The Leadership Lift
How The Aspenwood Company Applied the SLIM ROLL™ Marketing Framework to Elevate Visibility, Credibility, and Trust in Senior Living
2025 Aspect Marketing & Advertising Awards – Third Place, Social Media Campaign
The Aspenwood Company has long been recognized for strong operations, hospitality-driven service, and a deep commitment to resident well-being across its luxury and mid-luxury senior living communities. But in today’s evolving senior living landscape, operational excellence alone is no longer enough.
Families, referral partners, investors, and prospective associates increasingly rely on a provider’s digital presence—social media, online reviews, leadership visibility, and thought leadership—to determine trust, credibility, and alignment. While Aspenwood had the results and reputation to stand on, its historically quiet, behind-the-scenes approach created a strategic opportunity: to tell its story more clearly, consistently, and confidently.
That opportunity became The Leadership Lift—a comprehensive, multi-channel campaign conceived, led, and executed by Christina O’Leary, Interim Vice President of Marketing, and intentionally built using the SLIM ROLL™ Marketing Framework, a proven methodology for sustainable growth in senior living.
In recognition of its impact, The Leadership Lift earned Third Place in the 2025 Aspect Marketing & Advertising Awards, Social Media Campaign category—marking the second consecutive year The Aspenwood Company has been honored with an Aspect Award.
View the winning entry:
https://www.aspectawards.com/nominee/2025-the-aspenwood-company/
Official announcement via Senior Housing News:
https://seniorhousingnews.com/2025/12/03/wtwh-healthcare-announces-winners-of-2025-aspect-marketing-advertising-awards/
Why The Leadership Lift
The senior living decision journey has fundamentally changed. Families now research extensively before touring—reading reviews, observing social content, and assessing leadership credibility online. Investors and referral partners look for consistency, transparency, and evidence of operational and cultural alignment.
Aspenwood recognized that continued, responsible growth required:
Stronger brand visibility without sacrificing authenticity
Leadership presence that reflected real operational excellence
A reputation strategy rooted in trust—not volume alone
A scalable marketing system aligned with long-term growth
Rather than chasing trends, Aspenwood anchored its approach. At the core of The Leadership Lift was the application of the SLIM ROLL™ Marketing Framework, a proprietary growth model guiding how The Aspenwood Company builds visibility, trust, and long-term brand equity in senior living, ensuring that growth would be intentional, sustainable, and aligned with the company’s values.
SLIM ROLL™ stands for:
Speak. Lead. Inspire. Market. Repeat. Own. Lift. Leverage.
Rather than chasing trends or short-term engagement spikes, this framework ensures that marketing efforts are aligned with leadership, culture, and sustainable growth.
S — Speak
Clarify the Message Before Amplifying It
Aspenwood began by defining what needed to be said—and why.
The campaign clarified Aspenwood’s voice across platforms by:
Centering messaging on the brand promise: Live Life Well®
Speaking authentically about leadership, culture, and care
Replacing generic marketing language with real stories and perspectives
Speaking clearly and consistently ensured Aspenwood’s message resonated with families, associates, investors, and industry peers alike.
L — Lead
Elevate Leadership as the Brand
Leadership visibility became a cornerstone of the campaign.
Aspenwood intentionally positioned executives and senior leaders as:
Thought leaders in senior living
Stewards of culture and growth
Credible voices on innovation, workforce, and resident experience
LinkedIn became a primary channel for leadership-led storytelling, shifting from passive updates to confident, insight-driven narratives that reflected Aspenwood’s operational excellence.
I — Inspire
Create Emotional Connection Through Storytelling
Aspenwood used inspiration—not promotion—as the driver of engagement.
Through community stories, associate recognition, and resident experiences, the campaign inspired trust by showing:
The heart behind the operations
The people behind the leadership
The joy behind the care
This inspiration helped families envision life inside Aspenwood communities and helped associates feel seen and valued.
M — Market
Amplify Strategically, Not Excessively
Marketing under SLIM ROLL™ is purposeful, not performative.
The Leadership Lift applied:
Platform-specific strategies for LinkedIn and Facebook
Visual refinement aligned with Aspenwood’s luxury positioning
Content pacing designed for consistency over saturation
Marketing served as a spotlight—amplifying what was already strong rather than manufacturing narratives.
R — Repeat
Build Momentum Through Consistency
Consistency created credibility.
Aspenwood repeated key themes—leadership, culture, trust, and experience—until they became recognizable pillars of the brand.
This repetition:
Reinforced trust with families researching care
Strengthened recall with referral partners
Created internal alignment across teams
O — Own
Take Ownership of Reputation and Narrative
Aspenwood did not outsource its story to algorithms or third-party platforms.
Through intentional reputation management:
Review volume grew from 355 to 818 (+130.4%)
A 4.5+ star average rating was maintained
Transparency and responsiveness reinforced trust
Owning the narrative meant Aspenwood controlled how its values and culture were represented online.
L — Lift
Lift People, Voices, and Experiences
True to its name, The Leadership Lift elevated others.
The campaign lifted:
Leaders into visible, trusted roles
Associates through recognition and storytelling
Residents and families by centering their experiences
This internal lift translated directly into stronger morale, engagement, and external perception.
L — Leverage
Turn Visibility Into Long-Term Value
Finally, Aspenwood leveraged momentum into sustainable advantage.
The campaign’s success strengthened:
Occupancy confidence
Recruitment appeal
Investor trust
Industry credibility
Rather than a one-time initiative, The Leadership Lift became a repeatable growth engine—scalable across communities and future campaigns.
Results That Validate the Framework
Applying SLIM ROLL™ delivered measurable, award-winning outcomes:
Impressions: 375 → 10,484
Reach: 1,614 → 4,641
Engagement exceeded healthcare industry benchmarks
Reach increased 119.7%
Interactions increased 554%
Link clicks increased 104.4%
Reputation
Reviews increased 130.4%
Maintained 4.5+ stars
On track to surpass 1,000 reviews
These results reflect intentional leadership-led marketing—not noise.
A Framework Built for Senior Living Growth
The SLIM ROLL™ Marketing Framework provided the structure that allowed Aspenwood to grow visibility without compromising authenticity.
By choosing to Speak clearly, Lead visibly, Inspire genuinely, Market intentionally, Repeat consistently, Own its narrative, Lift its people, and Leverage momentum, Aspenwood set a new standard for how senior living organizations can thrive in a digital-first, trust-driven marketplace.
Impact Beyond the Numbers
Through the SLIM ROLL™ framework, The Leadership Lift delivered impact that extended far beyond analytics:
Aspenwood emerged as a more visible, respected industry leader
Executives became trusted thought leaders
Storytelling strengthened emotional connection with families
Reputation growth supported occupancy and lead confidence
Marketing became a strategic growth function—not a support role
What began as a visibility initiative evolved into a brand repositioning grounded in clarity, confidence, and credibility. By applying the SLIM ROLL™ Marketing Framework, Aspenwood strengthened its digital presence while staying true to its mission—helping residents, families, and associates Live Life Well®.
Written by – Christina O’Leary