Why do traditional marketers & media always think that it's the "young" who make up the digital space and the "old" ones who watch TV? That's why I decided to check for a moment whether the surf, game and PVR behaviour of my parents and in-laws are anomalies or whether they are part of a broader movement.
In this process I found a few interesting bits of information. They don't constitute "scientific" proof, yet should make you think
YouTube
Did you know that the most subscribed to channel on YouTube is currently run by a 79 year old gentleman from the UK (thanks Stefan for the tip!)? So why are most marketers only pointing their consumer generated efforts at twenty-somethings?
Media Switching
Another mind pusher is this graph I found on 20plus30 (which will soon be contributing to the Futurelab blog). While not as wired as their 16 year old counterparts, about a third of 50+ year olds engage in more than just TV.
Gaming
And finally, when it comes to gaming, have a look at this article from the BBC (also tip of the hat to 20plus30).
Conclusion
All to say that next time you think about that mediaplan for the "older demographic" it's probably worthwhile to think beyond "old media". Your mum has evolved with the times you know.
Hi Daniel
I fully agree the next level information is desperately needed. It's my hope that by systematically starting to point out the fact that some age barriers are mainly in our heads, someone will take up the challenge and start getting us some real insights to work with.
Great Post. While I don't doubt that the demographics of those going online will be more diverse, I'm more interested in what they are doing online.
The YouTube example shows one person who has created content on YouTube, but who are the consumers? Can we assume that part of his allure is the young crowd saying "check out that old guy doing something cool!" Are the older folks tuning into MySpace, YouTube, Del.icio.us? That would be something cool to know.
Also, as noted in the BBC article, the older generation are getting into gaming but a different sort of gaming:
"The type of games that get grannies and grandpas going are the ones that require lateral thinking and problem-solving rather than shoot-em-ups, apparently."
It would be interesting for someone to do a follow-up posting and analyze the different online behavior on the various age groups.
I like the title of this post. Someone's read David Ogilvy.
A good intro to Dick Stroud and his marketing philosophy is this article on the AARP site:
http://www.aarp.org/research/international/perspectives/aug_06_stroud_50plusmarket.html