Holiday Retirement
services
We devised and launched a new subscription service designed to help seniors thrive at home for the 2nd largest provider of independent senior living in the U.S.
Introduction
The longevity economy is growing, revealing a segment of seniors who choose to age in place. This demographic is seeking companionship and light support, which is nestled between full independence and costly assisted living. Traditional models, such as Holiday Retirement's assisted living homes, struggle to address the unique needs of this group. To tackle this challenge, we developed a subscription service that resonates with these seniors' desire for autonomy and cost-effective care—in their own homes.
Meeting with members in their own homes proved to be an immensely joyful and insightful part of the project, leading to extraordinary learnings.
Challenge
As people grow older, they cherish their independence and privacy. However, their adult children start worrying about their well-being, which can lead to tension and scrutiny of the seniors' autonomy. The adult children may be concerned about their parents, but they are often busy with their careers and families, causing a growing distance between generations—a common feature of late capitalism. The transition period of seniors' health and well-being is complex and uncertain, making communication between the parties difficult. This complexity presented a challenge in developing a language and tone that respected the dignity and honor of this transitional period.
Dr. Bill Thomas is a physician, professor, entrepreneur, playwright, and performer whose wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. The Wall Street Journal highlights Dr. Thomas as one of the nation’s “top 10 innovators” changing the future of retirement in America. © Webb Chappell Photography 2016
Approach
We were fortunate enough to collaborate with Dr. Bill Thomas, a highly respected authority in the field of human aging. Dr. Thomas is a physician, professor, entrepreneur, playwright, and performer who has made significant contributions to the aging field. He co-founded The Eden Alternative with Jude Meyers in the early 1990s, which aimed to demonstrate innovative ways of eliminating loneliness, helplessness, and boredom and enhancing the well-being of both staff and residents. Notably, Dr. Thomas introduced pets into the Eden Alternative environment, which seniors began to adopt organically, resulting in a significant increase in happiness levels.
Under the guidance of Dr. Thomas, we developed our vision based on three core principles: purpose, strength, and belonging.
Purpose involves refining our priorities as we grow older; strength encompasses our overall well-being, including balance and vitality; and belonging is about moving beyond individual pursuits and embracing shared connections.
Our offering pivoted around four elements: Move, Eat, Sleep, and Heal. 'Move' ensured seniors had movement programs tailored to their capabilities. 'Eat' supplied specialized gourmet meals, easing meal-planning burdens. 'Sleep' optimized rest, while 'Heal' provided an environment for personal discussion, linking seniors to psychological support when needed.
Our custom-developed ecosystem of apps conceived for flexible member support
Innovation
We utilized the flexibility of Progressive Web Apps to create an ecosystem of apps. The first app was designed for members (seniors). "Companions," which was the label we gave to home health aides, helped bridge the technology gap for members when needed. Later versions of the app served loved ones, companions, and operations staff who managed daily tasks and communications.
Technically, Zuora was integrated for subscription management, GreatCall for incident reports and fall detection, WorkWave for route optimization, and Orderhive for order fulfillment. By integrating with these platforms, the app was able to cater to a wide range of needs and offer a seamless experience to all users.
The Members App enables seniors to place and customize food orders among other features.
Senior App
The Senior App was designed to make it easy for members to manage their meal preferences for various dietary needs and set visit schedules. Members could message their companions, keep track of their well-being, and access content curated by Dr. Bill Thomas. The app also enabled members to set personal goals while nurturing intrinsic motivation through the self-determination theory to ensure they remained engaged and inspired.
Family App
With the senior’s consent, the Family App allowed loved ones to view the senior’s well-being and communicate with their companion. It was designed to enhance peace of mind and support the adult child rather than replace their care. Interestingly, the additional insights about the seniors often sparked fresh conversations, enriching dialogue between older adults and their families.
Companion App
The Companion App was used to manage senior visit logistics, including their schedules, routes, and meal distributions. It also facilitated communication between the clinical team, seniors, and their families. The app maintained a task list, recorded BMI measurements and other biometrics, and allowed notes to be taken during visits. These notes were made accessible in the app for loved ones to view.
Sales app
The sales app offered an e-commerce solution, sensitively addressing topics like fall detection devices.
Operations App
The Operations App served as a central data hub for tracking all aspects of senior care, including day-to-day activities, health metrics, program performance, and financial data. It was designed as a tool for regional managers to communicate effectively with all audiences, track and respond to emergencies, and efficiently manage operations.
Machine learning excels at classifying information, not to replace human judgment but to handle the majority of tasks, thereby highlighting strategic decisions for humans to address.
Machine Learning and Encounter Data
Our program utilized machine learning to analyze "encounter data" from visits to seniors' homes, identifying variables that had indirect effects on health outcomes. This data included valuable observations such as tripping hazards, pest infestations, and toxic household dynamics, providing rare insights into senior care. The data was categorized into positive, negative, or neutral buckets, and with senior consent, it became a critical foundation for personalized care interventions. This demonstrated the transformative potential of integrating technology with home-based senior care.
A.I.-Augmented Marketing
Our client expanded our work scope to include marketing services, building on our product expertise and audience understanding. We created a series of over 70,000 AI-optimized ad variations on Skai platform, with a humorous campaign that achieved the highest engagement. Our role also involved overseeing the marketing funnel and meticulously tracking leads across channels to improve conversion rates. Note that wee did not use AI to write copy but rather to create ad permutations (headlines x image x body copy x CTA variations).
We understand that senior care services can be a sensitive topic and that families may feel apprehensive about allowing strangers into their loved ones' homes. That's why we believe that it's essential to make the experience tangible from the outset. For many families, this may be their first time navigating the journey of external care for their seniors, so it's crucial to humanize the service. By taking this approach, we alleviated concerns, reduced friction, and fostered trust.
Storytelling
We chose a documentary-style approach to create authentic testimonials directly from seniors' homes. This enabled us to showcase interactions between seniors and their companions without any scripting, capturing the essence of our service and allowing potential clients ( adult children, typically the decision-makers) to see the service in action and genuinely understand its benefits. We placed these testimonials across our website and social media platforms, leading to solid conversion rates. This approach highlighted the authenticity and effectiveness of our service, resonating deeply with our target audience and reinforcing brand trust.
One of our members rediscovered her childhood passion for drawing with the help of the program, and shared her work with us proudly.
Impact
After conducting thorough testing, we are pleased to confirm that the business model for Holiday Retirement is not only feasible but also holds great potential for success. It is worth noting that the majority of seniors prefer to age in the comfort of their own homes, making Holiday Retirement's new service all the more relevant and necessary. With an established brand reputation and infrastructure in over 300 assisted living homes, they are uniquely positioned to excel in this market. We validated the business model through a 'teach-by-doing' approach and increased Holiday Retirement's confidence in its ability to incubate and implement technological innovations. This was achieved while maintaining a human touch and personal relationships with individual members.
