Upwork's National Campaign Keeps Talent All in One Place

Duncan Channon has launched the first national campaign for Upwork, the leading online talent solution for professional staffing, to reach C-level decision makers at large and midsize businesses across the country. 

Three new TV spots feature a spirited spokesperson who tours viewers through dynamic workplaces that are more flexibly staffed than they appear at first glance. As our spokesperson draws office blinds, opens file cabinets and adjusts art, he opens portals that reveal the full range of talent hard at work beyond the walls of the office. The visual effect conveys the seamless bridge Upwork enables between traditional teams and highly-skilled independent talent who create big things together. With the campaign, Upwork aims to demonstrate how technology is creating better ways for companies to find in-demand talent regardless of their location. 

The campaign features national TV and radio, as well as media partnerships with business publications such as the WSJ. Upwork’s AOR Duncan Channon handled creative and media buying.

“Upwork’s vision has been clear from the start, so it’s been rewarding to have worked with them from the pure-awareness ‘Hey World’ campaign, to last year’s more instructive ‘This is Happening’ scenarios – and now to take Upwork’s brand marketing national with an expanded message that is relevant to any ambitious business, whether 5o or 5,000 employees,” said Michael Lemme, chief creative officer, Duncan Channon. “ On demand access to in-demand talent is critical for success, and Upwork is how.”

While many people know that work is becoming more flexible, not all realise that nearly 57M American workers now freelance. There are also misconceptions about the types of independent work people are doing. Upwork’s creative highlights the reality that the majority of independent work involves highly-skilled services such as programming, UX design, and marketing - not small gigs. This is the first campaign to show that businesses can also hire agencies on Upwork, to help on a range of business problems - including UX design, development, branding and marketing. 

“This isn’t the future of work, it’s happening now. Upwork’s Future Workforce study found that access to skills and talent scarcity are the biggest hiring challenges for managers, and companies are realising the need to evolve the way they find and manage top talent while providing maximum flexibility as business needs change,” said Lars Asbjornsen, SVP of marketing, Upwork. “Businesses of all sizes are starting to view independent professionals as complementary to their traditional teams in providing in demand, hard to find skills. Our first national campaign with Duncan Channon shows how companies can thrive and scale using an inclusive and flexible approach to talent that prioritise skills and transcends the traditional limits of location or role.” 

Upwork’s first national campaign supports the company’s significant investment in growing its enterprise market share. Upwork’s revenue grew 23 percent year-over-year (Q3 2019–2018) to nearly $79M, while its core client base grew 19 percent. More than 30 percent of the Fortune 500 now use Upwork.