AOL has launched its MAKERS content platform in the UK, designed to champion pioneering women, with Olympéa by Paco Rabanne, as the exclusive sponsor.
With a presence in the United States, Canada and China, MAKERS will feature content from trailblazing British women including Jude Kelly, Annie Lennox and Laura Bates, to inspire a whole generation of future female leaders, ahead of a further roll out of the platform to additional countries later this year.
The partnership with Olympéa by Paco Rabannewas brokered by Havas Media and the campaign will run for six months, featuring a combination of editorial, sponsored and advertising content across MAKERS.com and AOL’s other properties.
UK MAKERS include:
● Jude Kelly: Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre and founder of WOW (Women of the World Festival). Jude also sits on the MAKERS Global Partner Council Member, helping identify and secure UK MAKERS
● Annie Lennox: Singer, songwriter, campaigner and activist, she is celebrated as an innovator and global music icon
● Laura Bates: Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a collection of more than 80,000 women’s daily experiences of gender inequality
● Anne-Marie Imafidon: Head Stemette and cofounder of Stemettes – an award-winning social enterprise inspiring the next generation of females into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She is one of the youngest to pass two GCSEs in two different subjects while in primary school
● Baroness Valerie Amos: Director of SOAS, University of London. Previously she served as Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN Secretary of State for International Development, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
● Sandi Toksvig: Writer, actor, comedian and political activist who cofounded the Women’s Equality Party after noticing that 9.1m women failed to vote in the 2010 general election
The campaign with Olympéa by Paco Rabanne is created in conjunction with AOL’s Partner Studio, the newly combined team harnessing the creative power and technology platforms and insights of AOL, to engage audiences across every screen through content creation. This will see the campaign scale beyond MAKERS.com through AOL’s other properties including The Huffington Post, content syndication platforms AOL On, Be On and Skype.
“At MAKERS we are proud to share the stories of groundbreaking women and we know that those stories have no geographical bounds,” said Samantha Leibovitz, MAKERS Vice President and Creative Director. “Bringing our platform to the UK is an amazing opportunity to showcase important stories that need to be told and to grow the impact we can have on the next generation of leaders around the globe.”
Stuart Flint, Managing Director, AOL UK said: “Through the expansion of MAKERS in the UK, AOL has reinforced our commitment to creating unique and compelling video content. We are thrilled to be working with Paco Rabanne, who share the same passion as AOL in showcasing the stories of remarkable women globally to inspire the next generation of female leaders.”
Olivier Marret, General Manager, Puig, owner of Paco Rabanne said: “We are excited to be associated with MAKERS and AOL for the UK launch, to bring the stories of successful women into the spotlight.”
MAKERS will be supported by an outdoor campaign that includes ten branded London taxi cabs showcasing MAKERS video content from the site, which will also invite passengers to nominate their MAKERS. The campaign will be delivered in partnership with Talon and Verifone.
Since launching in 2012 in the United States, MAKERS has amassed a collection of over 3,000 videos from more than 300 women, including Secretary of State,Hillary Rodham Clinton, media mogul and philanthropist,Oprah Winfrey, writer, actor, producerLena Dunham, comedianEllen DeGeneres, and Facebook Chief Operating Officer,Sheryl Sandberg. The site has also launched Canadian and Chinese editions and expects to roll out in a number of other global markets this year.