COVER STORY
The Original Good News Brand Powering Positive Propaganda in Unprecedented Times We are living in unprecedented times, relentlessly bombarded with bad news from always-on social and digital media. According to Google Trends, searches for ‘good news’ have reached all-time highs in March 2020, as more consumers look for positive, inspiring, feelgood news as a remedy. Smiley is the original good news brand. Initially used in Europe’s leading newspapers to highlight feel-good stories, spreading positivity and good news has become intrinsic to the brand. Smiley has been powering positive propaganda since 1972, through good news stories, championing community heroes and charitable causes and creating a lifestyle aesthetic synonymous with fun, positivity and cool. With an established track-record of sharing good news, Smiley today focuses on meaningful collaborations with like-minded partners for a changing world. It was through the launch of Smiley’s non-profit Smiley Movement in 2019 that CEO Nicolas Loufrani saw the opportunity to put the brand’s purpose back into action. With the remit to inspire hope, bring people together to help others and drive positive impact, Smiley PAGE 20
Movement started repurposing Smiley’s original good news message through its Smiley News site, which has already published over 200 stories. CEO Nicolas Loufrani spoke about this, “Smiley’s message has always been about spreading good news and positivity and we feel that good news today is about those doing good in their local communities. We’ve built an in-house editorial team that focusses on championing the everyday heroes who work or volunteer
for charities and social enterprises. We believe their stories are not only uplifting but are engaging more to do like them.” Smiley Movement also started building bridges between Smiley’s partners and local charities, offering routes to make ‘giving back’ the new norm. A great example of this ‘matchmaking for good’ was the recent partnership with renowned explorer brand Eastpak. Smiley Movement put Eastpak together with a leading homeless charity De Paul and arranged TOTAL BRAND LICENSING
