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Faculty

Brett Arndt

Founder and CEO
EXF Agency

Brett Arndt is the Founder and CEO of Experience Fresh, an entrepreneur with a background in startups and brand-building who saw an opportunity to challenge traditional marketing approaches in senior living and AgeTech.

He founded EXF as a brand consultancy in 2011 and, in 2019, transformed it into a full-service, digital-forward agency built to bring sharper strategy, stronger creative, emerging technology, and measurable performance to the industry.

Today, EXF is the fastest growing agency in the industry serving hundreds of communities, combining multi-industry experience with expertise across aging technology and hospitality. Brett continues to push the agency to rethink what senior living marketing can look like, experiment with new tools and approaches, and connect marketing more directly to growth. Under his leadership, EXF has earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 three years running and has been recognized four times by the Aspect Awards for its work in senior living.

At SMASH 2026, Brett joins Carmen Fronczak, CRO of Friendship Village STL, to tackle one of marketing’s hardest challenges: proving the value of brand. Using Friendship Village’s 50th Anniversary Campaign as a real-world case study, they’ll break down how to secure executive buy-in, determine which metrics matter, and build a defensible framework for measuring brand investment.

2026 Sessions

Your CEO Won't Fund a Feeling | How to Measure Brand Experience

<p>Sponsored By:<br><img src=https://naccme.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/SMASH+2026/EXF-_EXF+core+logo… alt="Upload Image" width="200" /></p>

A 50th anniversary campaign at Friendship Village ended with a full building. Getting it funded, and proving it would deliver a return, was the harder work. <br>

Brett Arndt, Founder + CEO of Experience Fresh, and Carmen Fronczak, CRO of Friendship Village, walk the campaign end-to-end: how the investment was pitched internally, what got measured and what didn't, which numbers moved and in what order, and where brand credit stops and sales execution starts. Attendees see the actual pitch structure used to secure funding and the KPI set used to defend it afterward (including the metrics that triggered budgets and the ones that fell flat). <br>

This session is built for marketing and revenue leaders who believe in the power of brand but keep losing the budget argument. <br>

Session Learning Objectives: List 3 actionable takeaways participants will learn during this session <br>
1. Participants will see an outline and structured pitch that survives a CEO, CFO, or board. <br>
2. Data to lead with and data to leave out and build a defensible brand measurement set (Return On Experience vs. Return On Investment). <br>
3. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for quantifying brand initiatives to secure ongoing
executive buy-in.

Presenter

Tuesday, October 06 9:00–9:45 AM
Room Marquis 1-3
Solution Partner Thought Leadership Session
Faculty

Brett Arndt

Founder and CEO
EXF Agency

Brett Arndt is the Founder and CEO of Experience Fresh, an entrepreneur with a background in startups and brand-building who saw an opportunity to challenge traditional marketing approaches in senior living and AgeTech.

He founded EXF as a brand consultancy in 2011 and, in 2019, transformed it into a full-service, digital-forward agency built to bring sharper strategy, stronger creative, emerging technology, and measurable performance to the industry.

Today, EXF is the fastest growing agency in the industry serving hundreds of communities, combining multi-industry experience with expertise across aging technology and hospitality. Brett continues to push the agency to rethink what senior living marketing can look like, experiment with new tools and approaches, and connect marketing more directly to growth. Under his leadership, EXF has earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 three years running and has been recognized four times by the Aspect Awards for its work in senior living.

At SMASH 2026, Brett joins Carmen Fronczak, CRO of Friendship Village STL, to tackle one of marketing’s hardest challenges: proving the value of brand. Using Friendship Village’s 50th Anniversary Campaign as a real-world case study, they’ll break down how to secure executive buy-in, determine which metrics matter, and build a defensible framework for measuring brand investment.
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