The Office of National Statistics (ONS) isn’t exactly a sexy brand name which grabs your attention, so it has to get creative to secure coverage. That’s why we’re big fans of its work today – an ingenious use of data to create a clever campaign from something as simple as baby names.
The ONS released a report today on the most popular baby names of 2014 and while these lists usually secure coverage in the nationals and parenting blogs, the ONS tapped into wider pop culture to great effect.
Instead of the standard names list, the ONS focused on big TV shows and looked at how they’ve influenced people, with names from Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and even Frozen popping up. This was complemented by some well-designed graphics, which were widely shared with the key stats.
In 2014, 244 girls were named Arya, and the X-Men effect continued as 2,813 boys were named Logan – after Wolverine himself.
The ONS report was not only covered in the nationals, but is also doing the rounds on entertainment titles, as well as featuring on WIRED and Mashable, and being shared across Twitter and Facebook.
It’s a fun twist on a standard story and the ONS has been able to generate fantastic coverage from something as simple as a name.
