Unlimited and Pablo win HMRC creative account

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has appointed Unlimited and Pablo to handle its creative agency account.

The win follows a competitive pitch against other agencies on the recently revamped government roster.

Unlimited and Pablo returned to the roster in September 2021 as a consortium, alongside 11 other agencies, including newcomer Karmarama.

Run through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) the Government Procurement Service, the pitch marks one of the first wins within the government’s new framework agreement. 

The contract will run for two years and the team will work with HMRC to continue to develop its brand proposition and help deliver on its vision to be a more helpful and supportive brand.

Unlimited and Pablo will be responsible for all strategic and creative brand work as well as key campaigns, such as self-assessment and tax credits.

Jennifer Hepker, head of brand and campaigns, communications directorate at HM Revenue & Customs, thanked all of the agencies that took part in the pitch process and congratulated the Unlimited and Pablo team.

Hepker said that the consortium “demonstrated exactly the blend of skills and experience” HMRC was looking for. “They impressed us with their creative credentials; deep understanding of behaviour change; and genuinely collaborative approach."

She added: “Together we will bring to life our new brand proposition and deliver focussed marketing campaigns, supporting government priorities and communicating HMRC’s role as a trusted, modern tax and customs service with our customers at the heart of everything we do.”

Tim Bonnet, president at Unlimited, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with such an important part of the government. We felt that the customer-centric nature of HMRC’s brief was a particular draw for us given how deeply rooted our partnership is in human understanding. 

“Our creative and strategically challenging work will come to life as we reframe self-assessment, with the power of our Human Understanding Lab. To activate this ambitious strategic proposition, our creative will shift our target audience’s mindset to think about it differently and unlock the power of positivity."

He added: “Cognitive restructuring like this changes perceptions in the long-term, encouraging our audience to build new associations that will inform their behaviour in future years.”

Harriet Knight, joint managing director of Pablo London, said: “We were excited that the client had creativity at the top of their agenda. They are in the rare position of being a brand that talks to every adult in the UK and are looking to continue its journey to change from being perceived as ‘the tax man’ to a modern service that supports and helps people.

“That felt like a really big challenge, and we hope we can surprise people with how we do it.”