Guide Dogs Appoints We Are Social to Support Strategy and Growth Plans

Guide Dogs, one of the UK's leading sight loss charities, is working with global socially-led agency We Are Social to support its ambitious fundraising plans.

Guide Dogs provides people living with a vision impairment with a wide range of services, not just with a guide dog. But many audiences are unaware of the wider support available. The charity appointed We Are Social as its growth strategy partner to change perceptions and move ‘beyond the dog’.

Guide Dogs recently launched ‘Forward, Together’ - an ambitious new 15 year strategy and positioning across a series of strategic pillars focused on purpose, moving from mobility to access, and self-belief. It includes the ambition to level the playing field and help create a world where people without sight loss can live the life they choose. The strategy is now live across Guide Dogs’ external touchpoints and informing its fundraising efforts.

We Are Social has worked with the charity to connect this strategy with consumer and corporate fundraising audiences, with recommendations backed by consumer research, undertaken by the agency. We Are Social hosted strategic workshops with key stakeholders and delivered a growth strategy aimed at shifting consumer perception, and examined how to consolidate and develop fundraising products to unlock and maximise fundraising potential.

We Are Social is working directly with Guide Dogs’ board of trustees, its chief marketing and fundraising officer, Terry McGrath, and other key internal stakeholders to support their understanding and ability to drive growth through the new strategy.

Terry McGrath said, “The whole team at Guide Dogs is incredibly proud of the Forward, Together strategy. We’re an ambitious charity that wants to make a difference in people’s lives by levelling the field for people with vision impairment. This refreshed approach to growing our supporter base allows us to move beyond a focus on mobility to that of accessing opportunity. We Are Social’s support and expertise in building this modern and culturally relevant framework has been invaluable.”

​Harvey Cossell, chief strategy officer at We Are Social, said, “Guide Dogs is an amazing charity, and it’s wonderful to be a part of this actionable change and growth. This partnership has allowed us to leverage our expertise in socially-led strategies and not only support Guide Dogs’ existing goals but also pave the way for them to continue to expand their reach and impact. We’re excited to see Forward, Together come to life and we’re proud of the part we’ve played in it so far.”