The AARP held its 2003 annual convention in Chicago. As an indication of how Corporate America views its 50+ consumers I wondered what types of companies were involved with the 3 day event, either sponsoring it or exhibiting.
There was an impressive list of exhibitors. From a quick count it looked as if there was about 300 companies taking part.
It was a bit worrying to see Alcoholics Anonymous and not surprising that the Alzheimer's Association was present. It was gratifying to see Visit Britain was waving the flag. Overall the companies were either in the finance, health, travel or care support industries. Maybe this is not surprising but it was disappointing not to see more mainstream companies taking part.
The sponsors of the event had some big names like Anheuser Busch, United Health Group, The Hartford and General Motors. Again, it was disappointing not to see any tech or mainstream consumer goods companies.
I had always thought the US had a more enlightened view of 50+ marketing – maybe I am wrong.
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