Social care
Berkley Care Group
We turned everyday care home life into a two-year national media story — 238 articles, BBC and ITV broadcasts, and sustained visibility that supported occupancy, recruitment and retention across all 12 homes.
An award-winning luxury care home provider operating 12 homes across the West Midlands and South of England.
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The brief
Berkley Care Group appointed Bridgehead to raise the profile of its homes within local and regional media, with the primary objective of supporting occupancy, recruitment and retention — positioning Berkley as both a premium care provider and a positive place to work.
What they needed
Raise the profile of Berkley homes within local and regional media.
Support occupancy, recruitment and retention across 12 homes.
Position Berkley as a premium care provider and positive employer.
Promote innovation in nursing training and neurodiverse recruitment.
The approach
A locally driven media engagement programme centred around resident-focused events and activities — giving journalists a human story from inside every home.
Resident-led pipeline
Working closely with general managers and activities teams, we built a continuous pipeline of media-friendly events — from penguin visits to community celebrations — mapped to local journalists across all 12 homes.
Monthly internal newsletter
We introduced B: In the News to share coverage ideas and encourage participation across the group, ensuring the programme was embedded at home-manager level, not just head office.
Trade media for recruitment
We worked with Berkley's executive team to promote nursing training innovation and neurodiverse recruitment through proactive trade media engagement and speaking opportunities in Nursing Times and Nursing Standard.
The results
articles secured
coverage views
social shares
Coverage over time
Coverage built steadily over two years through resident-led events and proactive trade engagement (representative monthly split; 238 pieces total, April 2022–March 2024).
Industry benchmark
Bridgehead Media Power List 2025
Bridgehead Communications · 2025
Overall media coverage/ 20
125 articles — third among UK Top 20 Mid-size Care Home Groups (Jul 2024–Jul 2025)
Articles per home/ 20
11 articles per home on average — second only to Carebase across all 20 groups
Social media following/ 20
41,200 total followers — behind only Carebase among mid-size care home groups
#1 & #2 most-followed homes
Fernhill House (9,500) and Cumnor Hill House (7,200) — both Berkley homes topped the individual care home social rankings
The coverage
35M+ monthly readers
Social Care
Penguins visit Birmingham care home and bring joy to residents
BBC News · March 2024
22M+ monthly viewers
Health
Penguins break the ice and bring joy to care home residents
ITV News Central · March 2024
20M+ monthly readers
Social Care
Penguins visit care home and give residents the most unexpected treat
Daily Mirror · March 2024
50k+ monthly nursing professionals
Workforce
Pioneering neurodiverse recruitment: how Berkley Care Group is rethinking the talent pipeline
Nursing Times · 2023
Leading social care trade title
Social care
Berkley Care Group celebrates CQC Outstanding rating for its homes
Care Home Professional · 2022
Community
Former care minister Caroline Dinenage joins Berkley's dementia awareness campaign
Regional press · 2023
The breakthrough
One resident event that landed BBC, ITV, Daily Mirror and Bristol Live in a single week.
A penguin visit to one of Berkley's West Midlands homes generated national broadcast coverage, reaching millions of viewers. A single media-friendly event became the group's most-shared coverage moment — demonstrating what a well-pitched resident story can achieve.
Seen in
The impact
Sustained local visibility across all 12 homes supporting occupancy and community awareness.
National broadcast and print coverage elevating the Berkley brand at group level.
Trade media placements in Nursing Times and Nursing Standard supporting nursing recruitment.
Monthly newsletter embedding media participation across the whole group.
The outcome
Two years of consistent media presence — 238 articles, BBC and ITV — turning daily care home life into a rolling story that worked for both local recruitment and national reputation.
