Marketing, Branding, Lead Generation & Sales Coaching

How “Internalized Ageism” Impacts Sales, Marketing and Census (And What You Can Do About It!).

We all know that 92-year-old who tours a community and says, “I can’t live with all these old people!” and leaves.

That biased mindset is part of a deeply rooted psychological construct known as “internalized ageism,” and it presents a considerable hurdle when marketing to the mature market.

In this eye-opening presentation, 3rdThird Marketing (a division of 3rdPlus) will help you better understand the psychological triggers behind internalized ageism and how it shapes perceptions and impacts your success in marketing and census. The presentation includes real-world examples and videos of prospects reacting to images and messages. Attendees will discover which messages to use and those to avoid, along with both subtle and overt cues in architecture, dining, design, language, images, events, offers, etc. In addition, you’ll learn how to refocus prospects on positive associations of communal living and how to evaluate your own marketing and selling via the lens of internalized ageism to make it more effective. Presented by Cynthia Thurlow-Cruver, Principal of 3rdPlus and Derek Dujardin, Creative of Director of 3rdThird Marketing.

NOTE: This presentation also comes with a complimentary whitepaper that recaps salient information that you can share with your organization.

Everybody Sells! How to Create a Culture That Supports Selling at Every Level.

The best hospitality brands in the world understand something that many senior living communities miss: Everyone in the organization—regardless of their role—is ultimately in sales.

This fun and interactive session will demonstrate that your community’s brand promise doesn’t end at the website or marketing materials, but is instead a lived experience generated by team members with actions both big and small.

Attend the session and leave with tangible ideas for what your community can start doing today to bring your brand to life. We will include some surefire tactics for sales and how to leverage your organization’s unique creative instincts to help convert more prospects into new residents.

NOTE: This presentation also comes with a complimentary whitepaper that recaps salient information that you can share with your organization.

A Guide to Successful Blue Sky Selling & Repositioning: Case Studies & Stats.

Calling all blue sky thinkers! See national perspectives about the timing of a repositioning as well as the related branding, marketing and operational considerations plus blue sky selling techniques required for success. Just want to sell some tired inventory? This session is for you too! You’ll learn sales and marketing tactics for selling outdated apartments before they’re remodeled as well as how to build a wait list.

A professional sales coach and his team share tactical, messaging, creative, programming and operations shifts you can make today to help your organization reach for the sky with their repositioning project. Topics: Financial Management; Leadership & Strategy; Management & Operations; Marketing, Philanthropy & PR.

The Art & Science of Community Repositioning & Turnarounds.

Whether your community is humming along and considering a repositioning, or you’re in a turn-around situation with census challenges, this session is for you. Hear the best practices that are crucial for building census that are vitally important for market repositioning and ensuring long-term health for all communities.

3rdThird Marketing, a division of 3rdPlus, made its name turning around census-challenged communities and moving them to full occupancy within 24 months. They will offer key learnings from numerous repositioning projects and describe the mindset, processes and best practices your team, agency and board need to embrace. This holistic intervention will cover targeted aspects of marketing and sales, leadership, change management, dining and operations, board management and market research for a successful repositioning or community turnaround. We will look at the “science”; the core strategic, foundational and tried-and-true essentials that are proven to work for nearly every repositioning project, as well as the “art”; the creative aspects, such as design, positioning, messaging and photography that is authentically unique to your brand. Your award-winning presenters include Derek Dujardin, creative director at 3rdThird Marketing and Cynthia Thurlow-Cruver, principal at 3rdPlus and 3rdThird Marketing.

NOTE: This presentation also comes with a complimentary whitepaper that recaps salient information that you can share with your organization.

OCCUPANCY NOW! Tactics and Strategies to Fill Up Faster.

If you know something needs to change in your approach to sales and marketing but don’t know where to begin, this presentation is for you. For more than 15 years, 3rdThird Marketing, a division of 3rdPlus, has had a near-perfect record for turning around census-challenged communities. This presentation draws upon their deep expertise with short-term tactics that have moved the needle quickly on occupancy. We also address non-marketing issues in operations and HR that impact marketing success.

Please note that this won’t be a rehash of common knowledge about sales and marketing in senior living but will delve into offering best practices proven to deliver faster, better ROIs for your marketing budget. In addition, metrics and targets will be provided to help assess marketing effectiveness while spotlighting “conventional wisdom” of wasteful tactics that don’t deliver like they used to. Best of all, attendees will leave this session with the confidence to be more thoughtful advocates on behalf of their marketing and sales teams.

Our Presenters

Cynthia Thurlow
Founder, Principal and President of 3rdPlus

Cynthia’s 30-year career in branding and advertising spans a multitude of industries, from high-end hospitality with Sunterra Resorts (today named Diamond Resorts) and its 50 worldwide locations to telecommunications, software, banking, non-profits and medical systems. A partner in general-service agencies THREEam and GCDirect, she catered to clients such as T-Mobile USA, Microsoft, F5 Networks, Boeing Credit Union, Goodwill Industries and Pacific Medical Centers. Also, Cynthia has owned a casual but upscale bistro, Cafe Destino, in Bremerton, Washington, where she also originated Bremerton’s first farmers market. Her broad professional background translates well to the senior living industry, which requires technical expertise with food and beverage, hospitality, communications and creative, all driven forward by a powerful, engaging brand.

Cynthia takes a professional approach that consistently focuses on the positive, builds long-term relationships with clients and achieves success with brilliant creativity. A past president of the Seattle Direct Marketing Association, board committee member of the Puget Sound American Marketing Association, member of ALFA and LeadingAge, Cynthia rounds out her passions with organic gardening, art, cooking and her island home life with her husband and dog, Dr. Pickles.

Scott Daniels
CEC, CCA, AAC and Vice President of Culinary and Operations

Scott’s 25+ year career encompasses many facets of the culinary arts. He is an award-winning chef and hospitality professional, recognized by the American Culinary Federation as both a Certified Executive Chef and a Certified Culinary Administrator. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America with high honors and is a fellow of the American Academy of Chefs, which is the Who’s Who of Chefs in the United States. He is also a Mobil 4-Star Award recipient and a three-time recipient of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Scott believes that sharing knowledge and experience is vital to the food service industry. Students at two community colleges benefited from his instruction in Hospitality Management and Foodservice Sanitation, and he has also taught classes at Cornell University.

His vision for Culinary Coach is simple. Provide the necessary tools and resources to the dining teams of senior living communities to make each and every day better than the previous with regards to the dining experience for the residents, while elevating the dining team through education and resources. He has been heavily involved with a dog rescue for 25 years and his home has welcomed dogs from the U.S., Egypt, and Turkey. He has a deep fondness for dogs with disabilities and has a home full of fluff and love.

Derek Dujardin
Creative Director and Brand Strategist at 3rdPlus and 3rdThird Marketing

Derek Dujardin has been an award-winning advertising copywriter, creative director, and brand strategist for over 30 years. He has worked as the creative director for 3rdThird Marketing and 3rdPlus for the last seven years. During that time, he has helped redefine what’s possible in marketing and branding for senior living communities by bringing a fresh, creative perspective informed by his extensive work with Nike, F5, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Microsoft, McKesson, Evergreen Health, U.S. Bank and dozens of other clients. As the foremost thought leader on the role of internalized ageism and marketing, he has spoken extensively about its many adverse effects on senior living sales. He will not abide cookie-cutter work. He believes marketing senior living communities by using photos of older people and pictures of buildings is just plain lazy, uninspired and often a bad idea.