Quick Answer
Olympia has launched “Do What’s New,” a new creative platform and brand campaign created by Truant to mark the reopening of the 140-year-old west London exhibition centre after a £1.3 billion transformation. The campaign uses posters, billboards, real Londoners and an upcoming immersive digital screen called the Canvas to position Olympia as a destination for culture, hospitality, entertainment and business.
Creative Context: Olympia Reopens With a New Cultural Role
In June 2026, the 140-year-old Olympia exhibition centre in west London reopened after a £1.3 billion transformation.
The redevelopment was led by Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Architects, repositioning Olympia as more than a traditional exhibition venue.
The renewed destination now brings together culture, hospitality, entertainment and business.
To mark this transformation, Olympia has launched a new creative platform and brand campaign: “Do What’s New.”
Created by Truant, the campaign captures the curiosity, discovery and sense of possibility promised by the reimagined venue.
Brand Strategy: Building on Olympia’s Existing Identity
The campaign does not attempt to reinvent Olympia from scratch.
Instead, Truant builds on the identity created by SomeOne in 2021.
The architectural Olympia wordmark remains a key anchor, giving continuity to the brand while allowing the new campaign to shift the story forward.
Where the identity established a strong visual foundation, Do What’s New focuses on the experiences, cultural programming and energy that now define Olympia.
This makes the campaign feel like an evolution rather than a replacement.
Creative Platform: Do What’s New
Do What’s New is built around the idea of curiosity.
The platform invites people to see Olympia as a place where new experiences, ideas and cultural moments can happen.
It also connects the venue’s future-facing ambition with its long history of innovation and firsts.
For a destination with 140 years of heritage, the campaign carefully balances legacy with reinvention.
Olympia is not presented only as a historic venue, but as a place where Londoners and visitors can discover what comes next.
OOH Execution: Posters and Billboards With a Playful Visual System
Across a series of posters and billboards, the Olympia wordmark is paired with photography by Conor Cunningham.
The images are manipulated through dramatic shifts in scale, creating compositions that feel almost illustrative.
This gives the campaign a playful and expressive quality while keeping the visual system connected to real people and real experiences.
The OOH work uses scale not only as a graphic effect, but as a way to communicate imagination, exploration and possibility.
For a venue reopening at major scale, that visual approach feels especially appropriate.
Real Londoners Over AI-Generated Imagery
One of the campaign’s most important creative choices is its commitment to featuring real Londoners.
According to Truant, the team intentionally avoided AI-generated imagery in favor of authentic photography.
This decision reinforces the human energy behind the campaign.
Olympia is being positioned as a place shaped by people, culture and shared experiences, so using real individuals gives the work greater warmth and credibility.
Conor Cunningham’s photography brings confidence, authenticity and movement to the visual identity.
Creative Direction: Curiosity, Confidence and Discovery
The visual language of the campaign supports the idea that Olympia is a place of discovery.
The dramatic scale shifts create unexpected compositions, making familiar scenes feel new.
This reinforces the campaign’s central promise: visitors are invited to encounter experiences that surprise them.
The work feels energetic without losing the premium quality expected from a major London cultural destination.
That balance is important as Olympia looks to serve business, entertainment, hospitality and cultural audiences at the same time.
The Canvas: A New Immersive Digital Landmark
Alongside the campaign, Olympia is launching the Canvas, an immersive digital screen located on Emberton Walk.
The screen measures 83 metres long and eight metres high, making it one of the UK’s largest immersive digital displays.
Developed in partnership with Pixel Artworks, the Canvas adds a major digital storytelling layer to the transformed destination.
It creates a new public-facing media surface for visitors, artists, institutions and commercial partners.
This turns Olympia’s physical redevelopment into a platform for future creative experimentation.
Digital Storytelling: Real-Time Rendering and Immersive Content
Pixel Artworks has created an original programme of animated and immersive content for the Canvas.
The work uses real-time rendering, cinematic storytelling and AI-assisted production techniques.
Rather than functioning only as a large advertising screen, the Canvas is intended to become a cultural platform.
Artists, cultural institutions and commercial partners will be able to experiment with large-scale digital storytelling in a highly visible environment.
This gives Olympia a flexible tool for programming, placemaking and brand partnerships.
Placemaking Strategy: Turning the Venue Into a Destination
The campaign and the Canvas both support Olympia’s broader transformation into a destination.
Posters and billboards create awareness and establish the new creative platform.
The immersive digital display brings that platform into the physical experience of the site.
Together, they help Olympia communicate that the venue is not simply reopening.
It is entering a new phase as a cultural, commercial and entertainment hub for London.
Why the Campaign Works
The campaign works because it respects Olympia’s history while clearly signaling change.
First, it keeps the existing architectural wordmark as a recognizable brand anchor.
Second, it shifts the messaging toward experiences, curiosity and discovery.
Third, it uses real Londoners to make the campaign feel human and authentic.
Finally, the Canvas extends the platform into immersive digital placemaking, giving the brand a future-facing physical presence.
The result is a campaign that feels both rooted and progressive.
Final Reflection: A Historic Venue Designed for What Comes Next
Olympia’s Do What’s New campaign shows how a historic destination can reintroduce itself without losing its identity.
By building on the existing brand system and focusing on curiosity, Truant gives the venue a clear creative platform for its next chapter.
The OOH campaign creates visibility across London, while the Canvas gives Olympia a major new space for immersive digital storytelling.
For a 140-year-old venue, the message is simple and confident.
Olympia is not just celebrating what it has been.
It is inviting people to experience what comes next.
Summary
Following its £1.3 billion transformation led by Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC Architects, Olympia has unveiled a new brand campaign created by Truant. “Do What’s New” builds on the identity developed by SomeOne in 2021, using Olympia’s architectural wordmark as an anchor while shifting attention toward the venue’s new cultural programme and visitor experiences. The campaign includes posters and billboards featuring Conor Cunningham’s photography, manipulated through dramatic scale shifts, as well as the launch of the Canvas, an 83-metre by eight-metre immersive digital screen developed with Pixel Artworks.
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FAQs
What is Olympia’s Do What’s New campaign?
It is a new creative platform and brand campaign created by Truant to mark Olympia’s transformation into a destination for culture, hospitality, entertainment and business.
Who created the campaign?
The campaign was created by Truant, building on the Olympia identity originally developed by SomeOne in 2021.
What is the Canvas at Olympia?
The Canvas is an immersive digital screen on Emberton Walk measuring 83 metres long and eight metres high, developed with Pixel Artworks.
Why does the campaign feature real Londoners?
The campaign uses real Londoners rather than AI-generated imagery to create a more authentic and human representation of Olympia’s renewed cultural energy.
FAQs about this campaign
What is Olympia’s Do What’s New campaign?
It is a new creative platform and brand campaign created by Truant to mark Olympia’s transformation into a destination for culture, hospitality, entertainment and business.
Who created the campaign?
The campaign was created by Truant, building on the Olympia identity originally developed by SomeOne in 2021.
What is the Canvas at Olympia?
The Canvas is an immersive digital screen on Emberton Walk measuring 83 metres long and eight metres high, developed with Pixel Artworks.
Why does the campaign feature real Londoners?
The campaign uses real Londoners rather than AI-generated imagery to create a more authentic and human representation of Olympia’s renewed cultural energy.
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