How Natasha Bedingfield's 'Hope' is Supporting Women Battling Mental Illness

When award winning wellbeing beauty brand Philosophy announced the launch of a new addition to its iconic skincare franchise, Hope in a Jar, the project took on a decidedly philanthropic edge. Called “Renewed Hope in a Jar,” the new launch tied in to their recent charity initiative, Hope and Grace, where 1% of all profits goes toward community-based organizations that support women battling mental illness. Looking for an impactful way to deliver the launch’s message, Philosophy turned to sonic branding and strategy agency MAS, who secured a collaboration with Grammy-nominated singer Natasha Bedingfield to record “Hope,” a song designed to bring attention to this sensitive cause.

Led by its founder and managing director James Alvich, MAS collaborated with Philosophy to guide them through the process of securing the best musical artist to represent both their brand and Hope and Grace. This included approaching several artists with the scope of the project, before eventually partnering with the best fit in Bedingfield. A symbiotic match, Bedingfield not only has a huge global following, but is the most creatively aligned with the brand.

MAS’s seasoned team acted as both the agency in the music space and sounding board for Philosophy throughout the project, navigating the nuances of the music industry for both Philosophy and Bedingfield. MAS also liaised on Philosophy’s behalf with Bedingfield’s manager, lawyers and PR team to bring about an ideal partnership for both sides.

MAS then handled the correspondence for Philosophy during the creative process with Bedingfield and her team of writers in London, insuring that “Hope” was written in just a few weeks. Later, MAS spearheaded the music video shoot, not only securing the director, but also helping with creative as well.

For the final leg of the three-part endeavor: song, video, performance, Bedingfield performed the song at a live event on January 20th, hosted by Philosophy in celebration of the release. The show was simulcast via Livestream as part of a larger digital media campaign.

“In today’s music industry landscape many top artists are open to brand collaborations. We’re excited to find ourselves facilitating these relationships more and more” says Alvich. “We’ve worked closely with many brands finding the right artist to speak their language, and we’re especially pleased to see how Natasha and the team at Philosophy have both found their collaboration meaningful and beneficial.”

Natasha Bedingfield’s “Hope” is currently available for purchase on iTunes, where 20% of its net proceeds will also go toward Philosophy’s Hope and Grace effort until 2016.

MAS celebrates their fourth year as a company with the launch of this project. Previous collaborations include work with numerous fashion and beauty companies including Kate Spade, Avon, and Vidal Sassoon, as well as larger global corporations in other industries such as Microsoft, McDonald’s, Budweiser and BMW.