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This story begins with Louise Hallett trying to source long-term care for her sister.
She found there was nothing between hospitalisation and complete independence. If you don’t need to be in a psychiatric hospital, you’re alone. It’s a vast crack in service provision that leaves over 1.5 million people in the UK providing unpaid and informal care.
So Louise built Hammersley Homes and began a mission to provide permanent care, permanent homes, safety, security and support for everybody with an enduring mental illness.
People with enduring mental illnesses often aren’t able to work or fully care for themselves, struggling with budget, cooking, taking care of themselves, healthcare and are left lonely and unsupported.
And these people have nothing in local, national, social, policing or healthcare provision to support them.
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Referral after Referral
At its core, Hammersley Homes stood for compassion. But as client referrals continue to pour, funding, donations and changes to the broken system stalled. The brand needed to do more than just show care.
The realities of enduring mental illness mean direct beneficiaries can’t donate and carers are rarely in a financial position to.
The burden falls on family. Imagine being struck by that helplessness? The total inability to help someone who love so much, and not being able to source any support. With only one option, to sacrifice the life you know.
Nearly 60% of UK carers have reduced work or left altogether, and they are 40% more likely than everybody else to suffer from depression and anxiety because of their sacrifices.
Our challenge was to build a brand that represented that deep emotional reality—a voice for those silenced by the system, a call to arms for those who felt helpless. We needed to galvanise support for the charity, expand its reach beyond its local base, and create a brand that wasn’t just seen but felt.
Research
To develop a deeper understanding of the systemic and emotional realities that Hammersley Homes addresses, we used mix of emotional journey mapping, behavioural segmentation, and other market analyses.
We charted the intense emotional stages faced by carers and families, including their helplessness, anger, and burnout, which allowed us to craft a brand that resonates with their core struggles. Simultaneously, systemic impact analysis and competitor analysis highlighted how public services fail those with enduring mental illness and the downstream symptoms of that failure.
This multi-layered research informed the creation of a cause-led and non-conforming brand—one that not only emotionally connects with those impacted by the issue but also confronts the systemic failures within mental healthcare.
We created a brand that champions change, while providing an emotional mirror built on Louise’s true, first-hand compassion.
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Results
These metrics reveal more than numbers; they’re representing emotional connections with the brand. People are sharing more stories, supporting the mission, and joining a movement.
Building a future
The rebrand gave Hammersley Homes the tools to fight for the change it wanted to see in the world. By evolving into an activist brand, Hammersley is no longer just about providing care. It's about addressing the systemic failures that lead to isolation and suffering.
Fighting for every person with a mental illness who’s been forgotten and the carers who’ve sacrificed so much already.
