Marketers must stop focusing on age when targeting over-50s

    senior

    Over a third of the UK population is aged over 50 yet representation of this demographic in advertising is lacking and tends to be stereotypical. The latest in Marketing Week’s diversity series explores the portrayal and targeting of highly valuable mature consumers. The UK population has aged and is ageing. There are more than 23.6 million people aged 50 years and over, 11.6 million of which are 65 plus. There are also now more people in the UK aged over 60 than there are under 18s, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

    But marketers continue to ignore or misrepresent this growing audience. Just as the term ‘millennial’ should not be used as a catch-all term for younger people, lumping mature consumers into a ’50-plus’ demographic is lazy and off-putting for consumers.

    READ MORE: Mark Ritson – Millennials are out; blah blahs are your next target group

    “If you think about it, [50-plus is] getting close to half a life span. Most women today can expect to live to 82 or 85 – more if they come from richer areas of the UK. It’s a heck of a span and to lump it all together seems a bit blunt in terms of targeting,” says Karen Fraser, strategy director at the Advertising Association.

    Bron en volledig bericht: Marketingweek