Are your clients complaining that they aren’t generating enough revenue from their ad campaigns? The problem could be that they are ignoring a big segment of the population with their creative messaging and media buys. A new analysis from the VAB, The Age of Opportunity, points out that 35% of the U.S. population is age 50 and over. Your clients are ignoring these consumers at their own financial peril. Here’s why.

Mature Consumers' Assessment of Advertisers

While consumers who are age 50+ account for 35% of the population, they control 41% of consumer expenditures. When these folks see advertising, 78% feel they are ignored or misrepresented by marketers. At least 77% of consumers in the age 50 to 59 bracket say they’re ignored. And their response to this situation should send a chill down the spine of your clients: 49% of older consumers will avoid brands that don’t speak to them in marketing messages.

Purchase Intent

These consumers have plenty of money to spend. About 23% of workers who are age 55 or older hold professional positions and another 20% are in management, business or financial positions. Four out of 10 older workers expect to work past age seventy. They aren’t interested in retirement because they:

• Want more disposable income 55%
• Enjoy their work 54%
• Enjoy the social aspect of work 44%

Older consumers are always looking for new experiences and products. In fact, now that their children are grown, they’re spending more time shopping and enjoying leisure and sports activities than the very busy millennials.

Time Spent with Video

Savvy marketers are paying attention to this trend. They know that consumers over age 50 spend at least six hours and 18 minutes every day engaged with video. VAB analysts reviewed the Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q3 2018 and note that at least 87% of video time for consumers between the ages of 50 and 64 is spent on live or time-​shifted TV. Another 8% of viewing time goes to TV-​connected devices.

Your clients can tap into the spending power of ignored consumers by hiring workers who are over age 50 and who can connect with these shoppers. They can also feature older consumers in their advertising. And remind your clients that engaging with older consumers on social media is a great way to learn about the kinds of products and services these shoppers are looking for. 

To learn more about how advertising influences older consumers, check out the AudienceSCAN reports, available at AdMall from SalesFuel.