We have just completed the first stage of a messaging and marketing strategy project for Sight for Surrey – an ambitious, long-established charity for the blind and deaf.

The organisation originally started in 1922 to help people with sight loss. It has since expanded to provide life-long support for people who are blind, partially-sighted, deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing.

Mission, message & strategy

Our work – led by Tariq Khwaja – is focused on supporting Sight for Surrey’s new five-year strategy.

So far, we’ve worked with the charity’s senior team (pictured above) to:

  • help define a fresh, clearer mission
  • create simpler, more inspiring messages which reflect the charity’s energy and ambition
  • develop a marketing strategy to raise its external profile and support a new fundraising operation

The mission and messages have now been approved by the Board of Trustees and officially adopted.

The new mission is:

To support people who are blind, partially sighted, deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing to overcome their day-to-day challenges, achieve their potential & lead independent lives.

Our new marketing strategy identifies ways to strengthen the charity’s reputation with its primary external audiences: potential service users; corporate donors; high net-worth personal donors; healthcare professionals (GPs, nurses, audiologists & opticians); and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

Next phase

The next phase of our work for Sight for Surrey will be to:

  • run meetings for its staff and trustees to explore how the organisation can make the most of its new mission and messages
  • discuss with staff and trustees how the organisation can put the new marketing strategy into action
  • facilitate exercises with both groups to define a long-term vision for the charity to work towards

We’re also providing media relations support.

Bob Hughes, Chief Executive of Sight for Surrey, says:

“Tariq took the time to understand what we do and gave us the confidence to change the way we look at ourselves.

“No longer are our messages heavy on technical jargon and ‘social care speak’ but instead describe our enthusiasm, ambition and achievements in understandable, everyday English. We’re confident this change in our mind-set will lead to better fundraising and allow us to grow the range of services we deliver across Surrey.”

More

For more on Sight for Surrey, see its website.

And see information on our message development and marketing strategy services, and our work with charities & other non-profits.