With more than 38 million members, AARP — the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and over — is a household name. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for its charitable affiliate, AARP Foundation.
The core issue AARP Foundation addresses — senior poverty — is underreported and misunderstood. Poverty itself is pervasive across the United States, but is rarely talked about within the context of seniors — despite the fact that 10 million people over the age of 50 live below the poverty line, and more than 13.2 million employed older adults don't make enough to meet all their expenses. Many consider poverty to be something that exists in third world countries but not their own communities; they especially don't expect to see it among older adults who have worked their whole lives.
We realized that the goal of creating a distinct, ownable brand identity for AARP Foundation was intertwined with the goal of raising awareness of the issue of senior poverty and addressing the fact that it feels distant to people. The strategic direction of AARP Foundation's first national marketing campaign was therefore set: to expose the senior poverty that is hidden in plain sight.
We began to tackle our objectives by implementing a brand refresh. We introduced a new tagline, "For a future without senior poverty," as well as a new logo and brand message that spoke to the organization's goal, all with the hopes of raising awareness.
Our creative approach was to use relatable symbols of American family life as a means of demonstrating the realities of senior poverty hiding in plain sight all across the country.
Made-for-social videos depicted what appeared to be familiar scenes of a garage sale and a hall table, before the narrative flipped to show the tradeoffs that impoverished seniors face every day: The man down the street selling records and knick-knacks in his driveway might actually need that money to pay for his medication. Among the trinkets and photos on your neighbors' hall table could be an eviction notice that reveals their losing battle to scrape together enough money to pay the rent. The videos end with a haunting statistic to drive home the severity of the issue: 1 in 7 U.S. seniors live in poverty.
To further shine a spotlight on this unseen struggle, we sought out real seniors at or near the poverty line, and partnered with world-renowned photographer Platon. Platon gave these unassuming people a grand setting, illuminating the essence of their struggles and their hopes, all under the headline, "The face of senior poverty isn't who you think." These portraits, gazing directly into the camera, became thumb-stopping social posts and full-page print ads; they challenged public perceptions head-on, as these were faces of people who could be your neighbors, your friends, your loved ones. A three-article editorial partnership with The Atlantic complemented the photos and expanded the backstory, unpacking some of the social and systemic causes of senior poverty and alerting people to the risks we all face as we age.
Our integrated campaign included:
• OLV: :60, :30, :15
• YouTube :06 bumpers
• Atlantic editorial partnership and promotion
• Platon portrait social posts (Facebook, Twitter)
• Accompanying Platon print ads
• Poster campaign for internal audiences
• PR promotion
Our goal with "Hidden in Plain Sight" was to raise awareness of senior poverty — and that is exactly what the campaign has been doing. With a budget of $750,000, we worked to ensure the content was so compelling people would share it; we have also received interest from various media outlets. Most important, the effort has initiated and solidified several new relationships focused on collaborative, innovative solutions to ending senior poverty.
The provocative campaign garnered millions of views across social and digital platforms. After the launch, thousands reposted "Hidden in Plain Sight" content, commented on it, sent it to friends, or visited the AARP Foundation website to learn more about how they could help. For many, the content resonated deeply as it reflected their own experience, or illustrated a future concern for themselves or their loved ones.
Below are the specific measurements that show how "Hidden in Plain Sight" has generated far-reaching awareness of senior poverty and injected it into the cultural conversation:
