NEWS of Columbia Pacific Communities

Communities designed with seniors in mind are increasingly becoming a mainstream subject of discussion. In the last 18 months, the country has become more aware of the distinct advantages that residents of senior living communities have over seniors living on their own or as a part of mixed family condominiums.   Positive Ageing, the brand promise of Columbia Pacific Communities, has come to symbolise the approach that this demographic is taking to life. Age is just a number to them, as they use this phase of their life to be the best of themselves – whether it is in pursuit of hobbies and passions that they always wanted or it is to give back to society by leveraging their expertise and talent.   A holistic wellness and wellbeing programme at senior living communities ensures that residents stay healthier for longer. The notion that one will be less fit at 75 than one is at 65 years of age is a fallacy.   What determines whether this is the case or not depends on what one does in the intervening 10-year period.   One’s overall health is a unique combination of physical fitness, mental alertness, and intellectual agility. The single common facilitator and enabler of these is social interaction. Hence, in a well-managed senior living community, the service provider should have design and deliver a programme that enables its residents the best chance to be healthier for longer.   Physical health is a combination of strength, stamina, balance and flexibility. On-property physiotherapists can, through group sessions work with the larger population and in sessions customised to the individual’s needs, ensure continuous and sustained improvement on these parameters.   Group sessions encourage social interaction, peer competition and engenders higher levels of participation, attendance and consequent improvement. As residents see, sense and demonstrate this improvement, they become ambassadors of the cause encouraging participation from their previously reluctant neighbours and friends.   Good mental health is predicated on our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It has a direct bearing on how we think, feel, and act. This in turn, impacts how we interact in a social environment, handle stress and the manner in which we seek or not seek help.   Well-designed senior living communities ensure there are enough and varied public areas that encourage and provide the space for group interactions for small to large groups of people.   Whether it is a game of bridge or rummy, a sudoku competition or a tambola evening – social occasions that encourage interaction are a great safeguard against loneliness and worry.   Equally, India being a land of festivals, community celebrations bring residents together and ensure spiritual wellbeing and a sense of elation and jointly celebrated happiness.   With increasing life expectancy, just having a longer life is not enough. It is now even more important that one is careful and conscious of the need to be healthy in order to enjoy the longer life span. It is this need that senior living communities and its residents can fulfil by adopting the philosophy of Positive Ageing and a holistic lifestyle for all round physical and mental wellbeing.

It is very important to keep one’s heart-healthy whereby the circulation of blood to every organ is maintained well and the organ reserves are utilised at the time of need.   Things to consider before starting cardiac endurance exercises:   1. If one has any risk factors such as a family history of cardiac disease, smoking, obesity or high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes, then before starting an exercise program it is advised to consult a physician so that the right kind of exercises can be chosen for safety and health benefits.   2. These exercises are targeted towards keeping the heart rate up to 80% of the maximum heart rate (beats per minute) which is one’s age subtracted from 220.   Here are seven basic exercises for a healthy heart   1. Walking: One needs to set a pace by which one can get the best cardiac benefits out of walking. After walking at a moderate pace with comfortable strides over a fixed time and distance, one needs to check the pulse rate which is an indicator of the heart rate. If it is more than 80% of the maximum heart rate, then one needs to reduce the number of steps for the same distance with added time, and if the heart rate is less than 80% of the maximum heart rate then increase the number of steps for the same distance within lesser time. Even though it is easy nowadays to check these through gadgets such as a Fitbit, it is fun to know your body yourself.   2. Intermittent jogging: This is for those who are already into regular walking. To introduce short jogging in between walking is like bringing short bursts of workouts in between the regular intensity of walking. Each time jogging should be followed by three times walking time.   3. Jogging: This is for those who are already into basic workouts and intermittent jogging. They can graduate to jogging by keeping distance and time as indicators to reach 80% of maximum heart rate.   4. Walking with the pace of breathing: This is for beginners who have not been exercising regularly. With one’s normal range of breath, count the number of steps taken on one inhalation and steps walked with one exhalation. Continue with the same pace in sync with the breath.   5. Swimming: This too should be in sync with breathing which will help the individual get the maximum benefits. Inhalation and exhalation must be of the same duration of exhalation can be longer. Arm strokes are the counts with each phase of the breath.   6. Yoga: Daily practice of Surya Namaskar, which has both inhalation and exhalation based postures alternately, brings in optimum benefit in circulation. Also, yoga balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and benefits the heart.   7. Tai-Chi: Mindful movement with repetitive patterns calms one’s mind and benefits the heart by reducing stress.

Senior citizens in India are facing a unique situation that can best be described as a Hobson’s choice. On the one hand, greater awareness of physical and mental health, a nutritious diet, access to health care is leading to an increase in the life expectancy of Indians while on the other hand, the years added on to one’s life are during a period when income has become static and expenses on account of health care are at their highest.   Healthcare inflation for the past many years has been trending at double the rate of the average retail inflation. Given bank deposit interest rates barely cover for real inflation, one is not sure whether to rejoice or lament the longer lifespan.   It is for this reason that all of us and especially senior citizens need to adopt a lifestyle that keeps them healthier and fitter for longer. Thanks to increased scientific knowledge and professionally designed wellness and wellbeing programmes being followed in senior living communities, it is no longer an unrealistic aspiration to be fitter at 80 than one was at 70 years of age.   The pandemic, which forced us all into physical separation has only worked to highlight the advantages to residents of a professionally managed senior living community.   The CII report of 2018 estimated a demand of over 200,000 homes against which there were a mere 20,000 homes under various stages of development. Given the long gestation period (36 – 48 months) of new projects and the fact that India adds almost 4 million senior citizens to its population every year, the supply demand gap is only going to increase in the short to medium term.   The government needs to encourage and incentivise the insurance, banking, healthcare and real estate sectors to address the real needs of our senior citizens.   Bank interest rates that are pegged to the consumer price index are wholly inadequate to provide the cover required by senior citizens. This is especially true because income tax, indirect taxation and healthcare inflation conspire to make the individual poorer with every passing year.   Furthermore, senior citizens staying on their own have to depend on various individuals in the unorganised sector for their daily chores. Housekeeping, gardening, security, driver, cook and other individuals are all paid in cash while no additional taxes are borne by the payee.   When the same individual moves into a senior living community, all these service personnel become a part of the organised sector and benefit from social safety nets such as Provident Fund, Employee State Insurance etc. While this is to the benefit of the employee, the resident has to pay 18% Goods and Services Tax which increases the outflow for them.   Insurance schemes need to be designed to address the co-morbidities and pre-existing conditions that are naturally present with advancing years. The banking sector needs to develop a robust reverse mortgage scheme that allows seniors to take advantage of the asset that they have created during their lifetime.   In essence, we need to recognise that a demographic that will soon be a fifth of the population needs and deserves an ecosystem that is designed to look after their every need. This is the least that we can do for a cohort that has spent their entire life in fulfilling their responsibilities – to their children, their parents, to society and the nation.  

India has a predominantly young population. However, the number of senior citizens in the country is increasing steadily, resulting in rising demand for dedicated senior housing communities. Apart from this, this demographic is expected to be vital for India’s overall economic growth.   The narrative of a ‘Young India’ driven by the demographic dividend – its youthful population, actually camouflages a sociological change of seismic proportions. While we speak of a ‘Young India’, we lose sight of the fact that we are also a country ageing at a pace that will result in a fifth of its population being over 65 years of age by 2050. India is adding over four million people a year to the senior citizen category, representing a growth of three percent per annum.   A Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report released in 2018 estimated an existing demand of two lakh homes in urban India for seniors. At that point in time, there were approximately 20,000 homes in various stages of development. Given the rate at which the senior population grows and the long gestation period of real estate projects, this significant gap between supply and demand would only have increased.   We believe that every Tier 1 and Tier 2 city in the country should have at least 2-3 projects on offer to senior citizens at any point in time. However, this gap between supply and demand will not be narrowed in the short to medium term.   Globalisation has given the younger generation access to high-quality education and the opportunity to pursue their careers across the country and overseas. This phenomenon has resulted in parents and children living independently and in different cities and even countries. Communities designed with seniors in mind are increasingly becoming the preferred option for seniors living on their own. Having all their requirements of daily living catered to by one service provider removes the headaches associated with daily chores. At the same time, the presence of in-community paramedical support for day-to-day medical assistance and emergencies brings peace of mind to both parents and children.   The COVID-19 pandemic has only served to enhance the desirability of senior living communities. The desperation experienced by seniors living alone in their homes or neighbourhoods with mixed families has stood in stark contrast with residents of senior living communities. Consistently adapted protocols and on-property service personnel have ensured that residents of senior living communities have been safely ring-fenced from the external environment. Furthermore, carefully designed engagement programmes and activities have resulted in physical distancing not being an impediment to social interaction, thereby keeping loneliness and despair at bay.   As we see around us, middle-aged parents in today’s times embrace life and covet a lifestyle very different from their parents. This demographic will soon be a part of the so-called ‘silver economy’. Product creators and service providers across industry spectrums are realising that the senior demographic represents an untapped segment that has the time, aspiration, means, and will to live life to the fullest. It is both ironic but at the same time fitting that the demographic that is now being called the silver generation drove the economy forward with their hard work and passion during their youth and will again propel the economy forward in their golden years through their lifestyle.

What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause for dementia and is a growing health concern among the elderly population particularly in developing countries where the infrastructure and resources to support this disease are still in a developing stage.   The disease causes brain cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain and over time the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions. This is due to the accumulation of abnormal clusters of protein fragments called plaques and tangles. These plaques and tangles block cell to cell signalling, thereby affecting the transfer of signals and vital cell transport system which deprives the cells of nutrition. Due to this being lost and losing vitality, the brain cells die.   Stages of Alzheimer’s disease Earliest changes in brain cells begin 20 years before diagnosis and is seen over the superior part of the temporal lobe which is involved in learning and memory.   Mild stage – This generally lasts between 2 to 10 years. Symptoms are seen in the affected person as trouble in handling money or paying bills, wandering and getting lost in finding a place, and taking longer time to complete daily tasks. Moderate stage – This lasts for 1 to 5 years. Damage to areas that control language, reasoning, conscious thought and sensory processing such as ability to recognise sounds and smells. They face problems recognising family and friends. They are unable to learn new things. Severe stage – Plaques and tangles spread throughout the brain and the brain tissue shrinks. There is a change in personality and behaviour. Individuals gradually lose the faculty to care for themselves.   According to neuroscientists from Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, plaques and tangles tend to spread through the cortex in a more predicted pattern affecting memory, cognition and behaviour.   Myths about Alzheimer’s disease 1. The most common myth is that Alzheimer’s disease is different from dementia. But the fact is Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause for dementia which amounts to 50 – 60 per cent of dementia.   2. Another myth is that only people in their seventies and older get Alzheimer’s. The fact is that the disease starts 20 years before its overt clinical manifestation happens. So, Alzheimer’s grips individuals as early as in their fifties.   3. There are a lot of myths about treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease. It is neither preventable nor curable. But there are some modifiable risk factors, if addressed effectively at midlife, that can keep the impact and progression of the disease under check.   4. Turmeric is considered to have therapeutic effect for Alzheimer’s disease. Curcumin in turmeric serves as an anti-inflammatory agent which may help in overall reduction of inflammation due to abnormal protein accumulation. But there is no clinical data to support the decrease in cases in India where the consumption of turmeric is prevalent.   Precautions against Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease can affect anybody. There are modifiable risk factors which when effectively addressed during midlife through lifestyle changes can lower the impact of the illness. These modifiable risk factors include smoking habits, alcoholism, sedentary lifestyle causing obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery disease.   Eat a healthy and balanced diet which includes adequate fruits and vegetables. Avoid junk foods and high glycaemic index foods. Avoid saturated fat and exercise at least 150 minutes every week which includes moderate intensity aerobic activity. These are ways to reduce the risk and the impact of the illness. By staying mentally and physically active, we can reduce the risk and keep the disease at bay.

I think, that “right” news more than “good” news is the need of the hour. At a time when so much of news has unfortunately become about ceaseless noise and drama, and the loudest voice (as opposed to the most logical voice) winning an argument, what we need are news channels that show its viewers both sides of a story, and indulges in fair, clean and agenda-less reportage. I don’t think today’s audience is unable to handle “bad news.”   We had two and a half months of continuous bad news on television screens during the second wave of the pandemic, and that did find an audience. But as citizens, we must demand from the fourth estate fair, honest and nuanced reportage presenting the truth. For, to uphold the truth and be a watchdog of society is the media’s primary responsibility.   As for a channel with “good news”, I think a channel that focuses solely on happy, uplifting, positive stories, will definitely find advertisers. A great example of that is the portal Better India, which was founded in 2016 with the single objective of bringing positive stories across the country to people.   Over time, they have been able to attract a host of A-grade brands across categories as diverse as automobile, BFSI, FMCG, Tech to advertise on their platform helping them tell stories about their brands that bring their brand purpose to the fore.   Such a news channel will certainly be a brand-positive and brand safe space. But ultimately, marketers and advertisers want to advertise on channels that reach out to their target consumer, because they need to base these decisions on ROI. So, a channel such as this will attract advertisers only if it has been able to build a robust and relevant viewership that brands would like to tap into.   It’s true that more and more brands are trying to find a purpose – a raison d’etre. Because they have realized that purpose-led brands are connecting better with today’s consumers and growing at least 2x faster than brands that are not purpose led.   As a brand whose sole purpose is to propound the concept of ‘positive ageing’ and help seniors live healthier, happier, physically fitter and mentally more agile lives for longer, we would respond very positively to a news channel that promotes the spirit of positivity and shares good news.   It’s no secret that the mental health crisis would be the next crisis that will hit the world, after COVID-19. Most of us have experienced the impact of the pandemic on our mental health. And for those that have had pre-existing mental health issues, things have only been tougher.   Positive news is proven to uplift moods and stabilise emotions. So, positive and good news is more than welcome, particularly at a time like this, and is sure to find an audience because it will be like a breath of fresh air in the controversy led shouting matches that pass off as news channels these days.   I would certainly like to place my brand in a channel that stands for all things positive, fair and just. The core philosophy of Columbia Pacific Communities is positive ageing, so we are certainly about positivity. Our residents lead a life of positivity and focus on all the great things that are happening around them. So, the content on a channel such as this is likely to find an audience with our primary target group – senior citizens.   While one is all for positivity, it’s important to perhaps mention in this content that positivity can sometimes turn toxic. No one’s life is picture perfect. Behind every positive outcome is endless struggle, blood, sweat and tears. And therefore, news stories need to focus as much on the journeys as on the destinations.   A lot of what we see on social media is already a big illusion – with people only choosing to post the best versions of their lives. So, a news channel aimed at bringing positive and good news to people should focus on being real and authentic, more than anything else. There is nothing more important than that.

As life expectancy increases, people are striving to live healthier lives for longer. Especially among the well-to-do, educated and retired lot, the senior living concept is gradually finding acceptance. For a long time, retirement communities or assisted living in senior living homes was considered a taboo especially because it lent an impression of being an old age home. However, there is a distinct difference. While old age homes house seniors who do not have the means to look after themselves, senior living communities are for seniors looking for smarter ways to stay at home. It’s not just about better quality of life – It’s everything from affordability to a community that often feels warmer than average.   Retirement communities provide people with an opportunity to live in a friendly environment where skilled staff are always available to assist, and oftentimes need. In addition, retirement homes offer various amenities depending on the needs of the resident. With eldercare staff and chefs available, residents can enjoy food prepared fresh daily. Some retirement communities also have medical care facilities and wellness programs for those who need rehabilitation.   With time, seniors in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pondicherry etc are now increasingly considering senior homes. Real Estate Forum India (REFI) got in touch with Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities to understand more about senior living in India and its prospects.   REFI: How has the concept of senior-living been received in India? Mohit Nirula: The demand for and success of senior living communities is primarily on account of it being a hospitality and healthcare solution that residents need to ensure a zero-headache lifestyle and which guarantees peace of mind for them and their families spread across the world. We have found an increasing demand for this solution – both from customers and developers who wish to have a senior living community as a part of their larger product offering in integrated townships.   Columbia Pacific Communities, as India’s largest operator of communities designed for seniors, has the privilege of serving over 3,000 residents in 1,600 homes in nine communities in the five cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kanchipuram and Puducherry.   Our tenth project, India’s first senior living community designed to international standards is currently on sale in Bengaluru.  The financial year of 2021 – 22 will see the launch of three more projects in Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru.  In the year thereafter, we will add more projects in the cities we already operate in besides expanding to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.   REFI: What are the facilities for seniors and what is the starting price of such services? Mohit Nirula: The bouquet of services at a well-managed senior living community must deliver on the following three promises: 1. A zero-headache lifestyle where all your daily chores and needs are addressed by the service provider.  This liberates you from doing things that you have to do and frees you to do the things you have always wanted to do.   2.A wellness and wellbeing programme designed around the philosophy of Positive Ageing – an approach to life that encourages and enables you to be physically strong, mentally alert, and intellectually stimulated in a socially engaging community thereby keeping you healthier for longer.   3.A 24/7 para-medical team and daily doctor’s visits to ensure your current and emergent medical needs are identified early and addressed speedily thereby giving peace of mind to you and your family.  In times of need, the community stands by you.   REFI: Can legal heirs of inhabitants inherit such a property? Mohit Nirula: Like any real estate asset, the property transfers to the legal heirs.  The Service Agreement and the Asset Sale Deed are intertwined in order to protect the nature and purpose of the community.  Legal heirs may choose to sell the property or place it on rent.  At Columbia Pacific Communities, we have a dedicated team that maintains a data bank of people wishing to rent or buy in existing communities and we are happy to assist owners in this process.   REFI: What should one consider before moving into a senior living community? Mohit Nirula: Once you have assessed if the service design of the community is such that all your needs will be met by the service provider, the most important thing is to move into the community sooner rather than later.   After all, the whole purpose of moving into such a community is to be able to leave the worries of daily chores to others and be free to pursue one’s passions and interests.  If one has fulfilled one’s responsibilities towards children, parents, career, society and nation, it is only fair that you take out time and embrace a lifestyle that is focussed on you.   Also, the earlier you move in, the more friends you make and then enjoy their company forever.   REFI: What are the trends like in 2021 when it comes to senior living? Mohit Nirula: The year 2021 looks likely to be the breakthrough year for communities designed for seniors.  The experience of the past 18 months and the realisation that a community that fulfils all needs of seniors particularly in times of adversity is resulting in senior living communities to be the preferred solution for seniors and their children alike.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a challenge that brought out the best of our brave frontliners as they ringfenced our senior living communities in an attempt to shield our residents from the external environment and the invisible enemy.   The adaptability they have demonstrated, the modifications in how we deliver services, the ever changing medical protocol to combat the changing threat levels of the virus and the insights that we have gleaned will inform the operations of our current communities and will also be reflected in the design of our future communities at Columbia Pacific Communities.   In fact, the first and second waves of the pandemic brought with them different and unique challenges and truly stretched the ingenuity and creativity of our teams to combat them.   The first wave of COVID -19 was marked by a distinct lack of scientific understanding of how the virus behaved, what caused it to spread, what precautions could be taken to impede the spread and how it could be best treated.  Such an atmosphere of ignorance is fertile ground for the spread of misinformation and disinformation.  In a technology enabled world where all it take to spread such news is the click of the “forward” icon on WhatsApp, our challenge was to combat the concern and chaos this caused with regular, sustained and confident communication backed by science and endorsed by our medical health partners, Columbia Asia Hospitals.   Zoom, now as ubiquitous as voice calls used to be in the days before COVID – 19, was also used by the Wellness teams to educate residents through panel discussions and Q&A sessions with eminent doctors that helped to allay the concerns that emanated from the Inbox in WhatsApp.   Another unique creation during the first wave was The Living Room by Columbia Pacific Communities. Open to all – residents and Facebook followers alike, this live video interaction brought into the living rooms of the participants, celebrities who addressed spoke about their area of expertise and also took questions from the attendees.   It is with pride that one can share that all the celebrities including luminaries such Charu Sharma, Kabir Bedi, Nandita Das, Anu Malik to name a few, gave their time voluntarily and thoroughly enthralled the participants while enjoying the interaction themselves as well.   The time between the two waves and the availability of vaccines then given us the opportunity to provide our residents, the safety that comes from being vaccinated.   Relationships nurtured over the years with neighbouring hospitals and Public Health Centres resulted in our being able to facilitate the vaccine process.  As a consequence we had almost 100% coverage for all eligible residents with the two doses of the vaccine.  All frontline team members are also being covered.   By the time of the second wave a lot of our learnings now manifested themselves in the changed protocol and service delivery.   These changes can be seen in the creation of separate and dedicated spaces for the receipt of individual resident and community deliveries. A revised protocol ensures that all deliveries are made by Columbia Pacific Communities team members and that the goods are only delivered after appropriate “holding periods” and disinfection protocols.   Guest houses at the communities are now the first place of residence for visiting relatives and friends.  It is only after a quarantine period in this facility and a subsequent negative RT-PCR test that visitors can integrate with the community.   Isolation rooms with oxygen support allow residents who show minor symptoms to quarantine themselves while remaining under the medical supervision of the community nursing team.  This not only safeguards their spouse who can continue to live in their homes but also acts as a safer environment than a hospital where one can safely recover and recuperate without being exposed to additional risk.   Morning exercises and religious celebrations are being held digitally or in controlled physically-distanced environments.  This ensures that physical distancing does not result in social isolation.   It also ensures that residents do not feel lonely, isolated and hopeless.   One of the biggest causes of lowered immunity is anxiety and a feeling of isolation.  We are currently in the midst of a month long cultural and music competition amongst residents from our nine communities located across five cities.  Held over Zoom, we have participants cheered on by thousands of neighbours and family members from all over the world as they vie for individual wins and community points – all culminating with the Champion Community being crowned on World Senior Citizens’ Day on August 21, 2021.   The regular meal menus have been supplemented with immunity boosting beverages that are served twice a week.  Furthermore, menus have been modified to include ingredients that work to boost the immunity of our residents.   Future communities will include accommodation for team members within the community.  This will ensure that residents are never wanting for daily services and medical support and that neither they, nor team members have unnecessary exposure to the external environment.   The challenges posed by COVID – 19, its ever evolving variants and the accompanying modifications to protocol may well be with us for some time to come.  Until we have herd immunity against most variants, a booster vaccine which gives us continued protection from severe symptoms and most importantly, a medical treatment that will address the impact of the virus in a manner that it reduces mortality rates, we will continue to exercise extreme caution.   The last 18 months have been difficult for the world at large.  Especially affected have been senior citizens, their risk greater on account of accompanying co-morbidities.  Senior citizens staying on their own have also had to grapple with anxiety and loneliness.   In effect, COVID-19 has been a dark cloud that has left every household having to bear their share of loss.  On the other hand, it has also brought us closer to our residents and their families.  I have no doubt that having fought and achieved greater understanding of  the virus and its impact on individuals and relationships, we will find the world a kinder and nicer place and our industry more evolved and better prepared to serve our residents.

So many times we receive good morning and good afternoon messages from our elders on personal chats or in various WhatsApp groups. But we tend to ignore them as just forwards. But have we ever given a thought that a simple reply to those messages at times can make the elders feel remembered, important and cared for?   Putting the spotlight on the issue of elderly lonesomeness on World Senior Citizen’s Day, which is celebrated on August 21, Columbia Pacific Communities, the senior living community operator, launched the initiative #ReplyDontReject with Bollywood actor Boman Irani. The campaign is conceptualised and executed by Famous Innovations.   The campaign is targeted at the brand’s secondary audience segment (the 28-40 age group). It aims to encourage them to help seniors feel less lonely by connecting with them more often, not ignore messages and attempt to reach out.   Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities, said in an interaction with BuzzInContent that the brand generally plans between 2-3 brand campaigns a year, to take the brand philosophy of positive ageing forward and one of them is always planned for World Senior Citizens Day (August 21). She said, “This is more an initiative than a campaign, to be honest. With this initiative, we hope to sensitise the youth on the acute loneliness seniors face every day, and why time and a little compassion is the biggest gift you can give a senior today. Sometimes, that is all they want.”   The brand has also created a microsite within its company website that went live on August 21 (World Senior Citizens Day), where people can come and pledge to #replydontreject. The microsite will also have other initiatives planned for World Senior Citizens Day, including the launch of the product Cards Against Uncertainty and The Positive Ageing Report, a report on the changing attitudes to age and ageing, available to download for free for everyone.   The microsite: http://www.columbiacommunities.in/toseniorswithlove   Explaining the reason to launch the microsite, Dasgupta said the campaign needed to prod and nudge people to take an action, and hence, from an execution point of view, the brand actually wanted people to take a pledge to reply to messages sent by seniors no matter how busy they are in their daily lives.   The campaign took two months to complete. Dasgupta said that shooting remotely for the campaign was the biggest challenge for the brand. “Actor Boman Irani, who was roped in to be a part of the campaign, was shooting in Budapest, Hungary, when we approached him to do this for us. So, there were challenges in terms of timelines and also time zones. The script for the actor went through a few rounds of iterations because we wanted to ensure the message was simple enough, and yet personal enough for it to resonate with the audience,” Dasgupta said.   She said, “Staying focused on the end goal of making this initiative a success, aiming for the best and ultimately a lot of teamwork, patience and perseverance helped us overcome these challenges.”   The brand allocates 70% of its ad spends to digital channels. Dasgupta said, “Digital has, over a period of time, proven to be the most ROAS and ROI positive channel for us. Contrary to popular belief, today’s senior citizens are quite digitally savvy and can be reached out over social media channels such as Facebook, WhatsApp, email and can also be targeted on news and other relevant portals through display ads. Given that the average time they spend on the internet has gone up significantly through the pandemic, in many cases replacing television, it makes sense for us to connect with them on digital channels, despite digital being seen as a reach channel as opposed to a frequency channel like television.”   Within the digital ecosystem, Columbia Pacific Communities places its bets mostly on ‘Search’, followed by affiliate marketing, social media and display ads.   The brand has launched a product for seniors, Cards Against Uncertainty, on its website to sensitise people to the mental stress experienced by seniors amid the pandemic as well as to promote mental health and wellbeing among the elderly. The pack of 52 cards contains a unique tip and mood-enhancing suggestions on each card aimed at reducing stress, fear and feelings of despair. The tips range from simple suggestions such as listening to music or doing a yoga asana to something more unconventional like writing a letter to yourself or practising mirror meditation. Considering that not all seniors are tech-savvy, the pack of cards is available in both digital and physical formats and can be experienced or ordered from the microsite.   The brand collaborated with theatre artist Dolly Thakore for a Zoom session with seniors on August 21, 2021, to talk about how she wills herself to action and why she decided to author her debut book ‘Regrets, None’ at 78. Thakore touched upon the creative process and interesting experiences and learnings through her writing journey. She spoke about her career in acting and theatre and what role ageing played in her career.   The #ReplyDontReject and Cards Against Uncertainty initiatives have been launched on the sidelines of the ongoing third annual edition of Platform 2021, a 45-day virtual talent festival and community engagement initiative for senior citizens, organised by Columbia Pacific Communities to promote positive ageing and build social connect among its senior residents. Supporting the flagship initiative, Tata 1MG and Friends Adult Diapers have partnered with Platform 2021 as the official e-Healthcare Partner and Hygiene Partner for the event, respectively.   The two videos of the campaign will run across our social media channels and will be promoted across Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. The campaign will also find a place on our microsite and will be shared with the brand’s entire customer base via email. The campaign videos will be played at the grand finale celebrations of Platform 2021 — a 45-day long inter-community talent hunt on World Senior Citizens Day.

1. What is Columbia Pacific Communities’ internal process of coming up with a marketing campaign? At Columbia Pacific Communities, we plan between two and three brand campaigns a year, to take the brand philosophy of positive ageing forward.   One of them is planned on World Senior Citizens Day (August 21), which, for us, is one of the most important days in the calendar year.   For us, a brand campaign has to be conceived in a manner that says something extremely relevant or takes a step to make the lives of seniors better or unearths a powerful insight about them.   A lot of what we do here is insight-based marketing because the demographic and the category that we serve have several interesting consumer insights that are waiting to be unearthed.   Also, our attempt with each campaign is to change age-old perceptions about age and ageing in this country.   When we sit down to brainstorm about campaign ideas as a team, the fundamental question that we ask ourselves is will this campaign help shatter age-related stereotypes/change ageist attitudes and how will it make the lives of seniors in our country better?   So, in that sense, it’s a simple enough process. For our performance marketing campaigns, however, it is more to do with our product offering and communicating the salient features of our product in an interesting manner to drive bottom-funnel objectives.   2.  What was your thought process when you were conceptualising the campaign – #ReplyDontReject. Please share the story behind. The campaign is based on an interesting insight – which is, every time a senior citizen in your life sends you a meaningless forward like “Good Morning” or a motivational quote, etc, they are actually vying for your attention.   And it is their way of telling you that they miss you, and they wished you would talk to them, send them a message, or call them to check on them.   The campaign has been conceptualised by our integrated agency Famous Innovations. And the brief to them was: how do we sensitize more and more people towards the single biggest issue plaguing senior citizens today- loneliness?   This is more an initiative than a campaign. Recent data shows that 64.1% of India’s seniors suffer from loneliness. Loneliness is the single biggest cause of death for senior citizens. And as a senior care brand, we felt that it was about time we drew everyone’s attention to this global issue.   With this campaign, we want to reach out to the brand’s secondary audience segment (the 25-40 age group) and encourage them to help seniors feel less lonely by connecting with them more often and not ignore their messages and attempts to reach out.   This World Senior Citizens Day, through this campaign, we hope to sensitize the youth on the acute loneliness seniors live with, and why the gift of time is sometimes the best you can give seniors.   From an execution point of view, we wanted people to take a pledge to reply to messages sent by seniors no matter how busy they are in their daily lives. So, we created a microsite (www.columbiacommunities.in/toseniorswithlove) within our website which would go live on August 21 (World Senior Citizens Day), where people can pledge to #ReplyDontReject.   The microsite will also have other initiatives planned for World Senior Citizens Day, including the launch of a unique product – Cards Against Uncertainty (a pack of 52 cards to help beat feelings of despair, stress, and fear) and also The Positive Ageing Report – India’s first report on the changing attitudes on age and ageing, available to download for free for everyone.   3. Why did you decide to rope in Boman Irani and how it has helped the campaign? Boman Irani embodies our brand philosophy of positive ageing. At 61, he is living his best life – acting, scriptwriting, enjoying being a grandfather, and being as productive as he possibly can. He is a true positive ager, looking at age as just a number and not letting it come in the way of his aspirations and dreams. He is enjoying the golden years of his life to the fullest and inspiring millions to begin life at 60. He is a true symbol of our “positive ageing” philosophy which believes that you are only as old as you feel.   Boman also has a huge connect with the brand’s secondary audience – people in the age bracket of 25 to 40, who we are trying to appeal to through this campaign. So, Boman was a natural choice for us.   4. What mistakes marketers should avoid when it comes to creating video campaigns or getting the communication right? Whether it is a video campaign or otherwise, the first mistake marketers should avoid is to forget about the personality and the identity of the brand in a bid to hijack a trend. This particularly happens in moment marketing videos/content pieces.   Being authentic and staying true to your brand’s target audience, personality, positioning, voice, and purpose is of utmost importance because today’s consumers can see through anything that is not real and authentic.   We are living in an age of attention economy. The average human attention span is about 8 seconds today and is believed to be shorter than that of goldfish. Hence in a video campaign, telling a story and delivering an evocative message, sometimes within as little time as 15 seconds, and in most cases, in less than a minute, becomes imperative. And that’s never an easy task, but one that has to be considered by all video marketers today. And finally, there is just too much clutter around us. All the time. There is never really a break from this clutter if you look at it from the consumer’s point of view.   So, marketers need to think of effective ways of cutting through this noise and constant chatter and saying something only when there is something important enough to say.   According to me, a 3-point checklist that ticks the following boxes should be considered by all marketers.   – Is this a piece of content that will further your brand proposition/purpose/narrative and strengthen your positioning? – Does it say something important/funny/witty/emotional enough to stand out in the clutter? – Will it achieve at least one or more of your brand or business KPIs?   About Piali (in her own words) I was your typical introverted child who was not really popular in school, was surrounded by more books than friends and hated Math and Science with equal passion.   I learnt classical dance like most Bengali kids, and also painting. I grew up in Calcutta, and left home and moved to Bangalore when I was 18. After college and university where I earned my Master’s degree in Communication, I started my career in journalism.   I was a fashion journalist for a little over five years, spending a major part of that time with The Times of India. Given my Degree in Communication where you get exposed to various aspects of communication including Advertising, PR, Brand Communication and Marketing, Corporate Communication, and New Media, I wanted to explore other facets of Communication as well. Hence, I decided to switch over to the brand side, joining Myntra as their Fashion Editor to head their Content team.   At Myntra, I drove YouTube and blog content, building content as a strong component of the customer lifecycle and driving commerce through content.   Post Myntra, I moved to Amazon to set up social media for Amazon Fashion in India. I was also part of the core team at Amazon that worked on the Amazon India Fashion Week.   SapientRazorfish (Publicis Groupe) was my next stop where I headed their Bangalore team and was also their Creative Director, handling digital practices for brands such as Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Peter England, People and Planet Fashion.   By then, I had spent a considerable amount of time in fashion and wanted to do something markedly different from it.   When the opportunity from Columbia Pacific Communities came my way, what excited me the most about it was a chance to build a brand and a category from scratch.   And in the past three years at Columbia Pacific Communities, while I have travelled a long distance, there is a long way to go in making the brand the region’s most favoured senior living community operator.