Shaking That “old” Image
Preaching to the choir here, but would love to hear how you deal with the “old” image of senior housing, senior living and “senior” in general. When referring to “old”, not just speaking of an outdated image, but that most, if not all, seniors are “old” and that “old” indicates wheelchairs, walkers and senility. Those of us in the industry KNOW that this image is so far from the truth but have we done a sufficient job in transferring that to the public in general? (And honestly, I think this image is absorbed by some seniors themselves and they tend to “give up” at a certain age…because society thinks they should.) And what can we do from here on out to correct that image.
First, let’s look how we talk about seniors and how we write about them; our words. When researching our piece about the calendar produced by the Contilia Retirement Group community in Germany, I was surprised to see in writing phrases that I think most avoid ever using. I found various pieces that referred to the “old people’s home”, “old folks” and one even said “Nursing home dresses senior citizens up in…” like they were unable to dress themselves. In looking at those pictures, those residents looked far from “old”. They were some adventurous people in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s having some fun!
One site did take some comments about the calendar to task. Senior Planet; Aging with Attitude talks of how the calendar “breaks the flowers-and-bunnies convention.” A snippet of what Senior Planet had to say:
The calendar images went viral last week on the Internet, where comments vary from questionable (“adorable!” wrote commenters on several sites; Buzzfeed pinned the images to its “Cute” board) to enthusiastic: “This project is so inspiring — seniors barely receive the attention and respect they truly deserve!” and “Love this. And it isn’t “cute.” It’s cool and definitely a WIN.”
So do we condescendingly gaze down and these poor “old” souls with pity or look up to those with great life experience that refuse to grab their rocking chair. In fact, many seniors have found now that they have less responsibilities (family is grown, retired from full time career) they can actually find themselves and start doing more of the things they love.
This is especially relevant to active senior adult housing and “retirement” communities. Just because your potential residents have “retired” from a lifelong career or just reached a certain age does not mean they have retired from life. And that is the message you must get across when marketing to your prospective residents.
Look for our Wednesday Wellness blog when we showcase some inspiring, physically fit and active seniors.
MDS can help you evaluate your marketing plan and material or help your create a plan.