How Do You Market ‘Retirement’ Without It Sounding Old?
If there’s one thing no one likes hearing it’s that they’re getting old. So for retirement brands it can prove a marketing challenge for making it not sound like it’s a place for old people.
The concept of ‘retirement’ has changed over the years, however the communications around marketing the concept are lagging, said experts in the field.
“When you’re selling retirement, you’re not selling retirement anymore, because retirement’s changed,” said Rebecca Wilson, CEO and publisher of over 60s site, Starts at 60. “Joe Hockey made sure of that.”
There’s a shift happening in the retirement industry at the moment, with retirement villages moving towards fun, resort-style living villages. Sandra Hook, former NewsLifeMedia CEO and current chair of Baby Boomers website WYZA, said: “I think the developers are very much moving into that space, it’s just a matter of whether the communications around it are lagging a little.”
It’s about really knowing your customers, who they are and what they’re looking for. And unfortunately, many retirement brands don’t actually know who their customers are, said Wilson.
This stance was echoed by Hook yesterday who said brands don’t know how to market to Baby Boomers.
“It’s a generation who have been marketed to for all of their life. This is not an unsophisticated generation,” she said.
“Suddenly when they try and target a mature audience, brands don’t always get it right.”
Starts at 60’s Wilson exemplified one specific wrong-doing in retirement marketing communications. Wilson said if a company is looking for a single woman in her 50s or 60s, don’t market to them with images of a woman in white pants, walking down a beach, holding hands with a guy, “which is what they’re selling at the moment”.
And a quick Google Image search of ‘retirement’ pulls up many pictures of couples donning white together on a beach. These four images are from the first page of a Google Image search.
However, there are some companies who are looking for very specific customers, with Wilson explaining how some are looking for over 75s with a health issue, for example – very specific, which means very specific marketing communications.
WYZA’s Hook believes terminology hinders communications, using words such as ‘senior’, ‘elderly’ and ‘old’.
“This is a group of people who just say ‘don’t call me old. I’m not old, I don’t feel old’,” she said, referencing the industry’s current debate to call ‘retirement villages’ ‘lifestyle villages’ instead.
“I think over the next couple of years we’ll probably see some of the language changing around that because for some reason, for a long time, people have connected the word ‘retirement’ with ‘retiring’ from life, and in many ways it couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said.
“The new trends towards retirement living really are pretty much parallel with resort living.”
Referencing Starts at 60, Wilson said, “our environment is a young voice and so we tend to want to work with the players who have young vibrant, energetic voices as businesses.”
Citing some of Starts at 60’s competitors, Wilson said many advertise funeral packages on the site.
“Nobody wants to check out and go and die!” she exclaimed. “We see players in the over 50s market promoting funerals and we say ‘you do that’.
“We don’t want to want to be about death at 60. Over 60s still have around 30 years left to live.”
Please login with linkedin to comment
Advertising Standards Bureau copywrighting Macquarie Radio Group Omnicom Media Group travel happy ultimate traveller video competitionLatest News
Former Agency Execs Launch Car Service Summon
Former agency executives Tim O’Neill and Tim Fouhy have launched the auto technology startup Summon. Australia’s first full e-commerce service for prestige cars. O’Neill and Fouhy both worked together at Accenture Interactive, before co-founding Reactive a digital agency bought by Accenture in 2016, now they’ve combined their knowledge and expertise to create Summon. Summon offers […]
Hootsuite Shares The Top Social Media Trends Of The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
To honour the fantastic feats of the Australian Paralympians, Hootsuite has revealed the top trending hashtags and social media data of the Paralympics. The top trending hashtag during the Paralympics period, #tokyo2020, received over 38,000 tweets and retweets, amounting to 1.7M+ impressions, while other popular hashtags included #paralympics, #readysettokyo and #paraswimming. According to Hootsuite’s research, […]
Coco-Cola Australia Unveils New Recipe & New Look
Coke rolls out latest new look & new recipe. Despite having a checkered history of rolling out new looks & new recipes.
So Media Group Acquires Social Media Company Carma The Social Chameleon
Perth-based digital media publisher So Media Group has completed the acquisition of fellow Perth-based social media marketing ag
SCA Appoints ABC Executive Melanie Withnall To Head Of News & Information
SCA snares ABC radio veteran Melanie Withnall who brings with her 18 years' experience & an "I Love Ita" coffee mug.
VCCP Business Acquires Sling & Stone To Create $50m Global PR And Communications Group
B&T tried to get "David & Goliath battle" into this Sling & Stone headline; however, it proved not possible in the end.
CHE Proximity, DDB Sydney, TBWA Melbourne And Thinkerbell Melbourne Battle It Out In YouTube Skippys Competition
Some serious agency heavy hitters vying for YouTube's Skippys competition. Hopefully none will be gracious in defeat.
Aussies Can Now Stream The iHeartRadio Music Festival Live
Aussies can now stream the iHeartRadio Music Festival live. Not that it's stopping anyone on a temporary visa either.
We Are Social Launches Insta-Based Cultural Insights Publication, The Feed
Global socially-led creative agency We Are Social has launched The Feed, an editorial Instagram publication tracking digital culture and trends on a global scale.
SOON, Think Tank Giving Insights Into Future Trends, Officially Launches
SOON, a futures think tank focused on human insights, has launched today tracking trends, developments and disruptions across people, products and the planet. Led by internationally renowned futurist, social scientist and trend forecaster Sarah Owen (pictured centre) in partnership with TABOO directors Andrew Mackinnon (right) and James Mackinnon (left), the independently Australian-owned futurist company uncovers […]
Melbourne’s Non-Alcoholic Wine Brand NON SeesInternational Growth Spurt In Just 3 Months
NON is pioneering a whole new category of sommelier-standard 0.0% ABV wine alternatives, manufactured in a completely new way. Despite the lockdown, in 3 months NON has tripled their overseas distribution and begun work on a new NONLab production facility 6 times larger than their current space.
Nina Tsalapatanis And Vince Prochilo Join Orchard In Business Director Roles
B&T asks, is the tedious marketing trope "low-hanging fruit" banned in the Orchard offices?
Deloitte Digital Creative Snares Colenso BBDO’s Dan Wright As Sydney Chief Creative Officer
Deloitte continuing to fish in adland's pool. B&T assumes it's not using worms for bait but rather large pay cheques.
TIME Magazine Reveals 100 Most Influential List, As Harry & Meghan’s “Creepy” Cover Cops A Roasting
TIME unveils its 100 most influential list & mercifully sans any real estate agents, influencers, WAGS or anti-vaxxers.
Experiential Agency GPJ A/NZ Farewells MD Caleb Bush
GPJ MD Caleb Bush announces move to Europe. Has a low-mile 1998 Suzuki Swift on Gumtree if anyone's interested.
New LinkedIn Research Shows Aussies Are Less Hygienic & Have Forgotten How To Banter Due To Working From Home
One notable impact of lockdown has been B&T's desire to cook and then consume an entire roast dinner at 10am.
Aussie TikTok Star & Lockdown Protestor Hospitalised With COVID-19
B&T has gone for "Aussie TikTok star" in this headline. That could've been easily supplanted by "dickhead" or "f@ckwit".
iHeartPodcast Network Australia Launches SAS Australia Debrief Podcast
ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia has announced a new podcast, SAS Australia Debrief hosted by 2020 recruits Merrick Watts and Sabrina Frederick. The podcast is made for anyone that can’t get enough of Aussie celebs putting themselves through the toughest test of their lives on the Seven Network’s hit show SAS Australia. Or anyone that wishes […]
“The Roar Of The Crowd!” How Twitter Is Keeping Sports Fans Close To The Action In 2021
Footy team flop again this season? Well, Twitter now proving the platform for all coach & underperforming player abuse.
Nine’s Upfronts: Here’s What Agency Bosses Had To Say
Sadly, no news of an Ossie Ostrich return, but Nine's annual Upfronts were definitely less bum-numbing than years past.
Wednesday TV Wrap: 10’s Making It Australia Premieres To 474,000 Viewers
B&T enjoyed the Making It Australia premiere last night. Admittedly, we had no compulsion to want to make anything.
Rakuten Advertising Shares Blueprint For Affiliate Marketing
Rakuten Advertising has launched ‘A 5-Stage Blueprint for High-Performance Affiliate Marketing’, designed to educate and inform both advertisers and publishers about the strategic role that the affiliate channel is now playing in marketing strategies. The blueprint is based on input from members of the Rakuten Advertising International Collective (RAIC), comprising affiliate marketing specialists from leading advertisers […]
Study: 42% Of Aussies Say They Don’t Feel Represented By Advertising
Some 42% of Aussies say they don't feel represented by advertising. It was zero per cent for Coles Big Red Hand.
Are Media Highlights The Changing Face Of Beauty In Latest TRENDtalks Series
Are Media research highlights latest beauty trends. Yet no news of the return of the Boy George blush or the fake mole.
Nature Launches New Parental Leave Scheme
Nature unveils impressive parental leave scheme; however, it does carry the caveat of being impregnated first.
EngageTV Launches Metro Connected TV Campaign In Sydney And Melbourne
EngageTV, Australia’s most sophisticated CTV & BVOD service partner, has today launched a Sydney and Melbourne metro Connected TV campaign to help business owners and marketers better understand what can be achieved with CTV.
Buzzfeed Australia Launches Bloom, A Womxn-Focused Vertical
Bloom to cover topics such as sexuality, mental health & relationships. Bad news if you're looking for a sponge recipe.
ARIA Awards Axe Gendered Categories In An Inclusive Move
ARIA Awards announces the end of gendered categories. Which thankfully should shorten the event by a good 40 minutes.
Adland State Of Originality To Return For Nine’s 2022 Origin Series
Nine has announced the return of State of Originality, Australia’s biggest advertising prize, with $1 million again up for grabs to the brand and agency that creates the most original ad in the 2022 State of Origin Series. This year Nine launched State of Originality, challenging Australia’s marketers to help make State of Origin not […]
Nine Uses Upfronts To Reveal Content Slate For 2022
It's all your Nine Upfront news which sadly didn't include an impromptu version of 'New York, New York' by Mike Sneesby.
