Sanctuary Retirement Living – copywriting promotional brochures

Sanctuary Retirement Living (SRL) approached Writing Services to tender for its first sub-contracted copywriting project. We were asked to develop copy for brochures to promote five of its 29 properties. The Marketing Manager then commissioned copywriting for the remainder of its properties.

SRL is a not-for-profit organisation which has 29 properties across England. It provides apartments and communities for people aged 55 and over.

Residents have their own spacious, private apartment to buy or rent, and there are shared communal areas and facilities such as accessible gardens, communal lounges, a restaurant, and guest suites for visitors. Residents can be as independent as they like, but with the peace of mind of knowing that there’s someone on hand 24-hours a day if they need them.

The first contract involved us copywriting five brochures containing 1,200 words each. We drafted a brochure template which was agreed by the Marketing Department at SRL and then conducted telephone interviews with the managers at all five properties. These five brochures were then designed by an in-house designer, and presented to SRL’s Senior Management Team, and a refined template was agreed for the second stage of the work.

The second contract involved copywriting a further 24 brochures in the space of two months. We’re always looking to save our clients time and money, and so this time, we were able to reduce our costs. We now knew the questions that needed to be answered, and so we were able to conduct the fact-gathering by email and just the occasional telephone call. The process worked well and we managed to deliver all 24 brochures with a week to spare.