Does getting older means you are really over the hill? Zip Cheung, Founder of OHH Dear Communications, has proved that a little styling can go a long way. Seniors with silver hair can be models too.
According to government prediction, the number of seniors aged 65 or above will more than double in the next twenty years. As population ageing brings changes to our social structure, it is time that Hong Kong comes to grips with this issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the “Active Ageing” policy framework in 2012, aiming to promote healthy and active ageing for quality golden years.
Elderly people are old-fashioned fuddy-duddies to most people; yet ex-features reporter Cheung has discovered otherwise. Many seniors are very fit and healthy. They have a positive attitude and know how to enjoy life. Some are no different from the younger generation.
Shaking off the elderly stereotype
By sheer coincidence, Cheung saw 50-plus “young-old” men and women (meaning old people with young traits) in fashion shots when she leafed through a Japanese fashion magazine featuring mature models. They were modeling confidently just like their younger peers. Regrettably, seniors very seldom appear in ads here in Hong Kong. Even if they do, they would be playing vulnerable roles in need of assistance, such as a frail elder dropping a whole bag of fruit on the ground. Determined to promote a positive image for the “silver-haired” group, Cheung set up senior modeling agency OHH Dear Communications in 2016. The company offers one-stop marketing solutions to boost visibility and diversity of silver-haired models in advertising.
Silver-haired models are nothing new overseas. Mature men and women have their unique charisma. Hong Kong is a late starter in this area. Models for mainstream ads are aged between 25 and 50. However, Cheung says as the local population ages, ads featuring silver-haired models would have greater appeal to 50-plus customers. As banks, financial institutions, the tourism industry and other sectors actively explore the silver-haired market segment, demand for marketing services engaging senior models is growing in tandem. This trend has created many job opportunities.
Discovering amateurs to serve a broad and diverse market
OHH Dear Communications mainly recruits models aged 50 or above. Mostly amateurs, they are offered training and suitable photographic jobs to help them launch a modeling career. These models can take on many different types of jobs, including photo shots, videos, voice-over dubbing, event hosting and even appearances on Hong Kong fashion runways (mostly fashion shows jointly organized with local universities). People may think the Chinese society is conservative and seniors in their 50’s may not want to be in the public eye. This is very far from the truth. Cheung told us, “Even in our early recruitment days, we received many emails from seniors who recommended themselves for modeling jobs. If they were really so conservative, this profession would not exist at all.”
In the past two years since its establishment, OHH Dear Communications has completed contracts for over 100 ads. The agency’s broad client base in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan spans across many sectors, including banks, financial services, insurance, health food, cameras, household goods, art, elderly products, personal care products and food. Ads for banks and insurance companies are most common. To Cheung’s surprise, some ads are not directly associated with seniors, such as smart phones, TVs, everyday products, food and beverages. The spectrum of clients is much wider than expected.
KOL is a popular promotion channel today. OHH Dear Communications is keen to capture this opportunity by developing senior KOLs. “Our original idea was to reflect elderly people’s beauty and vitality through images. We can now delve deeper by exploring the KOL market, having elderly KOLs tell their true stories to project greater positive energy.”
Making fame overseas with the “old is great” concept
The unique business model of OHH Dear Communications has attracted wide attention. Last year, the agency was invited by the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong to join the 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, India in 2017, as the representative of Hong Kong and Macao. That platform provided a chance to exchange insights in social innovation with nearly 1,500 participants from 127 countries. In the same year, OHH Dear Communications attended a forum on innovation in Taichung at the invitation of the Taichung City Government.
Cheung can foresee demand for silver-haired models and related marketing services from clients of more diverse sectors. She is optimistic about industry prospects, and OHH Dear Communications will continue to explore other forms of service. For example, they have recently begun developing talent pools for TV program hosts and voice-over dubbing, while expanding their marketing business to include video production, public relations and CSR solutions for corporate clients. In the future, we can look forward to seeing more silver-haired new faces in different media. Cheung’s message is coming through loud and clear: seniors may be “old”, but they are still “great”.
