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Virgin Money Unity Arena

Defying all odds in 2020

Scope

  • Branding
  • Key Visual Design
  • Website Design and Development
  • Marketing Collateral
  • Stage and On-Site Artwork

Virgin Money Unity Arena is the UK’s first socially-distanced events venue. The 2,500 capacity venue launched in August 2020, in Gosforth Park, Newcastle creating a safe environment for fans of music and comedy. The 6-week run of live events featured a diverse line-up of artists including BRIT Award winner Sam Fender, The Libertines, Becky Hill, Bill Bailey and Maximo Park.

A photograph showing a part of the stage assets for the Virgin Unity
A photograph of the Virgin Money Unity Arena stage

We were tasked to work on the project from its initial concept stage, creation of targeted sponsorship presentations, full marketing campaign including social media and poster templates, right through to the creation of physical artwork across both the event site, as well as online with the creation of a fully bespoke website. The concept of the events was greatly received throughout the industry, picking up best Open Air Experience of the Year 2020 at The Drum Awards.

Three posters promoting the Virgin Money Unity Arena
A poster promoting Sam Fender performing at the Virgin Money Unity Arena
Two people at the Virgin Money Unity Arena holding a photo frame
Billboard promoting various artists performing at Virgin Money Unity Arena

After helping the project gain sponsorship with Virgin Money, we worked with their brand team to bring the Virgin Money brand to life across various activation touchpoints across the site. The project gained huge global mainstream press including BBC, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, with positive reviews on the concept of these unique events.

A mockup of three phones showing different parts of the Virgin Money Unity Arena website
A designed image showing different parts of the Virgin Money Unity Arena website on phones

In the lead-up to the events, we created a range of animation assets that were used by the artists to promote the events across their social channels, this included the likes of The Libertines, Sam Fender and Two Door Cinema Club sharing the assets across social.