Retirement: an impressive campaign

One of the most important aspects of blogging is topicality, so I apologise that you may have already read about this elsewhere. However, if you haven't - please do read on.

Last month,  Prudential  and their agency, DROGA5 New York, won an award at the Cannes  Advertising jamboree  for their ‘Day One’ campaign, which tackled the subject of retirement. 

Whatever you may think of advertising industry awards, the campaign is  impressive.  I love the way it addresses the clichés and stereotypes surrounding retirement, as well as the challenges and problems that people face as they retire.   In fact, the only two negatives are: once again, the USA is ahead of the game; and I had no involvement in this campaign whatsoever.   You can watch the video here:

http://www.canneslions.com/work/2012/integrated/entry.cfm?entryid=34240&award=2

Here’s what they said:

“While the rest of the retirement category has promised shallow hopes of vineyards and yachts, we seized reality and captured what it felt like to wake up on a person's first day of retirement in 2011. We collected and documented personal experiences from across the country and launched 'Day One Stories', an integrated campaign encouraging people to start the conversation around retirement and to pro-actively plan for their own.”

 “In 2011, the biggest generation in U.S. history began to retire during the worst recession in a century. So instead of the false promises and intimidation that define the retirement category, we concentrated on one moment that everyone shares: Day One. We asked thousands of people to document their first day of retirement. We received over 5,000 Day One photographs, and they became the faces of a nationwide television and OOH campaign. Next we sent camera crews across America, and created a documentary series about people on their Day One. We put their stories online at www.dayonestories.com and invited others to join the conversation. We even took over NYC’s most prominent billboards and turned them into radio stations that broadcasted stories of New York’s newest retirees. Since it launched, Day One has reached tens of millions of people and touched nearly every medium.”

“Day One has redefined Prudential’s role in the category and has begun to change the national conversation about retirement. More than 250 retirees participated in the campaign, and more than 6,800 photos were submitted. More than eight million people have viewed the three-minute documentaries, and more than one million unique visitors have used the Day One site. In less than a year, Prudential has become exponentially more recognizable and connected to those who need its services most. And hopefully, the millions of people who have been touched by Day One have begun to think more about planning for their own.”

 It is also worth noting that Pfizer has recently launched a major US social media campaign to help it learn more about how Americans of all ages are tackling the issue.  The 'Get Old' site raises  “a simple, but profound question” – How do you feel about getting old? The site allows users to share and view stories, photos and videos about getting old, and even vote on how they feel about ageing.

Even if the result of all this is more and better financial services products (Prudential) and new and better drugs (Pfizer), that has to be a good thing. Doesn't it?

10 Rules of Marketing for Older Audiences

These ten rules are distilled from our research report, ‘Marketing for Mature Audiences’, which  is available upon request  (see below). They are not intended to be definitive and your comments and suggestions will be welcomed.

1.    There are no rules!  This is a group of people that is too large to ignore, too diverse to stereotype and too complex to second-guess. Make sure your marketing is based upon proprietary consumer insight, not received wisdom.

2.    Think of individuals, not groups.  Mass marketing is an outmoded concept: so why think of ‘older people’ or ‘the over-50s’ as a single homogenous group?

3.    It’s about ageing, not age. This isn’t just about old people, it is about population ageing. This has implications for every business, as your customer profile continues to age.   

4.    Do not overtly target ‘older people’. We know how old we are, you don’t need to remind us. If you are more subtle and convince us that you meet our needs, we might be interested.

5.    Think differently. Old assumptions may no longer apply. For example, while household income declines quite steeply after the age of 50,  wealth and expenditure are at their peak for the 50-64 age group.  

6.    Be more inclusive and less ageist. Many guidelines on marketing for older people assume that physical or mental decline are inevitable.  In fact, these are issues which apply to people of all ages and should be addressed by an inclusive approach to all aspects of the marketing mix.  Furthermore, many older people are mentally and physically active into their 90s and beyond.

7.    Age is relative. Our own age dictates not just when we think ‘youth ends’ and  ‘old age begins’  but also  our perceptions of the attributes associated with old age. Make sure that your marketing is consumer-driven and not at the mercy of 25 year old marketers or agency staff.

8.    Don’t target by generation. Treat ‘generational marketing’ definitions with caution.  In the UK, terms such as ‘Baby boomers’ and ‘Generation X’ provide no useful consumer insight and members of such groups share little other than the period in which they were born.

9.    Think across age groups. There is almost always more than one age group involved in any purchasing process. An obvious example  is the involvement of adult children in the purchase of retirement housing and care homes. The audience for many brands is likely to span different generations, as consumer attitudes, need and interests are seldom shaped by age alone.

10. Walk the talk. If you care about older people so much, why not employ some? And please, think about all aspects of the customer experience, not just your communications

These ‘rules’ run the  inevitable  risk of seeming facile and self-contradictory. We welcome your views and would love to discuss any aspect of this subject with you. Better still, if you’re a client company, why not let us apply our ‘rules’ to your business?

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About our research
‘Marketing and Mature Audiences’ is a research report which provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject of marketing and older, more mature, audiences in the UK . It provides an interpretative summary of more than 250 data and research sources. The report was written by Mark Beasley of RHC Advantage, with the input of two University Professors. The  full  report  document  is available upon request.  The main findings of the report form the basis of a 45 minute presentation which we really enjoy making.

About RHC AdvantageRHC Advantage is the UK’s only independent marketing agency specialising in adult, older, more mature audiences.  The directors are:  Mark Beasley, an experienced marketing consultant and planner, formerly a WPP group agency planning director;  Richard Collyer,  a successful creative and design consultant; and Tom Wright CBE (non-executive), who is Chief Executive of Age UK,  the UK’s largest age-based charity.  The agency provides consultancy and creative services to its clients. www.rhcadvantage.co.uk