Hands-on with a hundred years of craftsmanship

Our client Purdy, the iconic Portland-based brush maker, were celebrating their centenary year and we wanted to shine a light on the huge care and attention that goes into every single one of their handmade brushes. We also wanted to capitalise on their significant brand loyalty by delivering a campaign that resonated with the target audience of professional painters and decorators. A press release simply wouldn’t cut the mustard here!

We ran a social media competition, with a very special prize: a trans-Atlantic trip to the Purdy factory to make your own handmade brush, complete with a personalised sticker bearing the winner's name.

An overwhelming number of entrants were eager for a peek behind the Purdy curtain, but there could only be one lucky winner – who was finally selected as Simon Walker, a decorator from Eastbourne who'd been using Purdy brushes since discovering them on holiday in Bermuda 20 years ago. He was the perfect ambassador: passionate, authentic and with a true story to tell.

Putting Simon on the factory floor and letting him try his hand at brush making gave him an even deeper appreciation of what goes into the tool he’d trusted for years. And capturing his joyful reaction on camera as he discovers “it’s a lot harder than I thought!” is exactly the kind of authentic storytelling you can only deliver through hands-on experience.

The campaign resulted in extensive print and digital coverage, including trade press features and a first-person account from Simon himself, squarely landing the story in front of the professional decorating audience, told by one of their own.

If you're looking to share your story in a way that really resonates with your audience, drop us a line now.