Founders are changing the face of ageing and want older adults to be better represented in marketing.

 

Last year, when Vulcanpost needed seniors to share their love advice in front of the camera and earn up to S$50, several came forward through a silver-focused talent-matching platform called Strongsilvers. The company not only recruits those 50 to 70 years old for talent casting but also for brand endorsements where they receive free products in exchange for their sharing on social media with their friends or a product review.

Shared Junus Eu, one of the founders of Strongsilvers on why they started the company, “The idea to change the face of ageing has been brewing for a long time and we found a market gap of matching brands to seniors who have a wealth of experience and stories to tell. Our aim is to change the face of ageing and have the older adult category better represented in marketing.” The founders have already set their sights to other ageing societies in Asia for their platform.

Through their platform, they have various job/gig posts which seniors can apply. For instance, last year, Yuan Sang offered 30g of organic cashew nuts in exchange for product reviews, and Charis Bodycare offered a free sample if seniors provided feedback for market research and earned up to S$10. According to Junus, all jobs are paid except for product reviews. She added that more than 500 individuals over the age of 50 have since been recruited for the various opportunities.

However, some of these opportunities can be daunting to some seniors such as being in front of the camera or dealing with social media including Facebook and Instagram. “Some seniors might be more shy on video, and some are not. Seeing examples of friends and peers engage in such activities go some way in alleviating their fears,” said Junus.

There are also challenges with some companies who don’t target seniors with their products. “As society ages and the spending power of the older adult category increases, more brands will focus research and development towards this group and these companies will be brands that we partner with. There are brands who do not have seniors in their radar yet and that’s very natural, so we target brands who have products that target the senior demographic. That way it is easier for us to present our value proposition,” added Junus.

She and her other co-founder Zavier Chan are on the right track. Their initiative clinched the top prize of S$10,000 in the Singapore University of Social Services (SUSS) Impact Start-up Challenge. The competition was supported by DBS Foundation. They were also a finalists in the Start-up Pitch Stadium of the Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards by Ageing Asia and have received seed funding of S$50,000 from the Startup SG Founder grant.