Capturing 50-plus Year Olds Spending in 2006

This publication has been discontinued on July 19, 2011.

Introduction

Table of Contents

• CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  • Introduction
  • The future decoded
    • 50-plus year old consumers represent a large and growinggroup
    • Many older consumers are wealthy quality seekers
    • Huge diversity characterizes the Senior lifestage
    • Older consumers offer communication challenges
    • Attitudes towards ageing are changing
    • Health concerns increase with age
    • Seniors have strong convenience needs
  • Action points
• CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED
  • Introduction
    • Recognize the Senior consumer as consisting of two maingroups
  • TREND: 50-plus consumers represent a large and growingdemographic group
  • TREND: Empty Nesters are a rapidly growing group
    • The number of Early Empty Nesters is growing fastest
  • INSIGHT: Seniors account for a significant amount offood, drink and personal care consumption
  • INSIGHT: 50-plus consumers are wealthy quality seekers
    • Seniors higher incomes and wealth make them an attractivetarget segment
    • Seniors are driving a trend towards maturalism
      • Older consumers are likely to trade up
      • High quality products are also chosen to facilitateindulgent cocooning occasions
  • INSIGHT: Huge diversity characterizes the Senior lifestage
    • Period effects must be understood for effectivemarketing
    • A diverse range of lifestyle groups reflects the lifestagediversity
      • Three main lifestyle/attitude groups exist
    • Seniority marks an important period of change andre-evaluation
    • Diverse incomes also reflect Senior lifestage complexity
    • Seniors employment patterns are becoming less predictable
      • Early retirement is becoming less practical for olderconsumers
  • INSIGHT: Older consumers offer communication challenges
    • Many older consumers are unable to relate toadvertisements
      • Older consumers, especially Late Seniors, are able tocomprehend the point of persuasion
      • Many current Seniors feel ignored, alienated andstereotyped my the advertising world
    • Seniors are cynical consumers of marketing spin
      • Seniors are also cynical about claims concerning productefficacy, especially with regard to health
      • Because of this cynicism older consumers are more likelythan average to rely on word of mouth
    • Seniors are most concerned about having own age rolemodels in advertisements
      • Seniors are still not being used enough in productadvertisements...
      • ...but the tide is changing somewhat
    • Older consumers most expect marketing and products toreflect their personal situations
  • INSIGHT: Attitudes towards ageing are changing
    • Attitudinally, older consumers are showing moresimilarities to younger generations
      • Age is less useful as a role definer
      • Cool consumerism is becoming a relevant to the 50-plusmarket
    • Seniors self-perception is shaped by their state of mind
      • Seniors typically feel 12-15 years younger than theyactually are
      • But their physical abilities need to be considered
    • Age is often a source of pride
    • Retirement is about being active and adventurous
    • Older consumers are increasingly experimental and open tonew experiences
      • Seniors are not necessarily brand loyal
      • Late Seniors are more likely to have established and morerigid preferences
      • Older consumers increasingly embrace new technologies
  • INSIGHT: Health concerns increase with age
    • Old age is a trigger point for a greater emphasis beingplaced upon health
    • 50-plus consumers try to adopt healthier eating habits
      • Older consumers are cautious towards a broad range ofissues
      • Weight problems are more pronounced with age
      • Early Seniors need energy and preventative health measures
      • Late Seniors are more focused on specific diseasemaintenance
    • Seniors are under-capitalized in the functional food arena
    • Seniors are becoming more active
    • Taking steps to reduce stress is highly relevant to olderconsumers
    • Time spent on personal appearance takes on addedimportance with age
      • Seniors account for more than a third of personal careoccasions
      • Older consumers are under-served in haircare and skincare
      • Older consumers are important cosmeceutical consumers
  • INSIGHT: Seniors have strong convenience needs
    • Seniors are time maximizers having strong convenienceneeds
      • While Seniors value convenience they also want to maintainpride
      • Older consumers are under-targeted in the c-store arena
  • Conclusions
    • Demographic shifts will provide new impetus
• CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS
  • Introduction
  • ACTION: Make Seniors inclusive of targeting efforts
    • Avoid the pitfalls of self-referential creatives
    • Shift the center of gravity in your marketing campaigns
      • Tactic 1: Targeting older consumers psychological age
      • Tactic 2: Make Senior focused brands more relevant toyounger consumers
    • Use ageless marketing to make older consumers inclusive
  • ACTION: Target Seniors core values with your marketingconcept
    • Connectedness: use scenes of family interaction and socialbonding in communications
    • Self-sufficiency: create Senior friendly packaging andproduct formats
    • Self-sufficiency: show Seniors as capable andsophisticated consumers
      • Communications should play to the positive values ofmaturity
    • Self-sufficiency: be careful in the use of language inadvertising and packaging
    • Realism and honesty: strike a balance between realisticand aspirational messages
      • Reality, not iconography, is likely to produce the bestresults
      • Feature inspirational "real-life" contemporariesfrom their generation
      • Feature celebrities from their generation in advertisingcampaigns
    • Realism and honesty: target the media savvy older consumerwith infomercials
      • Prioritize communication methods that facilitate detailedinformation
      • They want to see a focus on product functionality
    • Realism and honesty: build word of mouth communicationstrategies to target older consumers
      • Tap into older consumers nostalgia for youth
    • Personal growth: portray Senior lifestyles positively andcommunicate their active enjoyment of life
      • Communicate their active enjoyment of life
      • Case-study: Poise focusing on an uplifting message
      • Respect their wisdom and experience
      • Targeting their lifestyle activities and interests
    • Individualism: ensure that products are marketed for theirspecific needs and preferences
      • Offer more diversity for older consumers
      • Recognize the diversity of attitudes and needs of olderconsumers
  • ACTION: Target older consumers growing emphasis on health
    • Extend trusted health brands
    • Stop promoting feelings of sacrifice, inadequacy or lackof control
    • Build relationships with the expert community
      • Become a healthy lifestyle information provider
    • Target older consumers with functional and cosmeceuticalproducts to address their specific health needs
      • Offer consumers the means to fight the signs of ageing
      • Target Seniors with nutraceuticals by highlighting producteffectiveness
  • ACTION: Target the maturalism trend
    • Target Seniors with masstige and premium products
      • Ensure that quality is reflected by core productattributes
    • Promote products as an escapism from problems of old age
• CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX
  • Definitions
  • Research methodology
  • References
  • How to contact experts in your industry
• List of Tables
  • Table 1: Definition of consumer groups
  • Table 2: Population by age group (m), Europe and US,1999-2009
  • Table 3: Senior populations in Western Europe and theUS, by age, and country, 1999-2009
  • Table 4: Empty Nesters as a percentage of all Seniors,1999-2009
  • Table 5: Number of Empty Nesters in Europe and the US(m), 1999-2009
  • Table 6: The % and overall market value (US$ million)accounted for by 45+ year old consumers food consumption, by category(bakery, confectionery, dairy food, frozen food, meat, fish and poultry,ready meals, sauces & condiments), by country, 2004
  • Table 7: The % and overall market value (US$ million)accounted for by 45+ year old consumers drinks consumption, by market(beer, cider, coffee, tea, bottled water, carbonates, juices and RTD tea& coffee), by country, 2004
  • Table 8: The % and overall market value (US$ million)accounted for by 45+ year old consumers personal care consumption, bymarket (haircare, make-up, oral hygiene, personal hygiene, skincare), bycountry, 2004
  • Table 9: Mean disposable income per capita by age (?)in Europe and the US, 1998 - 2008
  • Table 10: The % of European and US consumers who enjoyedsmall indulgences to escape the pressures of everyday life more orsignificantly more in 2004
  • Table 11: Distribution of population by income group byage and country
  • Table 12: Seniors in employment (m) across Europe andthe US , 2003
  • Table 13: The percentage of Boomers who completely ormostly agree that you needs to be cautious serving foods with specificnutrients
  • Table 14: Functional food and drink share of volumeconsumption by age group, Europe & US, 2004
  • Table 15: US health club membership, by age, 1987-2003
  • Table 16: Overall number of personal care occasions byage group, Europe and US combined, 2004-2009 (millions)
  • Table 17: The percentage of personal care consumptionvalue by late Mid-Lifers and Seniors relative to their populationsweightings, by category, 2004
  • Table 18: Consumer survey: percentage of consumers whowould be willing to pay more for cosmetics and toiletries with activeingredients for their specific requirements by gender and age
  • Table 19: Proportion of Seniors living alone (%) inEurope and the US, 1995-2025
  • Table 20: The percentage of ready meal and frozen foodconsumption value by late Mid-Lifers and Seniors relative to theirpopulation weightings, 2004
  • Table 21: Shifting the centre of gravity is a key tacticin making older consumers inclusive of targeting efforts
  • Table 22: Examples of ageless marketing in practice
  • Table 23: Best practice in packaging and formatadaptation to better meet Seniors needs
  • Table 24: An example of effectively appealing toSeniors increasing tendency to seek fun, excitement and new experiences
  • Table 25: Examples of health products catering toSeniors
  • Table 26: Definition of terms
• List of Figures
  • Figure 1: Actions for targeting Senior consumers can begrouped under seven core themes
  • Figure 2: The percentage of the population aged 50 andover will exceed 30% in all featured countries by 2009
  • Figure 3: Older consumers are more likely to cocoon:they regard their home as a "retreat from the outside world"
  • Figure 4: The sheer length of the Senior lifestage isrepresentative of the diversity associated with Senior consumerism
  • Figure 5: Recognizing period effects and how theyshape older consumers values, attitudes and behavior is crucial todeveloping successful marketing campaigns
  • Figure 6: Seniors can be targeted by recognizing threedistinct lifestyle groups
  • Figure 7: Life events experienced that impact onconsumption behavior
  • Figure 8: Consumers aged 50-64 are particularly cynicalabout health claims made by food and drinks players
  • Figure 9: Older consumers, distrusting of conventionalmedia, are more likely than their younger counterparts to rely on word ofmouth recommendations
  • Figure 10: As consumers age, they place more importanceon advertising featuring characters their own age
  • Figure 11: Older consumers place a higher level ofimportance upon marketing that reflects their personal situation
  • Figure 12: Older consumers, especially those aged 65 andover, attach more importance than younger cohorts to customized solutionstailored to specific needs
  • Figure 13: Older consumers aspirational ages reflecttheir fear of ageing and desire to be younger
  • Figure 14: 50-64 year olds relative dislike of theirage can be accounted for by an innate fear of ageing and a desire tomaintain a youthful appearance
  • Figure 15: Older consumers now embody open-mindedattitudes and show a similar propensity to other age cohorts in trying newthings
  • Figure 16: The proportion of US consumers that try tostick to well-known brand names (1975-2000) does not significantlyincrease with age according to this study
  • Figure 17: Older consumers were most likely to havetaken active steps to improve health in 2003-04, highlighting how old agecan act as a trigger point towards making new lifestyle choices
  • Figure 18: Stress is a lifestyle problem also relevantto old age
  • Figure 19: The importance of spending time on personalappearance increases with age
  • Figure 20: Exploring the trigger points impactingcosmeceutical uptake highlights why older consumers are, and will continueto be, vital in driving the market forward
  • Figure 21: Summary: there are many actionableimplications stemming from our insight into older consumers
  • Figure 22: Self-referential creative processes hindereffective targeting of older consumers
  • Figure 23: There are two core strategies which marketerscan follow to ensure Seniors are incorporated into targeting efforts
  • Figure 24: Older consumers aspirational ages reflecttheir fear of ageing and desire to be younger
  • Figure 25: Marketers should ensure that products andcommunications are aligned with 5 core values
  • Figure 26: Images used in the Dove "RealBeauty" campaign capitalize on older consumers desire for attainablebeauty
  • Figure 27: Two phases characterize successful viral andword of mouth campaigns
  • Figure 28: Fear of the visible signs of ageing will havethe greatest influence on consumers use of cosmeceuticals
  • Figure 29: Following these actions will help inattracting the quality seeking, wealthier older consumer

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