CareCo is the UK’s leading mobility retailer, supporting people to live independently every day. They wanted to connect with their customers on a more personal level, connecting with their core interests and showing how mobility products can help them retake life by the reins. Enter HUB.
Challenge
We’ve been CareCo’s marketing agency for several years, so we know all too well the stigma and shame that many of their customers feel about ageing, disability, or needing mobility support. This often leads to isolation and a lack of confidence, which can result in needless injuries and extra pressure on healthcare resources – not to mention the mental toll.
The solution? Promote positive representation of people with limited mobility and champion them in society. We needed to help customers embrace mobility aids as empowering, not shameful. Above all, we needed to connect with customers in a human, authentic way.
CareCo knew they had a responsibility to challenge barriers and reshape perceptions. And HUB knew exactly how to help them change the narrative.
Solution
We needed to meet CareCo’s customers where they were at. So, our savvy PR team went back to basics. To a medium this customer base already knows and loves – print media.
Introducing CareCo Life. A quarterly magazine packed with on-brand stories that land where it matters – directly through the letterbox and into the hands of CareCo customers.
We dug deep into what makes their 55+ audience tick, using research and insights to shape each issue around content that resonates the most: home and garden, cooking, staying active, and reading. Research also highlighted a digital confidence gap in the target audience, so we also included friendly explainers on relevant topics such as AI and online scams to ensure the magazine was informative as well as entertaining.
Authenticity was a must, so we built CareCo Life like any great lifestyle magazine. Letters from the editor. Real expert voices. Puzzle pages. Relevant advertising. And – wherever it made sense – natural product integration to support the stories. Because this was never a hard sell. This was content with heart. Content that engages first and promotes second.
Great content deserves a smart launch. We rolled out issue one to 150,000 customers, including 20,000 lapsed, with a 30,000-strong control group to measure impact. Revenue and average order value (AOV) told a clear success story, so we scaled fast. We rolled CareCo Life out to the full audience, expanded to digital, and brought in disability advocates like Hannah Deakin and Imali Chislett to grow reach and attract younger audiences across social media.
Results
The results? Well, they speak for themselves.
While the commercial performance was excellent, it wasn’t just about sales. It was about making a genuine connection with customers who are more comfortable in the offline space. CareCo Life struck this chord perfectly.
But it didn’t stop there. Advertisers like Gtech and Macular Society Membership renewed for another issue after seeing strong results from their placements. This confidence from advertisers makes the magazine not just engaging but commercially attractive. Plus, the magazine was nominated for a Prolific North Marketing Award in 2025. Not too shabby!
Most importantly, CareCo Life hit its initial brief. It helped normalise the use of mobility products, empower customers to maintain independence, and spark a wider mobility revolution – supporting mental wellbeing and a happier, healthier 55+ and disabled community. We’re bringing the CareCo community together, one issue at a time.
