Creative Work of the Week: 'uncool' engineering lands at the heart of fashion and sport in industry rebrand
#ThisIsEngineering is a bold campaign aiming to up the cool factor of core engineering skills through the lens of sport, fashion, tech, design and space. It’s also The Drum readers’ Work of the Week EMEA.
The campaign has been launched by the Royal Academy of Engineering in collaboration with Engineering UK in order to combat the industry’s skill shortage through changing the perception of engineering in the UK. Research has shown the career is seen as 'narrow, out of reach and uncool’ among 13-18-year-olds, who also have a limited understanding of its variety and creativity.
#ThisIsEngineering' attempts to portray the industry a sexier light, highlighting that you can be an engineer in exciting professions such as film, music, sport and gaming in high-octane films and a bold poster campaign.
Created by Bandstand and FleishmanHillard Fishburn – and based on the insight that Gen Z is looking for a career that allows them to bring ideas to life, shape the future and help others – the campaign focuses on how young people can follow what they love into engineering.
A new website and advertising centres on video stories of five real, young engineers who have turned their passions into careers.
Jo Trigg, associate director for communications and partnerships at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “Engineering is long overdue a rebrand: it’s a profession full of amazing innovators and creators, is a critical part of our everyday lives, and yet struggles to attract the talent it needs to continue innovating and shaping the future.
“#ThisIsEngineering represents a major, pan-profession, multi-year effort to address this challenge, and to offer more young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to explore how they could turn what they love today into a fulfilling career through engineering."
