CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
The future decoded
50-plus year old consumers represent a large and growing group
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 main groups
TREND: 50-plus consumers represent a large and growing demographic 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 of food, drink and personal
care consumption
INSIGHT: 50-plus consumers are wealthy quality seekers
Seniors' higher incomes and wealth make them an attractive target segment
Seniors are driving a trend towards 'maturalism'
Older consumers are likely to trade up
High quality products are also chosen to facilitate indulgent cocooning occasions
INSIGHT: Huge diversity characterizes the Senior lifestage
'Period effects' must be understood for effective marketing
A diverse range of lifestyle groups reflects the lifestage diversity
Three main lifestyle/attitude groups exist
Seniority marks an important period of change and re-evaluation
Diverse incomes also reflect Senior lifestage complexity
Seniors employment patterns are becoming less predictable
Early retirement is becoming less practical for older consumers
INSIGHT: Older consumers offer communication challenges
Many older consumers are unable to relate to advertisements
Older consumers, especially Late Seniors, are able to comprehend the point
of persuasion
Many current Seniors feel ignored, alienated and stereotyped by the advertising
world
Seniors are cynical consumers of marketing spin
Seniors are also cynical about claims concerning product efficacy, especially
with regard to health
Because of this cynicism older consumers are more likely than average to rely
on word of mouth
Seniors are most concerned about having 'own age' role models in advertisements
Seniors are still not being used enough in product advertisements...
...but the tide is changing somewhat
Older consumers most expect marketing and products to reflect their personal
situations
INSIGHT: Attitudes towards ageing are changing
Attitudinally, older consumers are showing more similarities to younger generations
Age is less useful as a role definer
Cool consumerism is becoming a relevant to the 50-plus market
Seniors' self-perception is shaped by their state of mind
Seniors typically feel 12-15 years younger than they actually 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 to new experiences
Seniors are not necessarily brand loyal
Late Seniors are more likely to have established and more rigid preferences
Older consumers increasingly embrace new technologies
INSIGHT: Health concerns increase with age
Old age is a trigger point for a greater emphasis being placed upon health
50-plus consumers try to adopt healthier eating habits
Older consumers are cautious towards a broad range of issues
Weight problems are more pronounced with age
Early Seniors need energy and preventative health measures
Late Seniors are more focused on specific disease maintenance
Seniors are under-capitalized in the functional food arena
Seniors are becoming more active
Taking steps to reduce stress is highly relevant to older consumers
Time spent on personal appearance takes on added importance with age
Seniors account for more than a third of personal care occasions
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 convenience needs
While Seniors value convenience they also want to maintain pride
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 to younger consumers
Use 'ageless marketing' to make older consumers inclusive
ACTION: Target Seniors' core values with your marketing concept
Connectedness: use scenes of family interaction and social bonding in communications
Self-sufficiency: create 'Senior friendly' packaging and product formats
Self-sufficiency: show Seniors as capable and sophisticated consumers
Communications should play to the positive values of maturity
Self-sufficiency: be careful in the use of language in advertising and packaging
Realism and honesty: strike a balance between realistic and aspirational messages
Reality, not iconography, is likely to produce the best results
Feature inspirational "real-life" contemporaries from their generation
Feature celebrities from their generation in advertising campaigns
Realism and honesty: target the media savvy older consumer with 'infomercials'
Prioritize communication methods that facilitate detailed information
They want to see a focus on product functionality
Realism and honesty: build word of mouth communication strategies to target
older consumers
Tap into older consumers' nostalgia for youth
Personal growth: portray Senior lifestyles positively and communicate 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 their specific needs
and preferences
Offer more diversity for older consumers
Recognize the diversity of attitudes and needs of older consumers
ACTION: Target older consumers' growing emphasis on health
Extend trusted health brands
Stop promoting feelings of sacrifice, inadequacy or lack of control
Build relationships with the 'expert community'
Become a healthy lifestyle information provider
Target older consumers with functional and cosmeceutical products to address
their specific health needs
Offer consumers the means to fight the signs of ageing
Target Seniors with nutraceuticals by highlighting product effectiveness
ACTION: Target the maturalism trend
Target Seniors with masstige and premium products
Ensure that quality is reflected by core product attributes
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 the US, 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 and sauces), 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, by market (haircare, make-up, oral
hygiene, personal hygiene, skincare), by country, 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 enjoyed small indulgences to
escape the pressures of everyday life 'more' or 'significantly more' in 2004
Table 11: Distribution of population by income group by age and country
Table 12: Seniors in employment (m) across Europe and the US , 2003
Table 13: The percentage of Boomers who completely or mostly agree that you
needs to be cautious serving foods with specific nutrients
Table 14: Functional food and drink share of volume consumption by age group,
Europe & US, 2004
Table 15: US health club membership, by age, 1987-2003
Table 16: Overall number of personal care occasions by age group, Europe and
US combined, 2004-2009 (millions)
Table 17: The percentage of personal care consumption value by late Mid-Lifers
and Seniors relative to their populations weightings, by category, 2004
Table 18: Consumer survey: percentage of consumers who would be willing to pay
more for cosmetics and toiletries with active ingredients for their specific
requirements by gender and age
Table 19: Proportion of Seniors living alone (%) in Europe and the US, 1995-2025
Table 20: The percentage of ready meal and frozen food consumption value by
late Mid-Lifers and Seniors relative to their population weightings, 2004
Table 21: Shifting the centre of gravity is a key tactic in making older consumers
inclusive of targeting efforts
Table 22: Examples of 'ageless marketing' in practice
Table 23: Best practice in packaging and format adaptation to better meet Seniors'
needs
Table 24: An example of effectively appealing to Seniors' increasing tendency
to seek fun, excitement and new experiences
Table 25: Examples of health products catering to Seniors
Table 26: Definition of terms
List of Figures
Figure 1: Actions for targeting Senior consumers can be grouped under seven
core themes
Figure 2: The percentage of the population aged 50 and over 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 is representative of the
diversity associated with Senior consumerism
Figure 5: Recognizing 'period effects' and how they shape older consumers' values,
attitudes and behavior is crucial to developing successful marketing campaigns
Figure 6: Seniors can be targeted by recognizing three distinct lifestyle groups
Figure 7: Life events experienced that impact on consumption behavior
Figure 8: Consumers aged 50-64 are particularly cynical about health claims
made by food and drinks players
Figure 9: Older consumers, distrusting of conventional media, are more likely
than their younger counterparts to rely on word of mouth recommendations
Figure 10: As consumers age, they place more importance on advertising featuring
characters their own age
Figure 11: Older consumers place a higher level of importance upon marketing
that reflects their personal situation
Figure 12: Older consumers, especially those aged 65 and over, attach more importance
than younger cohorts to customized solutions tailored to specific needs
Figure 13: Older consumers' aspirational ages reflect their fear of ageing and
desire to be younger
Figure 14: 50-64 year olds' relative dislike of their age can be accounted for
by an innate fear of ageing and a desire to maintain a youthful appearance
Figure 15: Older consumers now embody open-minded attitudes and show a similar
propensity to other age cohorts in trying new things
Figure 16: The proportion of US consumers that try to stick to well-known brand
names (1975-2000) does not significantly increase with age according to this
study
Figure 17: Older consumers were most likely to have taken active steps to improve
health in 2003-04, highlighting how old age can act as a trigger point towards
making new lifestyle choices
Figure 18: Stress is a lifestyle problem also relevant to old age
Figure 19: The importance of spending time on personal appearance increases
with age
Figure 20: Exploring the trigger points impacting cosmeceutical uptake highlights
why older consumers are, and will continue to be, vital in driving the market
forward
Figure 21: Summary: there are many actionable implications stemming from our
insight into older consumers
Figure 22: Self-referential creative processes hinder effective targeting of
older consumers
Figure 23: There are two core strategies which marketers can follow to ensure
Seniors are incorporated into targeting efforts
Figure 24: Older consumers' aspirational ages reflect their fear of ageing and
desire to be younger
Figure 25: Marketers should ensure that products and communications are aligned
with 5 core values
Figure 26: Images used in the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign capitalize
on older consumers' desire for attainable beauty
Figure 27: Two phases characterize successful viral and word of mouth campaigns
Figure 28: Fear of the visible signs of ageing will have the greatest influence
on consumers' use of cosmeceuticals
Figure 29: Following these actions will help in attracting the quality seeking,
wealthier older consumer
