I became obsessed with movie award season this year, obsessed with a capital “O.” I watched it all – the Globes, SAG awards and, of course, the big show of the Oscars. I loved hearing the speeches from the winners (and seeing the faces of those who were favored to win but didn’t).
What does this have to do with mature marketing you ask? We all win when we share what works best for motivating this target market, but some insights resonate more than others. So, let’s look at the winners of this week’s mature marketing stories of interest.
And the awards go to…
Most Clicked
Robert Steuteville’s article Building Better Suburbs Through Retrofit about the trend of urbanism.
According to the article:
“Urbanism is not just about cities. The Charter of the New Urbanism calls for “the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts.”
The theme of the piece was transition – and how people of all ages are looking for a more city-like feel (read walkable and accessible) where they live, work and play. Put simply – in order for many suburban areas to be competitive with big cities in attracting both employers and residents they need re-think their offerings. Steuteville interviewed two subject matter experts to discuss the benefits of urbanism and how to approach this transformation successfully:
- Communities that are the most successful in integrating urbanism have at least 1 champion, typically someone in public office, to unite the effort. They also have a large team to work on a project that typically has many moving parts and considerations in navigating the change. They also noted that having the a functioning rail system is also important for the accessibility factor.
- The properties that offer the best opportunities for transitioning are enclosed malls (Steuteville noted that presently there are more than 200 projects on the books for transitioning run down malls to a more town center type of development), older office parks or abandoned corporate campuses. The author noted as an example one Massachusetts town that was even converting a series of parking lots into more of a main street design to connect the space to nearby businesses.
- When it comes to office parks specifically, so many buildings and spaces are aging, becoming less attractive to prospective employees and driving them to the cities with more appeal. By creating creating a mixed use offering of housing, dining, shopping and office space these once unattractive spaces are becoming attractive again – enticing more employers and employees.
When it comes to boomers and beyond the experts noted that while accessibility within these transformed areas is important there comes a point when additional support is necessary. The solution? A residential assisted living component small in size (no more than 3-stories) but large in the ability to provide skilled care in the heart of a larger urbanized space.
For marketers targeting mature consumers, especially senior living, the big take-away should be that transformation isn’t an ugly word and can help ensure you remain relevant and appealing to your consumers of today and tomorrow.
Read the full article here: bit.ly/2l4vxUT
MOST SHARED:
Justin Kerby’s inman.com article, 4 Real Estate Marketing Trends Agents Can’t Ignore in 2017.
The article provided what the author noted as 4 key trends that real estate agents need to be incorporating into their successful sales strategy. According to Kerby, these winning strategies include:
- Leveraging live video on social media platforms
- Paid social media marketing
- An increased understanding of marketing yourself and/or your brokerage effectively
- Getting (and staying) social
The take-away for realtors is simple (and one all marketers should keep in mind) – social is where it’s at. And to successfully navigate the social waters you need to think as a marketer (paid social media marketing) and like your prospects (live video and being social which is more than a weekly post – it’s engagement).
Read more about the tips here: bit.ly/2lY4LfY