| Hillcrest Terrace Retirement Community is an innovative provider of high quality independent and assisted living accommodations. Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, Hillcrest Terrace residents enjoy the convenience and activity of New Hampshire's largest city, as well as the peaceful surroundings of a 17-acre wooded site. The community includes 138 independent living apartments in a variety of one- and two-bedroom floor plans, and 69 assisted living apartments for residents who require additional care.
Hillcrest Terrace is dedicated to assisting its residents with remaining healthy, active, and as independent as possible. Amenities include a library, country store, salon, and fitness room. Transportation, fine dining with a fresh daily menu, and housekeeping and maintenance services make living at Hillcrest Terrace worry-free. From trips to Boston's museums and the New Hampshire seacoast, to crafts, gardening, and a weekly cocktail hour, the community offers a wide variety of activities to suit every taste.
The Challenge:
Hillcrest Terrace affords residents conveniences and luxuries that help them live more independently than if they had remained in their own homes. However, the decision to leave the familiar home where a family was raised and decades of memories were made can be a very difficult one. To assist seniors and their children with understanding the comforts and opportunities available to them at Hillcrest Terrace, the community joined forces with Millennium to launch an innovative advertising campaign. The goal was to strengthen the community's brand and achieve maximum occupancy, along with a residency waiting list.
Evaluation & Research Conducted:
Prior to designing its campaign strategy, Millennium toured Hillcrest Terrace and researched its competitors. The results identified that Hillcrest Terrace provides the largest menu of services, amenities, and activities for seniors; making it unique among its regional competitors. Additionally, its location in a safe, country setting, while also being in a large city an hour from Boston, the White Mountains, and the seacoast, make it geographically ideal.
Millennium's research informed its strategy to position Hillcrest Terrace as the choice for seniors to start a new, exciting, and worriless phase of their lives. Millennium targeted its messaging on the active, social, and carefree lifestyle of Hillcrest Terrace residents in order to attract prospective residents. It also helped the Hillcrest Terrace management team see the value in marketing not just to seniors, but also to their children, who often assist parents in making the decision to leave their homes for a retirement community. Based on the favorable geographic location of Hillcrest Terrace, Millennium also recommended the campaign reach beyond greater Manchester by expanding its efforts statewide.
The Solution:
Millennium designed an ambitious print and radio advertising campaign that included placements with New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire Public Radio, New Hampshire Union Leader, and far-reaching major Tier 1 radio stations WGIR and WZID. These media outlets share demographics that reach both target markets of seniors and their children; making them ideal choices for this campaign.
Using consistent messages about the exciting and convenient independent lifestyle afforded by Hillcrest Terrace, Millennium was able to successfully build a fresh brand identity for the community. The campaign resonated with seniors and their children because it changed how they thought about retirement community living.
The campaign generated such interest in Hillcrest Terrace that the community had a 99% occupancy rate for the first time in years – and was able to begin managing an active and growing waiting list.
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