“Unconventional” isn’t usually a word associated with public media, but it’s exactly what WBUR hired Nail Communications to do. With Boston’s NPR approaching its 75th anniversary in 2025, WBUR sought a creative partner to help expand its audience and unify offerings across audio, digital and in-person experiences with a brand reinvigoration.
To help WBUR stand out, Nail developed a new identity system built around a vibrant, welcoming yellow and designed an icon known as “the viewfinder.” It is a marriage of a square and a circle — the square representing the rigor of journalism, and the circle representing the art of storytelling, according to Alec Beckett, creative partner at Nail.
The campaign includes transit, billboard, OTT video, digital and social placements, with guerrilla marketing placements like street signs, hand-painted wallscapes, bar coasters, sidewalk stencils and wild postings.
New video work can be seen here:
Attention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wndHibNrHU0
Focus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDtPKDVr0Ys
Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlRE613_Re4
“Public media is sometimes perceived as too earnest, but for anyone who knows WBUR, we’re anything but,” said Kristen Holgerson, director of marketing and communications at WBUR. “We’re still the radio people have loved for decades, and we’re so much more. This distinctive new brand expression captures both our legacy and our exciting path forward.”
CREDITS
Strategy: Stephen Fitch
Art Direction: Myles Dumas
Copywriter: Iman Richards, Alec Beckett
Creative Direction: Alec Beckett
Design: Meag Ducharme
Animation: Erin Bradley
Producer: Cameron McCormack
Account Director: Brandon Smith
Account Manager: Lizzi Weinberg
Media Strategy: Jess Carmona
ABOUT NAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Nail Communications is where every brand finds its fascinating. For 25 years, Nail has made award-winning advertising, design and branding work for regional, national and global brands. To learn more about Nail Communications, visit nail.cc.
