by: Dick Stroud
When important changes occur very slowly they don’t seem so important. When you look at the changes over a period of time their enormity becomes clear.
The above image shows Europe’s population age profile in 1960 and 2003. The most stark difference is the decline in the numbers of the young. A trend that is set to continue.
How strange (what I really mean is imbecilic) that marketers are still obsessed with ‘youth’ as their numbers continue to decline.
Instead of reacting to this demographic change by re-calibrating their marketing spend to match the population’s age profile they spend even more to in a vain attempt to capture a declining market. Weird or what.
Original Post: http://www.20plus30.com/blog/2007/05/difference-43-years-makes.html
Dick, you are probably right in your asssertion that many marketers don't take the changing demographic into consideration. At the same time, I think we're dealing with a variable equation, of which demographics is only one variable.
Other variables to consider include: discretionary dollars (within that demographic) available for your product category, whether or not you're targeting early adopters, whether or not you're trying to capture a lifetime relationship, what is happening in other geographies, the nature of the competitive landscape aimed at that demographic, how important word of mouth marketing is to your product category, etc.
I agree that many marketers should ask themselves much better questions before focusing on any target market.
BTW, I've added you to my blogroll. I invite you to check us out as well.
I agree it is imbecilic that marketers are still obsessed with ‘youth’ as their numbers continue to decline. Worse, I think, is that when they do market to middle aged and older adults it seems more often than not they do so with a 'youth' angle--as though everyone wishes they were still in their teens or twenties (or SHOULD wish they were still in their teens or twenties).
There actually are some adults who are happy to be adults. They don't want to be pitched as though they should be ashamed of aging. They want to be pitched with respect for what is arguably the best time of life--that time of life when one knows what's important and what isn't (and, thus, can pick one's battles); when one has developed a career, a family, and a workable philosophy; when one can revel in decades-long friendships. They want it acknowledged that they've earned their silver hair, spendable income, and, zest for life; that they are sexy because they are more comfortable in their own skin, not because their skin is wrinkle-free.
Some adults don't want to see models shot through silk-covered lenses, proclaiming they don't look their 50+ years because they diet, cream, dye, exercise, or you-name-it. Instead, some adults just want to hear how they can live their best at any age.