Integrated advertising agency MullenLowe Group UK have launched their new ‘Invisible Powerhouse’ project through which they hope to change the way marketers think about the over 55 group.
In the UK, the people belonging to these ages actually control the majority of wealth and they are also the biggest spenders. However, despite the fact that they control over 6 billion pounds of the country’s wealth, they are commonly bypassed by businesses and agencies in their campaigns.
According to MullenLowe’s research a large percentage of those participating in their surveys said they were more likely to purchase a product that was targeted towards them, which means that marketers are missing out on a huge potential source of income.
The UK company decided to break down their analysis, not by the age of the participants, as is most common in this type of research, but by their attitudes and purchasing habits. What’s good about this type of analysis is that it can be repeated based on the needs of the marketers to show how their brand compares to competing companies in the over 55 field.
The ‘Invisible Powerhouse’s’ seven areas are broken down as follows:
Caring Conformists: 15 percent of the UK’s over 55 market belongs to this category. They regularly get health check-ups and care about the well-being of both themselves and everyone around them. They also like advertising that has a story behind it and will most commonly choose to pay a low price for a product rather than pay up for quality.
Security Seekers: 14 percent is in this category of over 55-ers who put their own security above all else. These people don’t like change, watch a lot of TV and only trust their own knowledge. They are rarely open to the prospect of purchasing a new tech product.
Savvy Spenders: 18 percent of adults in the UK like to go on a buying spree every now and again, but they still know how to keep their finances under control by using discount codes or other ways to save cash. This group uses adds as a way of making an informed purchasing decision.
Carefree Hedonists: As the name implies, 12 percent of all people over the age of 55 in the UK simply love spending money without thinking too much about it. They buy whatever catches their eye, however they aren’t willing to pay much attention to ads as they consider them an unnecessary hindrance or a distraction.
Experience Lovers: These people are always trying to make the most out of their every day. 13 percent of all UK adults belong to this category which puts quality above all else and think of ads as something that should inspire them to make a new purchase.
Accountable Citizens: 13 percent of UK adults are very self-conscious about their footprint on the environment and are willing to pay a little extra if it’s for the good of the planet. They often spent time outdoors and think that ads should be informational above all else.
Social Progressives: The ones on this list (12 percent of all adults in the UK) are the ones pushing forward the equality, climate change and arts and culture movements. They are against consumerism but are likely to support ads that have a genuine feeling behind them.
A survey in the UK showed that the majority of people over 55 felt underrepresented in advertising, while additional research by MullenLowe found that only 12 percent of ads featured a person over 50 years old. However, even when they are included, adults feel misrepresented, usually displayed as a fragile group in need of support.
A great majority of participants (88 percent) responded to that sentiment, while a seven percent was angry about how ads represent them and a further 15 percent revealed they were depressed about it.
