Skaalen Monthly Marketing Call — January 2026

Overview

Monthly marketing sync covering four main topics: a Lamar billboard proposal for 2027, a U.S. News awards email and social campaign, website security improvements, and a marketing packet for the new Venaval units opening Summer 2026.

Date: January 2026 (Thursday)
Attendees:
- Kris Krentz (Skaalen) — CEO/Executive Director
- Dawn Zaemisch (Skaalen) — Marketing/Admissions
- Maggie (Skaalen) — HR/Staffing
- Melissa Cusumano (Asymmetric) — Account Lead
- Matt Ayers (Asymmetric)
- Mark Hope (Asymmetric)

Key Decisions

Billboard Campaign — Pending Department Head Approval

A year-long Lamar billboard at the Kettle Park location (west side of Janesville) is under consideration. Key parameters:
- Cost: ~$13,000/year
- Start date: January 2027 (prime location, booked in advance)
- Flexibility: Quarterly message changes included; creative can rotate seasonally

Team positions:
- Kris: Skeptical of billboards generally; notes existing waitlists make resident acquisition a weak justification; open to employment angle but unsure of ROI
- Dawn: Agrees cost is hard to justify for employment alone; resident lead ROI would make it worthwhile
- Maggie: Supportive — frames it as brand awareness and community reputation-building; recent job applicants cited Skaalen's positive word-of-mouth

Decision: Kris will present the proposal to department heads Monday. Melissa will compile a clean summary document (Lamar + Adams options) for distribution beforehand.

"I think it's kind of, it's not really like one thing necessarily... it's one tooting our own horn... just continuing to brand us as one of the best in the area is keeping that momentum going." — Maggie

U.S. News Awards Email — Approved with Minor Edits

The HubSpot email draft was approved. Copy was refined to read: "Skaalen has been recognized again by U.S. News & World Report..." (avoiding the "second year in a row" framing, which only applies to the long-term care award, not short-term rehab).

Distribution: All HubSpot marketing contacts + corporate congregation contacts (Dawn and Diane to compile list).

reCAPTCHA — To Be Added

The contact form is receiving spam bot submissions and suspicious calls requesting pricing data (suspected competitor intelligence gathering). Melissa will add reCAPTCHA to the contact form and audit SMTP/schema configuration.

Action Items

Melissa (Asymmetric)

[ ] Add reCAPTCHA to the website contact form; audit SMTP and schema settings
[ ] Create a single, correctly-sized award logo unit from EPS files for the website footer (resolves visual imbalance between the two U.S. News badges)
[ ] Update campus map: rotate new building to correct orientation, add "Opening Summer 2026" callout balloon, add new street extension off Venaval Drive, update legend with entry "G – New Venaval Units"
[ ] Complete final two marketing materials (Heritage, Meg) — due Friday
[ ] Send next batch of social media posts by Monday
[ ] Compile billboard options (Lamar 2027 + currently available Adams locations) for Kris's Monday department head meeting
[ ] Add "Masking encouraged at this time" note to worship social posts for Jan 11 and Jan 18
[ ] Build out 2026 blog calendar per docs from Dawn

Dawn (Skaalen)

[ ] Provide corporate congregation email list to Melissa for awards email send
[ ] Approve pending reviews document (sent by Melissa) to add new testimonials to website
[ ] Confirm whether masking note is needed on Jan 25 worship post (after outbreak clears ~Jan 20)
[ ] Compile marketing packet for Venaval units once Hoffman renderings arrive (interior + exterior); include updated campus map; omit pricing until finalized

Kris (Skaalen)

[ ] Present Lamar billboard proposal to department heads Monday
[ ] Follow up with Melissa after Monday meeting with go/no-go on billboard

Topic Notes

Website Performance (December / Early January)

Sessions down 34% vs. prior period — attributed to holiday slowdown
New users remain strong at ~1,800
Notable spike on January 5th (122 sessions) — post-holiday "what do we do about mom/dad" search behavior
Top pages: Homepage, Careers, Contacts
Price guide updated to 2026 on the website

A single combined social post (both awards together) will go out across all platforms — splitting into two posts deemed unnecessary
Melissa will use the EPS source files to create a unified, proportionally consistent logo unit for the website footer; current footer display has mismatched badge sizes

New Venaval Building Marketing

New units are an extension of the existing Venaval building (not a separately named structure)
Units will feature two-car garages, larger square footage, two bathrooms, distinct exterior design
Hoffman (architect firm) is preparing interior and exterior renderings; original architect resigned but Julie is continuing the work
Marketing packet will be a physical/digital leave-behind for prospective residents — map + renderings, no pricing until costs are finalized
Target opening: Summer 2026

Active outbreak on campus; masking encouraged for worship services (largest external gathering)
Add masking note to posts for Jan 11 and Jan 18; Dawn to confirm Jan 25 after outbreak clears (~Jan 20 target)
Note applies to worship posts only, not unit-level events (residents cannot be required to mask)

Memory Care Blog

Post is awaiting content from Tammy (Skaalen staff); Dawn following up

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Sources

Index