Posted:07-November-2023
Embracing Marketing & PR
Having launched Home Instead Portsmouth at the start of 2021, Helen Brown and her team have delivered high quality home care services to older people across the local community as well as creating jobs for caring individuals.
Not only this, Helen has embraced the marketing and PR support provided by Home Instead’s National Office, helping her to amplify her efforts, increase her reach and engage with local businesses and organisations to support even more people across Portsmouth.
Helen launched her business already holding extensive experience in home care having previously been instrumental in establishing and developing two Home Instead offices, one of which is in neighbouring Havant. Both achieved an Outstanding rating, the highest accolade achievable from the Care Quality Commission (CQC); this was something she was determined to replicate in Portsmouth as at the time it was the area with the highest level of inadequate care in the country.
In her previous career as a primary school teacher, Helen had supported her young pupils to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations. Now running a Home Instead office, much of her passion lies in making Portsmouth dementia friendly. To do this effectively, embracing the marketing campaigns and PR initiatives provided as part of the Home Instead franchise model, would help accelerate her message across the city.
A recent example of this is Home Instead’s Key to Care campaign, which saw owners host sessions for local residents on topics such as dementia, including offering advice and guidance for people caring for a loved one with dementia, and techniques to manage the condition in the home.
By embracing this campaign, Helen was able to engage with a number of local organisations, build strong relationships, create awareness of the Home Instead brand and amplify their position as the UK’s number one home care company, but at a local level.
Working alongside Boots, Spark Community Space, Lighthouse Group, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth Carers Centre and The You Trust, has helped Helen to fully engrain herself and her franchise into her local community, as well as receiving coverage in local media such as The Portsmouth News.
It also saw her invited to hold dementia training sessions at Portsmouth FC. The latest in a series of initiatives across the city, Helen identified an opportunity to help raise awareness amongst the club’s departments, including the office, hospitality, ground staff and the shop, to make match days a positive experience for everyone, including those with dementia.
This campaign also received some positive local PR with a double page feature in the Portsmouth News, a matchday dedication on World Mental Health Day and an article on the football club’s website.
The home care company’s positive approach to embracing marketing and PR and their dementia work across the city has not gone unnoticed, having recently been awarded the Innovation Award, nominated for The Impact Award at the forthcoming Dembe Awards, as well as Helen being awarded Woman Entrepreneur 2023.
Helen commented: “Getting involved in the marketing campaigns and utilising the PR support provided by Home Instead’s National Office is crucial. It not only allows us to amplify our message on a local level, but also contributes to a ‘national noise’ alongside the rest of the franchise network across the country, helping with networking and raising awareness of the support we provide, strengthening our messaging and ultimately helping us to support more people who need us”.
Interested and want to know more about Home Instead?
The Home Instead profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
