Crafting a launch campaign for one of the world’s most irreverent brands

Hitting these objectives was a cultural highwire act. The Post needed to be California native, but show perspective the state was missing. Not shy away from controversy, but earn some California love.

Our tagline, “We’ll Say It,” established a system.

The California Post’s product is its editorial point of view. “We’ll Say It” puts that POV on full display by calling out what no one else will say — across politics, entertainment, sports, working-class heroes and California itself.

Proof must be baked into every execution, or the ad fails.

Just like any good Post cover, copy and art are in dialogue. The reader makes the connection. “Hair to the throne?” identifies California Governor Gavin Newsom only by his blatant ambition and amazing hair. We call the California State House “The real La-La Land” — a common nickname for Los Angeles.

We launched a media brand that is immediately recognizable, polarizing in the right way and impossible to confuse with anyone else. We got love, we got heat, but we got attention. We made ourselves relevant to Californians without ever diluting what makes the Post, the Post.

Bold conviction beats performative neutrality. We bet the house on that one strategic idea.

To get there, we needed to find out why trust in the media is in free fall — and how the Post could defy the trends dragging the rest of the media down.

We surveyed 1,800 people. Listened on social. Spoke to news consumers and industry insiders. People told us they want straightforward information from their media: “Just the facts.” But what did they actually engage with? Publications with a strong perspective and big opinions.

Others might see a contradiction. We saw the new rules of the game.

A clear, loud and consistent perspective is credible. It feels transparent. People know who you are and where you stand. Faking the view from nowhere makes people feel managed and manipulated.

Journalism isn’t losing trust by having opinions, but by pretending not to.

People read the Post for its unflinching editorial point of view. Our campaign strategy: dial that point of view up to 11. We entered California’s consensus-heavy media landscape with a promise: We’ll Say It.

Our campaign came in hot, spanning digital, print, social, billboards and (in a nod to its New York heritage) bagel trucks. Californians experienced the Post’s voice before they read a word of the paper.

Copy served the in-your-face wordplay of a Post headline with bold takes, previews of fearless coverage and love for our new home. All of it tuned to references Californians get, and issues they care about. Art captured the essence of the Post’s iconic covers: big type, larger-than-life characters, and brash Post red.