Nail Communications Puts the Spotlight on WBUR at a Critical Time in Media

Nov. 21, 2024

“Unconventional” isn’t usually a word associated with public media, but it’s exactly what WBUR hired Nail Communications to do. With Boston’s NPR approaching its 75th anniversary in 2025, WBUR sought a creative partner to help expand its audience and unify offerings across audio, digital and in-person experiences with a brand reinvigoration.

To help WBUR stand out, Nail developed a new identity system built around a vibrant, welcoming yellow and designed an icon known as “the viewfinder.” It is a marriage of a square and a circle — the square representing the rigor of journalism, and the circle representing the art of storytelling, according to Alec Beckett, creative partner at Nail.

The campaign includes transit, billboard, OTT video, digital and social placements, with guerrilla marketing placements like street signs, hand-painted wallscapes, bar coasters, sidewalk stencils and wild postings.

Kristen Holgerson, director of marketing and communications at WBUR said:

“Public media is sometimes perceived as too earnest, but for anyone who knows WBUR, we’re anything but. We’re still the radio people have loved for decades, and we’re so much more. This distinctive new brand expression captures both our legacy and our exciting path forward.”