Reimagine Hot Springs Village
Hot Springs Village, the largest gated community in the United States, was developed in 1970 as an active lifestyle community catering primarily to retirees. It encompasses more than 26,000 acres and features nine golf courses, 11 recreational lakes, 30 miles of hiking and biking trails, a performing arts center and more.
Sells Agency was hired as the marketing agency of record for the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association in early 2020. The primary marketing goal was to promote the Village as an active lifestyle community to retirees, entice them to visit and ultimately choose to move there. In the previous 10 years, growth of new residents was not sufficient to grow revenue from POA dues and amenities sales like golf packages and fitness center memberships. On average, there were fewer than 50 new homes being built annually and the stated goal was to reach 125 new homes per year.
Our strategy included shifting media dollars toward digital media that could better target consumers actively researching retirement and relocation communities. We also established digital conversion methods to capture traffic and encourage users to take the next step of visiting the community by booking a “Discovery Package”, “Day Tour”, or “Golf Package.” Through messaging and creative, we focused on showcasing a sense of place that would sell the beautiful trails, lakes, pickleball, golf vistas and other activities available.
Sells Agency built a digital-first media plan with paid search, display ads, social media ads, and video pre-roll as its foundation. The challenge with marketing retirement and relocation communities is that less than 3% of retirees actually move to a new state or community upon retiring, so only targeting consumers nearing or in early retirement will result in 97% waste. Our strategy was to target anyone (ages 35 - 70) who had a digital footprint indicative of building or buying a home within a defined geography. We also targeted military and first responders, and those who prioritize active lifestyle communities. Each year the geo expanded based on organic engagement from our website.
In its simplest form, we “pulled back” on photography and video assets to present and sell a sense of place. Instead of showing close-ups of the golfer or the boater, we began to show the golf course and houses on the course and the lakes and lake houses. We invited the audience to “Re-imagine” themselves in the visuals we were showing and asked them to come experience it for themselves by booking a Discovery Package, Day Tour or Golf Package.
Over time our digital-first campaign efforts have increased visitor leads by 162% in five years. As illustrated in the marketing dashboard, the average yearly visits from Discovery Packages prior to 2020 was ~ 59. From 2020-2024, HSV averaged 155 visits per year. While not completely indicative of the marketing spend, trend data shows an increase in Discovery Package conversions since 2021. This tells us the audience targeting used in the digital marketing is not only increasing the quantity of leads, but quality of leads as well.