Positioning the UK as a global leader in healthy ageing

Around the world, people are living longer. By 2030, one in six of us will be 60 or older and the number of people aged 60-plus will increase from one billion to 1.4 billion. Every country is experiencing growth in both the size and proportion of older people, and the increase in population ageing will be greatest and fastest in the developing world. 

Good physical and mental health are key determinants of quality of life for older people. This shift in distribution towards older ages means all countries are facing major challenges in preparing their health and social systems. Healthy ageing is a huge topic, and a priority for countries across the globe. 

Healthcare UK, which promotes UK companies overseas and supports partnerships, wanted to create a campaign promoting the UK's capabilities in healthy ageing innovation. This could help to attract inward investment and business opportunities. Healthcare UK is a joint initiative between the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for International Trade (DIT) and NHS England and came to us as we are on the supplier list for the DIT. 

It had already produced a brochure that shared inspiring case studies, with information on UK companies that can deliver solutions to healthy ageing – but it wasn't landing. Studiomade was tasked with creating a campaign to engage its intended audience.

First, we had to go back a step. Why weren't people engaging?

What we did

Healthcare UK’s brochure included contextual information and insight on companies that can provide technology, infrastructure and other services supporting healthy ageing. But, with it not getting the expected response, we realised we had to help Healthcare UK own the conversation around healthy ageing. What was lacking was a positional piece on why healthy ageing matters. 

This would reinforce Healthcare UK as an authoritative voice in the sector. They needed to show the problem before they shared the answer. What are the reasons for focusing on healthy ageing as an agenda? Why is this topic important?

We proposed writing and creating an in-depth, thought-provoking white paper, then building a campaign around it. We wanted to bring context to the issue for different audiences, address people’s objectives, and help them understand the issues and their country’s place in the global picture. 

Strategy

We identified the areas of conversation that Healthcare UK could own, and set out these objectives: 

1. Showcase the UK as a global leader in healthy ageing, with a focus on opportunities in the life sciences and health and social care sectors.  

2. Establish the UK as the preferred partner for innovation in a healthy ageing society. 

3. Support the global challenge of ageing societies. 

4. Promote trade and investment opportunities globally. 

5. Develop mutual prosperity through industry and healthcare partnerships, and bring innovation into the UK. 

6. Identify global opportunities for innovative UK companies and connect them to these opportunities.

A global network

Healthcare UK has a broad reach, with an extensive network of organisations including charities, hospitals, governments and advisory boards around the world. To write a report that brings new information to the debate, we collaborated with these valuable connections and global partners, asking them to contribute insight and research to our regional deep dives. Not many organisations would be able to access such a broad pool of knowledge and this made the report unique and authoritative. It helped to frame the global issue, joining together the challenges that need addressing and the nuances that different countries face. 

A pathway that joins the dots

When working together to understand Healthcare UK’s historical work around the topic, they shared a healthy ageing pathway with us that they had created. It shows the steps that countries or health services should be taking towards healthy ageing. We made this a central element of the campaign. 

It was shareable, it outlined the areas that needed to be tackled, it helped countries to plot their efforts, and gave the Healthcare UK team a springboard to link up to services they promote. 

Design look and feel

Healthcare UK is part of the award-winning GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign, the UK’s international brand marketing campaign, which works closely with UK businesses, not-for-profits and high-profile figures to promote the best of the UK abroad. Their guidelines led the overarching branding, but we brought in a lighter touch for this report and campaign. 

We used inspiring photography and custom illustrations that give a distinct look and a positive mood to the report. On the cover, we used images of happy, confident and healthy looking people, to set the tone for the report. We created assets for the campaign website where people would be able to download the report.

Social media campaign

Next, we created a full social campaign around the report, to give it impact and promote it to the intended audience. We used the same creative style as the report, using illustrations to show key facts and figures and encourage people to download it. These were animated, to gain the highest engagement. We used key hashtags, to monitor sharing and engagement. 

To leverage earnt media, we built media packs for the contributing partners who feature in the report, with social animations they could re-post on their channels to talk about their involvement plus static assets to use anywhere across their own or other channels. 

Outcome

The UK has an industrial strategy that has prioritised healthy ageing and is applying millions of pounds of funding for new research, treatments and technologies. We created an authoritative, wide-ranging, agenda-setting report that shows inward investors the value and opportunities in the UK, illustrating why it’s the place to develop healthy ageing innovations and business opportunities.