Are you alone in getting so frustrated with advertising that you simply zone out? Well maybe you’re not alone.
Here’s why:
Out of a group of women aged 53 to 72 – dubbed the ‘baby boomers’ – 72% of them simply ‘don’t pay attention to advertising’. This is according to a recent report that examines the ever-changing relationship between women and marketing.
‘Elastic Generation: The Female Edit’ gathered the opinion of women aged 53 to 72 from the JWT London Innovation Group.
Why? To try to establish an accurate profile of this key demographic.
Treat us as people
The study found that 91% of the respondents wished advertisers would treat them as people and not just as stereotypes. 90% agreed with the mantra ‘I’m not going to start dressing in beige just because I’m over 50 now.’
Going along similar lines, 71% said they were still a ‘kid at heart’. On the subject of technology 73% hated the way that their generation was patronised. To reinforce these findings 81% of the women polled said they did not recognise themselves in advertising that was supposedly targeted at their generation.
Not just a number
Brands are encouraged to think beyond someone’s age as a number. They should also get to the bottom of what really motivates their target audience. Meanwhile, they need to make sure that depictions of older people in advertising are real and authentic – scrapping any outdated stereotypes once and for all.
These findings must be really worrying for marketers, given that 78% of over 50’s command the purse-strings in their households. Whatsmore, that age group accounts for half of all consumer spending in the UK.
