Strategic branding for place-based regeneration and inclusive growth
Anatomy is a brand and marketing agency helping early-stage developments, New Towns, Development Corporations and NSIPs build support. Using behavioural science and insight, we turn the vision into a meaningful proposition that works across the stakeholder mix. From Whitehall through to communities, we translate policy, economics and technical information into tangible benefit.
How can branding help win support?
Making it tangible
The best way to win support is to help people to imagine how their lives could be improved. While it can’t look like a ‘done deal’, it takes more than printed maps at a consultation.
Making the complex simple
Large, multi-stage projects are technical with multiple audiences, usually with competing needs. Strategic branding crystallises and segments so you can land the right message with the right audience.
Creating the argument
Why here and not there? Branding draws together the various narratives across economic and social impact, being clear on benefits and why the investment should be made. A shared story of place that stakeholders can support over time will transcend elections and leadership changes.
Strengthening local identity
A co-created narrative articulates your distinctiveness and your strengths, supporting place attachment. It creates meaning people can connect with, influencing perception early on. We see engagement and community research as one and the same thing.
Engaging the silent majority
A vocal minority can dominate time and resources. A communication vacuum will always be filled with untruths and allow their message to spread. There is a silent majority that will support you; they need to be engaged early.
Who we work with
Local government
Demonstrating place-based inclusive growth to build confidence with communities, partners and investors
Government organisations
Communicating long-term value, UK economic growth, jobs, skills, housing and social impact
Developers and landowners
Creating a tangible sense of what the future could look like to win support and navigate the planning process
Infrastructure and NSIPs
For major projects that need to explain complexity, reduce misunderstanding and align stakeholders around a shared narrative
Development corporations
That need to consult on – and articulate – why change is happening and how it will benefit places and communities
The Place Attachment bias: How we develop a sense of belonging and a yearn to return
Who I am” starts to include “where I’m from” or “where I belong”.
How emotion works in brand building and why it’s so effective for place brands
Emotions are central to the human experience. They help shape perceptions, guide decisions, and influence what we remember. All essential for effective brand building. But why? Emotions help us make quick, intuitive choices in the moment, by simplifying things (good/bad, approach/avoid, safe/risky). They interact with our core beliefs, opinions, memories and experiences to help us reach decisions rapidly. More often than not, we choose based on feeling rather than methodically analysing features.
Animating infrastructure: Building understanding through motion
Animation plays a central role in community engagement for complex infrastructure because it converts systems-level information into something people can process quickly and accurately. Infrastructure projects involve sequencing, temporary states, interfaces, and constraints that are difficult to explain through reports or static plans. Animation turns these layers into a visual logic people can follow.