Marketing to the 100-year old consumer

We’re not getting any younger. Research tells us that an increasing portion of the population will live to be 100. So what does this mean? Well, aside from the queen and her heirs having to write more telegrams, marketers have a new demographic that they need to get their heads around.

Jo Roberts
Jo Roberts

Business needs to plan for the 100-year old consumer now, according to Clear consultancy, which has run some research into this age group. Dick Stroud, managing director of specialist marketing agency 20plus30, warns that brand managers, who are often young graduates, come up with products and positioning that reflect their age group, which means that businesses could be missing out on a large chunk of revenue.

Clear’s research findings suggest there’s an opportunity to create new products for this market. And that if brands think about the 100-year old consumer now, they can start introducing products and services to people in their 30s.

The health, wealth and happiness index column by research agency 2CV, (see column below) indicates that the grey market is the perfect demographic for marketers to target. In this week’s index, older consumers are feeling the most well off, compared with the middle-aged band and the younger group. They are also feeling healthy and a positive mood.

Those brands that feel that the older population are past their best are clearly going to miss out. The 100-year old consumer is the future.

To read more on the 100-year old consumer, written by Lucy Handley, click here.