One Somerset

The brief

One Somerset is the campaign to create a single council for the whole of Somerset, proposed by Somerset County Council. They approached Senate Media to create an explainer animation that would explain the process, benefits and timeline of the proposal to the residents of Somerset.

In addition, we were commissioned to create a case study animation that would bring to life the benefits of the new council to residents in various scenarios.

Our approach

We devised a concept that involved incorporating elements from all corners of Somerset onto one landscape. 

We included key landmarks such as Wells cathedral, Glastonbury, the cricket ground and Butlins in Minehead. This landscape formed the backdrop against which the benefits of the proposals could be sold to the residents of Somerset.

At the point that we started on this project, the One Somerset brand had only just been created and only comprised a logo. The key feature of the logo was a stripe linking the “o” in “one” and in Somerset. To help build brand recognition and consistency with the visual materials, we made frequent use of the stripe as a way of linking scenes.

The result

The launch of the One Somerset campaign even made the local news in the south west, with a section of the explainer animation featuring on the BBC News.

The government has subsequently decided to proceed with the One Somerset business case, ahead of a rival proposition, with one Somerset council becoming a reality in 2023.