Changing what it means to retire
McCarthy Stone
project type
Strategy
Campaign
industry
Property
The UK’s leading retirement housebuilder had created itself a major problem. Fast growth meant they’d started to develop properties in less desirable locations – leaving many problem sites, that were hard to sell.
Our detailed research through ethnography, site visits, focus groups and interviews led us to our key insight; whilst rational location benefits were similar across the board, emotional reasons to buy couldn’t be more varied. It was time for new thinking. Shifting our focus from buildings and their contents, to people. Their unique personalities and stories became our product features. This meant we could bring to life the feeling of community – and community was far more powerful than any development characteristic.
Then came the big challenge; implementation. We had to change the mind-set of a whole company. Shifting from homebuilder to lifestyle provider. This meant building target personas, brand strategy and comms plans to ensure success. The product vision to help homeowners live retirement to the full - stretched across a detailed customer journey, and throughout marketing collateral. This meant we turned a previously rational based proposition into an emotionally led story; less stress, more enjoyment, less loneliness, more fun, and a helping hand when you need it.
The campaign significantly increased enquiries but more importantly changed the mindset of the whole business, to be less about property and be more about people.
