Age of Opportunity: How HUB brought style and independence into mobility marketing

For Assistive Bathing, helping people use their bathrooms safely meant addressing much more than a customer’s practical need. In the latest part of Prolific North’s Age of Opportunity series with HUB, we examine how the agency combined a creative refresh with expanded TV sponsorship to present bathroom adaptations as a choice customers could feel positive about...

A new bathroom, like any room in the house, is a personal expression of taste – and installing equipment to make it easier to use should not have to change that.

Yet, Assistive Bathing’s advertising had come to reflect an image of mobility products that some customers were reluctant to accept. It looked clinical, dated and disconnected from the contemporary bathroom its customers wanted.

HUB’s response brought together two changes. It redesigned the creative around stylish bathrooms and the independence its products could support, while expanding TV sponsorship to put that message in front of more viewers, more often.

The work provides a real-world example of the questions running through Age of Opportunity, Prolific North’s week-long exploration of marketing to the 55+ audience in partnership with HUB.

While Monday’s opening feature examined the differences concealed by an age bracket and yesterday we explored authentic representation, Assistive Bathing’s campaign brings those questions into a brief where practical needs, personal identity and purchase hesitation collide.

Understanding the hesitation

Assistive Bathing is one of six brands within Kingswood Mobility Group, whose products range from riser-recliner chairs and adjustable beds to walk-in baths and showers. The group serves people of all ages looking to remain independent at home.

HUB has worked with the group since 2018 across TV advertising, brand, creative, PPC, press advertising, direct mail, web development and business strategy.

The Leeds agency identified a gap between the presentation of Assistive Bathing’s products and the expectations of its core 65+ audience. Customers wanted mobility support without having to give up having a stylish bathroom.

“The challenge was to show people that getting support with bathing doesn’t mean giving up the style of bathroom they want,” Ben Jones, account director at HUB said. “We wanted the creative to reflect the independence the products support, while making those products feel like a positive choice.”

It’s a distinction that came up repeatedly during the Age of Opportunity roundtable, held at Bill’s in Leeds on 23 September. Complete Care Shop managing director Venessa Hodgson discussed showing the independence mobility products can offer. Senior Stairlifts’ Tom Richardson described the emotional significance of helping customers remain in the homes where they raised their families.

In each case, the equipment addresses a practical difficulty – but the marketing also needs to understand what customers want to preserve.

Making the bathroom desirable

Over a two-week shoot, HUB produced 32 new sponsorship idents across four contemporary bathroom settings, showcasing 15 Assistive Bathing products, including two walk-in showers and two walk-in baths.

The sets featured matte black and brushed brass grab rails, sage green and marble tiles, Scandi furniture and spa-inspired accessories. Practical support was presented as part of the bathroom’s design and casting reinforced the approach. The campaign used four women, three in their 50s and one aged 78.

Ben Jones said: “Showing women in their 50s using bathroom aids was a deliberate decision. We wanted to normalise their use and challenge the idea that you have to wait until later life to make a change. Including a 78-year-old woman also helped us represent our core audience in a confident, contemporary setting.”

According to HUB, including a woman firmly within the core 65+ audience allowed the creative to depict an older customer living independently in a contemporary space. The emphasis was on confidence, identity and control over her environment.

Putting the message in the right setting

The creative refresh accompanied an expansion of Assistive Bathing’s TV sponsorship activity.

The brand already sponsored ITV3 Afternoons and GREAT! TV, and HUB secured more sponsorships across Sky, BBC Studios and Warner Bros channels throughout the spring and summer. 

HUB says the selection reflected the viewing habits and programme interests of the target audience, broadening the brand’s presence across relevant daytime channels.

The agency also negotiated an 80-second in-hour clock format, compared with the standard 60 seconds, across four Sky channels. All new sponsorships were negotiated on six-month terms to monitor effectiveness.

Ben Jones said: “The creative refresh and sponsorship expansion were designed to work together. We wanted more people to encounter the brand, more often, in programmes relevant to them – with a consistent message about functionality, style and independence.”

Carrying the idea beyond TV

The new creative launched on 1 September 2025 across sponsorship idents, spot advertising, website content, social media, PPC, press and direct mail.

HUB also built a library of static and video assets featuring all 15 products during the shoot. The agency says these were adapted for individual channels, allowing the same creative platform to work across different formats.

A concentrated TV burst in the second half of September aligned investment with a two-week period when demand had historically increased. Digital activity included an autumn offer spread across digital and traditional platforms, while increased press investment moved the brand towards an always-on approach.

The combination, HUB says, was important. A refreshed presentation of the product, repeated exposure in relevant settings and a consistent experience as customers moved between channels was all part of the execution.

What the results show

HUB reports that Assistive Bathing’s sales in September 2025 were 19% above the fiscal year’s average monthly sales to date, with October maintaining a similar level of performance.

The agency also reports a 117% year-on-year increase in website sessions attributed to TV sponsorship and a 39% reduction in cost per session.

Average order value increased 6% year on year from 2024 to 2025, despite product prices remaining stable.

HUB sees the results as evidence that the refreshed approach resonated with customers. The campaign combined changes to creative, media presence and investment, so the figures describe the outcome of that broader programme rather than isolating the effect of a single decision.

Ben Jones said: “For us, the opportunity was to understand what customers wanted to preserve as well as what they needed help with. This creative showed that a safer, more comfortable bathing experience could sit alongside their expectations of a stylish home and isn’t something to be resisted.”

Tomorrow, Age of Opportunity examines how considered customers decide to trust a brand, drawing on the roundtable’s discussion of research, reviews, brochures, personal conversations and the experience behind the promise.