CASE STUDY

Aster Group – Illustrations & Print Design

We worked with Aster Group on a set of unique illustrations and print material to support their online and tenant communications material.

The illustrations were designed as assets which could be used to represent the communities supported by Aster across the south of the UK.

Project Background

When Aster Group contacted us, they were sending out a printed magazine to each of their tenants regularly, and the cost was becoming incredibly high. As part of a wider digital transformation piece, they wanted to explore new ways of communicating with people, without excluding those who weren’t online.

They also felt that a lot of their material had become quite stagnant and uninspiring which was leading to little engagement.

aster illustration scene

Custom Illustrations

We began by designing a new suite of graphics and illustrations which were designed to inject some personality back into Aster’s communications.

The illustrations were made of characters, scenery and icons – demonstrating key elements from community including different professions, ages, pets, professions and house styles.

They were formed from the riginal Aster logo which had a plectrum shaped icon attributed to it.

Direct Mail Communications

It was established that something printed still needed to be printed and  provided to residents, but instead of a magazine it neeed to be something designed for quick reference with key information. It was hoped that this approach would encourage people to hold onto the communications and refer to it if they had an issue or query.

We created this printed material which folded down into A6 size to be posted through people’s doors. It contained topical information relevant to residents, quick acces to phonenumbers and any relevant updated.

aster print material
aster printed material page 2
aster infographic snippet

Infographics

As well as the printed materialabove, we also incorporated the new illustrations and look and feel into a series of infographics.

This ranged from infographics for internal communication (snippet from the left taken from one about aster’s new internal strategy) to infographics about key issues for residents, such as:

  • Universal Credit
  • Managing Money
  • Reporting Issues in the Community
  • Direct Debits

These were designed to be informative, tackling important topics, while still being lighthearted and easy for everybody to digest.

The infographics were included in regular monthly email newsletters, as well as on the Aster Group website.

The content of the infographics was also broken down into small digestible chunks which could be shared as social media graphics across Facebook and Twitter. This helped with getting the message out to people who may not have seen their emails or post communication.

 

Sign Ups for Online Communications Increased by

60%
aster email newsletter snippet

Email Newsletters

In line with reducing print communication, a series of email newsletters were launched to keep in touch with residents and update them on latest news and upcoming events.

We created an initial HTML template with lots of flexible blocks and elements which could be used to quickly create email communications. These were designed to look great on mobile as well as desktop after extensive testing.

The emails were built and deployed using campaign monitor to Aster’s considerable database of residents. Feedback was positive – with many preferring online communication as a quick way of receiving and digesting the information provided.

Social Media Engagement went up by

35%
aster group facebook social media page

Social Media Activity

Facebook and Twitter were used to distribute key information to residents and other customers of Aster Group.

We helped to distribute key messages to residents of Aster Group based on the key themes identified within the monthly newsletters and infographics.

Regular posts and a more responsive approach to social media helped to dramatically improve the engagement experienced on the individual pages – with more residents choosing to engage.

Does your communications need some oomph?

Whether you are starting from scratch or your collateral just needs some TLC, we can help you to get better responses and engagement from your current marketing communications.

Talk To Us

Next Case Study

CVAN Southeast - WordPress Website

We designed and developed a new WordPress website for CVAN Southeast to help them grow their regional presence in the arts sector.