WE MAKE IT HERE
The UK government announced a major increase in defence spending, bringing new investment to communities with strong defence and manufacturing industries. For many of these regions, it represents more than economic growth. It is an opportunity to create skilled jobs, support local businesses, and invest in places that have long been overlooked.
To communicate that vision, we created WE MAKE IT HERE. The campaign celebrates the communities that have always built Britain’s ships, aircraft and defence technology, while highlighting the resilience, pride and determination that define them. “We Make It Here” speaks to both the physical act of making and the people who keep moving forward, positioning defence investment not just as a national strategy, but as a local opportunity.
We launched the campaign by visiting four of the UK’s major defence hubs: Plymouth, Sheffield, Belfast and Glasgow. We spoke to local people to understand their connection to their communities, what they were proud of, and how renewed investment could shape their hopes for the future. Their stories became the foundation of the campaign, ensuring every message felt authentic and rooted in the places it represented.
We then turned to the people at the heart of this investment: the engineers, apprentices, teachers, healthcare professionals and other workers whose lives and careers are directly connected to the defence industry. As some of the first to experience its impact, they shared their stories, their work, and how this renewed investment is creating new opportunities for them and their communities.
