Title	2020 IDEAS REPORT
Brand	WETRANSFER
Product/Service	WETRANSFER
Category	A09. Creative Data Collection & Research
Entrant	WETRANSFER Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation	WETRANSFER Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Media Placement	WETRANSFER Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
PR	WETRANSFER Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production	WETRANSFER Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Name	Company	Position
Faye Ehrich	WeTransfer	Project Lead
Nessim Higson	WeTransfer	Creative Director
Cartelle Cartelle	WeTransfer	Digital Development
Karen van de Kraats	WeTransfer	Art Director
Lumir Spanihel	WeTransfer	Designer
Holly Fraser	WeTransfer	Editor in chief / Director of Content
Robyn Collinge	WeTransfer	Copywriter
Helene van de Dries	WeTransfer	Research Lead
Tessa Pauw	WeTransfer	Project Manager Lead
Ciara O'Shea	WeTransfer	Production
Vera le Blanc	WeTransfer	Production
Annematt Ruseler	WeTransfer	PR Director
Annie Malarkey	WeTransfer	PR & Communications
Linda Mertens	WeTransfer	PR & Communications
Lauren Larsen	WeTransfer	Social Media Lead

Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?

In our third annual Ideas Report, published in early December, we took the pulse of our community. Out of 35,000 responses from 183 countries, we sought to understand how creative people generated and developed ideas in a highly unusual year, all while reckoning with a global pandemic. It was a year of massive contrasts. The results were striking. While many respondents reported having more creative ideas than ever before, intense doubt and a toll on mental health was a prevailing theme for others.

Background

We wanted to engage WeTransfer’s global community to build an understanding of how the uncertainty and doubt plaguing our world impacted creativity. Audience: The global creative community Challenge: Engage audiences without the intimacy of in person events or a physical report Objectives: Build awareness of WeTransfer’s deep connection to creative professionals and drive engagement

Describe the Creative idea / data solution (20% of vote)

From a design standpoint, we wanted our report to have multiple entry points, allowing people to take in the information in different ways. Because a dense report isn’t for everyone, we landed on three ways in––Read, Watch, and Play. • Materials, style elements, design That tension in emotions is emphasized in many parts of the report, beginning with the colour scheme — black and white with a hint of colour. We went for big and bold but still classy for the look and feel, and systems of decision trees, surveys, and quizzes inspired the overall design. • Methods and process In the Read section, we showed five key findings as cards that readers could open and close, like flipping through a report page. We were inspired by economy-focused newspapers such as the Financial Times. It was important to have the information and data feel unencumbered, so referencing a brutalist approach

Describe the data driven strategy (30% of vote)

For the Watch section, we interviewed five industry leaders who shared their advice for dealing with creative blocks, and we asked how they harnessed doubt in a game-changing year. The talks were candid, honest, and intimate. (Getting that type of intimacy from established people was refreshing.) The inspiration for this section was real-life cinema. We wanted to make it feel like something you would lean back to watch and enjoy. We designed the page to reflect the speakers’ candidness and openness, using big, bold typography to emphasize the five personal mantras. Lastly, we decided to make a game to present the survey questions as an interactive journey and wandering experience. To start, we asked visitors how the pandemic affected them on a professional and personal level. As they advanced through five stages, their “aura” formed a shareable summary, or mood spectrum, of their past year.

Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output (30% of vote)

Throughout our game we featured a marble, a protagonist meant to encapsulate the visitor in an abstract sense. We were attracted to the childlike symbolism of marbles, and the innocence and playfulness in rolling them. The marble evolved along with its aura over the course of the journey––a sort of crystal ball that absorbed each player’s past, present, and future based on their answers.

List the data driven results (20% of vote)

The Campaign delivered 128MM+ imp, engaged thought leaders, drove 95% positive sentiment and 233K site sessions via Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, the MarketingBrew, WeTransfer Wallpapers, and blog. We had over 35,000 responses to our questions from many countries around the world.