Sentinel Home Team brand is no quick fix

Sentinel Housing is North Hampshire’s largest landlord, managing 8,000 homes, and we’re very lucky (and proud) to have them as a client.

Like most people, I look after just one home and I seem to be constantly maintaining that (not particularly well admittedly!), so imagine how much maintenance goes into managing 8,000 of the little blighters?

Well, last year Sentinel carried out over 18,000 property repairs (not by one person I hasten to add), through their maintenance partner MITIE Property Services.

Nothing stays the same though and in early 2012 it was decided that this service would be provided in-house from Autumn 2012.

So like all good services of this kind, it needed a name, a brand identity and quite importantly, some vehicles to scoot about in to get all those jobs done. And we’re pleased to say we were lucky enough to be involved with the creation of ‘all of the above’ for the shiny new service.

Brief supplied and digested, our name and branding had to demonstrate these key messages:

Trust: Sentinel are changing the way they deliver this service, bringing it in-house so it becomes an extension of the Sentinel brand which is trusted and respected among its customers and partners

Value for money: Sentinel have greater control over budgets by bringing the service in-house

Performance: Their focus is on great service. Customers want a timely, service that gets the job done right first time

Reputation: Great customer service comes from doing the basics really well.

The new brand had to work well on everything from vehicle livery to work wear, marketing and signage and really enforce the Sentinel name in the community.

So, Sentinel Home Team was born. Many name suggestions were deliberated, designed, styled and tested, but Home Team was felt to encapsulate everything the brief demanded.

Identity in the bag, our first big project was to apply the branding to a fleet of 30 new, gleaming vehicles. Making the most of the knowledge and expertise of one of our vehicle wrapping specialist suppliers (to fully understand what was physically possible and what works best i.e. removing door handles, lighting and bumpers), we eventually got to an end result that was both practical and eye catching.

The new service officially launches a little later this year so I’m afraid I can’t suggest you keep your eyes out for the livery just yet, but in case you’re interested, here’s a little sneak preview of the vehicles while they’re in storage (and being branded)…