Building Awareness for a University-Affiliated Retirement Community

Challenge

With a new era of senior living beginning to take shape, leaders at the University of Central Florida (UCF) developed plans for the region’s first university-affiliated retirement community – Legacy Pointe at UCF.

Leading up to the grand opening, Curley & Pynn was tasked with creating targeted yet broad awareness for the imminent completion of the community and the lifestyle advantages it would offer to those who chose to become depositors.

Objectives

Our objective was to illustrate to key audiences, primarily through media relations and direct communications, why Legacy Pointe at UCF was unique, while also generating interest among potential residents through engagement with key players in the UCF community. 

Solution

Leading up to Legacy Pointe at UCF’s grand opening, Curley & Pynn identified several key milestones and initiatives to pitch media that would be of interest to prospective residents. Tactics included story ideation and the development and distribution of related news releases, media alerts and pitches to local, regional, statewide and trade media.

As an example, we worked with metro Orlando’s primary National Public Radio station on a feature about how future Legacy Pointe at UCF residents had the opportunity to serve as judges for the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Senior Design Showcase. The radio interview featured two future Legacy Pointe residents and demonstrated the community’s unique affiliation with UCF and how it elevates retirement living.   

Considering Legacy Pointe’s ties to UCF, Curley & Pynn also collaborated with the communications leads at each UCF college to ensure students, faculty, staff and alumni where aware of opportunities available at Legacy Pointe and how it exemplifies a new era of retirement living.

Results

As the grand opening approached, Curley & Pynn generated media coverage over a less than two-year span with a potential to reach nearly 10 million people in Central Florida and beyond. Today, Legacy Pointe at UCF is fully operational and thriving as the region’s only university-affiliated retirement community.