Last year Hill + Knowlton Strategies worked with the Lawn Tennis Association on their brilliant Tennis for Kids programme, a free six week tennis course for kids age 5-8 aimed at those who have never picked up a racket. The campaign introduced around 14,000 kids to tennis and amazingly 43% have since stayed in the sport. This year the campaign was back and bigger than ever with 20,000 courses available. The campaign launched on Tuesday with the H+K team at the National Tennis Centre with Annabel Croft and Greg Rusedski. The LTA also announced that sign ups were open by releasing content produced by H+Ks in house team Bisqit showing the kids who took part last year and their journeys in tennis since. Using behavioural science applications from our SMARTER team we showed parents that “people like them” were enjoying tennis with case study content and a second year of partnering with the Britmums blogger network. The results have once again been amazing with 14,000 of the 20,000 places filled in less than 48 hours. We can’t wait to see how many of these kids are still playing when Tennis for Kids 2018 launches!

The Ford WPP blended team pitched a story this week on a brand new café initiative taking place in Germany. The Café Without Words was the brainchild of the students at the University of Cologne, and seeks to offer those who are deaf or hard of hearing a start in the catering industry, an opportunity to connect with the deaf community and an environment in which they can feel completely at ease in. Orders at the café are taken in sign language, with the pop-up being announced as a winner of the 2017 Ford College Community Challenge for its endeavors in building a more sustainable community. Read the press release here

On Monday, Chief Political Correspondent for the Financial Times, Jim Pickard came in to give a talk. In the latest activity from H+K’s Brexit Analysis Hub, Pickard discussed a broad range of political and economic impacts of Brexit as well as talking us through what to expect from the next two years of negotiations with the European Union.