RetireAustralia swerves sector norms with “It’s Your Journey”

When’s the last time a retirement living ad made you smile, feel seen or want to get behind the wheel of a red MG?

That’s exactly what RetireAustralia’s bold “It’s Your Journey” campaign achieved, winning the coveted Channel Marketing Group Award for Marketing Excellence at the 2025 National Retirement Living Awards. And in doing so, it’s thrown the sector’s traditional marketing playbook out the window—right onto the open road.

This campaign was all about doing things differently. Instead of the expected soft-focus lifestyle shots and lists of features, RetireAustralia and long-time agency partner New Word Order shifted gears—literally—using a nostalgic driving metaphor to reframe the conversation around independence, care, and choice in retirement.

With a warm, relatable tone, live-action storytelling, and a narrative built around freedom, control and wellbeing, “It’s Your Journey” struck an emotional chord—and drove real commercial results.

The $1.385M multi-channel campaign delivered a 23.3% increase in leads, a 31% reduction in cost per lead, and a 14% uplift in sales appointments all while going against the grain of what retirement sector advertising “should” look like.

At the heart of the campaign was a classic red 1960s MG and the familiar face of Chris Betts, RetireAustralia’s hero talent since 2020. The creative used driving cues to tap into a collective nostalgia for road trips of decades past while symbolising the personal journeys residents embark on when choosing a retirement community. The red sports car wasn’t just a prop; it was a statement: age doesn’t diminish desirability.

“We wanted to challenge expectations of what retirement means, and how we talk about it,” said Andrew Doak, National Manager – Marketing at RetireAustralia. “Our audience doesn’t see themselves slowing down. They see this chapter as a new journey, and we wanted to meet them there.”

The campaign was a deliberate pivot away from “advertising hygiene factors” toward fresh storytelling that placed authenticity and emotion at the centre. Featuring real team members and residents alongside cinematic visuals, it championed not just community living, but what it feels like to be in control of your next chapter.

Backed by extensive research into customer segments and preferences—a strategic focus since 2019—RetireAustralia has spent years aligning its marketing with real audience insights. That embedded understanding powered the creative leap behind ‘It’s Your Journey’: a campaign built for cut-through, not clichés.

And with competition and media costs on the rise, that leap had to land. It did.

This campaign marks a pivotal evolution in RetireAustralia’s brand strategy—from safe and service-focused to bold, resonant, and values-led. By trusting their research, challenging category norms, and leaning into emotion over exposition, the brand has set a new creative benchmark, not just for retirement living, but for how meaningful marketing can be at any life stage.

Because when you take the wheel—and steer the message away from the expected—you might just find a better road ahead.