OBV ‘Campaign of the Year’ award arrives

Like many people I’ve stayed away from the office for the last few weeks. But I had to go in at the end of last week to pick up some files, and there in reception was this big box addressed to us that was probably delivered just before lock down. And to my delight it was the beautiful and prestigious award given by the UK Parliament that OBV won for best Campaign of the Year 2020, which we actually did in 2019.

We won this for our General Election voter registration and turnout campaign, which managed to reach more than a million people, and encouraged tens of thousands to register to vote.

For our dedicated OBV team this is a great honour, but it’s also a great excuse to thank our partners who helped us make this special campaign a reality, including our exceptionally talented media partners, Saatchi & Saatchi, and the celebrity talent they brought along; Nathalie Emmanuel, Will Poulter, Jermaine Jackman, Ash Sarkar and Nadia Rose. Our funders and their supportive teams; National Education Union (NEU); Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust; Esmee Fairbairn, and Barrow Cadbury.

Our goal isn’t to win awards - it is to change our world; to make it more fairer, more inclusive, with policies that reflect our diverse society, policies that address persistent racial inequalities. But if we win awards on that journey and we can share them with our partners then that’s okay too.

Simon Woolley