Understanding an Audience of Older Consumers

Does age really tell us anything meaningful about people? In some cases, yes. But not to the extent that marketers have traditionally relied on it.

Welcome to Longevity Gains, the newsletter for marketers and entrepreneurs who want to succeed in the longevity economy, the largest and fastest-growing market in the world. It’s the $22 trillion opportunity you can’t afford to ignore.

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“Is Joe Biden too old to be President?”

It’s a question repeatedly asked by headlines in major publications and across social media. And the amazing thing is no one bats an eye at it.

But what if the question were this?

“Was Barack Obama too Black to be President?”

Or how about:

“Is a woman qualified to be President?”

Those last two questions definitely got you to bat an eye because they’re completely inappropriate. But so is the first question, even if it doesn’t feel the same. 

All three use a single demographic factor as the basis for questioning someone’s qualifications to lead a nation. And all three are absolutely useless in answering the question without resorting to prejudice and stereotypes.

In the first case, what people are really asking is if Joe Biden is cognitively competent to lead the United States for a second term. And that’s a perfectly legitimate question, but it has nothing to do with his chronological age.

The same is true for those who call for term limits for politicians based on chronological age. Term limits may be a good idea for a whole host of reasons, but basing them on how old someone is doesn’t make sense outside of ageist stereotypes.

Yes, some people suffer from significant cognitive decline as they get older, but in much fewer numbers than is popularly believed. And even then, the key word is some, not all.

In fact, many people in their 80s are doing quite well in leadership positions. And, believe it or not, the same is true for some people in their 90s.

As an example, shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway are perfectly fine with Warren Buffet (92) leading the company as CEO. In fact, it’s fair to say that shareholders will be concerned when he no longer does.

So does age really tell us anything meaningful about people? In some cases, yes. But not to the extent that marketers have traditionally relied on it.

Welcome to the field of demographic targeting. While not completely useless, demographics have much less power than you would think, given their prevalence in marketing circles.

Worse, demographics are at the root of the ageism we’re fighting against. This is also true of racism, sexism, and all sorts of other discriminatory behavior. 

It’s time to move beyond demographics, ironically right as we’re experiencing one of history's largest age-based demographic shifts. Let’s explore why, along with some alternative approaches that provide a better starting point.

To keep reading, hit the link below:

How Do We Best Understand an Audience of Older People? (Longevity Gains)

Reality vs. Perception in the Longevity Economy

Serving older consumers is unique in the sense that the general perception of aging is marred by stereotypes and misconceptions that are deeply rooted in our culture. Our job as marketers is to operate within that cultural context, while simultaneously disrupting the inaccuracies.

This free report from The Frameworks Institute is an invaluable resource:

This report provides a detailed understanding of what those communicating about aging are up against in public thinking, as well as a set of research-based recommendations to inform future communications in this field. In documenting expert and public perspectives, and enumerating the places where these views both converge and diverge, we begin to chart a course for a communications strategy that can be used to help people think more productively about the aging process and older adults, and consider how public policy can be responsive to the many aspects of aging in America.

Grab your copy here (no email address required):

Gauging Aging: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings of Aging in America (PDF, Frameworks Institute)

Older Women Going Solo

One aspect of the longevity economy that’s inescapable is the changing nature of what we think of as the “retirement years.” Of primary attention is the fact that due to longer lifespans and health spans, retirement is being pushed back, suspended, or sworn off altogether.

But there are other implications as well. And many of those implications involve women. We already know that in most cases, your longevity economy customer is likely to be a woman, due to the fact that women live longer, make most purchasing decisions, and are projected to hold more wealth than men by 2030.

Aside from gray divorce, there’s another stage of life where women will be going solo, and it’s one that many don’t consider. Due to living longer than men, couples entering retirement together will often culminate in the woman going it alone after her partner passes.

This is what Joseph Coughlin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab calls a “second retirement,” and it’s one more important life stage to take into account:

Few retirement plans prepare surviving women for what is effectively her second retirement – a later life stage with new complexities, different needs, and costs just when financial resources and personal resilience may be sharply declining.

This may seem like an issue relevant only to financial planners, but it’s larger is scope than that. For example, adult children of older adults need to be included in the discussion. Beyond financial issues, the loss of companionship and assistance can be debilitating to a grieving spouse.

As Women Live Longer, They Should Also Plan For A Second Retirement (Forbes)

The Solo Journey: How to Thrive in the Fourth Phase of Retirement (Hartford Funds)

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

Keep going-

Brian