NISC Programs of Excellence 

• Year Awarded: 2023
• Programs of Excellence Name: Talk of the Town
• Hosting Organization: Bernardston Senior Center, Bernardston, Masschusetts
• Bernardston Population: 2,00
• 60+ Population: 1,100
• Senior Center Members: 755

About the Talk of the Town

The Bernardston Senior Center and Council on Aging became the "Talk of the Town" through a digital marketing campaign to inform the community about the Council on Aging and the robust programming and services offered.

Greatly expanding the marketing exposure of the Bernardston Senior Center and Council on Aging enabled them to recruit more older adults, promote an all-day conference on offerings, and expand  programs in the LGBTQ+ and Hispanic communities. Using a T.O.M.A (Top of the Mind) approach to digital marketing, the campaign's strategy used retargeting, addressable geofencing, and addressable audience curation (targeted messages to users and devices at the household level), among other tactics, to reach the targeted audience.

The marketing plan educated consumers in the community with Council on Aging messaging and promotions through targeting and delivery on any website and screen. Repeated digital exposure has been proven to provide results. Through retargeting, consumers can be followed with additional marketing messages.

This program reached older adults who were unaware of the senior center's programs and family members who may be looking for resources, support, and programming. Tracking in My Senior Center, found a 30% increase in members in six months! The digital marketing dashboard provided insight as to who was clicking on ads, where they viewed ads, and the location people were in clicking on ads. Each month found over 100,000 ad views and the campaign performed higher than the national rate on ad clicks. There was a noticeable increase in traffic on the senior center's Facebook page, website, and Google.

Key takeaways from Talk of the Town:

• Digital marketing can be an effective way to increase senior center participation.
• Targeting ads to specific events like an open house or Spanish movie night can be very effective in broadening a senior center's audience.
• Repeated digital exposure yields results.

About the Bernardston Senior  Center

The Bernardston Senior Center hosts events and activities for local older adults that include support groups, tech help, wellness education, workshops, and meals.