NO OLDS BARRED

Marketing to the over-50s has, like its target consumers, finally come of age. Regarded as the exclusive preserve of walking frame and chair lift manufacturers until just a few years ago, the area has begun to awaken the interest of many a big brand advertiser.

This is not only because of the changing demographics that mean around a third of the adult population is now over 50. Nor is it just because this sector is the most affluent of any age group, with 36 per cent of over-55s having a gross income of more than 19,500.

What really makes the average brand manager sit up and take notice is when he or she realises that a big proportion of the market in question consists of people like their well travelled, Brookside-watching 52-year-old parents, rather than their crinkly 76-year-old grandparents.

For years, marketing to the over-50s was limited to selling support tights and retirement homes to people that were often well over 60. But now marketers are starting to understand that not only is the whole 50-plus age group a potential goldmine, it is far too big to consider simply as one market.

Targeting the so-called third-agers has become more complex than simply placing an ad in one of the specialist magazines for this group.

Direct marketing is taking on increased significance. Marketers are finding that older consumers can be very receptive to direct mail communications. Data from the British Market Research Bureau’s TGI Gold survey shows that 14.7 per cent of over-50s have responded to a piece of direct mail.

Financial services companies have traditionally been heavy users of direct mail, and have been developing products in the past few years specifically for the over-50s – such as low-premium car insurance.

Next month Aspen Specialist Media is launching Classic Lifestyle. This series of direct mailings consists of advertisements and discount vouchers from a variety of manufacturers, in a chequebook style format.

One of the first mailings, produced in association with Renault, will be specifically for the over-50s; advertisers include a unit trust firm, a direct motor insurer and home improvement companies.

“We believe this is a very effective way of reaching this age group,” says Aspen Specialist Media managing director Malcolm Preston. “Each book has a unique number, which will go into a draw each week to win a Renault Clio, giving an added reason to hang on to it.”

But although direct marketing is becoming a more popular way to target older consumers, the specialist magazines are still attracting increasing numbers of readers and advertisers. TGI Gold figures show that 51 per cent of readers of titles for the over-50s read the whole magazine, and that 19.5 per cent of the age group had actually responded to a magazine advertisement in the past year. (See tables for full details of TGI data.)

As marketing to the over-50s becomes more sophisticated and targeted, magazines in the sector have refined what they offer to advertisers. It is not enough any more to simply say that your magazine is for older people, in the broadest sense.

The Saga Group, which includes insurance and holiday businesses as well as the subscription magazine of the same name, decided last year to reduce the “qualifying” age for its target market from 60 to 50.

Saga, the widest read title in the sector, has experienced a rise in circulation of about eight per cent over the past six months to reach 650,000, estimates advertising manager Martin Smith.

He maintains that Saga’s fmcg advertising has gone up by around 40 per cent in the past year, with brands including Sky, Sharp and Flymo starting to advertise. Nestlé has identified the over-50s as a major target market for its new cereal Fibre 1, and is advertising the brand in the pages of the magazine.

“Five years ago, all magazines in this sector relied on product-based ads for stair lifts and colostomy bags,” Smith explains. “But we’ve made a real effort over the past few years to broaden our appeal and advertisers can see that.

“We see ourselves as competing with publications like Reader’s Digest and the Sunday supplements for advertisers,” he maintains. “We have a specialist readership but we are a general-interest magazine.”

The editorial content of the magazine has, as a result of the lowering of the target age, been given a far broader appeal. The cover of the current issue carries a photograph of Marsha Hunt, writer and former girlfriend of Mick Jagger, as part of an effort to endow the magazine with a younger image.

And, says Smith, evidence shows that Saga readers are far more loyal to the title than other magazines, with a high rate of renewal of subscriptions.

The Saga Group sees great potential in marketing to the over-50s. It is bidding for the Yorkshire and Humberside FM franchise currently up for grabs; if successful, it would launch the first commercial radio station specifically targeted at older people.

New entrant Vintage Times is also keen to attract the younger third agers. Launched 18 months ago by David Hoppit, former property editor of The Daily Telegraph, the title is produced with the 40 to 60 age group in mind.

“I always stress that we are not an oldies magazine,” says Hoppit. “We target grown-ups who believe that age is a state of mind. They enjoy the best of everything and have money and influence.”

Advertisers in Vintage Times come mostly from the leisure industry, although Hoppit says that health is emerging as a lucrative sector.

Although he maintains that the magazine is thriving and he is planning to take it from a quarterly to a bi-monthly, he admits it is difficult to market it to advertisers.

“There are two problems with a magazine like this. First, where do you put it on the shelves? We don’t want to be associated with the real old people’s titles like Choice, but people need to know where to find it,” he says. “Second, getting broad-based advertisers rather than ones that are solely product focused.”

But not all titles in the market are keen to shake off the “old people” tag. Sarah Frisby, advertisement manager of Legion, the official bi-monthly magazine of the Royal British Legion, has no qualms about targeting the older end of the market.

Data on Legion readers’ spending habits shows that marketing to the 60-plus market is just as lucrative as the fiftysomethings.

Some 19.4 per cent of Legion readers traded in shares last year, compared with a national average of 9.2 per cent; 30.8 per cent of readers intend to spend 500 on decorating or building in the next six months compared with just 18.1 per cent of the total population (figures from Legion and the National Readership Survey).

Legion unashamedly pitches its editorial at pensioners, with many of the articles related to the Royal British Legion. Recent features are headlined “Prime Minister has good news for war widow pilgrims,” and “Don’t give in to rheumatism!”

All the major magazines in the sector are taking increased bookings from big brand advertisers.

Active Life, published by Aspen Specialist Media, claims to be second to Saga in circulation terms. It has run advertorials from Vauxhall, Kodak and the Alliance & Leicester in the past year.

And, says the title’s managing director, Malcolm Preston, advertisers are starting to tailor their ads more towards the market. “An ad designed for a Sunday supplement and simply put into a magazine for the over-50s is not going to be as effective as one that has been specially written.”

But he adds: “A lot of the copy we now receive from advertisers is very in tune with the market.”

Like Smith, he maintains that his title now competes with mainstream middle-market press such as the Mail on Sunday. But he admits that although the editorial is more appealing to a broader range of people, this can create problems when marketing the magazine to advertisers.

CACI director of public services Berry Winter believes that although magazines for the over-50s have large and growing circulations, there can be limitations in the medium.

She explains: “The over-50s market is now so large that targeting the entire group is too imprecise. It is far better to think of various segments, perhaps hobby based rather than purely age based. Although certain age ranges do have a lot in common, it is more to do with life stage than actual age.”