But how best to reach them? Well, college kids love pizza. And, it was correctly assumed that they would enjoy a little food for thought with their meal. Pizzerias close to large college campuses were supplied with 80,000 Economist-branded pizza boxes.

The campaign significantly increased positive perception across all key measured attributes. Fifty-three percent of those aware of the campaign reported they were more likely to read The Economist. In testing, consumers loved the wit and insight expressed in the various concepts. The clients felt these were all powerful ideas that held to the brand image of The Economist but also successfully pushed the creative edges of the brand beyond its “white headline on red” history.