Top reverse mortgage retail lender American Advisors Group is rolling out a new advertising campaign that represents a departure from its traditional sales strategy. This time, rather than speaking directly to borrowers, the company is marketing to the adult child and caregiver of the prospective borrower. 

In two new commercials that are rolling out this week, AAG is featuring the adult child and caregiver as vested parties in the reverse mortgage process. The effort is in part to address a rise in the number of those participating in the search for a reverse mortgage, as well as the potential for a shifting borrower in light of recent product changes implemented by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

“We are seeing an increasing amount of kids coming down our call flow responding to [existing] Fred Thompson commercials,” said Teague McGrath, chief marketing officer for AAG. “We thought there was some opportunity there. Also, our sales style is designed around including those others in the process anyway. The sooner you get them involved, the better the process flows.” 

The company has worked historically with former Senator and celebrity spokesman Fred Thompson in much of its marketing materials including national TV ad campaigns. The new commercials may be a departure conceptually, but AAG is continuing to work with Sen. Thompson on present and future commercials. 

The new commercials include two different scenarios: one in which an adult child takes a proactive approach to her mother’s use of a reverse mortgage in her retirement plan. In the second scenario, an adult son is approached by his father on the idea of a reverse mortgage and how it will impact the son’s financial situation via his inheritance. 

“No one else is marketing in this way,” McGrath says, noting the target demographic carries an age span of 35 to 55 years old. 

The new commercials also speak to the recent product changes and shift away from fixed rate loans that were popular in recent years. 

“We have been looking at other approaches and the [changes] have made us rethink in a broader perspective, although we were heading in that direction anyway. It’s more about retirement planning and security, and moving away from the fixed-rate product.”