Cadw
Summer 2025
Challenge
How do you make centuries-old monuments feel fresh, exciting, and essential for today’s audiences? Our challenge was to cut through the crowded summer calendar and position Cadw’s historical locations as must-visit destinations for families – spotlighting Caerphilly Castle in particular, to highlight its multi-million-pound regeneration project. By harnessing the power of earned media, authentic storytelling, vibrant social content and influencer collaborations, we set out to generate real buzz, spark conversation, and inspire more people to explore Cadw’s monuments.
Solution
We built an earned, shared and owned media campaign designed to connect with audiences authentically and organically.
We collaborated with renowned street artist Julian Beever to create two bespoke optical illusion art installations which offered visitors the chance to see and enjoy Cadw locations in new ways.
The first, celebrating Caerphilly Castle’s newly reopened watergate, launched at Cardiff Central Station and Caerphilly Town Centre before moving inside the castle walls.
A second chalk illusion appeared in Caernarfon’s Y Maes, before moving into the castle itself – bringing the campaign’s creative energy to north Wales, sparking fresh engagement and extending its reach and impact.
The installations stopped commuters in their tracks, drew crowds, and fuelled organic social sharing. It connected the past with the present in a way that felt accessible and engaging. As Julian, the artist, put it: “It’s been brilliant to see so many people stop, stare, and realise they’re literally standing on history.”
We backed the hero activation with compelling press stories for national and regional media – spotlighting Caerphilly’s transformation and the breadth of events across Cadw locations, from immersive historical experiences, interactive workshops and hands-on activities designed to bring history to life.
To amplify the campaign, we partnered with Welsh history influencers and family-focused creators, inviting them to visit Caerphilly Castle, see the artwork and share their experiences. Their content helped drive organic reach and engagement within key audience segments.
For Cadw’s owned channels, we also created social content, from short-form videos spotlighting Caerphilly Castle’s new features, timelapse content and public reactions to the street art.
