| Course | LSM 412 Management within the Lifespan Industry (LSM/412) |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Marketing and promotion paper |
| Length | about 1,004 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Health Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for LSM 412 Week 5
Families Who Did Not Know It Existed: Marketing an Adult Day Center's Long Days to Working Caregivers, Discharge Planners and the Area Agency on Aging
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
LSM/412: Management within the Lifespan Industry
Week 5 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The organization, its audiences and its results are composites written for a model paper; national data and research come from the sources listed.
After three months of extended hours, the largest center of a composite adult day organization filled its late-afternoon places, but the organization wanted to reach more of the families on its waiting list and those who did not know adult day services existed. An intake survey of 40 recently enrolled families was revealing: 26 had found the center through a friend or by chance, and most said they wished they had heard of it a year earlier. This paper describes how the organization marketed its programs, especially its longer days, to the people who needed them.
Marketing as Understanding Needs
Kotler and Levy (1969) argued that marketing applies to nonprofit organizations as much as to companies: every organization serves people whose needs it must understand and meet. For the adult day organization, marketing meant first learning what families and referral sources needed, then shaping services and messages to fit.
How Large the Audience Is
Family caregivers are a very large group. Roughly one American adult in four now helps care for a relative or friend, about 63 million people by the latest national count, and many do it while holding a job (AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving, 2025). Most had never heard the term adult day services.
Audience One: Working Caregivers
Adult children, mostly daughters, caring for a parent while working full time. They need reliable hours that cover a workday, safe transportation, clear costs and reassurance that their parent will be engaged and cared for.
Audience Two: Hospital Discharge Planners
Case managers and social workers who must arrange safe discharges quickly. They need to know eligibility, how fast a new participant can start, whether the center accepts people with specific needs, such as wheelchairs or feeding assistance, and whom to call.
Audience Three: The Area Agency on Aging
The regional agency that funds services under the Older Americans Act and helps families find care. Its staff need accurate program information and a reliable partner for referrals and Medicaid waiver participants.
The Core Message
The message for caregivers draws on research. Zarit et al. (2011) tracked caregivers of people with dementia day by day and found their stress lower on adult day days, mainly because of the hours of respite. The organization's message became: a full day of care and activity for your parent, and a full workday for you. The message sells relief honestly, because relief is what the research shows adult day can provide.
Channels for Working Caregivers
The organization joined benefits fairs at four large employers, placed an article in two employers' wellness newsletters, held evening information sessions at libraries and made the website's first page answer three questions: hours, cost and how to schedule a free trial day. A free trial day proved the most persuasive tool of all, because a daughter who saw her father laughing at the lunch table needed no brochure.
Channels for Discharge Planners
The director visited the case management offices of two hospitals, left a one-page referral guide with eligibility, start times and a direct phone number and promised a response within one business day. She followed up after each referral to report how the participant was doing, which built trust.
Channels for the Area Agency on Aging
The organization updated its listing in the agency's resource directory, trained the agency's information line staff on its programs and hosted a quarterly tour for agency case managers.
Ethics in Marketing to Families
The organization adopted four rules. Make only claims the program can support. Never use fear, such as images of a parent falling alone. Be clear about costs and what Medicaid or other programs cover. Use participants' photographs and stories only with written consent from the participant or legal representative, and never in ways that diminish their dignity.
Serving the Person, Not Only the Family
The organization also asked what older adults themselves wanted to hear. Several participants had resisted attending because the words adult day sounded like being babysat. Marketing materials were rewritten around activities participants valued, such as music, gardening, card games and a weekly outing, and the trial day invited the older adult to choose an activity to try. Families reported that framing the center as a place to go rather than a place to be left made the first visit easier to suggest.
Budget
The six-month marketing budget was $14,000: printing, benefits fair fees, website updates and staff time for information sessions. Trial days were counted as a marketing cost, since each used staff time, but at nine in ten conversions they were the cheapest way to enroll a family.
Measures
The organization tracked inquiries by source, tours, trial days and enrollments, with the goal of 25 new enrollments in six months and at least a third from sources other than word of mouth.
Results at Six Months
Inquiries doubled in the first three months. Of 31 new enrollments, 12 came from employer channels, eight from hospital discharge planners, five from the Area Agency on Aging and six from word of mouth. Nine in ten families who took a trial day enrolled. The late-afternoon block at the largest center stayed full, and the waiting list, now shorter, was managed so promotion did not promise places that did not exist.
Lessons
Market to the people who decide and those who refer. Build messages on what families need and what evidence supports. Use channels each audience already trusts. Keep marketing ethical, especially with people under strain. Match promotion to capacity.
Conclusion
The adult day organization learned that its biggest problem was not competition but invisibility. Understanding three audiences, building an honest message on research about caregiver stress, choosing channels each audience trusts and measuring results turned chance discoveries into planned referrals. Marketing, the final management function studied in the course, completed a cycle that began with planning extended hours and ended with families who could use them.
References
AARP & National Alliance for Caregiving. (2025). Caregiving in the US 2025. AARP Public Policy Institute. https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/ltss/family-caregiving/caregiving-in-the-us-2025/
Kotler, P., & Levy, S. J. (1969). Broadening the concept of marketing. Journal of Marketing, 33(1), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224296903300103
Zarit, S. H., Kim, K., Femia, E. E., Almeida, D. M., Savla, J., & Molenaar, P. C. M. (2011). Effects of adult day care on daily stress of caregivers: A within-person approach. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 66B(5), 538-546. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr030
What the LSM 412 Week 5 instructions ask
Marketing closes LSM 412, and the Week 5 prompt generally asks how a lifespan organization makes its programs known and chosen. Students identify who needs to hear about a program, which often means family caregivers and professionals who refer as much as the older adult, decide what to say to each, pick channels, set ethical limits and explain how success will be counted. Some sections want a short marketing plan for one service. Strong work recognizes that the people who decide and those who refer are separate audiences, grounds messages in what those audiences actually need and in evidence, uses channels they already trust and measures enrollment, not only interest.
How this LSM 412 Week 5 example is built
The paper begins with the center's intake survey: of 40 recent families, 26 had learned of the center from a friend or by chance, and many said they wished they had known sooner. It explains the idea that nonprofit organizations must study and serve the needs of their audiences, then defines three audiences and what each needs to hear. National data on family caregiving show the size of the working caregiver group. Research on caregiver stress provides the core message. Channels are matched to each audience, from employer benefits fairs to discharge planner visits. An ethics section sets rules for tone and claims. Measures and six-month results close the paper.
LSM 412 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Faculty tend to reward three qualities here. The first is audience thinking: recognizing that caregivers, referral sources and the person receiving care each need different information. The second is honesty: messages grounded in evidence, no fear appeals and clear information on cost and eligibility. The third is follow-through: channels matched to each audience and measures that link promotion to enrollments, with attention to capacity. Using marketing and research sources adds weight, especially evidence about what the service does for families. Plans built around the organization's features instead of families' needs, or that play on guilt and fear, score lower. The final share of points goes to clear structure and correct APA citations.
LSM 412 Week 5 help: mistakes to avoid
A common misstep in LSM 412 Week 5 is marketing to the person needing care alone. In lifespan services, families and professionals often decide or strongly influence the choice, so plan for each. Ask what each audience needs: a working daughter needs hours and reliability, a discharge planner needs quick admission and clear eligibility. Build messages on evidence, not slogans. Choose channels the audience uses. Keep marketing honest and respectful; caregivers are often exhausted, and fear-based appeals exploit that. Measure inquiries, tours and enrollments by source. Finally, connect the marketing plan to capacity, so promotion does not create a waiting list you cannot serve, and say what you will do if demand outruns places.
Related LSM 412 sample papers
Other LSM 412 week samples
- LSM 412 Week 1: Planning in the Lifespan Industry
- LSM 412 Week 2: Organizing in the Lifespan Industry
- LSM 412 Week 3: Leading and Motivating a Care Team
- LSM 412 Week 4: Controlling in the Lifespan Industry
More BS in Health Administration sample papers
- HCS 493 Week 5: Advanced Data Analysis Techniques
- HCS 498 Week 5: Strategic Plan Board Presentation
- HCS 499 Week 5: Strategic Planning and the Future
- LSM 404 Week 5: Regulatory Requirements Overview
LSM 412 Week 5 questions, answered
What does LSM/412 Week 5 usually ask for?
Many sections ask students to explain how lifespan organizations market and promote programs, including audiences, messages, channels, ethics and measures of success.
Where can I find a free LSM 412 Week 5 sample paper?
Anyone can read the adult day marketing paper here in full, free; the margin comments explain how each audience was chosen. We will draft your own first marketing paper free.
Who are the target audiences for adult day services?
Older adults who could benefit, their family caregivers, especially working caregivers, and referral sources such as physicians, hospital discharge planners and the Area Agency on Aging.
How many family caregivers are there in the United States?
A 2025 national survey estimated that 63 million Americans, about 24% of adults, were family caregivers.
What are ethical concerns in marketing to caregivers?
Avoiding fear-based appeals, making only claims the program can support, being clear about costs and eligibility and respecting the privacy and dignity of participants in stories and images.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official University of Phoenix document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
Request this one custom, free · All LSM 412 week samples · All courses