The AARP x Broccoli City Campaign, “Halftime Reset: Reinventing Yourself for the Next Phase”, is geared toward African American/Black (AA/B) and Hispanic /Latino (H/L) men who share in the Disrupt Aging mindset of living without limits and living healthy lives. The campaign is backed by AARP disparity data that indicates Black and Latino men to have some of the shortest life expectancies to frequently die prematurely due to preventable disease.
The two-part campaign consisted of a panel discussion with two influencers and a medical doctor hosted at BroccoliCon- a social justice conference that coincides with the acclaimed Broccoli City Music Festival. This was followed by a social media influencer campaign.
Understanding that social media is a huge driver of information for the AA/B 35 –55 year-old segment, we engaged two influencers who would bring a message of healthy living and self-reinvention to their audiences.
AARP is not usually at the tops of the minds of Millennial – Gen X Black men, but we believe we can help close some of the health disparities that exist in this group if we can just get the message out there the right way! We had to meet the audience where they are and use trusted voices within the community.
We successfully launched this campaign to an audience that may not have had the brand affinity to AARP but built trust in us because we showed we cared about them- personally and authentically.
Working with our longtime collaborator, Think Broccoli, a social mission marketing, content and events agency, we crafted an impactful campaign that reached AA/B and H/L men ages 35-55.
“Halftime Reset: Reinventing Yourself for the Next Phase” had two main components:
Broccoli City Conference and Festival Presence and the Halftime Reset Social Media activation.
AARP hosted a main stage panel at BroccoliCon on May 6, 2022 where AARP Moderator Alicia R. Wallace, MPH engaged with panelists Wallace Peeples (@wallo267), Karega Bailey (@KaregaBailey), and Dr. Ikenna Myers, MD, MPH to discuss topics facing Black men ages 35-55. They key messages for this panel discussion included health disparities and the historical and systemic barriers that contribute to the disparities, taking steps toward a healthy lifestyle, destigmatizing mental health, and building community/support for men of color.
At the Broccoli City Festival, we showcased snippets of the discussion on the jumbotrons to over 40k concert goers.
The social media activation strategy included capturing, editing and producing twenty (20) 1-2 minute interviews and videos hosted by Wallace Peeples (Wallo) and Karega Bailey. This content was posted to @broccolicity and each influencers’ social media pages, as well as several popular pop culture media pages primarily on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok.
This campaign truly hit it out of the park. We had Black men from different backgrounds engaging their peers on issues of health, mental health and longevity- topics that the media most often paints as taboo for this community. AARP understands that this audience is often left out of the conversation and the solutions needed to help them live longer, healthier lives. AARP built a platform and space for them to have these conversations and tell us- big brands- how to help.
There were, however, several obstacles the team had to overcome to activate this campaign. We had to first build internal buy-in and support for the selected influencers. We had to get influencers who could relate to the audience. That meant using voices that may not traditionally match with AARP, prioritizing our department’s commitment to diversity, and showing people that this can work.
Next, understanding the audience’s needs, we decided to activate a health message at a music festival and conference. To do this, we built a story arc for the campaign where the launch would be at the festival, but we would continue to repeat and build upon these messages with the concert goers and new viewers for the remainder of the year. We posted content in newsletters, on social media, and in podcast talks for a full twelve months.
This approach shows AARPs commitment to this community and dedication to eradicating health disparities.
The Halftime Reset Social Media campaign had a reach of 4.5 million across all channels. It garnered 566.7K+ engagements (views, likes, comments, and opens) and 45K average Broccoli City newsletter opens. This event also garnered over 8K email opt-ins for future correspondence with AARP.
Not only did the metrics of this campaign surpass all expectations for this baseline year, we also have so many anecdotal nuggets to share. Influencer Karega Bailey, who has founded a safe space for Black men to address mental health issues, said “AARP just being here makes me have a totally different view about your organization.”
Broccoli City has also begun to incorporate more activations around health. For example, they have opportunities for concert goers to reduce the cost of tickets by accumulating volunteer hours, and they partnered with Dr. Ikenna Myers to sponsor a local health fair.
AARP has doubled-down on its commitment to this issue by creating an even larger campaign called The Longevity Catch Up. There is so much more to come.
