Red Homes Healthcare


    Services:


    communications strategy


    media relations


    internal communications


    profile raising


    blog posts

    website review


    social media strategy


    social media management


    press releases and thought leadership


    crisis consultancy



    The client


    Red Homes Healthcare is a Nottinghamshire-based care home who we support to boost its internal and external communications activity.

    Following a number of negative inspections from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the group, which owns four homes, introduced a range of major operational improvements within the settings. Confident that their care offering was now one of the best in the region, they wanted to convey this to the general public and use it as an opportunity to boost staff morale.




    The campaign


    We began working with the group by auditing its existing communications and content, starting with the website. We rewrote several pages of copy and added statements to address the CQC rating and to communicate all the positive steps it had made to address the inspections results. In the three months we worked together, drafted and uploaded four blogs on fun activities taking place within the homes.

    A social media strategy was created and we took over the running of the group’s social media accounts, seeing a huge upswing in engagement. We also used it as an opportunity to reach out to residents’ families and staff to keep them up to date with the latest news from the homes.

    We believed the communications review would not flourish without internal buy in, so we made it a priority to really get to know each respective care home manager and learn more about their priorities. We maintained these relationships throughout our work with the group, with the added benefit that the managers would frequently come to us with good news stories. 

    We also introduced the group to the organisers of John’s Campaign, a charity campaigning for extended visiting rights for family carers of patients with dementia in hospitals and care homes. We drafted a statement of commitment to the campaign, ensuring that the organisation was on the leading edge of best practice.

    A highlight of the activity was the opening of a dedicated end of life care unit. We organised the event and hired a photographer, as well as inviting the media, the mayor and relevant community stakeholders. Following the event, we secured coverage in key regional publications and also secured three thought leadership articles in top tier care home press, focusing on taboo topics such as death and dying – and why we should talk more about it – showcasing the group’s forward-thinking attitude.

    Results

    • Three thought leadership opportunities in top tier care trade publications, a combined audience reach of 54,000
    • Two major announcements were covered by key regional press, a combined audience reach of more than 33,000
    • Doubled Twitter engagement rate and eight-times increase in profile visits
    • BBC Radio Nottingham and Lincolnshire interviews during the Coronavirus pandemic
    • 800% increase in mentions
    • 11 retweets and 56 likes on a single post of a resident playing a harmonica
    • Increased the average Facebook views by roughly 300 week-on-week
    • Achieved 6,300 reach on a Facebook video of residents singing We Will Meet Again by Dame Vera Lynn 


    Christmas campaign


    Case study: Appealing to the community for the love of our elders

    During the Coronavirus pandemic, those living in care homes have not been in contact with their loved ones (face-to-face) for many months.

    Despite regular video and phone calls, in the lead up to Christmas we wanted to help bring more smiles to the faces of residents at Red Homes by launching an appeal that would bring the community together.

    A pro-active Christmas Card Appeal was launched to give those fortunate enough to live at home something to do under lockdown and give children the chance to exercise their creativity by designing their own cards, too.

    Armed with multiple on-brand social media assets, the team took over the Red Homes digital channels to reveal the competition.

    Throughout early December, Papillon teased the audience with coming soon messages to spark interest and engagement, and on launch day, the team revealed the competition and challenge – to send in as many cards as possible to all four homes.

    The community competition remained open for two weeks and was supported by regular social media activity showcasing some of the cards that had been sent in – and by people of all ages.

    Results

    Over 500 cards were received across all four homes and social media engagement was on the up. These are the results:

    • A combined Facebook reach of 5,010
    • 40 Facebook post shares
    • Direct messages about the campaign
    • Local schools commenting on their entries
    • Press coverage for all four homes including the Grantham Journal, Newark Advertiser and the Mansfield Chad.

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