Dream Big, Staysure
Overview
Dream Big was Staysure’s brand refresh, created to make the brand feel more modern, authentic and empowering. The idea began with a new TV advert led by an external creative director. I led the wider brand refresh, turning that idea into an approach that could work across the website, campaigns and everyday marketing.
With no wider creative team in place during a hiring freeze, I delivered the work myself as Head of Creative. I shaped the photography, typography and visual direction, working closely with the Head of Content, marketing, product, compliance and agency partners to bring it to life across each channel.
Staysure had grown, but the brand was starting to blend into the category. Familiar insurance clichés and stock imagery no longer reflected its customers. The brief was to create something more distinctive and optimistic, built around a simple thought: age shouldn’t limit ambition.
Categories
Creative Direction
Brand Identity
AI
Client
Staysure
Date
2025
48 sheet OOH execution
Winter sale paid social treatments
Redesigned email template
Process
Photography & Visuals
Instead of polished studio photography, we wanted the images to feel like holiday photos printed at Boots in the 1990s: warm, imperfect and recognisably real. A soft colour treatment and subtle film grain gave them the texture of photographs you might find in an album at home, without pushing the work too far into retro pastiche.
Typography
I chose a dual-typeface system that balanced expressiveness with clarity.
DM Serif Italic gave us our big energy. Bold, playful, and intentionally oversized, it tucked behind and wrapped around images, creating momentum and visual flair.
Acumin Pro brought structure. Its flexibility meant we could use it everywhere from big headlines to legal copy – all while keeping everything crisp and legible.
AI in the Workflow
This was the first campaign where I used AI as part of the day-to-day workflow. I used ChatGPT to compare competitors and explore tone of voice, without sharing sensitive information. Midjourney helped me test photography treatments before the shoot. Once the direction was set, Figma and spreadsheet-driven templates turned one core design into more than 50 variations in minutes.
Bringing It to Life Across Channels
The campaign ran across TV, social, email, direct mail, print and radio.
TV: The advert showed older travellers as active and ambitious, without turning them into a joke or stereotype.
Social and email: Customers recognised themselves in the work, with many responding online or contacting Staysure directly.
DRTV, print, radio and direct mail: Each channel used the same visual and verbal principles, adapted to suit the format.
Takeaways
Within three months of launch, post-campaign tracking showed 86% positive sentiment and 39% ad recall.
Customers also responded directly through social media and email, telling us they recognised themselves in the campaign. That mattered because it showed the idea was working beyond the headline metrics.
What worked was the restraint. We didn’t over-explain the idea or reduce older travellers to a stereotype. We trusted the audience to understand it, and they did.
Dream Big, Staysure
Overview
Dream Big was Staysure’s brand refresh, created to make the brand feel more modern, authentic and empowering. The idea began with a new TV advert led by an external creative director. I led the wider brand refresh, turning that idea into an approach that could work across the website, campaigns and everyday marketing.
With no wider creative team in place during a hiring freeze, I delivered the work myself as Head of Creative. I shaped the photography, typography and visual direction, working closely with the Head of Content, marketing, product, compliance and agency partners to bring it to life across each channel.
Staysure had grown, but the brand was starting to blend into the category. Familiar insurance clichés and stock imagery no longer reflected its customers. The brief was to create something more distinctive and optimistic, built around a simple thought: age shouldn’t limit ambition.
Categories
Creative Direction
Brand Identity
AI
Client
Staysure
Date
2025
48 sheet OOH execution
Winter sale paid social treatments
Redesigned email template
Process
Photography & Visuals
Instead of polished studio photography, we wanted the images to feel like holiday photos printed at Boots in the 1990s: warm, imperfect and recognisably real. A soft colour treatment and subtle film grain gave them the texture of photographs you might find in an album at home, without pushing the work too far into retro pastiche.
Typography
I chose a dual-typeface system that balanced expressiveness with clarity.
DM Serif Italic gave us our big energy. Bold, playful, and intentionally oversized, it tucked behind and wrapped around images, creating momentum and visual flair.
Acumin Pro brought structure. Its flexibility meant we could use it everywhere from big headlines to legal copy – all while keeping everything crisp and legible.
AI in the Workflow
This was the first campaign where I used AI as part of the day-to-day workflow. I used ChatGPT to compare competitors and explore tone of voice, without sharing sensitive information. Midjourney helped me test photography treatments before the shoot. Once the direction was set, Figma and spreadsheet-driven templates turned one core design into more than 50 variations in minutes.
Bringing It to Life Across Channels
The campaign ran across TV, social, email, direct mail, print and radio.
TV: The advert showed older travellers as active and ambitious, without turning them into a joke or stereotype.
Social and email: Customers recognised themselves in the work, with many responding online or contacting Staysure directly.
DRTV, print, radio and direct mail: Each channel used the same visual and verbal principles, adapted to suit the format.
Takeaways
Within three months of launch, post-campaign tracking showed 86% positive sentiment and 39% ad recall.
Customers also responded directly through social media and email, telling us they recognised themselves in the campaign. That mattered because it showed the idea was working beyond the headline metrics.
What worked was the restraint. We didn’t over-explain the idea or reduce older travellers to a stereotype. We trusted the audience to understand it, and they did.
© 2026 All rights reserved
© 2026 All rights reserved
© 2026 All rights reserved