Hearst Brand Campaign Is ‘Unbound’

Come Monday, Hearst Magazines will launch its latest “Unbound” campaign—but it’s not promoting any of its publications, like Cosmopolitan or Elle. Rather, the campaign seeks to promote the Hearst brand itself.

“We’re unleashing our brand DNA,” Michael Clinton, president for marketing and publishing director at Hearst Magazines, told The New York Times. “We said, OK, let’s step back, take a look at who we are and what Hearst Magazines now represents.”

The company has gone through a number of major changes as of late, from the acquisition of Lagardère to its purchase of the digital marketing agency iCrossing. And things aren’t slowing down. Clinton told the Times that the company is preparing to test HGTV Magazine and “e-commerce initiatives coming up this fall.”

In addition to print ads—which feature scannable QR codes—the campaign includes signs on taxicabs, digital ads, posters in the windows of the Hearst building, and a billboard in Times Square. The campaign was created internally with consulting work from Co Collective and will run through the end of the year.