First golden rule: be positive!

To make yourself understood, be positive! Any message addressed to the over 50s should not remind them about their problems. They are well aware of them. Focus rather on other things. They like life, want to enjoy it and are interested in everything; your product or service can be part of it. If, at the same time as it makes them laugh, your advertisement also pleases them, then it is a success. Your advertisement should show them achieving something new and exciting, taking on an ambitious project or helping others. Never forget that situations where their own sense of humour is shown to be triumphant are especially effective.

Second golden rule: Select a means of expression that sits halfway between advertising and information – the ‘TV infomercial’

The over 50s consumer is a somewhat prickly person who is much more wary of advertisers arguments that than the younger consumer. He is only moderately impressed by the vast majority of the advertisements he sees. He sees them as favouring style over content and being basically aimed at a young public (‘commercials made by the young for the young’). Several surveys have revealed this division between the over 50s and the majority of TV commercials. There is a solution to winning over and reassuring the over 50s; this is the ‘TV infomercial’, an American neologism from ‘information’ and ‘commercial’. Senioragency has specialised in these throughout our network. We shall examine why it is that the new type of advertising constitutes one of the most effective means of communicating with the over 50s.

·        The over 50s consumer, being prudent, suspicious even, needs much more information before deciding to buy.  The TV infomercial is able to deliver a large number of facts and arguments about the product.

·        Through its scenario, the TV infomercial can tackle the obstacles to purchase (for example, through dialogue) and reply point by point to any objections.

·        By showing during part or the whole of the spot a freephone number, it facilitates direct interactive contact to provide further information or to place an order.

·        By far the most persuasive factor for the over 50s is that, for many of them, the TV infomercial is not really advertising. In fact, the simplicity of the technical presentation, the matter-of-fact style and the focusing of the discussion on the product are totally different from other advertising spots. The over 50s viewer appreciates the absence of superfluous decoration and devours the infomercial like a marketing videocassette or like an advertising press report on TV.

·           Finally, in order to be effective and economically viable, this type of advertising spot is screened during the daytime, that is between 6.00 and 17.00-18.00 during the week. Utilising these off-peak periods has the great advantage of allowing the advertisers to enjoy extremely attractive rates (only a few hundred euros for the most economical). In this way brands can be presented for long periods for budgets that cost 5 to 6 times less than those required for blanket screenings and repeats aimed at those under 50.

Third golden rule : surround them with people of other generations.

Grandparents like to show kindness to their grandchildren and to teach them about life. In the best of situations, there is even total complicity between the two generations. The other advantage is that the child become adolescent will share personal secrets and worries with grandparents in preference to parents. It is therefore a great stage for people over 50; they have children, but none of the disadvantages of having children! Who has not seen their father radically changed when becoming a grandfather? New patience, tolerance, greater availability – one has never known him like that! For the over 50s, the family has become the centre of happiness. Contact with young children and adolescents is a kind of rejuvenating bath that brings infinite pleasure. Some successful commercials have played upon this emotional theme. We can mention Werther’s Original sweets whose advertisement shows a typical grandfather and his grandson, or the very original poster and press ads for the Chrome de Azzaro perfume range that had the idea of showing three male generations, a less conventional way of pointing up the relationship between generations. In the field of charity, some advertisers have learnt how to exploit this sentiment (remember that the over 50s are the main donors).

Fourth golden rule : portray them as they see themselves, lively and attractive

Since they are fit, we should show them as active, lively and the driving force in situations that show the value of their punch and dynamism. A talented American commercial for the Nike brand showed a baseball team whose average age was 76; the star of the spot was aged 100. This commercial is powerful and credible because it is based on an authentic case, making everyone want to be like this man at his age. The finale of the film was spectacularly successful. The star sayd ‘It must have been the shoes!’. The spot ended with the brand’s marvellous slogan ‘Just do it!’, a perfect message to bridge the generations.

The Unilever Group screened in Europe a very effective and amusing commercial for its Olivio spread brand depicting some over 60s men playing football and at the same time gently flirting with their spectator wives. Another very successful commercial was launched world-wide in the autumn of 2000 by Estée Lauder, the giant American beauty products corporation, to promote its face cream for the more mature woman. For Resilience Lift, the brand had the idea of once again featuring its star model of the 1970s, Karen Graham, who was aged 23 when she had first appeared for them. Now, 30 years later, she was asked to perform again. Better still, since Karen Graham had always been keen on fly-fishing (sic!) and had, at the end of her modelling career, opened a fishing school in Montana, the advertiser had the excellent idea of having her adopt the same pose as thirty years previously, dressed in a fishing outfit.

Fifth golden rule: tell them about the product, they are only interested in that

For them, the star is the product, the tangible reality, argued and verifiable. Commercials or spots that give the impression of favouring appearance and aesthetics over content rarely move them. They want the concrete; they want to have it explained to them why this product should be tried, and perhaps chosen, from the rest. They are not inclined swing suddenly towards some new offer without a reason. An effective way of communicating with them is to use the magazine press, direct marketing and now : the WEB !. We should not forget that they belong to the generation of the written word, which is the only medium for developing an argument in detail.  

Sixth golden rule : use advertising celebrities belonging to their generations

Celebrity Marketing is specially efficient with mature audiences. The more you age, the more you like “authorities” to speak to you. Each generation grows with what I call “generation heroes” (sportsmen, actors, writers …). These ‘icons” are loved, respected and famous among the members of the generations. If you have to speak to a 70 years old consumer, it is much more efficient to use a 70 years old famous spokesperson than a 70 years old unknown model. In the first case, everybody will recognise with pleasure the “hero” and forget about its age, in the second case, the risk is high that the consumers will see an “old man or an old woman”. Thus, using celebrities is the most efficient way to say to people “hello this message is for you folks”, without having to raise the age issue. Using celebrities will also contribute to the prestige of the brand!