Age UK launches accreditation scheme
Age UK is launching an accreditation scheme to encourage UK businesses to design products and services suited to the growing market of older consumers.
The organisation claims that the over 50s currently have a combined annual spend of £300bn, and represent 45% of the total spent by consumers in the UK each year.
The number of people in the UK aged over 60 is also set to rise by 50% in the next 25 years. Age UK says this means that businesses need to make sure their products and services are relevant and suitable for this market to stay ahead of the competition.
The scheme will act like a kite mark for products and services that have been designed to take into account the needs and lifestyles of the UK’s ageing population.
Duncan Lewis, Age UK marketing and development director, says the mark will enhance consumer trust and confidence in brands that take the extra step to go through the accreditation.
Brands from any sector can submit their products and services, from packaging, devices and in-store experiences, to Age UK’s “rigorous assessment process”.
The initiative, dubbed the Engage Business Network Accreditation, will launch at an event in London on Thursday (15 March).
Separately, the charity has also launched a stop-frame animation ad campaign to promote the core services it provides for older people in the UK such as advice on staying independent in old age, improving finances and staying fit and healthy.
Age UK formed when Help the Aged and Age Concern merged in 2010. Lewis says that the joint organisation has made “great strides” in terms of increasing awareness of the new brand and organisation but that there is still a way to go. It currently has around 77% brand awareness, and hopes to reach around 90% – the level of awareness that both previous organisations held.
The TV campaign launches this week.
