Building a memorable brand is about more than just creating a captivating logo and a memorable tagline. Every communication, campaign and piece of creative that comes from your organization is an extension of the brand. And, in a highly competitive industry like senior living – which is growing rapidly to meet consumer demand – differentiation is critical. Whether you are launching a new brand, rebranding a century old organization or extending an existing brand with the launch of a new product or service, focus on these five key areas to deliver a compelling, engaging and enduring brand.
Embrace Multigenerational Appeal
Beyond prospective residents, senior living facilities must appeal to children and grandchildren, who may be the ultimate decision makers, as well as other centers of influence. Appearing too traditional or too trendy may unintentionally dissuade someone who is aligned with a right fit resident from suggesting your facility. Gaining a deep understanding of each stakeholder group’s values plays an important role in the brand discovery process and can help with arriving at a visual identity that is eye catching and timeless.
Align Visuals and Values
Dignity. Respect. Warmth. Hospitality. Compassion. Openness. Transparency. Adaptability. Agility. Which values best describe the community, atmosphere and living environment you will be welcoming individuals into? While an internal discovery to uncover values that resonate with leadership and staff can gather valuable insights, understanding the values outside stakeholders associate with your facility also has value. By blending these two perspectives, your senior living facility can arrive at a core set of brand values that are resonant and authentic.
Craft a Compelling Narrative & Supplement with Outstanding Storytelling
With many competing organizations working towards a common set of goals, achieving meaningful differentiation takes careful planning and creative thinking. Beyond your senior living brand’s visual identify, focus on how a compelling brand narrative and poignant stories can elevate your presence among prospects, centers of influence, investors, board members and beyond.
In partnership with your senior living marketing agency, mine for:
- Relatable stories with inspiring outcomes
- Staff stories that can further humanize and personalize your brand
- Elements of the unexpected
- Verified superlatives – the first, the best, the only
Be Mindful of the Competition
With the goal of standing out from the competition and having a visual identity that stakeholders associate specifically with your organization, maintaining awareness of competitors logos, colors, taglines and key brand values must be prioritized. This is particularly important when your organization is a newer player in a market and surrounded by well-established and well-recognized entities.
When evaluating competitor’s brands, it can be helpful to:
- Identify imagery that appears on their website, in their ads and across other collateral (using the same stock images could unintentionally reinforce their brand rather than build yours)
- Make a short list of what you like about their brands
- Make a list of what you don’t like about their brands (for example, Font with compromised readability is a common challenge in scaling certain logo formations. To avoid this challenge, work with your creative team to identify competitors where this challenge is evident and avoid similar logo formations)
- Identify the channels where particular organizations are dominant, both in size of audience and frequency of exposure
A note about competitor dominance: Working to grow market share against the goliath of your industry can be a challenge. With a finite number of media in a given market and a clearly defined radius for attracting residents, senior living communities must be mindful of who is spending big, sponsoring everything and sharing content everywhere. But, it’s not to say you can’t make an impact with a smaller budget or a lesser-known brand – this is where your senior living marketing agency comes in with creative and unconventional ways to make a memorable splash.
Prioritize Meaningful Ways to Extend the Brand & Engage with the Community
Meaningful brand extensions can extend beyond the walls of a senior living facility and into the broader community. These extensions may come in the form of strategic partnerships, creative collaborations and investments in bettering the greater community around your facility.
Within the organization, brand extensions can look like everything from translating brand values into a staff recognition program, to bringing in guest speakers and artists for special events that reinforce and celebrate mission, vision and values.
When defining these opportunities, focus on impact, relevance, engagement and ROI. In order to reap the value of brand extensions, they need to be meaningful and relevant so leverage your senior living marketing agency’s strategic insights and creative thinking to maximize the impact of these opportunities.
Whether your senior living community is rebranding after a merger or acquisition, launching a new brand for a complementary service offering or breaking ground and starting fresh, a well-conceived visual brand and a narrative that augments its impact are invaluable assets in the growing and increasingly competitive senior living industry.
