April 2016 Field Marketing Plan

VERSION 3/1/16

It’s important to determine what specific tactics you should include in your

Blueprint marketing plan based on your community goals. Following are

questions to ask yourself before selecting the mix of activities you should

implement from this month’s plan.

• What is your end goal? Refer to your census calculator to understand the

inquiries, visits and move-ins you need this month. The activities recommended

in this plan capitalize on high performing lead sources.

• What is your objective? Based on your lead bank size and the goals you need

for the month, do you need more new inquiries than your monthly average

(lead generation) or is your current lead flow and lead bank size enough to help

you reach your move-in goal (lead advancement)?

• Who are you trying to target? Prospect, Influencer or Professional

• What lead sources perform for your community? Compare your community

conversion to the company stats on the next slides. Focus on lead sources that

need improvement and continue with those that perform.

READ ME! Customize your marketing plan

Add your activities into Blueprint today! 2

1. Business Development — Gain referrals of prospective residents with focus on

outreach to medical and non-medical professionals, networking, hospital affiliations,

trade show events, fundraisers, sponsorships or offering CE courses.

2. Community Outreach — Grassroots efforts to generate referrals through outreach to

area businesses, 55+ neighborhoods, civic, social and religious groups (Own your

Neighborhood approach).

3. Friends For Life — Gain referrals from current and past residents, families, friends and

guardians with a focus on advocacy and special activities.

4. Events — Educational or social events offer new or existing prospective residents and

families opportunities to learn about senior-related topics; explore options in care and

services; and experience community life firsthand.

5. Local Publicity — Promote newsworthy activities and topics to build a positive

reputation and increases influence of other marketing strategies.

6. Facebook — Activate/maintain a community business page that connects with

residents, families, leads and professionals. Fresh, engaging content promotes

interaction: likes, comments and check-ins—creates a digital buzz as their friends see

your page activity.

Core Field Marketing Activities

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Circles of Influence by Lead Source

Inquiry-to-Move-in Ratios

1) Medical Professionals: 26.4%

2) Friends/Family: 23.7%

3) Non-Medical Professionals: 23.6%

4) Nat’l/Local Advertising 9.5%

5) Brookdale Website: 9.2%

6) APFM: 5.1%

NOTE: Lives in Neighborhood converts at 18%, influencing other lead sources (represented by the gray circle). Since the majority of move-ins live within a 10-15 mile radius of the community, it is important to capture the zip code and discover the source by which they contacted you TODAY. *Local advertising is approved and managed by your divisional marketing strategist to ensure strategy and ROI are considered.

Prospect/

Family

Medical

1. Professionals

2. Friends/Family

6. APFM

Lives In

Neighborhood

Note: BKD Website includes BKD Solutions Center. Total Company: Jan - Nov 2015.

4. Advertising*

5. BKD Website

Non-Medical

3. Professionals

“I brought a new life to someone who didn’t think she had one.”

Desiree D.

Resident Programs Director

This Month’s Core Plan

It’s important to include these activities in your community’s Blueprint Marketing Plan.

Timing Holidays, Corporate Focus, Nat’l Awareness

4/1 April Fool’s Day

4/10-16 National Library Week

4/15 Tax Day

4/16 Healthcare Decision Day

4/22 Earth Day

4/23-30 Passover

Parkinson’s Disease Awareness

Stress Awareness Month

Q2 2016 / April

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Q2

Innovation

April 2016

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April - Field Marketing Plan Outline

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Activity Tactics

Focus Campaign BrainFit (BF)

Business

Development

CE Series- Advanced Care Planning and Advanced Directives. Key

professionals to visit: Elder Law Attorney, Geriatrician, financial

planners.

Community

Outreach

Earth Day (partner with parks/recreation, Garden Club), BF

Friends For Life Earth Day event, Book Club, Housewarming Events

Lead Gen. &

Advancement

Events

Social: Earth Day, Book Club, Brookdale Celebrates The Lion King;

Educational: IL – BrainFit, AL – BrainFit, ALZ – Moment to

Moment: Caring for the Caregiver

Local Publicity Wishes, newsworthy stories—tie into a monthly theme. Earth Day

Facebook Post resident activities, support groups, events, awards, recognition

and feel good stories—tie into monthly theme. BF

Note: Local advertising is managed/approved by your divisional marketing strategist to ensure strategy and ROI.

Get the Complete 2016 Marketing Plan

This Month’s Marketing Campaign

BrainFit: A marketing campaign

that features education with a fun

and interactive event focused on

advancing and generating leads

• Offers brain healthy tips & training on

making & living a total brain health plan

• A fun and educational event where

attendees will leave smarter than when

they arrived

• Aligns with Brain Health, a Brookdale

signature resident program

• Emphasizes six dimensions of Optimum

Life: physical, emotional, purposeful, social,

spiritual and intellectual

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Business development ● Community outreach ● Social media ● Publicity

Lead generation event ● Lead advancement event

Get the slide deck for this campaign.

Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

Business Development

9 Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

Be the local resource for senior-related

continuing education topics for healthcare

professionals—worth 1.0 credit each.

• Get the Advance Care Planning and Advance

Directives flyer.

• Communicate the events with visits, calls,

Facebook posts and e-blasts

• Host the CE session either at the professional’s

office or your community.

• Need to see the Optimum Life CE events for

the entire year? Here’s the flyer.

Continuing Education (CE)

April Topic: Advance Care Planning & Advance Directives

April 19: 12 p.m. CST, or (NEW TIME!) 5:30 pm CST

April 20: 12 p.m. CST

Teleconference and Setup Instructions

What is business development? Find out.

• April is known for tax deadlines, and financial

topics are top of mind. Consider hosting an

educational event on elder law, or a continuing

education lecture series for financial or legal

professionals

• Plan to reach out to Geriatricians, Geriatric Care

Managers & Geriatric Nurse Practitioners this

month.

• Home buying season is heating up! Our Realtor

Referral Program pays $1000 after a realtor-

referred client has lived at your community for 30

days! Flyers are available for single community

and multiple community use.

Business Development

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A (Gold) = Refers 12+leads per year; Follow-up at least EVERY 30 days. 50% of your efforts.

B (Silver) = Refers 5-11 leads per year; Follow-up EVERY 60 days. 30% of your efforts.

C (Bronze) = Refers 0-4 leads per year; Follow-up EVERY 90 days. 20% of your efforts.

NEW (Bronze) = A brand NEW contact; Follow-up within 30 days to quickly determine A, B or C status.

Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

Professional Outreach – make your visit matter

What is business development? Find out.

Tip! Use the Professional Relationship Profile

to plan a successful visit!

Remember, Spring is a great time

to grow and expand your

Own Your Neighborhood strategy!

• April 10-16 is National Library Week. Consider

starting a Brookdale book club and publicizing it

at your local library. Flyers are available for a

Breakfast Book Club or a Wine Book Club.

• Earth Day is April 22. Partner with local Garden

Clubs or other organizations to host an Earth

Day Celebration! It could be an educational

presentation by an area expert, an outdoor event

where residents, prospects and guests plant a

tree or beautify a public space…the ideas are

endless. A promotional flyer suitable for just

about any type of event is available.

• Identify organizations like senior centers and

others to visit as part of the BrainFit campaign.

Community Outreach

11 Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

What is community outreach? Find out.

Housewarming — Treat the past month’s new

residents, and their families and guests, to a

housewarming experience that welcomes

them to Brookdale. Get the Guide, Welcome

Letter, Flyer

Happy Hour — Host a Happy Hour

event for current residents, and ask them to

invite 2-3 friends! Celebrate Spring, Earth Day,

or the fact that taxes are done. The Happy Hour

Event Plan will help with the details.

Brookdale Celebrates — Invite residents,

friends and families to your Brookdale

Celebrates event. April’s Broadway theme is The

Lion King. Get the Flyer.

Friends For Life

12 Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

What is Friends For Life? Find out.

TIP! Make sure you know the available rent credits for

residents or family members who refer someone who

moves in to your community! Check with your ED or DDS.

Social Events:

• Brookdale Celebrates: The Lion King. Available

tools include a Flyer and Event Tips. Consider

requesting a lead bank e-mail blast as well.

• Earth Day themed-event. Get the Flyer.

• Brookdale Book Club. Get the Breakfast Book

Club or the Wine Book Club flyer

Lead Generation or Advancement Events

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TIP! Don’t forget to focus on your Gold and Bright Gold leads

with focused lead advancement strategies!

Ensure you contact at least 90% of these leads.

Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

What is a Lead Generation or Lead Advancement Event? Find out.

Educational Events:

With real estate and relocation as key topics

for April, consider hosting informative

presentations on taking the stress out of a senior

living move. It’s a topic suitable for IL, AL and ALZ

audiences. Get the What to Do Next Toolkit

Flyer / Presentation

• Community Guide to public relations

• Press Release request form

• Tips to contact your local media

The five factors for a newsworthy story:

1) timely, 2) significant, 3) proximity,

4) prominence and 5) human interest.

Read the Community Guide for more

detail.

Story Ideas: Events to recognize first

responders or other community groups

(see right), Brookdale Wishes, significant

events, human interest, community leader

bio/profile, philanthropic, fundraisers and

often stories that tie into a holiday or

theme.

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Publicity

Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

What is Publicity? Find out.

Brookdale In the News…

Saying Thanks for Protection

Monroe, MI police Chief Charles McCormick thanks

Belinda DeJonghe, sales and marketing manager at

Brookdale Senior Living, who brought breakfast to the

Monroe Police Department to say thank you to first

responders.

You should be posting at least three times per

week on your community Facebook page!

Partner with your Resident Programs staff (and others!)

to build the strongest Facebook posting strategies.

• Share pictures of your smiling residents on an early

Spring outing, or enjoying a warm afternoon outside.

• Show how your community is “un-thawing” from the

winter – are you redecorating or landscaping?

• Promote your educational events: CEU events, Toolkit

presentations, support groups and networking events.

Post event invitations.

• Highlight your Earth Day and Brookdale Celebrates

The Lion King events with lots of photo postings!

Facebook

15 Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today!

• Use the Facebook “Like” flyer,

postcard, table tent and

poster to promote your page

• Ask your staff, residents and

families to like your page, and

to like, comment on and share

your posts.

What is are Local Facebook Activities? Find out.

TIP! Build the Buzz! Ask your staff, residents and family members

to like your page, and to like, share and comment on your posts!

Grow your audience!

“I brought a new life to someone who didn’t think she had one.”

Desiree D.

Resident Programs Director

Seasonal/Other Marketing It’s important to include all activities in your community’s Blueprint Marketing Plan.

Other Marketing Opportunities for April

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month,

which offers some wonderful opportunities for

specific outreach:

• Start a new Parkinson’s Disease Support

Group, or expand your promotion of your

current support group. This flyer is available

now.

• Host at educational session on Parkinson’s

Disease for prospects and families. Get the

new promotional flyer.

Other Marketing Opportunities for April

Pick a date; add your activity date to Blueprint today! 18

With April being tax deadline month, prospects and families will be interested

in a variety of financial topics. Consider hosting a seminar on Elder Law, perhaps

led by a local Elder Law attorney.

Get the Elder Law seminar

announcement flyer.

ALSO: There are other materials

to help you communicate about

financial topics as well, which

may be helpful this month, or

any time:

• Senior Living Affordability

• Elderlife Financial Services

It’s important to include selected activities in your community’s Blueprint Marketing Plan.

Questions? Contact your DDS or Divisional Marketing Strategist