Refreshing tenant comms through
personalised,
sustainable design
Creating an engaging customer magazine by giving it a design refresh, personalising news to local regions and aligning with Ongo’s sustainability focuses.
The brief (in brief).
Ongo’s communications and customer engagement team place a lot of value on keeping tenants informed and involved. With so much day‑to‑day information to share, from home tenure updates to practical advice and local community news, their quarterly magazine, Key News, plays a central role in how tenants stay connected to what’s happening around them.
After several years in the same format, the team felt the magazine was ready for a refresh. They wanted it to feel more current, more vibrant and better aligned to the way tenants interact with information today. Our brief was to reimagine Key News with a new look and structure that would elevate the reading experience, reduce creative fatigue and continue to support Ongo’s goal of keeping tenants informed, included and up to date.
Following the design refresh, there was also a need to re‑introduce regional housing officers and make their roles more visible. We needed a clear and effective way to integrate this information into the magazine so tenants could easily understand who to contact, how to reach them, and how they can share feedback or request improvements to the services Ongo provides.
Our approach.
Having worked with Ongo on a wide range of projects, from annual reports and marketing campaigns to their corporate plan and rent‑notice mailings, we already had a strong feel for their brand and what their audience responds to. This meant we could confidently explore how to lift the design of Key News and create something that felt fresh, modern and genuinely useful for tenants.
We started by developing a series of design concepts and sharing them with Ongo’s tenant panel. Their input shaped the direction of the new look, ensuring it was not only engaging but accessible for everyone who reads it. Once approved, the refreshed design was rolled out across multiple issues, receiving great feedback from both tenants and the Ongo team.
With the new visual direction in place, we turned our attention to re‑introducing regional housing officers. To make this information clear and meaningful, we created three tailored versions of the magazine, each featuring a different cover and dedicated double‑page spread highlighting the relevant housing officer and key local details. Using Ongo’s data, we ensured every tenant received the edition specific to their area.
The personalisation went further than within the magazine itself. Each magazine was paired with a bespoke carrier sheet designed to speak directly to the tenant, addressing them by name, opening with a personalised question, and incorporating their street name within the copy. This small but thoughtful touch helped create an immediate sense of relevance and connection before the magazine was even opened.
The magazine was produced in both standard and large‑print formats, with the larger version sent to tenants who had already specified this preference in their tenant communications. It added another thoughtful layer of personalisation, a simple but important detail that reflects Ongo’s commitment to making their content accessible and considerate of every tenant’s needs.
The important stuff.
The refreshed design and added layers of personalisation made a noticeable difference to how tenants connected with the magazine. Not only did Key News feel more modern and relevant, but the tailored content and personalised details helped readers feel that the communication was genuinely for them, rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all update.
Sustainability was also a key part of the project. Every issue is printed on FSC‑certified paper, and each print run is fully carbon balanced, offsetting at least 230kg of CO₂ through our partnership with the World Land Trust. The magazine is mailed in Polyair, a carbon‑neutral, plant‑based wrapper, ensuring the final product looks good and does good.
total number of magazines printed between 2024-now
total amount of endangered rainforest protected since 2024
number of tenants who received the mag
With both design and production under one roof, we’re able to offer faster lead times than Ongo’s previous supplier. This setup also enables VAT mitigation, reducing costs by 20% and adding even more value to the project.
Together, these improvements strengthened both the impact of the magazine and the overall tenant experience, a refreshed, personalised and sustainable publication that continues to support Ongo’s commitment to clear, meaningful communication
“Rich and the team are approachable, professional and genuinely focused on helping us get the best from the magazine and ensuring a positive tenant experience. Their involvement in our tenant publications panel has been particularly valuable and shows their commitment to understanding our audience. We’re looking forward to our next printed edition and seeing this develop.
Tenants received information that was far more relevant to them, something we’re excited to continue developing in future editions. Resource also added real value by helping us make better use of the carrier sheet, creating a more personalised experience and including practical, useful information for tenants.”
Sarah Wilson
PR & Communications Manager