Assimilating a previously fragmented business under one brand
Following a management buyout by a global investment management firm in November 2021, two well-known housebuilding brands; Larkfleet Homes and Allison Group made the decision to rebrand all existing and future housing developments as ‘Allison Homes’ which would become the housing element of the ‘Allison Group’.
The reason? Whilst Allison Group was already a well-known and respected name in the East Midlands, it was lesser known in other parts of the UK and the business had bold growth plans to become a national housebuilder, hence the need to consolidate under one, strong professional brand.
The rebrand was the perfect opportunity to refine the vision and values of the business as it embarked on its mission to reach a much wider audience. Critically, the client wanted to put customers at the very forefront of everything they did and to improve their reputation for quality and customer care. The first step was clear and effective internal communication, to ensure employee engagement, clarity of vision and (ultimately) organisational success.
“Working with the Athene team while organising the first Allison Team conference, I wanted to write to say how professional and diligent the Athene team were. The event was well planned and executed and I would recommend Athene to anyone looking to organise a similar event.”
A through-the-line PR plan for an impactful launch
As a long-established client of Athene Communications, spanning over 10 years, the new owners turned to us to develop a clear communication strategy, ensuring that the rebrand was managed professionally and with maximum impact.
With a history of delivering stakeholder and community engagement to support their planning team and delivering their annual development conference, Athene had an already-solid understanding of the client’s company culture and mission. This made for a good foundation to develop a comprehensive, integrated PR plan.
This was about communicating the launch of ‘Allison Homes’ to ALL stakeholders: Foremostly, the internal audience, but then more widely, to trade and consumer markets.
A successful brand launch to a re-energised audience
Athene worked with senior leaders and the marketing team to shape the new internal communications strategy – the result of many interviews and workshops, ultimately culminating in a successful internal conference, with high levels of employee engagement and feedback.
And the feedback was positive: “Now every member of our team has a clear understanding of our overarching ambition for this new era: To build high-quality homes and thriving communities, whilst caring for the environment, our customers and our people.” (John Anderson, CEO, Allison Group)
Following the successful internal launch, Athene turned their attention to achieving maximum media coverage to make the public and the trade aware of the news.
Feature interviews in two key Trade publications and several articles in regional and trade press ensured that positive coverage was gained in a matter of months, marking the dawn of an exciting new era for Allison Homes.
