Retirement and senior citizens homes have never possessed a very positive image. In fact, they tend to conjure up visions of bored seniors wasting their days away. But the reality is, these centres have come a long way and many now boast a range of amenities, including formal dining rooms and private chefs, pubs, spas, social events and tennis courts.

With people over the age of 65 making up one of the fastest-growing segments of the population – a quarter of all Canadians will be in that age group within the next three decades – it’s little wonder these properties are growing in quantity and, in many cases, quality.

There’s a rash of new housing developments across Canada, many of which incorporate independent-living centres, as well as assisted-living homes and apartments for the over-65 crowd. Companies like Sunrise Assisted Living and Diversicare Canada Management Services have been catering to the ‘older persons’ market for some time, while newer entrants, like homebuilder The Daniels Corporation and condo developer Tridel Corp. of Toronto, have just begun to realize the potential: Tridel, for example, recently opened Elgin Manor in Toronto, complete with a host of services and amenities, under the corporate name Delmanor Seniors Communities.

‘Everyone’s looking at it because it’s a real cash cow for the future. People are getting older and a lot of the [existing] places are getting old – you can dress them up but you’re still making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Newer places are going to be in demand,’ says Nick Hall, president and creative director of London-based integrated marketing firm Hall Associates, which has done work for Diversicare in Ontario, Sunrise and Sifton Properties.

Developments geared to the aging market generally break down into three different types (or combinations thereof), each geared to a different segment of the ‘adult’ population: nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which make up the first type, tend to be for older people (75+) who require constant care – in most cases, these centres are government-funded and regulated and therefore are not promoted. The second type is assisted-living centres, which serve as an alternative to nursing homes, offering seniors who don’t require 24-hour care on-site help with daily tasks like bathing and room cleaning, for example. Retirement communities and adult-living centres make up the last type, catering to the 50- to 75-year-old market (often empty-nesters) – a group that likely has travel, shopping, and social engagements, among other things, on the agenda.

It’s the latter two types of housing that are worth promoting, says Hall. And as competition in the sector heats up, so ‘should’ the marketing. ‘You see a lot of promo packages that are appalling – there’s no pride or passion in the offering,’ he adds. ‘Everyone’s saying the same thing and no one’s trying to differentiate.’

The typical condo or residence marketing often constitutes everything from simple photocopied packages and on-site signage to the (bigger budget) pastel-coloured building illustrations. And the prevalence of grassroots techniques like tours, soft-sell get-togethers, wine and cheese parties and get-to-know-your-neighbours sessions at centres are on the rise.

Toronto-based The Daniels Corporation recently completed sales for The Colony, its Mississauga-based 50+ adult lifestyle/retirement community, which is made up of 44 single-family condos.

‘As a builder, I think it’s important to understand the trends and react accordingly,’ says Niall Haggart, VP of The Daniels Corporation. ‘Seniors housing is not something anyone can just go and do effectively because of the ingredients needed – you have to have the right partners and operators, the right programs and the right location. It’s not a typical condo building – there’s so much more behind it.’

The developer has a cradle-to-grave philosophy, he adds, whereby they reward townhome renters, for example, with Daniels dollars that can be applied to the eventual purchase of a home. ‘That gives us an edge. We can take clients through a continuum of housing opportunity.’

The advertising for The Colony development included attacking the local market with direct mailers to the area, as well as local media, in this case, The Mississauga News. The lifestyle-oriented print message read: ‘You travel the world and yet everything you need is right under your nose.’ The creative featured architectural images of the building, as well as area amenities, including a golf course, walking trail and nearby retail outlets. It also employed make-a-friend-a-neighbour referral programs, whereby clients were awarded with a referral fee.

‘We found mainstream publications, like The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, were an effective way to get out there. The trouble, however, is that you get a lot of tire-kickers,’ says Haggart. ‘You really have to target the ad to the adult lifestyle with the appropriate price point and home style. There’s a place for the mainstream channel but there’s a lot more work involved.’

In marketing its Longworth Retirement Village, which is a hybrid of an independent retirement residence and a long-term care complex (targeted at an older clientele), London, Ont.-based Sifton Properties chose not to emphasize the bricks-and-mortar aspect of its development since the emphasis is on the services and support within the physical walls. The tag line, ‘Just Like Home,’ was designed to sell a lifestyle of dignity, compassion and caring. The campaign, created by Hall Associates, included geo-demographic-targeted direct mailers, support material, brochures and a Web page, and featured homey images like a cup of tea and a chair with reading glasses.

‘We’re dealing with a smaller, older segment. And this is not their first choice of places to live. In many cases it’s with great reluctance that they make this choice. It’s a unique marketing effort. You don’t find many other products or services out there where you’re marketing to a group that doesn’t want it,’ says Barry Parker, VP, residential income properties at Sifton.

That’s why it has become increasingly important to also gear marketing toward the families, he says, since they are now so closely involved in the decision-making process. In this case, geo-demographically targeted direct mailers were also directed to family members, who usually tend to draw out of the same area.

‘These types of promotions to the market we’re after are very local – typically because the [children] are involved in the process and they want a close proximity for visits,’ says Hall, adding that the tag, in this case, worked for both seniors and their kids. ‘From the sibling perspective, it relieves a lot of guilt that is bundled with putting mom or dad in a home, and from the residents’ perspective, it reassures them they are not moving miles away from their families, and that there is a level of comfort and independence that’s still available.’

Hall continues: ‘This is no small decision for people. Compassion has to come into it and there has to be a level of respect for who you’re targeting. After all, you’re saying ‘here’s where we would like you to think about living for quite possibly the rest of your life.”

We asked our experts to expound how they would market seniors homes and retirement communities. Here’s what they had to say.

Dwayne Chambers, adult living account manager

50Plus and 50Plus.com, Toronto

The boomers are changing the look and feel of retirement living. Our own publication 50Plus magazine has adopted this fact by changing our May issue from being a special ‘retirement living’ issue to ‘Living Style.’ No one wants to move into a ‘retirement’ facility but an ‘adult condo’ sure sounds attractive.

Retirement homes have an associated stigmatism as an ‘old folks’; a place to live out your final years. The new trend is facilities with hotel-like style and feel. Developers such as Amica Mature Life Styles and Sunrise Assisted-Living offer planned activities, workshops and seminars, and amenities with little supervision, vital to their dignity.

Intertwining everyday activities with housing options is a key factor for this demographic. For instance, the Loyalist Country Club just outside of Kingston offers amenities such as membership to a pristine 18-hole golf course. Although it is not marketed as a retirement community, it does target an affluent demographic, willing to relocate in Bath, Ont.

50Plus.com has conducted internal research that indicates that of the 52% of 50Plus readers have a computer, and 93% of them use it to research large purchases. These purchases include housing options. Developers should view their Web site as a valuable tool used for gathering information and learning more about their community/facility by a possible purchaser. On the flip side, developers can learn more about the possible purchaser by offering incentives for more dialogue – for example, permission based e-mails, surveys and questionnaires. Integrated campaigns combining on-page advertising and Web site participation should also become the primary focus. In a market that is amenity driven, what better way to communicate all that your project has to offer than through the use of a Web site?

Some marketers have used creative showing ‘Generation Gaps’ to promote their product. For instance, Royal Homes shows a little girl enjoying her stay at her grandmother’s house to promote independence yet family. Geographic location most definitely plays a part in the decision-making process as well. Support from families/children tend to be a car-drive away.

Keith Hillmer, president

Boom Communications (a new division of Padulo Integrated), Toronto

[Developers and builders] seem to have a different way of coming at this market. From a media standpoint they tend to be far too traditional – they stick to certain newspapers and 50+ magazines.

With the amount of marketing and money that is starting to be spent in this area, they should be looking at it in different ways – and using different media. For example, I think radio – even television – would be very interesting. You’re trying to create a personality for these places. It would be advantageous to them if they started to think in a more adventurous way and got to a larger target group.

With residences, [consumers] want to know that they’re moving into a more homogeneous environment with maybe more amenities and facilities. It’s a nicer way to live to have all that at your fingertips and that’s the way to position it. At the nursing home stage – people realize that’s what they need. When it comes to residential complexes and communities, which is where I think there’s a huge new market opportunity, that has to be sold and I don’t think it is being sold well right now in most cases. It should be portrayed as a lifestyle that can enhance their lives; that they’re not moving into a place that is a step down for them; and that it’s a place or an area where they will live a better life.

The way to get through to these people is to think a bit differently and not go the traditional routes. Also, the look and feel of the advertising shouldn’t have an older feel. The headset of these people is actually quite a bit younger than it used to be – they don’t want to be talked to on older terms. You need a more youthful, active positioning and that relates to media choice as well.