Category: Content

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Those are the words of John Wanamaker (1838–1922), a very successful United States merchant, religious leader and political figure, considered by some to be a pioneer in marketing.

Anyone who is a marketer for senior living communities can relate to that statement. But there is a way to know where your marketing dollars are really going, and it’s by harnessing your data using predictive analytics.

That concept was the focus of a 2021 LeadingAge Conference session, “Predictive Analytics: Connecting Past Performance to Future Success,” a joint presentation by Varsity, its sister agency WildFig Data and Ingleside Senior Living.

“Retirement communities in general are data rich and insight poor,” says John Bassounas, Partner at Varsity. “Sometimes when it comes to analytics and data, people get overwhelmed. Really, at the end of the day our job is to simplify that process and deliver insights that can help communities make better decisions.”

During these challenging times, harnessing your data is especially important. “As an outgrowth of COVID-19,” John says, “everyone is trying to figure out the role of digital — how organizations can establish a competitive advantage. Data is the way to do that.”

A Progressive Partner

Varsity and WildFig have been fortunate to partner with Ingleside, a forward-thinking, multi-site, nonprofit senior living organization located in the Washington, D.C., area. “Data analysis was a leadership initiative at Ingleside,” says John. “It started at the top, and leadership identified data analytics as a key priority for their organization. In doing so, they partnered with us, and we became an extension of their team.”

“This is a visionary client,” agrees Derek Dunham, Vice President Client Services at Varsity. “They have established team members focused on the digital experience in analytics — they see the value in it. They have been an early adopter of data mining and analytics.”

Here are some key takeaways from the LeadingAge presentation based on our work with Ingleside:

1.  Consider all of the digital elements as an ecosystem, not siloed tactics.

“One of the goals here is to make sure that we’re not just looking at isolated tactics. We need to assess the impact of the entire digital ecosystem of paid, owned and earned media,” says Derek.

“From a marketing perspective, understanding the relationship between the various tactics and strategies to the overall program is incredibly valuable, because we want to optimize the plan for the best results.”

“For Ingleside, an important part of the ecosystem is a fresh website that is newly programmed using all the modern tools. Technology is always changing. With a new website, we don’t have to dumb down any of the analytics because the site can plug into analytics and pull data easily.

2. Embrace the process — Each organization is at a different stage with their analytics and modernization journey.

“It’s important for any organization to have the mindset that this is a process,” says Derek. “It’s not going to be a one-off project; it’s a culture. It’s an ongoing initiative that needs to be fed over time. I would say, assess what you have and get going. Taking the first step is important as this process is never ‘done’ — there are always opportunities to refine, test and learn.”

“Some organizations might think, ‘We don’t have all the data we need.’ Others may think, ‘We have too much data.’ Don’t let a lack of data stand in the way of proceeding with initiatives,” John says. “The first thing you need to ask is, ‘What is the question that you want to answer, and how can data make that happen?’”

3. Start with the big questions — Others will emerge.

“Starting with the big questions means, don’t get mired down in the details,” Derek says. “First think about what are the big questions you want to have answered. A question might seem too big initially, but you’ll be able to break it down into smaller questions and put together a manageable process.”

As an example, here are some of the questions that Ingleside wanted to answer:

• How do we reach and maintain 95% occupancy?
• How can we use data to make informed decisions?
• How can we predict future outcomes?
• Should the website be redesigned and merged under one URL?

4. Think not just about outcomes, but about implementation, and how to create a dynamic feedback loop.

“It’s an iterative process, and you’re constantly going to be refining it,” says Derek. “You want to look at the outcomes at a point in time. With this process, you are able to have confidence that you can pull your data at any point in time and get answers.”

Once the loop is established, John says, “We can either look backward at what has happened, or we can look forward to help inform what we’d like to have happen or predict outcomes.”

5. Customize the sales experience through predictive modeling.

“The overall goal of data analytics is to be able to understand the data to provide prospects with a customized experience — making the entire process from a marketing and sales perspective more efficient,” Derek says.

“For organizations like Ingleside, we’re doing that through a predictive modeling tool that does two things — predicts what lead volume will be, and assigns a lead score to every prospect in their database. We’ll be able to map each prospect’s customer journey and know the likelihood of their becoming a depositor at each interaction with the salesperson,” says John. “This map can be generated for every prospect, providing an easily digestible way to monitor the sales process.”

Why is that so important? “We all know that it takes anywhere from 20 to 30 touches for somebody to move in,” says Derek. “The more we can make those touches relevant and purposeful and efficient, the better. Through that process, we also make the salesperson’s time efficient, because they’re dealing with the people who are most predisposed to buying. We’re offering the salesperson better information so they are better able to connect with the right prospects.”

If you’d like the Varsity team to take you through the presentation in more detail, please contact John Bassounas at JBassounas@varsitybranding.com or Derek Dunham at DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

At our first sales & marketing roundtable of the new year, communities discussed the exciting news of the COVID-19 vaccine and shared tips for virtual events and video floor plans.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, January 14, 2021, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our 33rd weekly sales & marketing roundtable, we shared how we’re feeling this week. We also discussed a plastic wall that was set up by one community to allow residents and family to hug, shown below.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, November 12, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our weekly sales & marketing roundtable, we all shared creative tactics we’re using to attract prospects as COVID-19 rates spike in some areas. We’d especially like to thank Lana Peck, senior principal at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) for sharing the latest insights from executive surveys completed since the pandemic hit.

Check out the insights and survey results below. We also invite you to our next roundtable this week.

NIC Executive Survey Insights with Lana Peck

The full report is on the NIC website. Wave 14 findings can be found here.

We had 70 organizations respond to wave 14:

• Not the same 70 for every wave, but 60–70% are repeat takers, so there is some continuity.
• Geographical dispersion of respondents:
  • There’s a slight underrepresentation in the Northeast compared to national coverage of the NIC map.
  • For the most part, participants are coming from all over the country.
• We’re promoting this more strongly with operators, as we’re getting some national media exposure.
  • It is important for operators to know that, by participating in the survey, they have the opportunity to ensure that the narrative is accurate.

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• We went from ⅓ in wave 10 (early August) to just under ⅔ in the most recent wave — a lot more organizations are offering rent concessions.
• 90% of organizations are paying overtime to mitigate staffing issues.
• Staffing/temp agency usage has grown throughout the pandemic.
• About ⅔ of organizations that have IL in portfolio are offering rent concessions.
• Organizations with nursing care are less likely to offer rent concessions.
• Discussion from the group:
  • We are giving concessions on entrance fees and support on moving services.
  • We are offering $3,000 toward moving expenses and incentives to get people to move more quickly.

• Organizations reporting no change in pace have been growing. It’s the highest it’s been in wave 14.
• Deceleration of move-ins is lower in IL, AL and MC in wave 14.
• Most respondents are citing increased resident demand (increase in move-ins).
• Fewer organizations with nursing care beds in wave 14 reported acceleration in the pace of move-ins, with the fewest respondents citing hospital placement since wave 7 surveyed mid-May — presumably due to anecdotal reports of hospitals sending patients straight home to recuperate from surgeries or illnesses with in-home health care.
• A quarter of organizations have a backlog of residents waiting to move in.

• Organizations may be providing incentives. The month-over-month change in occupancy has been starting to rise.
• About ¼ of the organizations that have IL in their portfolio; ⅓ of those with AL; ½ of those with MC; and about ½ with nursing care are seeing an upward change in occupancy rates in the past 30 days.
• Fewer folks that have IL are seeing a decrease in occupancy.
• 48% in nursing care are seeing increases, and 37% are seeing decreases.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, November 5, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our weekly sales and marketing roundtable, we all shared creative tactics we’re using to attract prospects as communities gradually open back up.

We’d especially like to thank Lana Peck, Senior Principal at the National Investment Center for  Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) for sharing insights gleaned from 11 waves of executive surveys, all completed since the pandemic hit.

You’ll find discussion highlights and survey results below. We also invite you to join us for our next roundtable, coming this week.

NIC Executive Survey Insights

We were joined by Lana Peck, Senior Principal at NIC.

Lana:

NIC is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enable access and choice for America’s seniors through data, transparency and making connections.

We’ve been doing our executive survey, since 3/24/20, with 11 waves of data so far. Our audience is C-suite executives and owners/operators of senior housing properties across the country.

We would encourage each of your executives to email insight@nic.org to take the executive survey.

Some highlights from the results so far:

• Wave 10 = 53% (mid- to late July)
  • About half of organizations with more than one property are easing restrictions
• Wave 11 = 63% (late August)
  • Even more are easing move-in restrictions

Note: blue = good; orange = bad

• Wave 8 (around Memorial Day)—we start to see an improvement and a downward trend in decreasing occupancy (directional changes in occupancy by care segment across the respondent’s portfolio of properties—single-property operators included)
• Mid- to late August sees pullback in move-ins for AL

• Note: blue = good; orange = bad
• Across the board, the pace of move-outs hasn’t changed tremendously (gray bars)
• Around Memorial Day, we see some improvement, with fewer organizations reporting acceleration in move-outs
• In mid- to late August, we see a pullback in acceleration again

• The recent decline in a slowdown in leads/conversions is due to easing moratoriums and pent-up demand (especially in IL) when doors opened, and people waiting in the wings could actually move in
• When the blue line goes down, that’s a good thing—it’s a reverse in the slowdown of leads and conversions
• The orange line has been trending lower—about half of organizations eased move-in restrictions
• Yellow line—only about half of organizations initially felt that resident or family member concerns contributed to deceleration of move-ins, but this has increased quite a bit, possibly due to a resurgence of COVID-19 or issues of residents not being able to see family members. This is a significant factor in more recent waves of the study.
• This slide is aggregate and shows all care segments
• Leads, conversions and sales are happening more frequently as of more recently. Before, there was an inability to have people on campus to make sales.

• This shows the toll of the pandemic on organizations—how many are feeling the need to provide incentives to bring residents in. For the most part, most are not reducing rents or fees at this time.
• The majority of respondents don’t have a backlog of residents waiting to move in.

Valuable Resources NIC Offers:

• NIC’s Fall Virtual Conference. The conference will start on October 3. Week 1 will focus on education. Week 2 will be about making connections and business contacts in peer-to-peer discussions. Anyone who signs up for the conference will be able to participate in Community Connector—essentially a LinkedIn for senior housing.

• COVID-19 Resource Center.  Data, analytics and connections to help provide transparency to the sector and keep  communities informed.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, October 1, at noon ET.

 For log-in information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our virtual sales and marketing roundtable, we brainstormed tactics to help prospects overcome their reluctance to move during a pandemic.

Check out the takeaways below. Please also join us for our next roundtable, coming up this week.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, September 24, at noon ET.

We’ll be joined by Lana Peck, Senior Principal at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). She’ll be discussing insights from NIC’s ongoing executive survey. NIC has conducted 12 waves of surveys with C-suite execs, across senior living, with near real-time data on the pulse of the market and the fundamentals of senior housing. The study includes topics like changes in occupancy, how communities are supporting staff and reasons for acceleration and deceleration of move-ins (among other topics).

For log-in information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our weekly sales and marketing roundtable, aging services expert Scott Townsley, principal of Trilogy Consulting, LLC, joined us to discuss consumer research and other insights related to the pandemic.

Check out the takeaways below. Please also join us for our next roundtable, coming this week.

Highlights from presentation on consumer research by Scott Townsley, Principal, Trilogy Consulting, LLC:

Opportunities are already emerging amid COVID-19—this will change who we are as a field and will change the product. Here are some resources that can be helpful as you deal with this situation.

The End of Competitive Advantage and Seeing Around Corners, two excellent books by Rita Gunther McGrath

• “Inflection point” is a key concept she discusses, which she describes as jerking the steering wheel while driving
• Unfortunately, by the time you recognize an inflection point, it can be too late; for example, discovering that occupancy has dropped from 96% to 80%, and it’s not going back up
• My observation is that skilled nursing is at an inflection point—it was already changing, but the coronavirus has pushed it to this point—and that a portion of it will be forever changed
• Life Plan Communities aren’t at an inflection point yet, but we need to have our eyes wide open

Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing, by Jamie Holmes

• “While uncertainties can be painful, they are also, by definition, eras of change. They’re destabilizing because they’re a threat to the status quo, which is also precisely why they represent an opportunity for innovative and cultural rebirth.”
• The risk is that we seek information or anecdotes that hint we’re returning to the “way things were” sooner rather than later—rather than seeking actual data
• We can’t look to the past (even January 2020) for clues about the future, because we’re probably going to be wrong; I refer to it as the “perilous backslide to the status quo,” in which we will innately make decisions thinking things will get back to “normal”
• Virtual tours are a great example of how we’ve adapted
• When I first saw a billboard for telemedicine, years ago, I thought, “Who’s going to want telemedicine?” But without it, many people (particularly in skilled nursing) wouldn’t have been able to see their physicians; we went from talking about it to it being a key part of life

Consumer Behavior Survey

We just completed a 1,000-person survey of four market areas in Pennsylvania (southeastern, south-central, west-central and northeast), one in Maryland and one in Delaware.

Too often, we’re talking in anecdotes, but we need to use data that tracks consumer behavior. This is especially risky when talking about the coronavirus.

• Background on the study
  • Participants are 60 to 80 years old; all income groups
  • Conducted last week in July/first week in August
  • Asked approximately 50 questions
  • All telephone conversations (landline and mobile)
  • Allowed us to reach the “essential non-customers”
  • With people at home, it was easier to reach them; they’re still answering their phones
  • Completed 1,000 surveys in five days
• What’s key is that this survey has statistical validity—it provides insight into the thinking of consumers rather than anecdotes

Early on, it was clear that we (as an industry) knew neither the questions to ask nor the answers. Today, there’s more clarity about the former (the questions that we, as an industry, should be asking) and an ability to obtain the answers. Hence this survey.

We asked the question, “How concerned are you about coronavirus in your area?” Seventy-eight percent are very or somewhat concerned about the coronavirus in their area. For those whose adult children are involved in making decisions about retirement living options, that number increases to 87 percent.

It’s also notable that, in this and prior surveys:

• The percentage of people who are concerned about future long-term care needs is typically low
• The percentage of people who are concerned about their ability to afford their retirement is also low
• The percentage of people who are concerned about dementia or Alzheimer’s, for themselves and those they love, is incrementally higher than the other two—but still a fraction of those concerned about the coronavirus

We then assessed the impact of COVID-19 on Senior Living Community (SLC) interest later in the study:

• By and large, every cross-tab is very or less interested due to the coronavirus
  • With respect to SLC interest, there are as many people who are less interested as there are who are more interested—due to the coronavirus
  • Interestingly, people who identify as evangelicals are 17% less interested in senior living communities than the average (due to the coronavirus)
  • There’s still a core of people who remain interested, which may be proving the naysayers wrong, but: (a) it’s too soon to know for sure, and (b) the coronavirus has significantly reduced interest in senior living “congregate”-type options
    • The field could be in jeopardy if the virus stays around
    • The virus has, conversely, also made some people more interested
  • Note: This study won’t be valid six months or a year from now—everything is changing so quickly
  • It’s critical to talk to people who are “the essential non-customers”—those who are living outside the senior living world (and who aren’t on your lists)—to understand who is motivated and why
    • Ask how they feel about congregate living on their overall health and well-being
    • In unprecedented times, we need to rely on information that’s current
  • I was wrong about the recession in 2008–2010—I thought the loss of value in portfolios would have a searing effect on people’s decisions about senior living, much in the way the depression impacted how people spent money
    • This didn’t happen, and the for-profit sector took advantage of that
    • The not-for-profit sector did not jump on it
  • It’s possible that, six months from now, if there’s an effective vaccine, the consumer could forget about this—but it’s also possible that it will stay with them for a long time, perhaps forever
  • It’s important to note that concerns about the coronavirus did not increase the interest in a stay-at-home program (though the percentage of people “very interested” in a stay-at-home program is twice what it is for a senior living community)
  • HJ Sims is soon coming out with a national study that will be fascinating to review; it, hopefully, will include all regions of the country, not just those heavily impacted by COVID-19
  • The secret to success is data analytics, and WildFig (Varsity’s sister firm) is ahead of the curve
  • “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that: It’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” – Rahm Emanuel

Please join us for our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, September 17, at noon ET.

For log-in information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

This week, we’re pleased to present a guest post by Lynn Perugini, director of sales and marketing at Meadowood At Home, a Continuing Care at Home (CCaH) program that is affiliated with the Meadowood Life Plan Community in Worcester, Pennsylvania.

For over 20 years, Lynn has provided exceptional service to senior communities and their residents. She’s an expert at giving sales and marketing presentations, and when COVID-19 closed the country down, she embraced virtual seminars immediately.

Today, I’d like to share some practical, common-sense tips for giving virtual presentations. These tips engage viewers and lead them to the next step in the sales cycle.

1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. My biggest tip would be to prepare. The presentation part of it is all of it. Practice your presentation several times before you actually give it. (My family sat through at least four trial runs before I actually gave my first virtual presentation.)
2. Set the stage. Consider the background you’re sitting in front of, the level of your camera, what’s around your computer. It’s like a stage show, and all the elements are part of a set. The details need to be right.
3. Remember Camera Etiquette 101. My coworkers laugh, but I even do my makeup differently when I’m going to be on camera. Here are some other tips to help you make that on-camera connection with the audience:
   • Remember to smile—the audience can see you!
   • Use your hands as if you were talking to a friend
   • Wear a bright color (and especially, don’t wear black if you have a black chair, or you’ll appear as a disembodied head)
   • Wear a headset to signal that you’re connected to the video
   • Make sure that your head and shoulders fill the screen
   • Introduce yourself on camera at the beginning, then turn the camera off, so the audience can focus on the presentation
   • Engage the right monitor (if you have more than one monitor, make sure that the right one is engaged; if you don’t, you’ll be showing people your desktop instead of your presentation)
4. Experiment with platforms. My favorite platform is GoToWebinar. I’ve tried Teams and Zoom, but I like GoToWebinar, because it’s easy for my audience of seniors to use. It’s as easy as one click; they don’t have to set up an account, and they don’t have people calling or emailing them. (Many of them are concerned about security.)
5. Connect the phone audio. In the demographic I work with, many people have older computers that don’t work well. Now my invitation says, “Click here to see the presentation. Call this number if you don’t have a speaker on your computer.” Give your audience more than one way to experience your presentation.
6. Help your audience through the process. Younger seniors are computer-savvy, but the folks over 80 may struggle. If they need help, I walk them through the process, and show them how they can easily get online. That drives registration. I’ve even had people call me for help five or ten minutes before the presentation.
7. Make the presentation visually interesting. Avoid using a logo that sits on the screen. Add motion and life, like animating bullet points. That keeps the audience’s attention and acts as a prompt, so you can speak to each item as it flies onto the screen. You can also invite a guest speaker to add interest.
8. Mix up the topics. Switch out your presentations and target them to difference audiences. (I change my presentations to target residents who live in 55-and-older communities, people who are interested in long-term care insurance and others.) The world at large has been doing these virtual presentations for four months, and audiences are getting burnt out. We’re all inundated with requests for webinars. And now that the weather is nice, it’s going to be even harder to get people’s attention, so variety is important
9. Know that live and virtual are totally different. My online presentation is 100 percent different than my live presentation. In the live presentation, the PowerPoint is just a backdrop. In the virtual presentation, the focus is on the slides—the information has to be clear, easy to understand and attention-grabbing.
10. Avoid too much touchy-feely. During COVID-19, people tend to make virtual presentations too emotional. Don’t show 50 slides of people wearing masks. Too much loses people, unless it’s as a background or a quick mention. I try to focus on relevant data—pricing, statistics and how people are using my program.
11. Watch other virtual presentations for ideas. I made sure I sat in on at least four or five other, similar presentations; I picked out things that did and didn’t work. For example, one presenter overdid the polling feature—it was a good idea, it just took an agonizingly long time. That experience taught me that it’s best to do a quick poll at the beginning or end. 
12. Follow up afterward. I send a separate email thanking the audience members for joining the webinar. I also provide them with the financial slides I presented. And I send a link to a New York Times article about Continuing Care at Home programs. When I send that, I tend to get a lot of reply emails.
13. Make a virtual event a segue to a live event. At a live event, I can read the audience much better, and they can get to know me as well. At the end of my webinar, I encourage the audience to attend an upcoming live seminar (when it’s up and running). It’s a different level of commitment when people come to an in-person event. It’s easier to build personal relationships there.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. I think it’s a great idea to continue to do virtual presentations, even after COVID-19. People are comfortable with them now. They see them as less of a commitment than a live event. I think I’m always going to do them. They’re a new and useful tool for sales and marketing.

In celebration of All-American Pet Photo Day, we’d like to introduce you to our office dogs, Mia and Parker. (They haven’t been in the office lately due to COVID-19, so they’re anxious to get back to work.)

Tell us a little bit about your pets.

Emily Runyon, account supervisor and Mia’s owner: According to a DNA test, Mia is 25% Boston Terrier, 25% Doberman Pinscher, 12.5% Australian Cattle Dog, 12.5% Rottweiler, and 25% mixed-breed groups. She’s three years old.

James Schorn, resource manager and Parker’s owner: Parker is part beagle, part German Shepherd and a little of something else. He’s eight years old.

How did your dogs come to join your family?

Emily: I begged and begged my husband to consider adding a puppy to our family. He finally caved after quite some time, and I quickly lined up an appointment to see a litter, up for adoption through Homeward Bound, before he could change his mind.

James: I was lucky enough to find Parker wandering through Harrisburg.

How do your pooches like coming to work?

Emily: Mia doesn’t love the hour-long car ride, but as soon as we get to work, she’s excited to greet her coworkers! Her first stop is usually to Renee’s desk for her morning treat.

James: Parker enjoys spending time around people, so he enjoys coming to the office, as opposed to watching the squirrels in the backyard.

What do Mia and Parker like most about the Varsity office?

Emily: Lots of treats, Derek sharing his daily apple, scratches, and the occasional walk around the block. Mia loves her coworkers and can often be found trying to coerce them into playing a game of tug-of-war in the afternoon. Strangers are not her friend; at first, she alerts the team of anyone in the building she doesn’t know—just ask the UPS delivery person!

James: Well… he hasn’t told me, specifically, but if I had to take a guess, I’d say he’s definitely a fan of the car rides to and from the office.

Where do your dogs hang out at work?

Emily: When she’s in the office, Mia can typically be found lying on her bed by my desk. She likes to nap throughout the day and chew on her bacon-shaped bone.

James: Some days, Parker will sleep on his work bed; some days, the wood floors work just fine. No science behind it, he does what he wants.

At Varsity, we take every opportunity to get into the mind of the mature market, so we thought, “What could be better than using the social media phenomenon, FaceApp, on one of our own, James Schorn, resource manager at Varsity?” I decided to capture a few of James’s reactions to seeing himself aged several decades.

Q. Did seeing yourself aging change your perceptions about growing older?

A. It was refreshing to see myself aging like fine wine, as opposed to aging like milk…All kidding aside, I did feel that my spirit remained resilient, and that confirmed the many experiences I’ve had with older people ever since my first job working in the dining room of a retirement community. I think what I have always enjoyed about the mature market is seeing how happy and active this generation is. I love hearing about their life experiences. Sometimes it seems as if the world classifies our older generations as weak and fragile. Based on my experiences, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nothing is more inspiring than a couple that has been married for 50+ years and still loves each other, day in and day out.

Q. What are your responsibilities at Varsity?

A. I’m in charge of quotes, scheduling and planning of projects. Through my career, I have overseen hundreds of projects of all different scopes. This has allowed me to use knowledge from past initiatives to ensure that our future projects run efficiently while giving our clients the best possible return.

Q. Are there any myths that still need to be debunked about aging, and the senior living industry specifically?

A. The overall perception of senior living needs to change. From my visits to communities, I have seen personally that they are built on friendship, trust and care. From residents to staff members, everyone looks out for one another. This generation is made up of strong individuals, and they should be respected for their impact on this world.

One major myth about older adults and technology is that they don’t use it because they don’t understand it. But that idea is as outdated as a flip phone. From social media to online banking, older Americans are adopting tech at the speed of light.

Recent findings by the Link-Age Connect 2019 Technology Survey of Older Adults Age 55-100, also featured in Senior Housing Forum, bear that out. Smartphone use in particular has been skyrocketing. Among people ages 70-74, it shot up from 54 percent to 81 percent. That’s in just the past three years.

Unexpected  Choices

What’s even more surprising than the speed at which older adults are adopting new technologies? The reasons why some are unplugging from tech completely. Or at least using it less. Seniors often make this change, not because they’re confused about technology, but because they’re making a conscious choice to live offline. Here are some of their very smart reasons:

1. 1. Older adults prefer human connection. As smartphone penetration spikes ever higher in people of all ages, we’re all on our phones, all the time. Even when we get together, we’re logging on to check social media or our daily step count instead of talking to one another. Older Americans have the wisdom of knowing that time on this earth  is precious. It’s important to spend it with family and friends instead of glued to a device. One quote from the study proves the point. “I think technology is taking over people’s lives and it takes away from relationships with people.” – Female, age 95-99.
   2. They’re simplifying their lives. Older adults often have a desire for minimalism that goes hand in hand with human connection. The survey states, “As people age, they simplify their lives, allowing more time for personal interaction and less time for things that ‘busy’ them or take them away from time with family and friends.” Another quote adds,“It isn’t necessarily about teaching older adults to use a technology. It very well could be that they have used it and walked away from it because they do not want it in their lives any longer.”
   3. They’re watching their budget. Those on a fixed income struggle to pay for technology. For instance, only 25% of affordable housing residents have in-home WiFi , compared to 90% of the greater population. Even when older adults can afford to spend more, they follow the principle: “If it works, don’t fix it.”  Sure, marketing campaigns are persuading other generations that they need to spend hundreds on the latest Smartphone. But older Americans often aren’t interested in updating just to get the latest bells and whistles. If it’s a “want” instead of a true need, they’ll keep the device that still works just fine.

 Personality Trumps Age 

The study also found that technology adoption relates more to personality than age. Comments from two different survey participants underscore that point: “I L-O-V-E technology.” – Female, age 84. “I prefer to use it when I want to and not be run by it or tied to it.” – Female, age 95-99. At Varsity, we’ve expressed our opinions before about not lumping everyone 65+ into one category. This new research has driven home, once again, that people of ages need to be seen as individuals — when it comes to technology or anything else.

This past week, I attended the LeadingAge Colorado 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Vail, Colorado. One of my most profound experiences there was hearing a presentation by keynote speaker Jonathan Fanning. In his speech, Fanning challenged us to “happen to the world.” Our speaker’s assumption was that too many of us don’t happen to the world.  Instead, the world happens to us.

To me, his message had personal meaning. You see, in our business, we often allow life to simply happen to us. This is true not only at work, but too often in our personal lives as well. When we allow life to just happen to us, we usually find ourselves in a place where we feel less in control of circumstances. Perhaps, we even feel  victimized by life’s events.

My Early Travels
Fanning’s talk brought me back to a time early in my career, when I had begun traveling for work. Throughout my career, I’ve continued to have many opportunities to travel across the country and the world. (That’s why my agency, Varsity, ended up creating Flat Wayne,  my alter ego, an intrepid traveler who shows up in cities all over and is always the life of the party.)

Today, I’m as gregarious as “Flat Wayne,” but early on, I would spend most nights huddled around my paperwork within the four walls of the hotel. My work was always the most important task for the evenings, along with a lonely dinner.

Thinking Differently
One of my mentors challenged me to think differently about my travel. He tasked me with doing two things: One was to always find something unique about the area I was visiting and to go see that place or event. The other challenge was to never dine alone. Although a bit more difficult, the effort to always find a dinner guest, regardless of the time zone, allowed me to make life happen.

These small changes in my travel habits have helped me foster more meaningful relationships. That  brought me greater work-life balance over time. I now have a greater sense of so many local cultures, and stay in learning mode.

Making Life Happen
Most of us spend so much of our day with activities centered around work. When I learned how to make life happen through intentionally engaging with the people and environments around me, good things happened. I found fulfillment in relationships and learned so much more about the world. Life had more meaning and purpose. I now look forward with anticipation to opportunities to learn during my travels. More importantly, I  connect with people and break bread together. No longer does life just happen. I make it happen.

As leaders in our category, what are we doing daily and weekly to “happen” to our world? What’s our purpose in life? Why are we here? Who matters to us and why?

Finding Meaning 
Wrestling with the above questions, though challenging, can reveal answers that raise incredible considerations for each of us. We can work to promote meaning for our life and for others. Having a clearer understanding of our answers helps us act with more intention. We can control more of what goes on in our lives and how we create opportunity for meaning  purpose for those who’ve entrusted us with their well-being.

Eaton Senior Communities is home to 164 residents and, occasionally, a socially assistive robot called Ryan, now being developed at the University of Denver. In a series of posts, I’m talking to people involved in this fascinating project and getting their perspectives on how this lifelike “companionbot” could benefit seniors living with depression and dementia.

Today, Sarah Schoeder, wellness director at Eaton Senior Communities, shares some of her favorite stories about resident interactions with Ryan.

DW’s Story: Reengaging in the Community

DW struggled with depression after the loss of his wife earlier this year. We no longer saw him smile, and he had begun to isolate, no longer taking meals in our dining room or attending holiday parties. At 93, he had limited access to technology in his lifetime — and certainly not to a robot! What transpired was the old DW returning to us. He smiled and laughed again and was always on time, never missing a session. His daughter was thrilled that her dad was once again engaging in the community, and it lessened the stress she felt when she was away on business. DW will tell you that it “was fun” and that “Ryan helped take my mind off the constant thoughts of my wife. It gave my mind a new direction, you might say,” he said. He felt valued, helping the interns achieve their goals and receiving the opportunity to engage with younger adults.

LW’s Story: Overcoming Depression

LW was another unexpected success. As a younger resident with a higher level of education, I was not sure what to expect. She surprised me when she said that “Ryan understands me; she knows what I am going to say before I do.” LW struggled with depression that was intensified by her recent move to the community. Over the course of the trials, she began to report that moving here had improved her mood, and she looked forward to her sessions with Ryan. She is anxious to further participate in clinical trials and recognizes that Ryan helped her overcome the deep depression she felt earlier this year. I am happy to say that she is now an active community member, participating in many social events and helping her neighbor regain her love of art.

PN’s Story: Making a Friend

PN was thrilled when invited to participate with Ryan. He frequently commented on how beautiful her smile and facial features were. He recalls how he asked her out to dinner, but she declined, saying she was not hungry! PN commented on the variations in facial expressions and quality of speech. He was aware of these features and how it affected his relationship with her. PN looked forward to his interaction with Ryan, and the excitement that followed after his sessions was priceless!

BC’s Story: Seeing His Dream Come True

This resident had studied psychology in the 1950s and had particularly enjoyed the area of artificial intelligence. In his 90s, and highly educated, BC enjoyed seeing the “future” that, years earlier, he could only dream of. After his sessions, he would smile and talk at length about the interactions. It was great to see his mind stimulated and the smile he was well known for return when his health was failing him.

See Ryan from her inventor’s perspective in another blog.

Soon, older adults will have access to a breakthrough new tool to improve their quality of life. Mohammad Mahoor, PhD, director of the computer vision and social robotics laboratory at the University of Denver, has spent the last decade working with his students to create and refine an amazingly lifelike, socially assistive robot named Ryan, which can provide deep social interaction and companionship to people living alone.

Designed to address challenges of aging — like dementia, depression and loneliness — this “companionbot” can recognize faces and emotions, express feelings, hold conversations and remember individual comments for future interactions to build a relationship over time. Ryan’s face is expressive and lifelike; she can turn her head to react to voices and movement, and her torso contains a screen for playing music and games, watching videos, looking at photos and doing other activities. Ryan’s next iteration will also have active arms so she can coach people in light exercises to improve their physical fitness.

In a pilot study, six residents at Eaton Senior Communities in Lakewood, Colorado, had 24/7 access to Ryan in their apartments for a period of 4–6 weeks. Ryan was customized for each participant, with photos for an album, daily schedules, favorite music and topics of interest for YouTube video searches. Participants could call Ryan by the name of their choice.

Observations, interviews and analyses revealed that the residents established rapport with the robot and greatly valued and enjoyed having a companionbot in their apartment. They also believed that the robot helped them maintain their schedule, improved their mood and stimulated them mentally. One user shared that, “She [Ryan] was just enjoyable. We were SAD to see her go.”

After the staff at Eaton Senior Communities told me how thrilled the residents were with their experiences with Ryan, I spoke with Dr. Mahoor about his invention.

 Wayne: Why did you create Ryan?

Dr. Mahoor: We wanted to address the needs of older people living with dementia, loneliness and depression. There is a shortage of caregivers, and care is expensive — Ryan is a great form of companionship. She can help seniors lead better lives at home.

Wayne: Can you talk about the testing process?

Dr. Mahoor: The first round of testing, in 2016, was a six-month, piloted study at Eaton Senior Communities. All of the features were not ready, the cognitive games were simple, and the speech recognition had some glitches — but we received very positive feedback. After making changes, we did two more pilot studies this year. One focused on how Ryan can help people with dementia through cognitive behavioral therapy. The second pilot study was totally autonomous. Users had half an hour of interaction with Ryan for 3–4 weeks to test the emotion recognition technology.

Wayne: Were there any surprises when people first began interacting with Ryan?

Dr. Mahoor: At first, we had a fear that people wouldn’t like Ryan. But even in the early stages, they reacted very positively. We noticed that the more time they spent talking with Ryan, the more they enjoyed it, and they wanted her to tell them more stories and jokes — even gossip! When we took the robot away from one of the residents, he literally cried. The bond was so strong that he was very sad. It was really surprising for me that a robot could make such a huge impact on people’s lives. I didn’t expect that much of a connection between machine and human.

Wayne: What challenges did you face when test-driving Ryan?
Dr. Mahoor: One of the challenges is that you have to be patient because multiple people cannot talk to Ryan at the same time — you have to take your turn so that she can listen and understand you.

Wayne: What kinds of results have you had?

Dr. Mahoor: When we measured mood and depression before, during and after phase one of our study, we found that Ryan significantly improved users’ moods and lessened their depression.

Wayne: What’s next for Ryan?

Dr. Mahoor: We received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for phase one, and now we are in transition to phase two. NIH has approved our next grant from a scientific perspective. Now it just needs to approve the budget. Phase two would be a grant of over a million dollars to help us study Ryan’s impact on the progression of dementia.

Wayne: How unique is Ryan?

Dr. Mahoor: There are other robots out there, but this is the first one developed with features customized to help with depression and dementia through social conversations, games and other interactions.

Wayne: When will Ryan be available on the market?

Dr. Mahoor: We are very close; I’m hoping by the end of the year. We’ve started working with investors to begin production. Users love Ryan, the feedback has been positive, and we’ve made improvements. It’s time to go to market to fulfill our mission of helping the health care industry.

Wayne: How much will she cost?

Dr. Mahoor: Manufacturing each Ryan costs thousands, so to make her more cost-effective, we have a subscription-leasing plan in mind. The cost would be about $400 per month for individuals, but if a corporation wanted to lease multiple Ryans, the rate would adjust. One Ryan can be reprogrammed to serve multiple residents.

Wayne: What would you say to people who worry that robots will take over the world?

Dr. Mahoor: Ryan is going to complement the time and support of caregivers and help make their lives easier — not take over and replace them.

Wayne: Are you surprised at where you are today?

Dr. Mahoor: Yes. When we first started several years ago, I didn’t think we’d be in a position to commercialize the invention; I didn’t think we’d be a startup meeting with investors. I’m so happy about our progress. For us to be in a position to bring a robot to market that’s going to improve health care and impact people’s lives for the better is amazing.

Learn more about Dr. Mahoor’s companionbot, Ryan, at Dreamfacetech.com.

One question that we continue to get here at Varsity surrounds the naming, values and visuals of not-for-profit aging services providers. For the last several decades, the gold standard in this space was created by faith-based senior living organizations that had strong ties to churches and other religiously affiliated groups. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the identify of faith-based communities come into question.

Some providers have doubled down on their faith connections, embracing their history and including specific language in their mission, vision and values to communicate their dedication to faith-based principles. On the other hand, other providers have been slowly stripping away the overt references to faith, concerned that they might drive away residents that don’t share those same values (even if they aren’t required to subscribe to said faith in order to reside at the community). The fear that faith-based language and iconography could be costing communities residents is very real. While, on the other side of the coin, the fear of losing donor dollars from strong, faith-based donors ensures that others stay the course and lean firmly on their core values.

This led us to wonder — What effect is faith having on provider perception, and where might this trend be going in the future?

It’s no secret that religious affiliation has been on the decline in the United States. In Pew’s religious landscape study, which surveyed more than 35,000 Americans of all demographics, found that 22.8 percent of respondents identified as unaffiliated with any religious tradition at all. If we were to view that number in light of demographics, we can learn even more. Seventeen Baby Boomers (aged 50 to 64) report that religion isn’t important in their lives, with 34 percent saying they attend religious services only sporadically, and 28 percent reporting they “seldom” attend services at all. If one were to compare the Baby Boomers to Generation X or Millennials, Boomers and seniors would appear positively pious, as religious participation takes a nosedive within these demographics. Based on Pew’s findings, it would seem that being faith-based might not carry the weight it once did when someone shopped for a community.

Yet many entrance-fee, faith-based senior living organizations provide one critical service that very few others do: security. Namely, these organizations usually have a safety net in place so that, if a resident suddenly runs out of funds, he or she won’t be forced to leave the community. This kind of support is usually funded through giving programs that utilize the faith-based network that a community is tied to as a major source of giving. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 65 percent of Americans who claim a religious affiliation give to charity, compared to just 56 percent of those who don’t identify with a faith tradition. Interestingly, the same study found that 73 percent of all charitable giving went to either congregations or religiously affiliated charities. Secular charities only accounted for 27 percent of giving.

It’s clear that, when it comes to philanthropy, being affiliated with a religious organization is likely to significantly increase the dollars that are coming through the door; however, with the upcoming generational shifts in belief and religious affiliation, we are forced to wonder if this tradition of giving will continue. Will Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials be just as inclined to give to faith-based charities, or will they rebel against them (and the bad press they have been recently receiving) and give to more secular causes? Only time will tell.

As we speak to aging services providers who are struggling with this problem, we find that there are no clear answers. What is right for a community in the upper Midwest may not be good for a community in southern California or on the Florida coast. Understanding local demography and perceptions around faith tends to provide the best insight into the direction an organization should face.

Regardless of which way providers choose to go today, there’s sure to be continued debate about whether faith affiliation is a hindrance or help in our space. We anticipate this discussion continuing for the next decade, when it will be decided by leading-edge Gen-Xers who will vote with their dollars when moving into a community.

Sources:

http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/attendance-at-religious-services/

https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Religious-Americans-Give-More/153973

Many of us have fond memories of going to summer camp as children. Hiking through mountains, boating on a lake, shooting archery and learning crafts are all a part of the common memories that many share. But, as we age, we leave those summer days behind, letting them create a bygone era in our mind, when summers were carefree and fun — fortunately, though, that no longer needs to be the case.

Take, for instance, Camp Meraki. Marketed as a retirement camp for seniors, the program runs in the early fall at John Knox Ranch, in Wimberley, Texas. During the hot summer months, the camp runs activities for children, but as the cooler fall temperatures approach, it welcomes a different crowd of those 60+. The activities, however, are largely the same, including canoeing, archery, crafts, stargazing, sing-alongs and more! Oh, and don’t forget the one activity you won’t find at a kids camp — happy hour! The camp runs for three days and two nights, letting campers relive their childhood memories in a fun and safe environment.

Now we’re sure you’re thinking something along the lines of, “That’s all well and good, but my community isn’t in Texas, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” Au contraire! This is an opportunity for your community to do something new and intriguing.

First, you could work with your life enrichment/therapeutic recreation staff to create a camp experience right at your community. While it wouldn’t necessarily be as involved as the Camp Meraki, it could make for a unique program that sets you apart from your local competition. Make sure to include all of the important camp activities — s’more making, campfire sings and arts and crafts!

For those who want to take this one step further, how about contacting your local youth camp and consider setting up a senior camp of your own? You could invite not only your residents, but also prospective residents. It would be a great way for them to get to know your community and could easily provide three days of marketing opportunities for your sales staff. Now that’s a quality program that will differentiate you from your competition!

We love the idea of Camp Meraki here at Varsity. It shows that older adults can enjoy activities that are more commonly attributed to youth. It also helps with memory care and brain stimulation by bringing back those thoughts of childhood and reconnecting people with skills they otherwise might have lost. It’s truly a win-win for everyone involved.

Sources:

http://www.agingiscool.com/campmeraki

Chocolate gets eaten, flowers wither, but how do you make love last? In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked a couple in their 80s how they’ve kept their love strong through 60 years of marriage. (Guess what? Celebrating Valentine’s Day didn’t even make the list!)

Here’s what they said:

1. One or both should tell the other how much they are loved every day. Very important!

2. Maintain a balance of responsibilities — which is easier said than done.

3. Cultivate independent interests and encourage each other to do so. Too much togetherness can be a mistake.

4. Do not criticize. Nobody is perfect. Criticism is rarely useful or effective.

5. Talk to each other, and if there is a big topic, sit down and take time for it.

6. Plan fun together. It is easy to neglect, but many trips and social activities require pre-planning. Spontaneity can wither away with age, which is natural. (I always  watch Monday Night Football. I eat brunch at the café every Sunday. We go to Palm Springs every winter, etc.)

7. Try not to ventilate your problems too much to your other half. That can become a habit, but listening is wearying.

8. Last but not least, when you catch sight of a full moon, make your partner look at it, too. Same goes for rainbows. This is an easy rule, but important.

So this year, let’s learn from the experts at love and look at a little less Monday Night Football and a few more full moons.

Or maximize Medicare reimbursements? Or know early if a resident is unhappy? You can accomplish those goals and more though the power of data.

The benefits of big data analysis were explored in “Data-driven Decision-making: Gaining Clarity for Your Organization’s Direction,” a session at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & Expo.

The presenters were Chip Burns, President/CIO, The Asbury Group Integrated Technologies; Kevin Purcell, PhD, Chief Data Scientist, Varsity; and Ed Lamberton, Application Development Manager, Asbury Communities Integrated Technologies.

In case you missed the session, here are a few quick takeaways:

• Commitment to data is a competitive advantage in the ever-changing retirement living/health care space.
• Data analysis should not be about a few canned reports at the beginning of the year, but about giving you the power to explore data independently.
• Understanding connections in data can help you adjust quickly to changes in your local markets, meet new regulations and measure progress against strategic goals.

For the rest of the session’s insights, contact us for an in-person presentation.

Adventures like these prove that life in a retirement community is anything but dull. At Varsity, we salute all of the seniors who never let age stop them from growing, changing and challenging themselves, whether they’re freezing in motion or dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads, like these Ohio community residents did.

According to a 2016 Pew Research study, Baby Boomers and prior generations have cast the majority of votes in every presidential election since 1980.

However, the study also found that the political landscape is shifting, because younger voters matched Boomers and seniors in eligible votes in 2012 and are now estimated to outnumber them. Even with a lower turnout, voters 18-49 could still outvote Boomers and seniors in 2016.

Now that the election is over, we see that this prediction has come true. CNN exit polls show the vote’s makeup:  55% voters 18-49 and 45% voters 50 and up. So this is the year that Boomer and senior voting power begins to decline. Still, you’d never know it by the results of this election. Since the majority of older generations voted for Trump, (53% vs. 44-45% for Clinton) their votes propelled Trump to the White House. Stay tuned for 2020!

When kids are out trick-or-treating, they might want to hit up some houses over others.

84% of people 60 years and older give out candy on Halloween — more than any other age group, according to one study.  Seniors love answering the door to superheroes and pirates. But what if they live in a retirement community? There’s a simple answer: Welcome trick-or-treaters to your campus.

You can invite residents’ grandchildren, staffers’ children and even local neighborhood kids to trick-or-treat. The experience will not only benefit residents, but candy hunters as well — they won’t have to face the risks of crossing high-traffic streets at night in their black costumes. Residents can affix pumpkin- or bat-shaped signs to their doors to signal that they welcome trick-or-treaters.

So that residents unable to participate can still join in the fun, you can throw an all-age celebration with decorations, costumes and refreshments. Halloween is also the perfect time to invite prospective residents in for hot cider and pumpkin cookies.

Happy Halloween, all!

The number of older people who live alone at home continues to climb: 13 million in 2015. And, for women over 75, the numbers are even more shocking; 45% live alone, according to a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that discusses the negative impact — both on parents and their children — of aging at home. Many seniors aren’t living safely yet refuse to move or even accept basic help. Their adult children essentially become their assisted living plan, putting emotional and physical strain on that caregiver.

One reason for the resistance to move: outdated perceptions about senior living. “Many older adults don’t like the idea of someone telling them when they’ll have their first cup of coffee or turn out the lights at night,” the article states. They don’t understand that senior living communities are not like the nursing home of old where they once visited their grandparents.

It’s up to us to assist adult children and to arm them with correct information and the key benefits of today’s senior living environment to prepare them for that difficult talk with mom and/or dad. One of the most common times for opening the dialogue is coming up: the holidays, when families get together and many times see a change in their parent’s abilities. We’ll offer advice for those tough family conversations in an upcoming blog.

Elderly, frail, uneducated and with a lower income? Surprisingly, no. Those most at risk are actually younger, more educated and well off. According to a new study by the Better Business Bureau, 69 percent of scam victims are under 45, and 78 percent are college-educated.

Other surprising facts:

• Eighty-nine percent of seniors approached by a scammer recognized the scam in time, and only 11 percent lost money.
• Three times as many 18‒24-year-olds failed to recognize a scam, and 34 percent reported losing money.

A few reasons for this:

• Younger people think they’re invulnerable to scams.
• They are more likely to shop online.
• Seniors are more scam-savvy.

Another stereotype about age debunked.

We’re all vulnerable to scams, at any age. Find tips on protecting yourself here.

At a time when Taylor Swift is having all kinds of aggravation with Kanye and Kim, here’s something that could cheer her up. Residents of the Julia Wallace Retirement Village in New Zealand, average age 82, have paid tribute to Taylor by recreating her video “Shake It Off.” The video, which took a week to film, already has over 100,000 views on You Tube. Enjoy!

Watch video.

Even if you pack your diet with super foods like blueberries and broccoli, you could still be shortening your life if you’re not following the 80% rule. Why does this simple rule help you live longer?

Because it means eating only 80% of the food on your plate, which is one of nine healthy practices shared by people in longevity hot spots around the world. In fact, researchers found that in Okinawa, Japan (aka The Island of the Immortals), residents say “Hara Hachi Bu” before every meal. This phrase, which translates to “belly 80% full,” is their reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full.

We may not see an influx of 100-year-olds walking the earth, but the growing interest in leading a longer, happier life is a mature market trend we should all keep an eye on.

Next week, we’ll reveal what you should be eating.

It’s something we should all try, because it’s one of the 9 practices shared by residents of longevity hot spots around the world. Why is this habit so important?

Because research has found that habit #3, “downshift” (finding ways to relieve stress), can help you live longer and lower your risk of heart disease. For long-lived residents of Ikaria, Greece, downshifting means an afternoon nap. Why not join them? Happy snoozing!

Check back next week to hear about #4: the 80% rule.

You’ll find it in Blue Zones, places around the world where people live to 100 at rates ten times greater than in the U.S. They share nine healthy traits. And #2 has nothing to do with diet and exercise. It’s “Know Your Purpose,” which means knowing why you wake up in the morning – and it can add an extra seven years to your life expectancy.

Blue Zones researchers found that sense of purpose in places like Okinawa, Japan. They learned that Okinawans have clear feelings of being needed well into their 100s.

Think about ways to incorporate “Know Your Purpose” and the other 9 principles into marketing your products or services. One way: hold a “Purpose” workshop at your community to help residents explore their life dreams.

Next week, get ready to Downshift (#3).

Baby Boomers are about to do something undesirable yet inevitable — they’re going to start getting old. Will these years be filled with vitality or chronic disease?

Boomers can learn from those who live in Blue Zones, pockets around the world where people live measurably longer and better, reaching 100 years of age at rates 10 times greater than in the U.S.

Studies by Dan Buettner and a team of researchers found that the lifestyles of residents in these Blue Zones — Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, Calif.; Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Nicoya, Costa Rica — shared nine principles:

1. Move naturally
2. Know your purpose
3. Downshift
4. 80 percent rule
5. Plant slant
6. Wine @ 5
7. Family first
8. Belong
9. Right tribe

Challenge your team to think about ways to incorporate these principles into marketing your products or services. We’ll help by discussing one each week in this blog. Let’s start with #1: Move naturally.

Moving naturally simply means finding ways to move more in your everyday life, so you burn more calories without even thinking about it. Some easy suggestions: Keep a garden, walk to a friend’s house, park at the far end of the lot, take the stairs. What other ways can you encourage your customers to move more?

Next week, we’ll cover #2: Know your purpose.

As I’ve been pondering David Bowie’s passing, I couldn’t help but be struck by how well he orchestrated the sequence of events leading up to his death.

At 69, David Bowie was a member of the Boomer generation. Now, while he wasn’t your average, everyday Boomer, he lived through the same world events as Boomers everywhere. And, after all, haven’t we learned that there really is no such thing as an “average, everyday Boomer”?

While Bowie could be defined as a rock star, he certainly wasn’t a cliché. He didn’t die of a pathetic overdose. He didn’t take his own life in a fit of angst. He didn’t go out in a fiery crash. He went out doing what he wanted to do: create.

David Bowie didn’t share with the world that cancer was eating away at his body. That was his personal right. He chose to keep that private and, while it meant the world would be shocked by the news of his passing, it also meant he was free to create, right until the end. There weren’t tabloid shots of his fluctuating weight. There wasn’t speculation about how long he had, or grainy images of him in a hospital somewhere. He maintained his privacy and, therefore, his dignity.

As many have written, he had beautifully orchestrated his goodbye, with both his new Off-Broadway musical, “Lazarus,” and his new album, “Blackstar.” And to top it off? The entire run of “Lazarus” sold out in a matter of hours, and “Blackstar” garnered some of his best reviews — all without the benefit of a “celebrity death” to spark that interest.

He reflected many of the traits we’ve seen in the Boomer generation: a love for life, pursuit of interests, desire for control over his own life — ultimately making his own decisions.

David Bowie was art. David Bowie was passion. David Bowie was an individual — just like so many of his fellow Boomers.

Some popular retirement destinations didn’t make the cut, although Florida does rank in the top one-third. According to a recent Gallup report, Hawaii, Montana, South Dakota, Alaska and Iowa are the five states that ranked highest for total well-being in adults aged 55 or over.

The poll ranked each state on five elements of well-being: community, physical, purpose, financial and social — many of the same factors measured by the Blue Zones® study, which analyzes lifestyles in communities where people live significantly longer.

Not surprisingly, higher well-being aligns with a lower incidence of heart attack and other chronic diseases. Two of the states that made the top five for total well-being, Hawaii and Alaska, were also in the top five for fewest heart attacks. West Virginia, which ranked #50 for well-being, had the nation’s highest incidence of heart attack at 7.7%.

If you don’t happen to live in Hawaii or Alaska, there’s still good news. According to Gallup, well-being increases significantly as we age, in all fifty states.

Many senior communities pride themselves on welcoming new residents, but these days, they must roll out the red carpet for another group as well: the furry friends of those residents.

We’ve found through our own research that pets are extremely important to the next generation of retirees. As more and more Boomers turn 65, that trend is only expected to grow. Some communities already go beyond standard pet-friendly policies to offer added services catering to four-legged residents.

Pet-focused programs can also be offered in different forms at different care levels so that residents can continue to reap the important health benefits of interactions with animals as they age.

Here are ten pet-focused services communities may want to consider offering if they aren’t already:

1. Dog park
2. Yappy hour (residents bring pets to socialize during happy hour)
3. Pet-related merchandise in the community gift shop
4. Pet care program (walking, feeding, litter-changing, playful exercise, medication administration, etc.)
5. Pet salon or mobile grooming
6. Vet house calls
7. Day care or boarding for pets
8. Community dogs and cats
9. Pet therapy
10. Pet-oriented events like celebrations and adoption fairs

Marketing Insight:

As animal-loving Boomers enter the senior living market in droves, it’s time to fully capitalize on the health and financial benefits of providing their pets with creature comforts.

How would you like to make life easier for elders, from folding clothes to taking meds? Just come to the Aging 2.0 30-event, 30-city, 30-day pitch tour, going on now through October 8. Start-ups in cities from Beijing to Boston are pitching tech inventions to panels of senior care providers. Winners will move on to the semi-finals, and finalists will present in San Francisco, November 19-20.

By partnering with one of these start-ups, communities can try out helpful new technology for their residents on a trial basis. A few of the innovations include:

• Reminder Rosie, a robot that helps elders remember medications and appointments
• A living time capsule from The History Project
• Telerehabilitation software from RespondWell
• The arc shelf, an easier way to fold clothes
• Vimty, a video-based advance directive platform

Whether you want to explore a mutually beneficial community trial or attend one of the events, you can learn more here.

It kills more people than breast and prostate cancer combined. It takes the lives of one in three seniors. And only 45% of people who are diagnosed, are told they have it. It’s Alzheimer’s, the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.

More than 28 million boomers will get Alzheimer’s by 2050, and spending on this disease will eat up 25% of Medicare funds. It’s the only disease in the top ten we can’t prevent, cure or slow. But we can take action. And today is World Alzheimer’s Day, the perfect time to start. To learn more, watch the video.

We joke about it at the office: ”Oh, I’ll be paying off those student loans for the rest of my life.” But, for some people, it’s actually true.

According to the Government Accountability Office, 706,000 of households headed by people over 65 have outstanding student debt. They owed a collective $18.2 billion in 2013, up from $2.8 billion in 2005. Worse yet, people over 65 default on their loans at a much higher rate than younger people, and can have part of their social security benefits garnished to offset their debt.

Those stats strike close to home here at Varsity. A number of employees here are paying off student loans. One woman chose a 15-year loan period with a $600 monthly payment. “I wanted them gone,” she said. “I don’t want to be in my 60s and paying them off.” As it is, she’ll pay a total of $30,000 in interest. (Her friends who chose 30-year loan periods will be paying for a long, long time.) Another co-worker has an 8.75 percent interest rate. “It’s crazy that you can get a house at a lower interest rate than a student loan,” he said.

Student loan debt is becoming such a huge issue that it’s a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail. Learn where each politician stands here.

Which celebrity recently helped prepare meals and deliver them to seniors? A good egg who’s very tired of bacon jokes. His name is Kevin Bacon, and recently he did his part to fight hunger by volunteering at a NYC Meals on Wheels.

Since we work in an industry that serves seniors, it’s important to be aware that 6.4 million of them suffer from hunger. What better time to call attention to this life-threatening issue than World Hunger Month, going on now.

You can be six degrees away from Kevin Bacon and help your favorite hunger charity win $5,000 by taking the good egg challenge and spoofing his funny Web film and shorts. Watch them here.

What do many of the trends we’ve spotted lately have in common? They all do one important thing: nurture ties among people and communities.

1. Connecting to Generations: Avanti Senior Living brainstormed with kids to create meals, programs and events just for them.

2. Connecting to the Community: Smart design draws in locals through community centers, gyms, art galleries and restaurants, all of which are open to the public.

3. Connecting to Safety: Residents at Episcopal Senior Communities wear pendants that connect them to the staff via wifi, so they feel safe anywhere on campus.

4. Connecting to Discovery: “The Magic Table,” created by Dutch start-up, Active Cues, and reported in Mintel, allows residents to interact with words, images and games beamed down on a table from a smart projector.

5. Connecting to Nature: A multisensory immersion environment in The Goodman Group’s memory care unit includes plant walls, ocean scents and star-like lighting.

How does your organization help people connect?

Music has been shown to enhance brain function, reduce stress and build relationships.

And the more connected people feel to the music, the better. One study found that  seniors who sang along to tunes scored significantly better on cognitive tests than those who just listened.

In LA, a group of seniors has even formed its own band. “The Fifth Dementia” is made up of musicians with degenerative diseases and high school students.  Watch the video to see how they find a common language.

The band is part of Music Mends Minds, Inc., an organization created by Carol and Irwin Rosenstein when Irwin, a musician, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and discovered that music was beneficial to him. The organization’s mission is to use music to help control the progression of cognitive decline in seniors and build support systems for students.

The program has been a huge hit, and more musicians are still needed. Know someone who’s interested? Learn more here.

How would you complete the sentence: “Getting older is getting better because ______.”? That’s the question we have been asking friends of ours to spotlight the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, which took place earlier this month.

So far, we’ve gotten some interesting answers, including:

Getting older is getting better because …

…my fishing license is free!

…I am healthier.

…I get to spend time with grandchildren.

…I’ve learned to cherish the little things.

…my newly discovered diet makes me feel better.

…every experience I have builds on the one before it.

The White House has held a conference on aging every decade since the 1960s. The 2015 Conference is an opportunity to look ahead to the issues that will shape the landscape for older Americans in the next decade. Some important issues that will be discussed at the conference are retirement security, healthy aging, long-term services and support, and elder justice.

We’d love to hear how you’d complete the sentence: “Getting older is getting better because ______.” You can tweet your answer to us at @varsitybranding. For more information about the conference click here.

A team of Varsity researchers brought Project Looking Glass and Project Looking Glass II to the field of aging services. In these nationally recognized studies, researchers moved into two retirement communities for 30 days; there they lived, ate, shopped and socialized alongside residents. We have now launched a third in-depth ethnographic study, called “Project Looking Glass III: From the Outside In.”

In essence, we are turning the looking glass around to dig more deeply into the decision-making process that prospects go through when choosing a community. We’ll learn what triggers people to start investigating senior living communities; what factors influence potential residents to choose or pass on a community; what their expectations were prior to moving into their new home; and the reality that they find as residents of the community.

We’ll evaluate the decision-making process to see how it may vary in different areas of the country and among different cohorts—the current aging generation of prospects (what we call “the transitional generation”) and Baby Boomers—each of which is at a different stage of investigation into retirement community living.

• Silent Generation: Born 1910-1925
• Transitional Generation: Born 1930-1950
• Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964

Insights from this study will assist senior living communities in further refining their marketing messages and targeting techniques to make sure they’re not only connecting with the right people, but are also having the most relevant, informed conversations that will lead to positive decisions.

If you are interested in participating in this study by having your prospective residents fill out an online survey and/or in having Varsity conduct focus groups at your community, please contact me at jstone@varsitybranding.com.

Once again, we participated in the LeadingAge PA Annual Conference & Exposition, which was held this June in Hershey, Pa. Key leaders gathered to discuss ideas that will shape the future of senior living.

We wanted to share a few of the inspiring solutions we heard.

Swimming with the sharks. On her sixth attempt, 64-year-old Diane Nyad successfully battled sharks, venomous jellyfish and hypothermia to swim from Cuba to Key West. Her motivating advice for reaching your dreams: build a strong support team, give it your all, learn from your failures and never give up.

Spinning stories into marketing gold. Asbury’s session emphasized the importance of finding the right human interest story and repurposing it in blogs, newsletter articles and social media posts, all linking back to your website. Strategic storytelling can be a gold mine of leads, publicity and brand awareness.

Tapping the independent living middle-income market. As the economic spread continues to grow, creating an affordable community for the “working class” is a concept worth looking at.

The end of advertising. Advertising isn’t going extinct—we just need to rethink it. It’s about finding new ways to have conversations with prospects, so we can discover and meet their needs. The engagement shouldn’t stop once residents move in; they need to be invested in the community so they’ll share their positive feelings with new prospects.

Our team would welcome the opportunity to discuss these insights or to simply begin exploring questions that will lead to solid strategies for your community’s continued success.

Think that only blondes have more fun? That thinking is old. These days, the trend is not covering grey with color, but covering color with grey.

The grey hair or “granny hair” trend has been around for awhile but is going stronger than ever. A string of celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Kylie Jenner, Kate Moss, Kelly Osborn, Rihanna, Nicole Richie, and even Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes, have all rocked granny hair.

The Huffington Post calls granny hair the hottest beauty trend of spring/summer 2015. And #granny hair is all over social media, with 27,102 posts on Instagram right now. The fashion world is showing love for granny hair as well, with models for Gucci, Versace and Dior strutting their silver locks on the catwalk.

It’s wonderful that society is recognizing that looks of any age can be beautiful. And even better that, after years of dropping serious cash at salons to hide the grey, women may be encouraged to embrace the beauty of their natural color. Then they’ll have more funds to spend on fun things, like that bucket-list trip to Hawaii.

Maggie is 87. She lives alone and no longer drives. Her grown children live out of town, and her only regular companion is her grandson Mark who does her grocery shopping and handles her banking. Everyone says how helpful Mark is, but some family members have suspicions.They’ve noticed his new flat screen TV, fancy smartphone and expensive shoes.

When it comes to older people and their relationships, there could be more there than meets the eye. That’s why World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was created. Today, June 15, is a day when people around the world plan activities and wear purple to raise awareness of the abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders.

Here are six facts about elder abuse you may not know:

1. Over one in 10 elders is affected, but only one in 23 cases are reported.
2. 90 percent of elder abuse is committed by a family member.
3. Those over 80 are most likely to be abused.
4. Risk factors for the abuser include substance abuse, mental health disorders and financial issues.
5. Financial abuse is the fastest growing form of abuse.
6. Often, the abuser is the only form of companionship for the abused.

It’s important to raise awareness for this serious problem today by getting involved in World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. But it’s even more important to watch out for the red flags of abuse on the other 364 days of the year. To learn more about elder abuse and how to report it, visit www.ncea.aoa.gov or call 1-800-677-1116.

When we’re working with a client on a potential brand position, we ask three questions: Is it true? Is it unique? And is it compelling? All three of those qualities need to come together for a brand to work its hardest. In previous posts, I covered true, unique and compelling in detail. A quick recap:

• True: The claim you’re making must be true. Otherwise, people may try your product—but they won’t buy it again. Some examples of brands that didn’t live up to their advertising: the Ford Edsel, Surge soda and WOW Chips.

• Unique: The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) first discussed in the ‘40s still holds true today. It’s critical to find something that makes your product truly different. It’s all about that one promise that no one else in the market can make.

• Compelling: Last but not least, if a proposition is true and unique, but not compelling to customers, they won’t be moved to act. How can we be sure our promise is on track? Research. Research. Research. We should never assume we know what consumers think before checking in with them.

True. Unique. Compelling. The right brand position will be all three.