Susanne Hornikel says a valuable target group is the oldies (but goodies).

In 2007, more than 36 per cent of all Europeans were aged over 50 years and, in 2025, the EU will count more than 135 million people over 65. This is a total of 30 per cent of the European population.

Those over 65 years have – generally speaking – more free time and also a higher disposable income. . . . reason enough for companies to think about this very attractive target group. But the traditional ‘silver agers’ have very much changed: consumption behaviour doesn’t necessarily change with age but becomes more a question of lifestyle and personal attitude.

The 65-year-olds of today are nothing like the 65-year-olds of 20 years ago. Today, there are plenty of subgroups: from very active professionals to frequent travellers and sport enthusiasts, but also to the really traditional silver agers spending their time at home and watching TV.

By the way, across Europe men over 65 have approximately an hour more free time than women over 65 . . .

Classical stereotypes
There is still the stereotype that older people are brand-loyal, averse to innovation and not willing to test new products or services – which makes them absolutely uninteresting for advertisers! The reality, however, is different.

Today’s older people do not fit the pattern of the classical stereotypes. They show a more innovative and selective attitude. Seven out of ten people aged between 45 and 64 are not brand-loyal if another product or service convinces them. This is due to the fact that they are skilled long-time customers and they know if a product or service is worth its price.

Moreover, the ‘oldies’ are much more curious than is generally perceived and, at the same time, they are more critical and quality-conscious than younger people, who rely on people and brands.

So, marketing campaigns should consider the different attitudes and behaviours of the older target group (ie their subjective age).

Furthermore, authenticity, reliability and personality are prized values of this target group and represent key words for successful communication with these potential customers. Those key words increase the benefit for the customer but the communication must not be too fact-orientated. Also, disrespectful campaigns will miss the target. Thus, a realistic view of the customer is the best requirement – consider carefully the choice of communication tools and the proper tonality.

Internet usage among people older than 55 years is growing rapidly. Some years ago, the web was the preferred tool of young professionals and computer kids. Today, retired people are spending increasing amounts of time online: 25 per cent of all Europeans between 55 and 74 years use the Internet at least once a week. In particular, northern European countries have high percentages of silver surfers but some southern and eastern European countries are still slightly underdeveloped.
Twenty per cent of all Europeans between 55 and 64 years ordered goods or services online in 2008. Other interesting web facts are: Online users over 55 mostly use search engines and email technology; some also participate in discussion forums; download music; and use the web for their phone calls.

Changing behaviour
Some industries have already taken into account the changing behaviour of a population that is becoming increasingly older. Especially, insurances, banks and tour operators are far beyond other industries. They offer tailor-made products such as general liability insurances for people over 60 or special travel arrangements including medical services.

But companies have to take into consideration that today’s older people feel much younger than the ‘oldies’ of other generations. The age group people feel they belong to might have nothing to do with their real age. The meaning of this subjective age is particularly important when it comes to addressing the target group.
There is a wide variety of mail order companies focusing on older customers. Large groups like NBrown or Redcats have specific brands to fulfil their expectations. But, there are also a lot of European specialists offering apparel, household goods, accessories, paramedical devices as well as nutrition supplements. Nutrition supplements have become one of the key industries within Europe. Some companies belong to large pharmaceutical groups and have an excellent image because of their soft and correct approach in terms of marketing.

Others operate from foreign countries in order to work with more aggressive promotion and product claims.

But there is a third group of companies which detected silver agers as a very profitable target group. These are big manufacturers, such as ThyssenKrupp, developing new products for older people – stair-lifts, for example.

And the French La Poste postal operator had a really original offering under the name of ‘Pack Genius’ – specific services such as minor repair works, Internet assistance or mobility and transport assistance.

Some companies have also developed products which are definitely not just interesting for older people. Like Siemens, which launched a telephone with big keys.
And this brings us back to our first point of reflection: Do people really change their consumption behaviour with age or is it simply common sense to develop products which are easy to understand and to use?

And what about relevant communication?

Should we adapt our creative and copywriting to an older target group? Take, for example, Dove – breaking a real taboo when using for the first time older nude models. Or is it better to stay ‘neutral’, like the tour operator TUI?

Does it really make sense to ‘simplify’ the whole communication in order to be understood by older people or is it enough to increase the font size – especially on some product descriptions or websites?

Considering the purchasing decisions of the ‘best agers’, these points are very important for the future success and survival of companies. Companies have to keep their products and attitudes in line with demographical changes by orientating the product development and marketing towards older people. But not all companies will face that challenge, since the generation 55+ has ever-increasing requirements and constantly varying demands for manufacturers, the retail market and service providers – more so than the younger generation, which is not as critical when it comes to spending their money.

Most interesting
People over 65 are among the most interesting target groups today. They have enough time to read your offers and more money to spend.

But, if you really want to attract them, you have to understand their needs and you need to move to a much more individualised communication, particularly because cultural differences between different countries are even more pronounced; thus, lifestyle differences within this same age group are heightened.