Widening the audience appeal for retirement villages
One of the more enjoyable challenges of working with a client over many years is keeping the creative fresh and different.Our long-term relationship with RetireAustralia has included many campaigns for their traditional village communities, with brand ambassador Chris Betts featuring heavily. So when our client came to us with a brief to extend on our previous work, we took the opportunity to revitalise the brand in an exciting new direction.
Challenge
Using a brand ambassador can offer great benefits in terms of brand equity and awareness, but it can also constrict the creative process in terms of thinking of them as just a ‘talking head’.Our challenge was to create a different look and feel while still using the platform of our brand ambassador. It was a challenge welcomed by our team who crafted some out-of-the-box thinking to deliver a compelling creative solution.
The spark
Over the course of multiple campaigns and robust research, a clear profile of prospective buyers for a RetireAustralia village had emerged.
But in various village communities that house hundreds, if not thousands, of people, it also became clear that different people have different wants and needs.
Strategically, we needed to appeal to as many prospects as possible by representing their common grounds and demonstrating the wide variety of life and care available at a RetireAustralia village.
Creative
Life's a journey.
The central creative focus of this campaign was a car analogy. Just as a car trip is a journey we all take, so too is retirement. Drawing an analogy between the two provided a distinctive creative direction that accommodated our established brand ambassador (as the driver) in a completely fresh style with revamped messaging.
The image of a classic sports car provided a striking visual centre point for the campaign. By taking a journey around the village in the car and seeing people enjoy all that retirement life can offer, we were able to creatively deliver all the key selling points with truly dynamic storytelling.
The campaign included broadcast television, online video, radio and digital assets.
Outcome
The campaign launched to immediate success, but as a branding and awareness campaign, the true impact will be felt over the long term. The high-quality production of the campaign ensures the longevity of the creative, which is vital as new prospects come into the retirement living market over time.