A thoughtful article

This article by Richard Ambrosius is worth a read. (Majority Rules…new rules and new tools too succeed in an aging market.)

He is bored by the simplistic way the ‘age thing’ is reported and dealt with by the marketing world - something for which I have a lot of sympathy. In this article he provides some conclusions and recommendations. This is a much abbreviated version plus my observations.

Throw out the worn out tools by abandoning the stereotype-ridden “vocabulary of aging”, including senior, elderly, nursing home, retirement facility and Baby Boomers. Agree that a term like baby boomer is of little value. I would like to see what we should be substituted for the other examples.

If we perceive that "senior" means old, frail, dependent, bingo player, or other traditional stereotypes, the older mind may "exclude" whatever is associated with the message. I would think this applies to all ages.

Advertisers can project a positive, mindful image of older adults by including them naturally in marketing messages. Therefore, when models are too young or engaged in extreme sports, the consumer simply dismisses the message. The key is realistic people in real world activities. A very precise recommendation – not a clue if it is correct or not.

Because of the information overload we all suffer, marketing materials must resonate with the values, wants, needs and aspirations of consumers. I would think that applies to all age groups.

Urgency language (e.g. “you should”, “you must”, “you need to”, “act today”) does not work on well-educated, experienced consumers and directive language threatens their autonomy and independence. Totally agree.

Tell context-sensitive stories. If consumers can’t fit themselves in the story you are telling, they will dismiss your offer. Balance the use of couples and singles, widows and widowers and the racial/ethnic mix in images. Seems sensible

Avoid hyperbole. Older consumers place a high value on experiential perceptions developed from years of sorting through offers and sales presentations. They have heard and seen it all. Avoid terms such as new, best, latest, unique in favour of positive, conditional, value charge words of phrases… for a genuine experience, for all life can be, a future of opportunities, designed with you in mind, etc. Very good point.

Don’t form conclusions. How we read an ad or process a presentation is conditional and qualified based on our worldview and beliefs. Generally speaking, mature consumers tend to use right brain functions (intuition, visuals, creative, and emotions) to screen messages before processing them rationally. If your message does not get through the screening process, your offer will not be considered. Has a ring of pseudo science about it. I would like to see the evidence there is that much difference between young and old.

Become a storyteller. Therefore, develop text using a clear, easy-to-read, personalized, narrative style, and involve the reader using positive statements in the active voice. Older mind processes objective information more slowly therefore lengthy documents should be broken into short sections to aid in comprehension. Good points.

I think his observations about the use and styles of language are very good. I wonder at what age these points apply? They seem pretty sensible suggestions for all but the Tween market.

These detailed tips on improving the tactics are fine but are conditional upon a company deciding to Cross the Rubicon and focus on older consumers. Now that is the really hard part.
Dick Stroud: www.20plus30.com