“The Most Consequential Megatrend,” Plus All New Longevity Gains Features
This week we have a free ebook, a new podcast, and a Premium option for those looking to successfully position themselves in the longevity economy.
Hey there!
Lots of exciting things happening with Longevity Gains this week, so I’ve got a special Wednesday edition to tell you all about it, including:
Our first free ebook: Longevity Economy Fundamentals
Episode One of the new Longevity Gains podcast
Introducing Longevity Gains Premium
News you can use to win with longevity marketing
Let’s dig in deeper….
Grab Our First Power Guide: Longevity Economy Fundamentals
This is our very first in a series of ebooks we’re calling Power Guides – a focused look at one important aspect of marketing to older consumers. As you may have guessed, this one explores the bedrock facts and history of why the longevity economy will soon be the most lucrative market segment of all.
Very few of you have been around since day one of Longevity Gains, so we’ve put this initial guide together to make sure you understand the foundational elements of what we explore here. And even if you have read this material already, it’s a handy resource for ongoing reference.
Get your free copy by subscribing to Longevity Gains:
“The Most Consequential Megatrend” with Futurist David Mattin
Yep, we’ve added a podcast to the Longevity Gains newsletter for a potent one-two weekly punch of goodness. Joining me is a familiar voice to many of you – Jerod Morris, who has been my business partner over at Unemployable and a former VP at Copyblogger Media.
Our first guest is futurist and trend forecaster David Mattin, an internationally recognized expert on trends, technology, and social change. He’s the creator of the New World Same Humans newsletter and former Global Head of trends and insights at TrendWatching.
Why did I choose David as our first guest on the new Longevity Gains podcast? Well, it’s his job to see what’s happening, and what’s coming. And he says the aging population is the most consequential megatrend the world is facing.
Listen here for some fantastic insights.
Also: I sat down with my friend Joe Pulizzi to talk about what I'm doing with Longevity Gains and Further for the Content Inc. podcast. A bit of backstory you may not have heard before.
The Content Opportunity in Aging: Interview with Brian Clark
Introducing Longevity Gains Premium
There’s now a premium version of Longevity Gains for those who want a deeper marketing education on how to create thought leadership content and effective copy for older audiences. It’s course-level instruction that incorporates what we’re doing over at Further for real-world application.
Longevity Gains podcast episodes, news and analysis, plus select articles will always be free. But the deep-dive lessons will now be exclusive to those who support this project with a highly reasonable subscription fee.
Starting next week, we’ll have a new podcast episode plus news on Tuesdays. Premium content will go out on Thursdays.
Get more details here or upgrade now. Thank you!
The Longevity Economy In the News
Outlive Your Money or Die Trying?
My earlier article on Generation X reveals Gen Xers who are struggling with retirement savings will tell you they’re more afraid of running out of money in their later years than they are of death. But that assumes that they’ve thought about it at all.
Most Americans are clueless about a key metric needed to adequately plan for retirement: how long they are likely to live.
Just over a third (35%) of Americans knew the average lifespan of retirees, according to a report out this week from the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at the George Washington University School of Business. And only 12% knew the right responses to a basic quiz designed to gauge longevity literacy.
This is why longevity marketing strategies of all kinds will be heavy on education and advocacy during the next several years. It’s a unique time period where the conversation will shift toward the empowerment of older consumers as society moves to more mature.
Most Americans Don't Understand this Key Metric When Planning for Retirement
A Case of Expensive Neglect
Even though we know the sorry state of neglect by advertisers and businesses in general when it comes to older consumers who have so much more purchasing power than younger people, it’s still easy to be shocked by it:
The study found just 4% of people cast in ads were over age 60. That age group represents 16% of the U.S. population alone.
The 60-plus demographic has a higher disposable income than younger generations, and represents 25% of global spending power, yet only 3% of digital media budgets are allocated to ads featuring this audience, according to CreativeX.
When older adults are shown in ads, nearly two-thirds (65%) of them were shown in family or domestic settings. And although the average retirement age is now 66 and rising, fewer than 1% of older adults were cast in ads that showed them in professional or leadership environments.
This is the problem that defines the vast opportunity we’re looking at. I can’t think of another time where this much spending power was up for grabs and marketers and business owners just shrugged. The demand for marketing writers and consultants alone in the coming years should be remarkable as everyone plays catch up.
Older Adults Make Up Just 4% Of People Featured In Ads
“Old” Ain't What it Used to Be
The New Age of Aging, an online survey of more than 2,000 adults conducted by Age Wave, found a “dramatic shift” in how Americans define old age and envision the later years of life.
The survey found that 79% of adults 50+ think today's older adults are more active, and 58% say they are more open-minded and curious compared with the previous generation.
Correspondingly, the definition of what's considered "old" today is changing. The survey found that while age 60 was considered "old" in their grandparents' time, now age 80 is the median age considered "old" today.
Our vocabulary is starting to reflect this shift. When discussing growing older, 69% of U.S. adults 50+ find the term "longevity" more appealing than "aging." The positivity felt by older adults is in stark contrast to the bias against them in the media, where they are still frequently portrayed as frail, grumpy, or incoherent. In fact, older adults are seven times more likely to be represented with negative stereotypes in the media.
The New Age of Aging report (PDF)
That’s all for this week… we’ll start the new twice-a-week format next week with a fresh podcast episode + news for everyone on Tuesday and a lesson for Premium subscribers on Thursday. Join us to position yourself for success in the longevity economy!
Keep going-
Brian