WHY ADVERTISERS IGNORE THE LARGEST MARKET SEGMENT – AND WHY WE DON’T

Ignored by design

As a person over the age of 55, I’ve noticed something really strange about the marketing and advertising of products and services. Rarely, if ever, are the advertisements directed or relevant to people my age. Maybe the odd European river cruise or occasional health related product ad, but how many river cruises can one take and most of us aren’t sick all the time! So why are we being ignored?

It seems we are being ignored by design. This is really odd given that the over 55’s make up around 50% of all consumer spending, despite comprising a much lower percentage of the population – at around 21.5%. The percentage of consumer spending of over 55’s is expected to reach 61% by 2050!

So what’s going on here?

The statistics are striking. But what is really going on? Of all the market segments, over 55’s have the highest discretionary spend. Many of us own our homes and our children have grown up and now work or have left to start their own families, so over 55’s generally have money left over to spend on whatever we desire. Simply put, over 55’s power the consumer economy.

The tiny proportion of marketing directed at over 55’s is remarkable given this information. It’s even more remarkable given many of the CEOs and directors of the companies that make these decisions are over 55 themselves. Yet the over 55’s are ignored! Any marketing aimed at over 55’s seems to assume we are retired, stagnant and no longer contributing to the economy in any meaningful way.

This simply isn’t true. Many of us still work and continue to do so well into our 60’s and 70’s, others volunteer or are actively involved in caring – for parents or grandchildren etc… Over 55’s also have a high level of digital competence and strong social, even political engagement. Yet marketers seem to see us differently.

Brands simply don’t identify with our needs

Too many of the products that are aimed at over 55’s simply don’t meet our needs. We aren’t seeking perpetual holidays or 24/7 healthcare. Most of us are not even sick.

One particular area is that of products that don’t last. The modern ideology that products should be subject to fast replacement cycles, commonly referred to as “churn”, so that consumers are forced to replace or upgrade their products on a regular basis, or rent what we used to buy or get for free (well not actually for free but as a result of paying our taxes) such as free-to-air TV which is now being replaced by subscription streaming services and the like. In some areas of Australia, free-to-air TV isn’t even available any longer. An example of this is any region serviced by Opticomm is seeing their free-to-air TV channels slowly disappear simply because Opticomm won’t fund the expense of maintaining the fibre cables required to deliver it.

However, over 55’s don’t want fast replacement cycles. we want quality, durability and reliability. But businesses seem only interested in novelty – whatever can be made to “go viral” today that can be replaced by something else tomorrow. In other words, marketing is only about short-term financial extraction, not long-term customer relationships. It’s now about exploitation for profit, not a partnership for mutual benefit.

This is the exact opposite of what we want. The simple reason that products aren’t marketed to over 55’s is that the products we want just aren’t being made.

The looming economic problem

When such a large and financially powerful segment of the economy is ignored the economy suffers. This is self-evident. We want reliable, high quality, healthy and responsibly produced products that work and have a genuine purpose. We don’t want the short-lived throw-away products or the unhealthy ultra-processed garbage found in our supermarkets, online retailers and department stores.

We also worry about the future that we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren. When brands and retailers fail to address the real problems of this maximum extraction-for-profit ideology, the damage to our communities, greater society and the world we leave behind is more than concerning. It’s downright criminal!

The economy of care

That’s why we’ve chose to care. Caring is a conscious choice – it’s not a marketing fail – but a commercially and socially responsible choice. The marketing, sale and fulfilment of safe, deeply responsible and high-quality products made by businesses who care to consumers who care is what we do at Onnero. Even if other don’t care, we do – because we know you care too.

Brands & retailers try to shape us into the consumers they want us to be

Instead of brands that care, many spend most of their time trying to shape us into the type of consumer they desire – their “ideal customer”. They create “personas” and try and make us fit them. But when you ignore the most influential market segment these “personas” are skewed away who we really are and totally miss the mark as to what we actually want. And this is why marketers don’t market to us. They simply don’t make the products we want. They simply ignore us as if we don’t exist because we don’t fit any of their ideal customer personas.

Aging is not a problem, but currently marketing is

Marketers seem to think aging is a problem, rather than an achievement. An achievement that we want to celebrate by sharing a better future. But this better future might not eventuate if the current ideology of extraction for maximum profit continues. If fact the current marketing ideology doesn’t permit it. As a result, we see this in the decimation of the middle class in almost every economy around the world. Marketers also find conflict with over 55’s failure to embrace and succumb to their ideology of maximum financial extraction. We want fewer products, but better ones. We want products that actually add value to our lives, We want services that respect our agency. We want products that don’t cause harm. We want a better future for our children and grandchildren, not one in which they are simply a resource to be exploited for profit.

Stewardship not extraction

We need a different marketplace. We need different products. We need better products. We need better services. We need marketers that sell stewardship not extraction. We need products that actually meet our needs. Give us what we want – quality, reliability, care and responsibility – and we’ll reward those who do. That’s why Onnero exists – giving consumers of all ages what they want – stewardship over extraction.