Bright future of the grey pound

When is someone going to produce an exciting, up-beat article concerning marketing to the over-50s? The same people moaning about how agencies and clients have failed to understand this market is churned out time and time again (‘Glad to be grey’, MW November 2).

If they take a look at Saga magazine, they will see a huge variety of marketers – including Tiny computers, Kellogg, Flora, Disney, Virgin, Bose and Saab – to name a few – running the same ads that appear in younger titles.

My point is that agencies and clients are showing a great deal of interest in, and understanding of, the over-50s. Not only do they appreciate the huge size and growth of this market, they also understand that as the traditional consumer differences between young and old disappear, their purchasing habits become more similar to those of younger people.

The major difference is that the over-50s have a great deal more disposable income – and more and more advertisers want a slice of it.

Saga is the second-largest circulating consumer monthly in the UK and has just launched Primetime radio, the UK’s first national digital station dedicated to this audience.

We still have a long way to go but, in future, can we please focus on positive developments in the market?

Martin Smith

Advertising director

Saga magazine