Creating a new event brand that people wanted to come back to

Butlin's Don't Tell Mama

Brand

Campaign

Design

Digital

The challenge

Butlin’s wanted to create an entirely new Big Weekender proposition capable of attracting a younger, more diverse and culture-led audience - with particular appeal to the LGBTQ+ community.

With less than a year to establish the new event before its first festival weekend, the brand needed to make an immediate impact. It had to stand apart within a crowded leisure and entertainment market, connect authentically with its target audience and generate enough excitement to turn a completely new proposition into bookings.

What we did

Working with the team behind Don’t Tell Mama, O&G created the brand from the ground up.
We developed a distinctive identity built around bold typography, playful messaging and high-impact visual assets, establishing a look and feel that reflected the confidence, energy and inclusivity of the event.

The identity was designed as a flexible campaign system rather than a static brand, allowing it to evolve as artists and line-ups were announced throughout the year.

From initial launch through to the festival itself, we continued to develop and refresh the creative, producing assets across campaign, digital, social, web and live environments.

The result was a strong visual platform capable of building recognition and momentum in the run-up to the event while creating a consistent experience once guests arrived.

The result

The first Don’t Tell Mama festival welcomed 3,000 people - a fantastic result for a completely new brand established less than a year before launch.

But perhaps the strongest indication that the proposition had connected with its audience came before the first weekend had even finished.

Around 25% of the resort had already rebooked for the following year’s festival, demonstrating not simply successful acquisition, but an immediate appetite to return.

The next Don’t Tell Mama is now tracking towards over 4,000 attendees, significantly surpassing the first year’s performance and establishing the event as a growing part of the Butlin’s Big Weekender programme.