Japan now has the world oldest population with more than 1 in 4 citizens over 65. And with life expectancy at 85, retirees are looking at 20+ years of feeling lonely and unproductive.

IBM wanted to put their technological prowess to work, in order to begin to find answers to how seniors could live more productive, happier lives in their later years.

The objective was to meaningfully demonstrate IBM's AI abilities; in a tangible way that would bring the foreign company closer to the Japanese people, while helping to serve the purpose of helping seniors find a more fulfilling existence late in life.

To help seniors find their calling after retirement, we wanted to use IBM's tech prowess and AI expertise.

The idea was to create an algorithm that could learn to understand the unique personality traits of individuals. Then, by cross-referencing that data with professional occupation-based data, we could see what kinds of positions might be right, and little unexpected, but, most importantly, fulfilling to those seniors.

The unique aspect of the algorithm was how it identified personality traits with specificity, leading to possibilities in their future that participants might not have thought of themselves. The data told the story of each individual participant, and then led them to the next chapter of what could be one of the most satisfying story-filled times of their life.

In this campaign we would gather, interpret and analyze two sets of data.

The first set was occupational data from thousands of job titles and industries. From this we could understand the characteristics of individuals found in specific occupations.

We would then dive deeply into the personality data of participants. This would be done through voice, tone data collecting and analyzation, as well as specific answers given and an individual's history.

The two sets of data would then be cross-referenced helping us find an abundance of connections, as to what may fit or not fit an individual's personality.

After thousands of seniors were recruited, they answered simple questions via their voice, as Watson's AI analyzed and drew connections between a databank of occupations and characteristics, and those participants' personalities.

The IBM algorithm cross-referenced occupational data with participants' traits via Watson's deep personality cognitive analytics. The entire process supported both IBM's brand reputation in AI, but also broadened the brand's perception of not understanding or caring about the local issues.

The platform has used in various locations over a 3-month period and so far has helped over 43,000 seniors find a fulfilling path they otherwise might not have identified.

The campaign gained over US$3MM in media attention and over 46 million impressions—large numbers for a B2B effort—while helping over 43,000 seniors find passions they never may have been able to identify.