Client: AARP
Language: Chinese, English
Region: San Francisco Bay Area, greater Los Angeles Area
Media: TV Program, Online Video, Print
Role: Art Direction; Concept Development; Production
Print ads, commercials, radio spots… they’re all great but how can we provide insights and information in a way that’s more exciting beyond advertising?
One of the challenges but exciting considerations heading into this campaign was the simple breadth and depth of the content. The sheer volume alone of information AARP has to offer is overwhelmingly extensive, which makes it difficult to convey each topic’s message within a shorter format.
A concept beyond conventional advertising to satiate this segment’s appetite for information is proposed: A creative collaboration between trusted TV personality Jay Stone Shih, the creative agency, and the many AARP experts on topics affecting the 50-plus the most. A talk show-style TV series was born, aimed at delivering AARP’s brand purpose: “Real Possibilities with AARP hosted by Jay Stone Shih.”
Serendipitously, Jay is also a member of the target audience. As a Chinese American 50-plus himself, Jay is a seamless representative of the community, someone who could ask the hard-hitting questions on behalf of his audience and uncover the information that they wanted to hear and know about; which is particularly helpful surrounding topics that may be perceived culturally taboo or uncomfortable or unrelatable to the Chinese-language community. This makes Jay the perfect source for AARP to deliver pertinent information to other Chinese American 50-plus individuals, forming a true partnership with Jay and AARP! His interest in our idea and its purpose was genuine.
Across the “Real Possibilities with AARP” series, Jay interviews and speaks with a range of guests who either work for or work with AARP and are experts in their respective fields. These guests carry with them impressive backgrounds sharing information to and educating the 50-plus community. They cover everything from practical health and wellness tips to basic federal health care advocacy facts to fraud prevention tactics to advice for how to prepare for weighty subject matter like caregiving for a loved one.
Result?
Expectations in measuring the success of this series were ambitious given the inventive nature of this program. Yet the team and I were able to evaluate the campaign’s influence based on the calls to action of:
1. tuning in weekly for enlightening and educational programming, and
2. finding out more information at AARP’s Chinese website: chinese.aarp.org
Over the course of the two-month syndication, “Real Possibilities with AARP” attained a viewership of 2.4 million households throughout the Bay Area. Coupled with comparable numbers in L.A., the cumulative viewership reached nearly 5 million households. These metrics indicate that an impressive number of Chinese Americans tuned in each week to learn more about AARP’s offerings.
More meaningfully, the response to the programming from the audience was beyond enthusiastic. The number of direct calls to KTSF from viewers jumped, with a near-consensus of positive feedback. A large percentage of callers were interested in more episodes of the series and inquired about AARP and how to obtain additional information about resources referenced throughout the series.
Meanwhile, the latent outcome saw a significant increase in traffic to AARP’s Chinese website (chinese.aarp.org), where individuals could further explore the comprehensiveness of AARP’s wealth of useful resources. Visitors quickly discovered that you can find a great deal of information online to enhance their lives at 50-plus-not just on topics covered on “Real Possibilities with AARP,” but also other relevant interests to the Chinese American segment. Indubitably, the show helped contribute to a spike in page views, reaching new heights in traffic over the show’s eight-week airing. The daily page view average to the Chinese website is the highest over any two-month period and nearly 10 times the average in page views post-campaign.
But what truly reveal through “Real Possibilities with AARP” is an entryway to what’s possible for people 50-plus. Each episode serves as a 15-minute introduction to greater access to resources that can help you live the live you want to. How is that significant? Through this campaign, AARP further earns the trust of the Chinese American 50-plus community. In the end, it is seen as a reliable and credible resource for information–a lasting impression in building long-term relationships with the people it continues to serve.
Achievement:
182 calls during the broadcast period
Viewers feeling positive about the segments and asking if there were more episodes to come
3AF Bronze Award for Creative Campaign of the Year
