Why we create Life Fulfilling Communities^®

instead of Retirement Communities?

According to Webster’s II Dictionary

Retire – verb, to give up working or serving because of advancing age, to withdraw, retreat, go to bed

Community - noun, a class or group with common interests

Therefore, a Retirement Community is a group of people, who share a common interest in retreating, giving up, and withdrawing from work and service.

It is the culture, not the buildings or services, which make a community unique.

Some wonder why PRAXEIS, the company developing Life Fulfilling Communities, does not use words like “retirement community, resident, or nursing home” in ads and brochures. The answer is really quite simple. We want to counter aging stereotypes by promoting positive aging, and unfortunately, many terms have become negative stereotypes.

If you are doubtful, consider the findings of Dr. Marie A. Bernard at the University of Oklahoma, “Health care professionals tend to believe that older individuals are frail and dependent and that those who are not are atypical.” Despite data showing that most elders are in good health and live in the community, it seems the stereotypes are still more powerful. When being old is a reason to dismiss or explain away a health problem, we seldom look for other causes. Even though age does not cause poor health, the two continue to be confused.

The evidence mounts daily on the devastating impact stereotypes can have on those who accept them as their reality. According to the March 2006 Journals of Gerontology and Social Sciences, “Among 546 people ages 70 years and older, those who had negative images of aging (describing older adults as senile, feeble or stooped) were more likely to experience hearing loss than those who had positive images (describing older people as wise or active).” On the other hand, those with a positive aging self-image live and average of 7.6 years longer than those with a negative self-image.

For older adults to accept the stereotypes as future reality is to threaten their future health and well-being. If there is a single myth about aging that most symbolizes our dread, it is the assumption that our memory will decline in old age. In a stunning study, Harvard psychologist Dr. Ellen Langer demonstrated that it is the near-universal expectation of memory loss that actually brings that fate upon us. The fear of aging is the single most powerful agent creating exactly what we fear. Accordingly to Langer, “As people age, low expectations lead to decreased effort, less use of adaptive strategies, avoidance of challenging situations, and failure to seek medical attention for disease-related symptoms.”

Today’s active and informed older adult population is looking for something unique and different, not the same old culture of golf, bingo and bridge in a fancy, new package. This new generation of consumers is seeking a non-institutional, member-driven culture that counters aging and “retirement” stereotypes. Simply stated, a community that does not feel like what they perceive a retirement community to be.

To avoid creating unintentional negative perceptions, PRAXEIS avoids the use of words that sound institutional or might trigger negative mental images. Managers and operating team members are encouraged to use members instead of residents; residences or homes instead of units, beds, or apartments; and neighborhoods instead of facilities. They avoid using words like senior, elderly, continuing care, or retirement community all together. These are just a few of the words addressed in the growing Life Fulfilling Community Vocabulary to help redefine community living for life’s second half. Our simple rule to combat aging stereotypes is “if a word, title or description sounds institutional, negative, or ageist” do not use it.

Leaders, like eagles, do not flock. You must seek them out one at a time. In the senior housing and healthcare industries, visionary eagles have been few and far between. This is not to say the design and amenities have not continued to be enhanced. It is not to say there are not thousands of dedicated caregivers providing needed services. Nevertheless, the image of the retirement community remains a place to step aside and let life go. The senior living industry cannot reverse this image simply by using barefoot, 86 year old water skiers or younger models in classier brochures.

Promotional materials talk of independent lifestyles and reinforce the message with photos of golfers, people swimming, playing tennis and enjoying meals together. The copy then begins to create a serious cognitive disconnect in the minds of savvy readers. Many a community promises the consumer friends, the assurance a team of professionals will plan their activities to take them wherever they want to go and to provide long-term care when the end is near. The visuals say independence and the copy explains in vivid detail how it will slowly strip away that autonomy in the name of community.

There are exceptions. Dr. Bill Thomas envisioned a new long-term care paradigm called the Eden Alternative/Green House that is growing in popularity in spite of paradigm keepers and health department bureaucrats. While many praise the philosophy, few fully embrace its application to their operational culture. As with marketing, operations are rooted in command and control hierarchies of the past founded on Newtonian logic that is out of step with today’s interactive society.

CCRC’s hold on to packages of services and meals that allow the consumer little choice or autonomy…and what autonomy exists is eroded as the need for care escalates. Many happy older adults move to a community in their 80’s…when they were finally ready. Unfortunately, they missed many of the benefits to body, mind and spirit by waiting until their physical health was beginning to fail. Yet, CCRC’s generally attract consumers based on need rather than a desire to pursue a more fulfilling life.

As long as marketing strategies depend on fear and urgency, the CCRC industry will continue to attract older and older consumers. Over emphasizing care and the physical aspects of aging, position your product to a dependent consumer. The medical models of long-term health care of the past simply have not worked and will become less effective as baby boomers reach maturity…the power of the human spirit is not to be denied.

Even science is waking up and getting into the act, as reported in the August issue of the British Medical Journal. The article reported the results of a 13-year longitudinal study by Harvard University of 2,761 residents of New Haven, Connecticut who were over the age of 65. Here is a brief summary of the results:

The purpose of the study was to determine if activities such as day trips, bingo, gardening, community work and going to church and the cinema compared with physical fitness in prolonging life. Surprisingly factors known to contribute to longer life, such as superior health or education, did not influence the results significantly. Those who were the most socially active lived about 4 years longer while those who exercised the most frequently increased their longevity by only 2.5 years.

Dr. Thomas Glass, who led the study, did warn that the findings couldn’t be construed to mean that being constructive is better than exercising when it comes to extending life because the categories were not compared with each other. Still, it is the strongest circumstantial evidence we’ve had to date that having a meaningful purpose at the end of life lengthens life.

This study proves that it is possible to reverse the self-fulfilling prophecy that later life is all about decline and dependency. It is a wake-up for the senior living industry to rethink how they operate CCRCs…to look beyond the buildings, activities and amenities and speaks to the human spirit with a message of challenge and autonomy.

The results of this research speak to developers, architects and CCRC leadership of the need to reinvent programming and operations.  Long term care centers do not all have to look the same, smell the same or be depressing. They can be places to celebrate the power of the human spirit over the frailties of the body by keeping people as involved in possible.

Contrary to the opinions of copywriters and ad agencies most mature consumers accept aging and have no desire to remain narcissistic adolescents for life…not even leading-edge baby boomers. Mature consumers are not searching for a place to be entertained, transported and directed by a young activity director while they wait for the day they need around-the-clock care. They do not need a counselor to help choose a future home.

Those who are aging successfully see life as a blank canvas. The future landscape will be painted using a palate of experience, aspirations and the need for lifelong personal growth and fulfillment. They are not seeking someone to paint the picture for them; but a place that nourishes the artist inside.

Current marketing campaigns are not attracting the younger, active mature adult because they offer them nothing they do not already have. The affluent have long-term care insurance policies, club memberships, season tickets to the opera/symphony, etc. and a spacious dwelling. They are in search of a place where eagles will gather…not a crow’s nest from which to watch the rest of the world.

Eagles see the challenge of a chess game or bridge tournament; not a game room. They see a stage on which to reconnect with their inner child seeking the applause of appreciative fans; not a large multipurpose room with a stage. They see opportunities for community service, either socially or politically, in the empty meeting rooms – not card parties and ice cream socials. They are seeking computer classes, not ceramics classes.

Just as they challenged the systems of the 60’s, baby boomers will demand something different. They will challenge outdated systems, patronizing programming and attempts to keep them from soaring…and be encouraged to do so by the generation now seeking something different in community living. Moreover, these eagles are beginning to gather in search of leaders who will re-invent retirement communities.

Generally, today’s buildings, facilities and designs are fine. What is missing is a new paradigm…a totally new way to view the market potential. It is time to reverse the self-fulfilling prophecies of aging. It is time to trash the marketing lessons tested on the young culture of the past that emphasizes hyperbole over reality. It is time to offer optimum autonomy, a better quality of life, enhanced longevity, health and well-being in addition to amenities.  It is time to offer a gathering of eagles places from which they can soar.

Isn’t it amazing? It took the 50^th birthday parties of a few thousand leading edge baby boomers for corporate America and the mainstream media to wake up to the fact that the median age of adults in the US increased by about a decade while they weren’t looking. Now, two years later, articles and conference topics on the typical boomer proliferate. Well the typical boomer, like the typical senior, is much like the typical snowflake

What do we call them? Are they like other older people? What does this mature market want? How do we tweak our ads to get the attention of these new older folk? As the market potential becomes more and more obvious, a plethora of consultants, authors and seminars are pontificating on how to capture this elusive, elder beast. Many will offer four easy steps or six simple typologies that will insure success in the aging marketplace.

Well, this complex market defies simple, structured solutions; yet is easy to understand if you can dismiss the concepts learned serving the youth dominated markets of the past. The self absorbed, techno-toyed boomer will enter later life with the same value system as preceding generations…only in a different context dictated by life experiences.

An associate in New York recently told me about a meeting of corporate executives who spent the better part of an hour discussing what to call these mature consumers? An hour? Until now it was ok to call customers, customers. I can only imagine the discussion. “What about senior, mature adult or MUPPIE (mature upwardly mobile professionals)? Sure, let us call the old ones seniors and the others juniors! Let’s do some research and see what people prefer to be called.” Well, I can only speak for me; but I prefer either Richard or Mr. Ambrosius, thank you very much.

I am not complaining. My business is to help others succeed in the maturing marketplace. If there is any secret, it is training sales, fund-raising, public relations, and marketing personnel on how the maturing consumer thinks. How they process your messages differently than adults under age 45. If you believe those who portend that boomers will be teenagers or hippies for life, you will regret that decision.

Still, too many age 20 and 30 something creative types have gone to one seminar or workshop on the demographics and returned to pump out high quality, creative ads and brochures that present age as seen through the eyes of the young. Why not ask a man to explain what it feels like to give birth; it is about as meaningful. This is not a criticism of creative talent; but merely an observation that a majority of ads targeting middle age and older adults are screened out/ignored by the mature mind.

Since we seem to be a list driven culture, I offer one. Not steps to success in older markets, but half-dozen changes that begin influencing consumer behavior in midlife and become more pronounced as we age. These changes are founded in the research and writings of mature consumer behavior specialist, David B. Wolfe and reinforced by my own 27 years experience learning from, working with/for and marketing to older adults:

1. Rely less on reason and more on intuition cued by emotional visuals, copy and concepts. Use images that promote strong, positive emotional responses such as intergenerational photos, nostalgic images, and Rockwell style photos that tell a story. Relationship building must precede presentation of a service or product because relationships are emotionally based (gut feelings) rather than rationally deduced.  Both visuals and copy should communicate an interest in the whole person, not just a side that may need a particular product or service. Avoid depictions of older consumers in flat, single dimension contexts, such as using or talking about the product without reference to a larger context of the person’s life experience. Communicate with people – not segments.

2. Make a good first impression (always emotionally based). Experienced older adults form first impressions more quickly and resist reversing them. Just ask yourself, do you become less and less tolerant of bad service with each birthday? I have asked that question to thousands at seminars and the answer is a resounding yes. This is not because we become less tolerant; but because we know what we want. Age makes us more sensitive to images that can stimulate negative first impressions; especially if the image conflicts with a positive self-image or threatens our personal autonomy.

3. Once you gain their attention, the older consumer will want more information than when they were younger. Older adults read warranties, guarantees, and insurance policies; but only after they have decided they are worth reading. The marketer must present an emotional appeal when most advantageous, then shift to hard or objective information. However, let the consumer drive the process. Give them no more than needed or wanted. Brain science has proven that emotion increases adrenaline flow, which increases long-term memory. 

4. Because the mind’s processing speed for objective information slows with age, deliver objective information (e.g., product benefits and features, technical information, etc.) at a slow to moderate pace. Avoid jump cuts and incomplete sentences in narrative copy or radio and television spots. If the consumer is interested, the length of the copy will not be a barrier . . .a negatively perceived headline or visual could be. Due to a lifetime of experiences, the processing speed for subjective information increases. That knowledge alone will increase your direct mail response rate when you discover how to lead with emotional appeals and follow with the facts.

5. Maturing consumers become more resistant to absolute propositions and directive language. The new generation of mature adults, especially boomers, grew up with television ads, exaggerated claims and hyperbole. They have heard it all. They want fact-filled information; but prefer to draw their own conclusions. Information on companies and products should be presented in a qualified, even deferential manner. When you use directive language, urgency strategies or exclusionary terms, you threaten the consumer’s autonomy and the mind begins experientially screening out your message.

6. Maturing consumers more quickly grasp metaphorical meanings, nuances and subtleties using subjective information processing. Unlike the objective presentations that worked with younger consumers, marketers need to take advantage of greater sensitivity to subtlety by expanding the content of the message and thus its perceived attractiveness. By using less specific language to describe products or services, the consumer can use their own creative processes to define the product in the context of their reality and life experience. This can be accomplished using nonverbal symbols such as the flag, babies, sunset, playful children, pets, hugs, smiles, holding hands, doves etc. Likewise, the mature consumer is more receptive to narrative-styled presentations of information. Therefore, make greater use of story-telling techniques to get information across.

Since so few companies have targeted the mature consumer, absolute evidence on what works best in this changing consumer market is limited. Some companies have explored the mature market using traditional methods only to conclude there was little potential because consumers failed to respond. They blamed neither the messenger nor the message. It seems they blamed the intended recipient. Others have invested thousands of dollars to teach sensitivity to their personnel without ever developing an empathetic understanding of the mature consumer and their decision-making processes.

As businesses continue to track the elusive elder beast, there will no doubt be varying degrees of success. This article does not call into question the approaches that have worked so well in previous decades, as they were very appropriate in the dominant youth market. However, yesterday ended last night and new approaches must be tested and improved before we can advance the state-of-the-art.

Those who are willing to look outside the box as they explore new approaches to communicating their offers will dominate their respective markets for the next 20 years. They are the visionaries who seek long-term success over short-term security.

Richard (Dick) Ambrosius is Vice President of Marketing Communications for PRAXEIS of Jacksonville, FL. For the past 27 years, he has been an outspoken advocate of positive aging and ageless marketing. For more information, call 904-381-0433 or visit www.praxeis.com.

Destiny is not a matter of chance,

it is a matter of choice.

-William Jennings Bryant

To paraphrase John Barrymore, a person does not become old until regrets begin to take the place of dreams. Dreams and aspirations give our lives purpose and meaning. They change, over time, to reflect the stages of our lives.

In early childhood, we delight in the anticipation of birthdays, holidays, that new bike, summer vacations….and hugs. Later, we put away childlike things as new dreams begin taking shape-true love, a college education, a family, a career, a home, life partner, a new sports car or boat….and hugs. Vacations become a time of escape as we form our identities and come to terms with whom we are. Some dreams we realize, others lose importance as we grow and change.

In mid-life, our thoughts turn inward…to connections with family, friends and community. We vacation to relax and revitalize our minds and spirits, reconnect, find our roots and explore other times and lands. We dream of a secure future, good health, loving relationships….and hugs.

Becoming you is a journey, not a destination.

Few people today dream of “retiring” to a life of “doing nothing” for 15…30 years or more. Retirement as a life stage has changed. It no longer matches Webster’s definition “an end…withdrawal…separation…seclusion.” It is not a time to allow regrets to take the place of dreams. It is a time for new dreams, new beginnings.

The third stage of life is like the third stage of a rocket. It is when the productive stuff starts. Free of the pull of gravity (college tuition, mortgages, 60-hour workweeks, etc.), an astronaut can explore, discover new vistas and return to share findings and knowledge with the world. So can we.

Creating places for all life can be.

Life Fulfilling Communities^® are shattering stereotypes and raising expectations for mature lifestyles by growing innovative communities where people celebrate and experience life. Places where dreams live, grow, and change. Places that enable people to explore, discover, and share….places for all life can be.

There are many housing options in our changing world. Our goal is to create choices for those in search of a challenging and rewarding tomorrow. Regardless of where you are and how you feel today, you should visit the world of Life Fulfilling Communities. It may not be your destiny, but then again…

While every Life Fulfilling Community is unique, all share a commitment to create extraordinary places for exceptional people.

We do not believe in doing the same thing repeatedly. We listen, and innovate. We reinvent. We have dreams. Our business itself is like a series of many beginnings. Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. And our reputation as industry leaders continues to grow. May the dreams we have today lead to tomorrows to which we all look forward.