With a fun and vibrant marketing campaign, Ryman Healthcare have completely redefined the meaning of retirement.
A fresh approach
The challenge
Traditional retirement and aged care marketing fails to capture the spirit and individuality of this dynamic audience. With the 80+ population projected to increase 300 percent over the next 40 years, Ryman Healthcare needed to create a platform that spoke to Baby Boomers and showed seniors in a new light.
Ryman had been operating for over 35 years in New Zealand and six years in Australia. Both countries have an ageing population, but several competitors were also investing heavily in new villages and marketing, as well as adapting their models to align with Ryman’s offering.
Ryman needed to differentiate the brand and drive enquiry, while categorically broadening the appeal of retirement villages and communicating its competitive advantages. But Ryman had never focused on brand advertising, relying instead on individual villages to represent the brand.
The response
To create brand cohesion, Ryman Pioneers was launched. Featuring real residents from Ryman villages, Ryman Pioneers breaks stereotypes while helping Ryman staff reset their sales and customer experience approach.
The campaign celebrates real people who, far from retiring from life, are pursuing their passions to the full. To immerse themselves in the category, Ryman interviewed residents and people considering retirement living. They discovered that this new generation of retirees sees themselves as young at heart.
The Ryman Pioneers platform has been executed in multiple video formats, large scale out-of-home, print, radio, real estate sales communications and on-site sales experiences.
The result
The response to Ryman’s new generation of senior and octogenarian influencers was powerful and immediate. Their appearance on prime-time television, billboards and digital and social media didn’t just grab attention, it provoked an outpouring of pride, appreciation and interest in a generation long overlooked and misrepresented.
Retirement village residents were receiving modelling and product endorsement offers. And Ryman Healthcare experienced significant increases in brand engagement, enquiry and sales, smashing all targets.
Category: Healthcare/Beauty
Company: Ryman Healthcare
Marketing Initiative: Ryman Pioneers a New Way of Living
Marketing Partners: VMLY&R Auckland
Judges’ Comments: “A great long-term view for Ryman based on fundamental insight that recognised a change in the target audience. They’re shaking up preconceptions of the elderly generation. The new communications approach has been activated well and is starting to generate impressive outcomes. The brand positioning will serve Ryman well in the future. Very refreshing approach to see.”
Finalists: Earthwise Group, Musashi/Vitaco, Health Promotion Agency / Te Hiringa Hauora
This article was first published in the 2021 December/January issue of NZ Marketing magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine, here. Or read the other winner stories, here.
