Customer video project for Futures Housing is national awards finalist

A series of videos created by a market research company on the lives of customers at housing association Futures Housing Group, has been shortlisted for a national award.

In 2021, Futures commissioned 'The Word is Out' to produce a suite of short films to better understand its customers and to help challenge the stigma around social housing and those who live in it.

The special project is now a finalist in the ‘Independent Consultants’ category at the Market Research Society Awards.

Futures started the project with 'The Word is Out' to highlight the voices of the different people living in its 10,500 homes across the East Midlands. The personal videos looked at various areas of customers’ lives, including their finances and community relationships.

Dan Parker-Smith, Creative Director & Filmmaker at 'The Word is Out' said: “This project was a huge team effort between me, everyone I worked with at Futures and of course the customers who continue to help shape the housing sector. 

“Across 20 months I got the chance to meet some of them in their homes so they could share their thoughts, feelings, challenges, worries and more on camera to contribute to a series of films for Futures, to help work towards better care for customers. This was not an easy thing to do so I want to give a huge thank you to all the people who opened their homes and those who continue to share their stories.

“To have a research project like this (delivered using only videos) be nominated for an award is incredibly heart-warming, and a testament to the energy everyone has put in - I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed we win.”

Commenting on the nomination Paul Fawcett, Head of PR & Communications at Futures said: “The Word is Out did an amazing job for us thanks to Dan’s dedication and ability to build trust with the customers who agreed to take part in this project. As a result he shone a unique light into the lives of some of the people who live in our homes which has helped people throughout Futures to better understand our customers and their needs. We’re crossing our fingers for a win!”

The Market Research Society Awards takes place in London on 2nd December.