The Independent: David Blanchflower Series

‘Where have all the good jobs gone?’

BRIEF 

To create a series of videos to promote David Blanchflower’s book, ‘Not Working: Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone?’, and at the same time explain key economic concepts to a wider audience. We brought together the publisher, Princeton University Press, and the newspaper, The Independent, to produce promotional films that could also feature as explainers within news articles about the economy on The Independent’s website. The concepts explained ranged from ‘trade wars’, to ‘house prices and the economy’, and ‘what happens when interest rates rise’.

APPROACH

We took a tone that reflected the book and the personality of the author. Using news footage and archive meant we were able to ground these big ideas with real-word issues the viewers are familiar with. Because of the complex nature of the subjects, we were careful to be clear in the way we framed and explained the situations and the editorial structure of the films.

IMPACT

This was a successful project for both the Independent and David Blanchlower.

News articles were rated higher on Google search due to the videos, and more people watching the videos helped to promote David Blanchflower’s book. The Independent benefited from many thousands of people watching explainers on some of the most important economic issues.