Sovereign Housing Group

The client

We've been able to observe Sovereign at close quarters over the last few months, and we really like what we see. Here's a housing organisation that, despite being one of the biggest in the country (30,000 homes at the last count), seems far more interested in being the best. Sovereign doesn't look to grow just for the sake of it; it is selective and looks to grow sustainably, in ways that benefit its residents. The people we have worked with are remarkably professional, and appear to take great pride in their work.

Their needs

More and more housing associations are joining Sovereign Housing Group, and it became clear to the communications team that it needed to pull the member brands together and take a unified, consistent approach to marketing communications. The team set about developing a compelling new brand that would enhance the profile and reputation of the Group and reflect the values shared by its members.

To help launch the new brand identity, the Sovereign team needed copywriting for new brochures, websites and other marketing materials. So they invited us to talk to them, asked to see our work, added us to their ‘approved supplier’ roster, and then commissioned us to do some writing – lots of it.

What we did

We have been writing ‘five Cs’ copy to launch the new Sovereign Living brand, including on the Sovereign Living website, in direct mail and email campaigns, and in brochures and flyers that promote new homes and different ways for people to rent or buy.

And we have interviewed most of Sovereign’s management team – experts in different departments – so that we could produce copy for the annual report. Taking the same approach, we have helped to produce the first cut of Sovereign’s ‘word bank’, a repository of content covering various subjects that Sovereign writers can draw from whenever they work on something new.

Sovereign wants to convey its brand identity in different ways for different audiences: clear and concise for resident communications, and in a more formal style for business communications. “Resonates can shift from the informational to the promotional voice,” says Anne Wilstead, Sovereign’s head of communications. “They have been able to respond to the need for differing tones of voice, dependent on the audience.”

The results

Is Sovereign pleased with the results, now that it is using our copy to engage residents, developers, local authorities, contractors and tenant service authorities?

“Resonates finds the right words,” Anne says. “We are very pleased with the way they have engaged with our brand values and verbal identity.”

“And we are pleased that the Resonates team is so responsive to project timescales and so organised in seeking the knowledge they need to write each piece of work. We like Resonates’ calm, easy-going, flexible approach.”

Our view

We come across many copywriting clients who feel uncomfortable when we tell them less is more, or that it’s okay to call yourself “we” instead of “it”. Sovereign was different: its communications people knew exactly what they were doing before they even met us.

That took us by surprise when we first met them. It is refreshing to work with people who already understand the importance of using plain English to engage audiences, and satisfying to meet their rigorous standards.

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