The One Show

The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.

2020 One Show - Mobile

Pay It Forward

Agency FCB Inferno / London

Client The Big Issue
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Annual ID

OS_MO20_008G

About the Work

The Big Issue is a street publication sold by those facing poverty as an alternative to begging. The Pay It Forward initiative has transformed the way the magazine is sold; by introducing mobile payments we created the world’s first resellable magazine. Each magazine is provided with its own scannable QR code so once buyers have finished reading their magazine, they don’t bin it - they sell it on. Each magazine can be resold multiple times, with the profits returning to the vendor time and again. Every buyer becomes a potential seller and every vendor becomes the head of an entrepreneurial chain. By adopting mobile payments, the Big Issue is less reliant on cash, maximises every sale and gains greater reach by circumventing the physical limitations of the vendors. For this business model to work, we had to solve one of the biggest problems facing vendors: access to a bank account. So, we partnered with UK bank Monzo, and as part of the scheme, vendors can open their own personal bank accounts by using the Big Issue offices as their fixed address.