In 2010, leading PR firm Lexis launched Sixty, a specialist division aimed at the over-50s. If that seems counter-intuitive in this age of digital media, it’s worth reflecting on a couple of points. Firstly, as outgoing Lexis CEO Margot Raggett pointed out; “there are more over-50s on Facebook than reading the Daily Mail” – underlining the point that new media and old consumers are not incompatible. Secondly, over-50s hold 80% of the nation’s wealth.
A massive missed opportunity
At launch, Lexis said Sixty would “work with brand marketers to help them understand and reach out to older audiences”. Using insights based around specially commissioned nationwide quantitative and qualitative consumer research, Sixty’s head Marilyn Wicks said the outfit would recommend strategies and channels for brands to engage with a more mature audience: “We believe that the over-50s are generally a massive missed opportunity. Many benefit from being empty nesters, enjoying pensions and have come to the end of their mortgage cycle. With people working and living longer than ever before, they often have a comparatively high disposable income and hate the thought of being considered the Saga generation”.
One client that bought into Sixty’s thesis is bra brand Playtex. Known to many older consumers for its iconic ad campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s, the brand spent 18 months researching its market positioning and decided to focus its efforts on 50+ women. Sixty was brought in to help Playtex work out the best way of using PR to reach out to this demographic.
Bra fitting leads to uplift
Sixty advised Playtex that it needed a two-pronged approach. Firstly, it had to win over the media again. Backed up by the statistic that as many as 70% of 50+ women in the UK are wearing the wrong-sized bra, Sixty invited women at a list of top indexing media titles to be fitted for their own Playtex bra. All told, Twenty journalists came to the fitting, which was set up as a stylish ‘Playtex Boutique’. This activity directly led to an uplift in consumer coverage and positive feedback, explained Sixty.
Credible role model and brand ambassador
Next, Sixty needed to start a dialogue with consumers. Research based on a dedicated panel of 1,000 50+ women suggested that mature women are far more likely to believe the views and recommendations of a credible person. This Morning anchorwoman Ruth Langsford came out as top choice. By good fortune, a News of the World piece about Playtex attracted the attention of This Morning’s researchers and by the following Monday, Langsford was putting a spotlight on the story live on TV and suggesting she would make a good role model for Playtex. Quick to take advantage, Sixty signed her up as brand ambassador. As part of her role, Langsford modelled the latest Playtex designs for a shoot, resulting in a series of media shots.
Best practice gives strong results
The Ruth Langsford brand ambassador campaign is featured by the PRCA as a best practice case study because of its strong results. Launched in April 2011, it attracted 86 pieces of coverage, 26 branded radio interviews with Ruth Langsford (reaching 1,753,500) 5 online podcasts with a reach of 6,262,100 and coverage on This Morning (audience of 1.8m). As for Playtex’s own platforms, the first day of the campaign launch saw over 1,000 additional visits to Playtex.co.uk, the biggest spike since the site launched.
Not only that, but Playtex’s decision to target 50+ women seemed to pay off in terms of retail sales. In the wake of the repositioning campaign, Debenhams was reported to be showing an average sales uplift of 38%.
Pitfalls and perception
Sixty isn’t the first agency to talk up the older (or grey) market. Clearly, there’s a compelling argument for doing so. But there are also pitfalls that agencies and clients need to be aware of. The most obvious is the size of the market. With 21 million people in the UK already 50+, we’re clearly talking about a very broad social and psychographic audience. The notion that they are all well-off, for example, needs to be set against recent trends regarding declining pension values, negative equity, the cost of healthcare in old age and the pressure of supporting debt-laden children. It’s very likely, for example, that our perception of the 50+ market will have shifted by the time the current crop of 25-35 year-olds have joined this demo.
The concept of wealth
Companies also need to be careful about the concept of wealth. Are older people “wealthy” because their capital is inactive? Part of the reason younger demographics are not “wealthy” is because their money is out their driving the economy, not sitting in a stagnant savings account.
Top tips for targeting
For companies still intent on targeting over-50s, there’s also the question of how to target the 50+ market without seeming to categorise them simply on the basis of their age. While it may be cool to be considered as part of the youth market, there’s undoubtedly more ambivalence about being profiled according to age among older people. There are useful observations on this from Wise Branding (www.wisebranding.co.uk), a consultancy set up in 2002 by a former Y&R board director Melanie Haslam.
Haslam’s top tips for marketing to the older and wealthier market are:
1. Many older people seek experiences, and do not want to be just spectators. They want to do, not just see. When they want an experience, they want a top notch experience. And, more than most, they will pay for it.
2. Appeal to their core values and motivations. Don’t underestimate those, or stereotype them because of their age. Don’t forget sensory experiences, and the importance of entertainment or fun. It should not be too hard work
3. They like products and services that save time. They like value for money and do research before buying. They want rational and emotional benefits
4. Marketing should be honest and authentic; avoid hyperbole. Word of mouth is important. Don’t use chronological age to predict who they are