PRIME/better together
BETTER TOGETHER:
Senior living communities band together to weather COVID and beyond by Megan Rowe
When COVID-19 descended upon the Pacific Northwest and forced closures and restrictions, many industries were hard-hit, but perhaps none more than senior living. Expenses have skyrocketed while the communities struggle to attract new residents. “It’s all about occupancy, that’s the only revenue source,” DeAnne Clune, managing director of Seniors Better Together, says. “There’s a lot of negative perceptions out there, and those stories make national news and that is what’s implanted in people’s minds, that senior living is just a hotbed of COVID.” She adds that, by and large, senior living communities have done a great job of keeping their residents safe. Seniors Better Together—a senior living marketing co-op of unaffiliated communities—was created to specifically address these issues, and DeAnne hopes this campaign will become the “Got Milk?” of senior living. “That’s so iconic and memorable, and It might feel like the pandemic that’s where we hope would be a barrier, but we we’re headed with actually have some really our advertising and positive reasons for why this is PR,” DeAnne says, adding that they hope the right place for you to be in these types of times. to launch TV ads in the future. She hopes this will be an affordable way for communities to pool their resources and change pervasive negative perceptions and shine a light on the benefits—even during a pandemic. Because this industry is facing financial constraints, Seniors Better Together is keeping membership fees low and recruiting sponsors, such as LeadingAge Washington and Ziegler. Lisa VanMansum, Rockwood Retirement communications coordinator, wants the 78
BOZZIMEDIA.com / DECEMBER 2020
campaign to make people say, “‘I hadn’t considered now would probably be a good time for us to be in a retirement community.’ It might feel like the pandemic would be a barrier, but we actually have some really positive reasons for why this is the right place for you to be in these types of times.” The money that goes into the co-op is meant to market to a senior consumer the bright side of senior living. “It has the makings of a movement, which is essentially the coming together of an entire industry to combat this common problem we all have,” DeAnne says. Rockwood Retirement is the only Spokane retirement community currently involved, but there are more than a dozen communities in the Pacific Northwest involved, and DeAnne hopes to gain members across the country. For now, much of Seniors Better Together’s campaign lives on their website (seniorsbettertogether.com) and social media. Rather than inundating visitors with sales materials, the website has a threequestion survey to get a feel for what people are currently thinking. In addition to asking whether they’ve considered a community in the last year, the survey asks why they are exploring the option, as well as their greatest obstacle. The number one reason has been cost. “I would have bet my money that they would say COVID, right? Fear about that,” DeAnne says. “But I guess you could speculate that it has to do with the pandemic and concern about finances.” The website also contains testimonials from residents of communities in the group’s co-op. They wanted website visitors to be able to get peerto-peer information. A testimonial by Charlotte Y., who is a resident at Rockwood South Hill, says, “These are strange times, that’s for sure, but I’m impressed with the way the community is handling it all. All is well here. Lots of folks are out walking every day.”