Since the launch of their new marketing campaign titled “It Just Makes Sense”, Finance of America Reverse (FAR) has seen a positive impact on borrower conversion rates.
The campaign commercials, which were tested in April and fully launched this past May, are doing exactly what they had hoped they would do, explains VP of marketing at FAR, Tom Evans.
“So far things have been going quite well,” he says. “We are getting an eager customer in the door. Half of all inquiries from the ads are moving right along in the process and about 8-10% of people who are calling are moving forward into the application for a reverse mortgage.”
The set of six new commercials, are a short 30 seconds each and have a singular focus that include reverse mortgage facts that people can grab right away.
“We’re catching the folks who may have let more old school ads roll off their shoulder, but now our primary message is within eight seconds of the commercial beginning,” Evans says.
Coming from the days of a celebrity spokesman, FAR doesn’t see the need for a two-minute long commercial with a spokesperson anymore, Evans explains. “That method just doesn’t get the draw anymore,” he says. “People’s attention spans are shorter now.”
The change in direction was also due to the shifting demographic, Evans explains.
“Ten years ago, our target was a 75 year-old widow sitting home all day who needed a loan, but now the target is a much more engaged and active member of society who has all the same needs and wants that the rest of us do,” he says.
The more compact ad seems to be working for FAR, as they are seeing a slightly younger group reaching out about the reverse mortgage product. “We have a complete digital package,” says Evans. “We have the TV ads as well as the videos up on Youtube and other online locations. It appears to be encouraging a slightly younger demographic.”
The cultural shift is another hurdle FAR is trying to get over. In the past, older parents were wary of tapping into their home equity because they didn’t want to jeopardize the legacy they could leave for their children, but that is not the case anymore.
“The last thing I want my parents to do is worry about me,” Evans shares. “They deserve what they need now. That’s why these ads get the facts in front of them fast and then it just makes sense to keep that money in their pockets.”
As of right now, the ad campaign will be ongoing and the next phase will be to continue to roll out more single-focused reverse mortgage facts in commercials that consumers can pick up right away. Expansion of the campaign, however, is not planned at this time.
Written by Alana Stramowski
