A topic that I’m very aware of as I glide through my 50s, is how brands market to my demographic and above…
Our demographic is huge and is currently marketed to by Saga, menopause products, Life Insurance, pension planning and funeral homes! I’ll take some Tena Lady nappies and a Stannah Stairlift, please! That said, I was hugely moved by the film that Tena produced, #LastLonelyMenopause in 2022, which told a beautifully empathetic story of hitting the menopause, and what that feels like.
The thing is that as you age, you don’t feel old. I have teenage sons who keep me young. Who make sure I am listening to the best music. That I am aware of the newest trends. That I get all the memes they see on TikTok or Instagram. And so whilst I truly love and appreciate the #LastLonelyMenopause from Tena, I also want to go trekking in Nepal. I want to wear fashionable clothes. I want to keep in shape and buy the latest gym kit. I want to go to gigs with my 20-year-old and wear sparkly makeup. I still like all the things I loved in my 20s. I just have a little more grey hair and a few more wrinkles! I also have a far higher disposable income than I did back then. And I want to see myself and my parents’ generations reflected in advertising targeted at us. Just as Dove did a fabulous job of showing beautiful, real women as they actually are, targeted at all ages, shapes, sizes and ethnicities of women across the world.
RHC Advantage writes that ‘people aged over 50 already account for 35% of the total population and 45% of the adult population. Over the next 20 years, the number of people over 65 will increase by 50%.’ Added to this, older consumers have most of the wealth — according to the ONS, more than 70% – and account for more than 40% of consumer expenditure.
Adults aged 55-64 outspend the average consumer in most mainstream product categories
With those stats, it’s obvious that we need to be focusing a lot more of our marketing power towards this market, creating comms and content that will resonate accordingly. And just as with marketing tailored towards millennials or Gen Z, having a millennial or Gen Zer’s insight is crucial— marketing to our over 50s needs the insight and lived experience of our over 50s. Which brings me onto another angle on this topic that I am keenly aware of: why is our industry reluctant to employ people best placed to create relevant and resonant communications, targeted at the wealthiest audience across the globe? The drop-off in employment of the over 50s across the creative industries is there for all to see on LinkedIn, and those little green ‘open to work’ circles on many of my ‘over 50’ friends and peers.
I have a super talented friend who was a very senior creative, and held ECD roles for many years. He was made redundant at 45 and could not get an interview, for love nor money. He was eventually forced to set up on his own, which turned out to be a blessing, but only after a few scrappy years of pain, soul-searching and sleepless nights.
In other industries, like law or medicine, we actively seek out and are willing to pay for those with more experience. It doesn’t really make sense why we don’t do the same in the world of advertising and marketing. Is it that the over-50s are just too expensive? Do clients not like the grey hair? Do employers mistakenly feel that someone younger is more creative, more ‘on it’, more dynamic? But ponder this — who will teach and train the young folk? Who will be there to offload years of experience, knowledge and understanding? Who will mentor, reassure, nurture and push the next generations of talent coming through? If you get rid of all the older folk, who holds the hands and leads the way?
And what happens in a world where people are living longer, where the older generations need to be supported, and where brilliant minds and workers over 50 find themselves unexpectedly unable to get a job in what they feel is still the prime of their lives?
There are rays of hope
The over 50s setting up small, brilliantly creative, expert collectives. I got sent a link by a friend for Geezer Creative. Primarily because they are overtly proud ‘of their age’. Front and centre on their homepage they shout ‘Advertising worships you. But as it turns out, the ad business should be getting older’. They go on to provide the following statistics: ‘A third of the country’s population is over 50 and the number keeps on growing.* But less than 5% of big agency employees are over the age of 50. Agencies throw people away at the top of their game. We’ll pick them up.’
The reason they exist is: ‘to help brands tap into this goldmine, and we’ll do it by putting 50+ talent back to work.’ Hopefully, the success of these ‘older’ start-ups will start to redress the balance. Hurrah!
* The 50+ demographic contributes $8.3T to the U.S. economy. In 2030, when millennials begin to turn 50, that number increases to $12.6 trillion.
Featured image: Kampus Production / Pexels
