The background
Sanctuary Care is one of the UK's largest not-for-profit care providers, operating around 109 care homes across England and Scotland. At the heart of its mission is the Enriching Lives Framework – a person-led ethos grounded in independent research and inspired by Sheffield University's "six senses" model, identifying six fundamental human needs: Security, Belonging, Continuity, Purpose, Achievement and Significance.
Sanctuary Care wanted to bring this framework to life through a series of national campaigns, each spotlighting one of the six senses. The challenge was to move beyond traditional care sector communications and create something that would genuinely resonate with a consumer audience – particularly women aged 40–60, often the key decision-makers when it comes to care for a loved one.
The first campaign needed to celebrate the Sense of Continuity: the idea that the memories, passions and experiences that define us don't stop when we move into a care home. Sanctuary Care needed a creative concept that would tell this story authentically, generate national media interest, drive meaningful digital engagement, and position the brand as a care provider that truly goes beyond excellent standards of care.
We identified that food and cooking are among the most powerful connectors to memory, identity and family. From treasured family recipes to everyday favourites, food sparks stories, emotions and is a huge part of many residents' lives.
So, 'A Lifetime of Flavours' was born: an original Sanctuary Care cookbook sharing real recipes and stories from residents, their loved ones and care home teams.
Our strategic recommendation was to build a social, digital and PR-led campaign anchored in emotional storytelling – learning from a previous campaign ('Connections') by investing in more video content, more targeted media outreach, and a longer content lifespan designed to work harder for longer.
We also recommended two key partnerships to extend the campaign's reach and credibility:
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Matty Edgell, Great British Bake Off winner, to provide the cookbook foreword and participate in broadcast activity
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Mental Health UK, as a charity partner, with all proceeds from cookbook sales donated via a dedicated JustGiving page
The campaign
The plan
We designed an integrated campaign spanning content creation, media relations, digital activation and community engagement:
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The cookbook – We collaborated with residents across Sanctuary Care's homes to collect their favourite recipes, each accompanied by a short story about why the dish is meaningful to them – family traditions, dishes passed down through generations, or meals tied to special memories. These were combined into a beautifully designed print and digital cookbook with high-quality photography.
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Video storytelling – We captured a mini-series of hero films telling the stories behind the recipes, featuring residents including Malcolm and Barbara. These ranged from longer-form films (up to five minutes) to short social clips, with residents cooking alongside younger family members and Sanctuary Care chefs.
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A dedicated campaign landing page – Built for tracking, the page housed the digital cookbook, an order form for printed copies, video content and a link to the JustGiving fundraising page.
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Media relations – We targeted national newspapers and weekend supplements, consumer magazines, national and regional TV and radio, and regional press in areas aligned with Sanctuary Care's acquisition goals.
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Social media activation – A structured content calendar featuring a blend of static posts, video reels and carousels, each telling a resident's unique story and driving traffic to the landing page.
The outcome
Within just six weeks of launch, the campaign delivered strong results across every channel – exceeding several of the original KPIs:
Digital engagement
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1,499 sessions and 1,053 users on the campaign landing page, including 822 new users
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230 PDF cookbook downloads and 109 order form submissions
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Peaks in landing page traffic correlated directly with social media activity, demonstrating the effectiveness of the integrated approach
Social media
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2.7 million views on Facebook, an 81% increase on the previous period
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Reels performed 86% better than other content formats
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Top-performing posts reached over 30,000 people, with video content featuring residents Malcolm and Barbara achieving the highest engagement – reaching over 40,000 people
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Social channels drove 28% of all traffic to the campaign landing page
Website impact
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11% increase in overall Sanctuary Care website sessions during the initial launch period, equating to 5,373 additional sessions
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All topline website metrics were up compared to the previous period, including a 64.22% engagement rate
Media coverage
Secured coverage in the Daily Telegraph Saturday Magazine, BBC South West, Larder Magazine, UK Fundraising, and regional titles including the Cornish and Devon PostA tasting session with Matty Edgell on Sunday Brunch (Channel 4), with further features confirmed in BBC Good Food, Easy Cook, and Bauer titles including Yours, Closer and Take a Break
Charitable impact
Exceeded the donation target, raising £4,916 for Mental Health UK – surpassing the original £500 goal by 883%
Sentiment
Feedback from residents, relatives and colleagues was overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing the campaign's emotional resonance and its alignment with Sanctuary Care's Enriching Lives ethos
