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Case Study

Incompass Human Services

Expanding Access To Housing For An Underserved Community

Overview

Incompass, a Human Services provider, wanted to increase access to housing for adults in the disability community. With group homes filling up and a staffing shortage affecting providers across the county, they saw an opportunity to expand the use of the shared living model. Shared living programs enable caregivers to welcome adults in the disability community into their homes. Incompass partnered with Stirling Brandworks to communicate the benefits of this unique program to potential caregivers. The outcome was a targeted awareness and lead-generation campaign in key markets.

Key Services

  • Strategy WorkshopStrategy Workshop
  • Digital MarketingDigital Marketing
  • Messaging + Brand PositioningMessaging + Brand Positioning
  • Media Planning + BuyingMedia Planning + Buying
  • Website DevelopmentWebsite Development
  • Analytics + ReportingAnalytics + Reporting

Our Approach

Every year, adults in the disability community age out of the public education system and many require placement in ID/D programs for adults. With limited housing and the ongoing staffing crisis, not everyone gets access to the support they need.

Stirling leveraged a deep understanding of the Human Services industry and research on the target audience to build a three-dimensional campaign. This marketing campaign was designed to reach out and touch the heart of potential caregivers across the state, leading to a successful pilot program that drove awareness and sourced leads.

6X
National CTR Average
3
Month Campaign Sprint

Brand

Applying Empathy Mapping for Audience Insights

The project began with stakeholder interviews and conversations with current shared living providers. The focus of this research phase was uncovering “why” these caregivers provide support. Following that, Stirling led a campaign workshop, putting the project team in the headspace of the target audience to determine what would drive them to action.

Through the power of storytelling and an understanding of audience motivations, Stirling developed an empathy map to inform a communication plan.

STRATEGY

Positioning a Campaign
Close to Home

With shared living, caregivers open up their private homes and provide services to adults in the disability community. Many are empty-nesters or people with older children looking for fulfillment and companionship. With this in mind, campaign slogans were developed and presented to the project team. The statement selected was: “Share Your House, Make A Home” following the audience insight that companionship was one of the biggest reasons shared living providers opened their homes.

STRATEGY

Crafting A Strategy
To Launch

Built on the foundation of the discovery phase, Stirling developed a go-to-market (GTM) plan detailing campaign positioning, target audience, timeline, and channel planning.

The extensive playbook included a marketing and communication plan outlining each potential lead’s journey and key performance indicators (KPIs). The channel plan included: Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, targeted display, and retargeting strategies.

CREATIVE

Motivating An Audience
To Act

To complement the go-to-market (GTM) plan, a toolkit of graphics and assets was developed for cohesion across display advertising. All elements were designed to motivate the audience to take action.

Stirling additionally developed variations to evaluate the creative and conduct A/B testing of messaging and visuals. Ads featured subtle motion and easing to ensure they would stand out across all channels, drawing the eye and increasing click-through rates.

TECHNOLOGY

A Landing Page Designed to Champion Discovery

Stirling developed a conversion-optimized landing page to support the campaign launch. The landing page included background video elements and bold use of copy to engage prospective caregivers, provide compensation info, and share frequently asked questions (FAQs) with a clear call-to-action (CTA).

This page served as a one-stop shop for information about the shared living program. Page views and other KPIs were captured, while the leads were filtered into a database.

Marketing

Getting To Market and Proving Value

With the campaign creative finalized, the landing page complete and the positioning set, media flight dates were selected. Following the strategies detailed in the go-to-market (GTM) plan, the campaign officially launched. In addition to paid promotional vehicles, Incompass leveraged its CRM database and email marketing to connect with its existing audience. As the paid campaign kicked off, organic social promotion was also utilized to ensure caregivers and partners were aware of the program.

MARKETING

Generating Leads with
Winning Creative

Within the first month of the campaign’s launch, Stirling conducted A/B testing to compare variations of the imagery and messaging. Reporting indicated the winning creative was focused on an emotional appeal vs. financial gain. This surprising insight informed adjustments to the media program, allocating more budget towards the better-performing variant.

As the campaign ran, additional A/B tests were conducted to optimize the creative and adjust the media investment as needed.

Clients Review

"“This campaign has far exceeded our expectations. Stirling Brandworks understands the Human Services industry, but most importantly the team took the time to understand our agency and our audience. That knowledge combined with their digital marketing savvy and data-driven campaign optimization led to an immensely positive outcome. Bottom line, we could not have done this without Stirling – and we’ll never try to again!”"
— Dan Esdale, CMO, Incompass Human Services

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