Building Heroes

As part of their drive, Building Heroes desperately needed to refresh their branding and website, as the existing look felt outdated and no longer aligned with their current goals and needs. Once the branding and website were in place, we introduced a full-rounded marketing approach covering all aspects of organic social media, PR distribution, email marketing, award entries, and campaign strategies. Marketing is one piece of the puzzle, but without a brand and website, you are spending money to lose money. That’s why it was crucial to build the foundations to ensure the identity we created at the beginning would carry through on all aspects of digital and print marketing. 

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Branding & Website

As part of the branding project, Building Heroes kept their existing logo, so instead, we worked with them to introduce a new colour scheme, fresh imagery, and a clear and detailed tone of voice that represents who they are. Their existing website was overly complex and challenging to navigate, and at the time of the project, it was six years old, which is very dated. They felt that the website didn’t showcase their brand story or shout about the work they have been doing for the Armed Forces community. 

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We established what they wanted to accomplish from a new website, including goals, look, feel, and tone of voice:

• Increase cohort applications
• Increase brand awareness, new colours, and page interaction
• Introduce a more professional tone of voice while also being personalised and concise 
• Introduce a donations page where supporters can easily donate 

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We aimed for their brand identity and colours to subtly reflect their role as a military charity, supporting ex-military personnel in their transition to civilian life. With the Union Jack flag in mind, it felt appropriate to lead with a palette of red, white, and blue. These colours are incorporated across their website and showcased with new typography and call-to-action buttons. 

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We designed and built their website on Webflow, ensuring it was user-friendly, responsive, engaging, and customised to their requirements. We implemented built-in forms for the applications, with responses going to a dedicated email address, and we set up a GoodHub page for regular donations. Across the site, we ensured the language was professional whilst introducing a more personalised touch, using key phrases such as ‘helping those that have kept us safe’ and ‘we work with you to find the right training and outcome’. Furthermore, we enhanced the website by showcasing testimonials, strategically placing quotes throughout the pages as visitors scroll. 

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Comparing 2021 to 2024, we have seen the following results:

• New users increased from 4,403 to 19,634 
• Page views increase from 12,285 to 85,465 
• Sessions increase from 6,573 to 29,507 

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Branding Marketing Collateral 

Once the website was launched, it was essential to create brand guidelines to help establish a consistent brand identity across all platforms, touchpoints and marketing collateral. This also included designing letterheads, business cards, and certificates. 

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Over the years, we have produced designs for Building Heroes, including flyers, brochures, social impact reports, pull-up banners, social templates, presentations, print ads, and merchandise, including wristbands, selfie frames, and name cards. 

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Organic Social Media 

Organic social media is one of the most crucial elements of Building Heroes’ marketing mix. It enables us to connect with their core audiences, including ex-military members and educational and industry professionals. A charitable organisation heavily depends on donations and support; therefore, maintaining a consistent social media presence is essential to ensure ongoing visibility and connection. 

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With this in mind, we post across the four leading platforms: 

• LinkedIn - targeting B2B by sharing longer-form content to educate individuals and companies and highlight their social value to attract potential partners.
• X - targeting both B2B and B2C. Predominantly keeping a presence on this platform as it’s not their main drive for engagement and enquiries. 
• Meta & Instagram - targeting B2C with much more personal content, spotlighting success stories and community updates while posing exciting questions to encourage audiences to engage. 

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Since 2021, we have seen some incredible results: 

• LinkedIn
  • Followers increased from 2,055 to 5,557. 
  • Last year, they received 4,719 page views, 1,957 unique visitors, 998 new followers and 4,514 post reactions.
• X
  • Followers increased from 202 to 1,315.
• Instagram 
  • Followers increased from 268 to 886. 
  • In the last 30 days, they have received a +54% increase in accounts reached and +184% in accounts engaged. 
• Facebook
  • Followers increased from 3,422 to 4,500. 
  • In the last 28 days, they have received 637 post engagements, 2,925 post reach and 153 reactions. 

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In addition, we are launching a TikTok account in 2025 to engage the armed forces community and graduates. This initiative aims to expand our outreach to new audiences and modernise our marketing channels to stay dynamic and relevant.

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Press Release Distribution & Reporting 

When it comes to our charity clients, we know that press release distribution is an incredible marketing asset, and it has been for Building Heroes. Charities evolve so quickly that it’s essential to keep on top of their news and ensure it reaches the correct outlets for success. 

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With this in mind, we have planned, drafted and distributed many press releases covering several topics, and these are a few of the outcomes achieved: 

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‍Queen’s Award for Enterprise - Promoting Opportunity 

• Interview with the Gosport & Farnham Globe | Interview with BBC Radio Surrey - Breakfast Show | Interview with BBC Sussex | Interview with Impact Publishing (representing Civvy Street Magazine) 

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New Chief Executive:

• Sussex Express |The Business Magazine | LondonBuild Expo

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Award Recognition

• COBSEO | Ground News | South East News

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New Academies 

• Regal Academies | Easy Resettlement | Second piece | Third piece | Vistry Group | Second piece | WSC College News | Jobs.fmj

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General News 

• Redrow News | Specific Review | Second piece | Emerald News | BDC Magazine 

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Award Entries 

In the three years that we have supported Building Heroes and managed their marketing activity, we have seen them grow into becoming a multi-award-winning charity - a significant milestone as they approach their 10th anniversary on the 23rd of October, 2024.  

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In 2024 alone, they have won two awards and been finalists in three other prestigious award ceremonies, including: 

• ThirdSector Awards - Corporate Partnership of the Year - WINNER
• London Construction Awards - Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Initiative of the Year - Finalist
• Soldiering On Awards - Business Community Impact for Brendan Williams, Founder and Former Chief Executive - WINNER
• Construction News Awards - Training Excellence - Finalist 
• The Charity Awards - Education and Training - Finalist 

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Furthermore, in 2023, they were finalists at the Sussex Business Awards in the category of Community Hero, and they won the Soldering on Awards in the category of Education, Training and Development.

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Email Marketing 

This year, we made the decision to reduce their monthly email newsletter to quarterly so we could send out a more precise email update to readers in the last three months. For Building Heroes, we saw an improvement in quality and readership, rather than sending out regular content that had fewer opens and click-through rates. 

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The last three quarterly updates have received open rates of 23% - 32%, just above the industry average of 21%. Click-to-open-rate (CTOR) also averages from 21% - 30%.

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