Neighbour

Changing what it means to come home to a rented apartment.

Neighbour wasn’t the first to spot this vast opportunity in the market. We’ve helped them turn lateness to market into a strength.

Challenge /
High house prices and changing lifestyles have sparked huge growth in the UK’s private rented sector. It’s been growing at a rate of 260,000 new households every year, leading to a shortage of affordable homes. By 2014, property companies were tripping over themselves to fill the gap by offering new-­build, managed rentals – a new concept in a country where renting has long meant amateur landlords and poorly maintained Victorian conversions.

Seeing an opportunity, the team behind one of mainland Europe’s largest professionally owned and managed rentals portfolios decided to set up a new business in the UK. Their goal? To leapfrog the market’s early entrants and quickly become the go-­to brand for mid-market rentals nationally. They asked us to come up with a brand proposition, identity and marketing materials to give their business a distinctive personality and a challenger’s competitive advantage.

Solution /
Inspired by the radical step-changes that brands like Easyjet and AirBnB have brought to their sectors, we thought this new brand would have the best chance of succeeding if it did the same for rented housing. It would mean harnessing new technologies, lateral thinking and collective buying power to give all kinds of people a better style of living for less money. More control over their lives. Exceptional modern design. And a more neighbourly vibe.

We suggested the name Neighbour to instantly evoke this individually empowered but connected style of living. And we came up with a book’s worth of economically viable innovations to make the concept fully tangible and real - long before the foundations had been laid at the first Neighbour locations.

Results /
The message resonated strongly with investors, not least because it supported a business model focused on long tenancies, which reduces business risk. Neighbour quickly secured the venture capital they needed to pilot the concept in near-prime areas of London. They plan to introduce 10,000 Neighbour-­branded apartments around major UK cities within five year - to become the biggest name in a vast, emerging market.

We delivered:

The name ‘Neighbour’
Brand proposition
Tone of voice & visual identity
Brand website & book
Corporate communications



www.neighbour.co.uk