Marketing to Seniors… Chances Are You’re Doing It Wrong

July 2, 2019

By 2020 the world will have more 55-year old’s than 5-year old’s, let that sink in.

Wellness, meditation, longevity, non-toxic everything, these are the trends taking over the world and as such we need to scrap the notion that people over the age of 65 are spending their days riding bikes around the retirement home, eating soft foods and watching day time telly in the rocking chair while consuming copious amounts of sugar. The reality is that older people today are running major corporations, raising their grandchildren, studying at university, and guess what, they don’t feel ‘old’.

People over 55 are more likely to respond to ads targeted at people in their 30s so why don’t those kinds of ads feature people in their 60s and 70s? they too drive 4WDs, eat out, hike, do yoga and run marathons, and as time goes on, the number that do will increase dramatically as good health and sustainability is expected to stay at the forefront of peoples minds for years to come.

Couple this wellness obsession with technology and the entire industry needs to revaluate its methods. Currently 68% of over 55-year-old consumers buy something online every month, and tech is something fairly foreign to them, when those born with tech reach their 50s you can be sure they aren’t going to be reading a brochure about non slip bathtubs and ways to stay young. Age is being embraced more than ever and with that we need to take away the stigma that older people can’t do much, when in reality there is no limit to what can be achieved and how good you can feel when you take care of yourself and you have done for years.

Brands taking part in changing the narrative around age include L’Oréal Paris, Vogue, Mercedes Bends, Nike, Swarovski and Covergirl, all featuring people over 50 in their ads, such as Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren and Maye Musk, along with younger generations, creating multigenerational ads for their multigenerational consumers and their audience is responding positively to the change.

With higher amounts of disposable income and a desire to spend, missing the mark when advertising to those over 55 could be detrimental to your brand. If you’re interested in learning more, give Fresco Creative a call on (02) 8116 9033 and let’s discuss.