Plymouth Charity Trust is one of Plymouth’s longstanding local charities who have been providing affordable accommodation through their Almshouses in the city for over 400 years. Their incredible commitment to the elderly in our local community has championed independent living by providing a safe environment for those who find themselves in need. Yet people hardly knew their story or had heard of the Trust. It was with great pleasure to begin one of the most impactful, meaningful brand transformations of my career to date. Taking an outdated identity, realigning their founding pillars and giving them a voice by bringing their brand online and reaching new audiences. A challenge in this particular transformation was to reach younger people within Plymouth to increase long-term awareness, as well as support the needs of the older generation who struggle in a new digital era. Accessibility played a key part in this project’s delivery. Ensuring the over 65 community can reach the Trust when they need them the most.

As with many charities evolving over time on limited funds or controlled funds and run by people giving their time outside of their typical working hours, the upkeep and brand consistency becomes more difficult than a typical organisation. With the Plymouth Charity Trust their brand was untouched for at least 10 years and not something the Chairman felt represented the new era the Trust were moving into.

As with the nature of Almshousing, they are often old converted buildings that take a lot to upkeep and have restrictions when modifying. There is also a stigma around Almshouses being for the poor, or unfortunate. This isn’t the case and a large part of the brief was to create a positive feeling and approachability to the brand that would support changing this misconception.

Plymouth Charity Trust shared the Grenville House Project story with us. An exciting project in collaboration with Ward William Associates and ADG Architecture and Design, to build an Almshouse of the modern day. A purpose-built facility with the needs of residents at its heart. Ensuring facilities encouraged and supported independent living for longer.

The Trust felt that this was the perfect time to rebuild brand recognition within the city and an opportunity to create a much-needed waiting list to ensure the properties would be filled with elderly people in need of affordable housing. However, the charity branding was outdated and not doing a great job of sharing all the great things they do for the community. It was the perfect time to completely review the brand as a whole. From understanding the importance of their longstanding history to recording their brand story and defining their values to create solid pillars of operation. Creating a new identity that respectfully and meaningfully represented all that they stand for.