Chestnut Ridge – Blue Sky Community Brand Marketing Launch
THE SITUATION
Phoebe Ministries, a continuing care provider in Pennsylvania, acquired the Rodale, Inc. building — home to the former publishing company in Emmaus, PA — with a vision to create an independent living community for local seniors. While part of the renowned Phoebe CCRC family, the new community would offer a senior living experience unique from Phoebe’s current offerings. The desire was to build awareness, generate a VIP interest list and gain eventual deposits.
STRATEGY
Creating Results developed a strong marketing strategy that aligned with the target audience interests gained from various research initiatives including focus group results that focused on brand awareness and list generation tactics, which included both digital and traditional tactics all of which paid tribute to the property and Chestnut Ridge’s value proposition.
Creating Results then implemented a creative campaign focusing on Chestnut Ridge’s unique selling propositions – cultivating green living, personal growth with modern amenities through a simple image showcasing a plant sprouting in the hands of a senior.
SOLUTIONS
The campaign included targeted Facebook ads, display ads and paid search as well as the design and development of a microsite. Awareness marketing also supported the blue-sky launch with traditional placements to reinforce the “sprout” messaging and brand recognition. This included a billboard, local print placements and radio ads all targeting Chestnut Ridge’s ideal prospect with a call-to-action focusing on VIP sign up.
Inquiries generated in first quarter (average cost per inquiry $86)
Inquiries generated by Paid Search in the first quarter with a cost per inquiry $16.50 and a conversion rate of 9% (outperforming Wordstream's benchmark of 3.4%)
Inquiries generated by Facebook in the first quarter with a cost per inquiry $12 and a conversion rate of 19% (outperforming Wordstream's benchmark of 11%)
RESULTS
Within the first 24 hours of the Facebook lead generation campaign’s launch, Chestnut Ridge received 29 inquiries. In total, 150 inquiries were recorded for the first full week from Facebook alone, which resulted in 8% of depositors initially inquiring through Facebook.
As of Q3 in 2020, 54% of overall depositors occurred through digital sources with paid search as the fastest converting at 18.5% from the initial inquiry. Other top performers include organic (converting on the microsite) at 13% and email at 7.4%, all of which can be attributed to the strong awareness approach created through traditional advertisements – billboards, print placements and radio ads.