Inside Shelter’s mission to change attitudes toward social housing

Shelter’s head of marketing Helen Saul is behind its new campaign outlining this mission. She wanted the project to be a celebration of social housing. “It was important for us to do something that would help shift attitudes and really change that perception and get the public behind this idea of building new social housing,” she says.

The ’Made in Social Housing’ campaign tells the personal stories of people who were brought up or are still living in social housing. It features celebrities such as Suggs from Madness and the actor Eddie Marsan, as well as non-celebrities. “It was important to tell that story with people who have benefited from social housing and important for us to do this in a positive and celebratory way.”

Pre-campaign research saw Saul’s team collected views from people who had grown up in social housing or experienced housing issues. “They were quite against the idea of it being only celebrity-led,” she says Saul. The feedback was that they wanted to relate to the faces on screen, but that they also accepted that celebrities amplify the message.

The campaign has two main objectives. The first is to get the public to understand that social housing is the solution to the UK’s housing problems. The second is to generate action, for example to sign a petition, donate or share a lived experience. The most important thing, however, “is getting people to engage with the idea of social housing and seeing it as a positive thing,” says Saul. The campaign will be measured by tracking how people’s attitudes towards social housing have shifted pre-, during and post-campaign.

Yonder Media is behind the media buy, which runs for seven weeks across TV, online and podcasts in England. Shelter will also be activating in its clothing shops and through its brand partnerships.

An unconventional charity strategy

Shelter’s marketing has to do three different jobs: influence the government to change laws and end homelessness, inform people on the brink of homelessness about the support they can access and generate income. But Saul says all of those objectives need to work together.

Shelter rebranded in 2021 and set up an in-house creative team, which Saul says has helped the charity “flex” to all of those different areas.

“We have a really clear plan across the year for which messages will be stronger at which points, as well as always-on marketing,” she shares. The major focus this year will be on the elections. This campaign will be vital to make sure whoever is elected talks about social housing.

Shelter’s marketing is set around three content pillars. The first is ‘Hard Truths’, which is marketing that is intended to be funny or to shock people, to grab attention and prompt debate. Shelter’s ’Cost of Living Hacks’ ad and ridiculous renters rules campaign fall in this bucket. “Typically, charities won’t directly call out the government, but that is something we are happy to do and not afraid to do.”

Then there are ‘Stories and Celebration,’ which are ads that amplify and celebrate people's personal stories and areas where progress is being made – its latest campaign is an example. “It's really easy for charities to neglect this area. You’ve got to get that balance between making people understand it’s a really urgent and serious issue but also people need to understand there is progress as well.”

The final strand is ‘Advice and Insight’. Here, Shelter puts out insights, data and facts to show that it is a credible voice within housing and for signposting people who use its services. “All of these things work together to help us plan our creative campaigns.”