language.
This helped Better Bankside tell its story more engagingly, highlighting achievements while making future plans easier to understand.
Making sustainability part of the process
Better Bankside’s commitment to environmental improvement needed to be reflected not only in what the proposal said, but in how it was produced.
We worked with local printers using sustainable paper stocks and considered the environmental impact of distribution too, with printed materials delivered using electric vehicles.
This ensured the execution remained consistent with the environmental values Better Bankside was asking businesses to support.
Supporting the return to Bankside
Following Covid-19, the BID wanted to encourage people back to Bankside and rebuild confidence in the area.
We created a series of interactive digital communications explaining the measures being taken to make the neighbourhood safer and more welcoming.
The campaign explained what had changed and gave businesses, residents, workers and visitors greater confidence to rediscover Bankside.
The initiative contributed to a significant increase in footfall across the area.
Bringing campaigns to life
For Play Where You Work, we created a suite of campaign materials including animation, interactive PDFs and social content, bringing greater energy and visibility to the initiative.
We also developed the identity for The Other Side, an event held within Bankside’s railway arches in partnership with Tate.
The event identity and materials encouraged interaction and creativity while reflecting the character of Bankside.
A creative partnership built around place
Across ballots, local campaigns and events, the objective remained consistent: helping Better Bankside connect with the people and businesses that make the neighbourhood.
The work supports Better Bankside’s wider ambition to create positive economic, environmental and social change across the area.
