Last year academia unearthed concrete evidence of the marketing industry’s continued collective ignorance towards a vibrant, growing market and its marketing communications.
Between 2020-2023 some clever academics, from Newcastle to Chiang Mai, reviewed 106 papers in 21 marketing journals relating to marketing communications and the over 55’s. Their definitive paper entitled, ‘What we do and don’t know about marketing communications on mature consumers’*, highlights the gaps in mature insight, and makes for uncomfortable reading for us seasoned marketers.
That they only found 106 papers since 2010 on such a broad and important subject is surely significant. And that just a paltry 14% of those papers were published in the last 10 years not a great sign that our industry is in touch with a serious chunk of consumers with cash.
Take a step back and consider a few facts.
By 2050, 65’s alone will account for 1 in 4 people living in Europe and North America, according to the UN.
In Japan, China and Korea, 65+’s are already more than 30% of the population.
And here in the UK 30% of the population account for nearly 70% of household wealth!
Big numbers all round.
The lack of current, fresh and up-to-date insight and understanding into such an important consumer segment and understanding of how to communicate with them is deeply ironic, isn’t it?
This short-sightedness amongst the marketing and agency fraternity clearly means a commercial opportunity for so many companies is being missed, because few are investing in understanding how to communicate to this key audience properly, as can be seen by the paucity of decent communications targeting mature consumers.
Let’s not forget, folk over 55 were born during the boom years of consumerism in society when Madmen ruled the earth.
They sat wide-eyed and cross-legged in front of the box, absorbing a golden age of communications and creativity, where the ads were better than the programs and got shows of their own.
From the Beetle to Tango, younger boomers absorbed clever, witty, crafted communication, that worked hard to reflect them and their attitudes, plumbed from the depths of consumer research.
For this experienced generation to have been abandoned by insight as they age, in favour of the cult of youth that over-colours so many marketing and creative department's outputs these days, is plain dumb.
As the Profs concluded:
‘Practitioners of marketing communications should re-consider how they segment the mature consumer market and take into account chronological age alongside physical/cognitive health and self-perceptions of age, as well as potentially values, attitudes, life roles, lifestyles and living conditions’.
In our book that’s a comprehensive wakeup call!
So, taking Mr Bowie’s advice to ‘Wake up you sleepy head, put on some clothes, shake up your bed’**, we’ve taken all this on board and just formalised an alliance with two Professors at Brunel Business School, one of whom is the lead author on the above paper, specifically to combat what we’re calling ‘marketing immaturity’, and help some clients make some money.
Working with Professors Danae Manika and Dorothy Yen we’ve agreed on a framework designed to plug some of the considerable gaps in the knowledge base of how and why mature consumers interact with marketing communication materials.
We will re-consider how to segment the mature consumer establishing something that identifies the mature consumer in a more realistic and meaningful manner beyond the stereotypical and lazy.
And drive new frontiers of insight-generation amongst the over 55’s, together digging out answers to some basic questions like:
How do they really adopt and use new tech and digital channels as life evolves?
How indeed do mature consumers process information and is it different to when they’re younger?
What media do they engage with?
What’s the role of communications creativity and design in responsiveness and engagement amongst these consumers?
Do they care about privacy and GDPR?
What makes them loyal?
Where does price play a role in their decision-making?
There are clearly some industry sectors where marketing to this group is more lucrative, such as healthcare, financial services, travel and leisure, and working with Danae and Yen we will be developing insights and ideas into and for each, on a rolling basis next year – starting with Travel & Leisure today!
Our innovative collaboration will make use of research assistants at Brunel Business School, Humbug’s proprietary panel of mature consumers, The Humbug Club, and the expertise of The Community Data Coop to help deliver research projects, the UK's first non-for-profit, community-owned research business.
This unique partnership between agency, academia and not-for-profit will provide an important resource to companies missing a trick not talking to mature consumers appropriately by offering academic-grade, real-world insight into their thinking and consumption of marketing communications, along with some great ideas of how to do it properly, of course!
Wanna play?
If you’d like to participate in our inaugural piece of research into how people like us go about the delightful business of vacationing then jump on this survey. It’s anonymous, will take 20 minutes or so as the answers require you to think, and we will share the findings.
Or
Just give us oldies a call for a cup of tea and let’s see if we can hatch a plan to save some of your missing millions from ‘marketing immaturity.’
* Published by Emerald Insight in 2023