The Challenge

Prudential needed to inspire proactive retirement planning, but faced a fundamental barrier: most people view retirement as the end rather than a new beginning. This mindset creates anxiety and avoidance rather than excited planning.

The strategic question: How do you make people excited to plan for retirement instead of dreading it?

The Research

Through consumer interviews at public spaces (parks, community centers), I spoke with 12 pre-retirees (ages 55-70) about their retirement planning process.

Key Finding:

• Retirement anxiety stems from the unknown—people can't plan for a future they can't envision

• Traditional retirement planning focuses on numbers and preservation, not possibility

• Participants struggled to articulate what they wanted retirement to look like, not just how much it would cost

The tension: Financial planning asks "how much do you need?" before people can answer "what do I want?"

The Insight:

"If people could see themselves thriving in retirement, they'd approach planning with excitement rather than dread."

The barrier isn't financial literacy, it's imagination. People need to envision their future self before they can plan for it.

The Strategic Idea:

"Flash Forward" — Help people see their future selves so they can plan for them.

Instead of leading with numbers and spreadsheets, lead with vision and possibility. Once people can imagine thriving in retirement, the financial planning becomes motivated by aspiration, not fear.

The Solution: Flash Forward Portrait Booth

An experiential activation at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival that transformed attendees' current biographical details into personalized, AI-generated multimedia stories about their future selves.

How It Worked:

Step 1: Intake

• Attendees shared current details: interests, goals, career, passions

• Brief interview about what excites them about the next chapter

Step 2: AI Generation

• AI processed their inputs to create a personalized vision of their "future self"

• Generated portrait showing them thriving 10-20 years forward

• Created a short narrative about their imagined future life

Step 3: The Reveal

• Attendees received their "Flash Forward" portrait

• Personalized story showing them as the hero of their retirement

• Call-to-action: "This is your future. Let's plan for it."

The Experience: Instead of generic retirement imagery (beaches, golf courses), each person saw themselves specifically—starting that business, traveling to places they mentioned, pursuing hobbies they love.