Guild Living - A better way to grow older

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Out with the old

Out with the old

Guild Living, a visionary team of specialists in ageing and wellbeing, are on a mission to revolutionise later living and change the way we think about growing older.

And, as their lead strategic and creative partner, we’re helping them achieve it.

Not just any start-up

Guild Living is backed by Legal and General, who are so committed to the vision of a better future for older people that they're putting £2 billion behind it - making Guild Living one of the UK's highest-funded start-ups ever. The money will be used to create ground-breaking retirement communities across the country, with beautiful apartments, on-site fine-dining restaurants, a roster of fitness classes and activities, and a whole new level of tailored healthcare. In doing this, Guild Living will replace the fear, loneliness, and anxiety synonymous with ageing in this country with a 'third age' of hope, community, and happiness.

Ours is a huge task – to enable older people to live extraordinary lives. To achieve it, our brand must reach audiences through revolutionary thinking and stand-out creativity. That’s why we chose Woven, because we know they have the vision and talent necessary to match our sky-high ambitions.

~Eugene Marchese - Founder & Director, Guild Living

Our work began with a series of in-depth workshops with Guild Living’s senior team, which includes Eugene Marchese, the company’s founder, and Malcolm Johnson, Professor of Gerontology and lead expert on Channel 4’s programme ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’.

We used these workshops to fully understand Guild Living’s business goals, the make-up and motivations of their audience, and the key messages to focus on. This foundational work was crucial in working out who the brand was targeting, where it would target them, and the route our creative work would take.

A design for life

From this insight, we've developed a brand that sums up everything Guild Living are about. A bold colour palette, dramatic typography, and disruptive messaging is a conscious move away from the inoffensive pastels, bland font choices, and mollycoddled messages that otherwise define the later living market. So that, from the moment you interact with Guild Living, whether it's by visiting their website or reading a print brochure, you're in no doubt that this is a different kind of brand, with something different to say. Our work has been codified in brand guidelines that will encapsulate Guild Living's energetic and empathetic ethos across its design, photography, typography, and tone of voice for years to come.

Hitting the silver screen

Understanding the power of video marketing in generating the buzz start-ups need, we've scripted and shot a series of videos to appear across Guild Living's website and social media. These talk of the difficult real-life situations older people face and how Guild Living can turn them into positive outcomes. From strategic insight to design, video marketing to copywriting, our work both reflects and shapes Guild Living's groundbreaking approach. The result is a brand that stands apart from other later living providers. One that doesn't talk about older people, but that talks with older people, representing their fears, challenges, hopes and ambitions in a uniquely vibrant, positive, and truthful way. Guild Living are fulfilling a truly revolutionary vision - and we've helped them build a brand to do it.

One of the biggest UK start-ups ever

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The newly-launched Guild Living website can be viewed at https://www.guildliving.com/