The Opportunity
Oxford City Council approached us to promote multiple shared ownership developments under their OX Place brand, originally created by Cast Can. The brief looked straightforward on the surface, but we quickly identified a bigger opportunity. Running separate campaigns for each development risked fragmenting the brand and diluting its impact, splitting attention across multiple identities rather than building one strong, recognisable presence. The real opportunity was bigger than any single development. It was about making OX Place itself the name Oxford would remember.
Project
OX Marks the Spot
Expertise
Strategy
Brand
Creative Direction
Media Buying
Client
Oxford City Council
Activation
OOH Advertising
Bus Shelters
Bus Sides
48 Sheets
Digital
Social Media
Our Approach
We proposed a single, overarching campaign to champion OX Place as a brand in its own right, rather than treating each development as a standalone product. This meant building a citywide presence strong enough to carry every development under one unified identity, creating recognition that would benefit the whole portfolio rather than diluting it across separate efforts.
Along the way, we identified a subtler challenge. Many audiences were reading "OX" as a single sound, rather than the intended "Oh-Ex." Getting the name right mattered, and we wanted the creative itself to do the teaching.
The Creative
We introduced a clever visual twist into the design: subtly offsetting or partially obscuring the "O", drawing the eye towards the "X" and playfully reinforcing the correct pronunciation. It was a confident creative device that solved a genuine communication problem while doing double duty as a piece of pure brand theatre, positioning OX Place as the spot to find a new home, literally and visually. The device worked. Within the first month of launch, registrations surged by 300%, proving that getting the idea right pays off fast.
Registrations up 300%. OX Place, on the map.
What We Delivered
The campaign rolled out across out of home, bus shelters, bus sides, 48 sheets, and digital and social media placements, creating a citywide presence that turned heads and built recognition fast. Spotted across Oxford on every commute and every high street, OX Place became a brand the city couldn't miss, and one it was finally saying right.
