The reverse mortgage industry is no stranger to novel marketing campaigns, often using celebrity endorsers to spark discussion about its products.
While consistency is important in marketing and messaging, novelty can also be a way to increase engagement. new america funding (NAF)’s goal was to find a different way to communicate the potential benefits of reverse mortgages.
Leveraging emerging technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), NAF has launched a marketing campaign called “Old Wives” to demonstrate how it can empower potential borrowers by leveraging their own resources, namely their home equity. Ability to create a path to retirement.
To learn more about how and why the company took this approach, RMD sat down with Shannon Robinson, vice president of reverse mortgage lending at NAF, and Kevin Thomson, vice president and executive creative director of the company who designed the campaign.
‘Old Wives’: A New Reverse Mortgage Story
When asked if they hoped to find a new approach to reverse mortgage messaging, Robinson explained how the industry has always appreciated the efforts of companies like this American Consulting Group Companies like (AAG) have made visible investments in advertising, and the entire business has benefited.
But there is a time and place for a “fresh” approach, she said. Part of it, she explained, extended to the thinking of Thomson, who himself was new to reverse space.
“Kevin was new to reverse engineering, and he sat down with all of us and asked us how we could build our brand as a reverse engineering team at NAF,” she said. “I explained how everyone has a standard of what our typical active adults do: ride bikes, have picnics, play with the grandkids.”
Of course, these are pleasant images of retirement life, but Thomson’s idea was to convey something different.
“After talking to the NAF reverse team and studying the marketing landscape, it became clear we needed to make some changes,” Thomson told RMD. “We wanted to speak to our audience in a fresh and unique way that also echoed their own perceptions of aging. Opinion. These audiences believe, in the words of Dylan Thomas, that “old age should burn and party” and that they will not “go gentle into that good night.” They are smart, powerful, fierce people, just older.
Thomson explained that one of the goals at this time is to “bust” certain myths about aging and retirement, including the idea that seniors need to sell their homes.
“It’s just an old wives’ tale,” he said. “Who better to dispel this myth than the old woman herself.”
Robinson adds that it also adds fun and color to reverse mortgage marketing while allowing the campaign to try to repurpose some of the ideas that are often repeated in the product category.
“Things like ‘the lender will own the home’ or ‘the lender takes the home away from you’ and ‘your heirs are left with nothing,’” Robinson said of the often persistent ideas surrounding the product. . “So, we’re tapping into these different myths, and we’re saying, ‘Those are just old wives’ tales. Let me tell you this.
Hit the right note
When asked if the idea behind “Old Lady” was to target the group of people most likely to get a reverse mortgage (since a higher percentage of reverse borrowers are single women than single men), Robinson said the focus was on refinancing. shape discussions around this issue.
“Our statistics show that more people who get reverse mortgage products are single, widowed, and even stay-at-home moms, but that’s really just a vision of Kevin’s,” she said. “It’s really [came from] His creative thinking.
Before joining the NAF marketing team, Thomson knew how familiar he was with the product category.
“It was definitely an educational experience for me,” he said. “Coming in, all I knew was what I had gleaned from years of watching daytime television. I knew that Tom Selleck and Henry Winkler were the main speakers, but that was it. Lucky for me Yes, the NAF reverse mortgage team was excellent and took the time to give me a crash course on all things reverse mortgages.
Robinson added that Thomson referenced the popular sitcom “The Golden Girls” from the 1980s and ’90s as a major inspiration for the overall tone – how to use your own resources to make the idea of retirement fun and empowering.
The campaign is still in its early stages and went live on a dedicated landing page earlier this month. Robinson said that in addition to aiming to change some of the conversations about the product category, the event also provides a recruiting opportunity.
“As many people in our industry know, we are hiring heavily at New American Funds right now, particularly for the contrarian team,” she said. “It’s also an attraction for driving recruiting opportunities and attracting our clients, and we’re starting to see some traction. We’re getting a response, and I think it’s just because of the different, fresher look. People see these women and say , “Okay, let me click. Let me see.”
On top of that, Robinson said the women at the event were also generated entirely by artificial intelligence (AI). Later stages of the campaign will take the form of some kind of testimonials, with real “old ladies” talking more about their experiences with the product in retirement, but Robinson explained they wanted to launch the concept as the creative team had previously envisioned it.
“This is the first campaign we’ve done that’s entirely powered by artificial intelligence,” Robinson said. “[The team] The next step is to bring them to life in short videos that we have already tested, which will be the next release for the summer. You start to see these women talking about this issue and having some fun with these concepts.
Robinson added: “Ultimately, based on the response, our goal will be to bring in real-life women, real old ladies, and really integrate that into the industry.”
