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by: Dick Stroud
My favourite Web usability guru, Jakob Nielsen, has published a fascinating article about the impact of ageing on the way people use the Web. Do make sure you read the full article.
Continue reading " Middle-aged Users' Declining Web Performance" »
by: Dick Stroud
Whenever I attend a 50-plus focus group and the topic of banks, building societies and other variants of financial service companies are discussed I can guarantee there will be a huge intake of breath and then tidal wave of vitriolic abuse.
by: Dick Stroud
According to the ceo of Match.com (in this article in Forbes) there are about 92 million single people in the U.S. - about 3 million of them pay a fee to an Internet-based dating service for access to a pool of possible mates. That's a lot.
by: Dick Stroud
There is an article in advertising Age called the:" The Misunderstood Generation". I can never work out if AdAge is on subscription or not. Anyway here is the gist of the thing.
Continue reading " Edelman - Where Have You Been for the Past 5 Years?" »
by: Dick Stroud
Two very different subjects, one thing in common.
Firstly this article from Motley Fool: "60 is the new 40".
It looks like "boomer-focused" retail companies like Chico's CHS , Coldwater Creek CWTR , Stein Mart SMRT, Christopher & Banks CBK and Talbots (NYSE: TLB) are having a hard time of things.
by: Dick Stroud
nfpSynergy is a UK research consultancy for not for profit organisations (e.g. charities, housing associations and public bodies).
Continue reading " Lists of social networking sites – mainly for the 50-plus" »
Continue reading " An ad that seems to work across the generations" »
Continue reading "A Few 2008 Predictions (Not Exhaustive) and Happy New Year to You All!" »
Continue reading "Bravely going where no man (person) has gone before " »
by: Dick Stroud
I have worked with Jo Rigby, the head of Insights at OMD, to research the way that different lifestyle groups of the 50-plus respond to advertising creative. If you are a member of WARC you download the report. For those of you who are not, you can apply for a trial membership and hopefully access the report.
Continue reading " WARC Report About the 50-plus and Advertising Creative" »
by: Dick Stroud
Research (from Alliance & Leicester) has looked at the goals and ambitions of the UK’s 50 plus and shows that travel is at the top of their agenda. Over half (54%) want to travel more regularly and to long-haul destinations and a further (22%) want a “once in a lifetime holiday” in the next decade.
Continue reading " Some Research about Travel and the 50-plus" »
by: Dick Stroud
According to Gartner, in 10 years the largest influence on all purchases will be the virtual experience associated with them. By 2015, more money will be spent marketing and selling to multiple anonymous online personas than marketing and selling offline.
Continue reading "Ditch Your Age Segmentation - Target Generation V" »
by: Dick Stroud
My chums at Millennium have researched the attitudes of the over-50s towards “green issues”.
Here is an extract of the results.
by: Dick Stroud
Research from Ipsos shows that Canada's 50-plus have the same intentions as their Brit counterparts and are setting up their own businesses in droves.
Continue reading " The Entrepreneurial over-50s - Same Message from Canada" »
by: Dick Stroud
For the past couple of years I have been banging on about the fantastic marketing opportunity to provide products and services to assist the 50-plus who are starting their own business.
by: Dick Stroud
I have written a lot about the Charmed Generation the group of 50-plus with high retirement income, lots of property wealth and no debt. I reckon that makes up around 2.5 million of the UK’s 17 million 55+.
by: Dick Stroud
South Gloucestershire Council are putting together a strategy for the 50-plus.
Now that should be a good thing? Yes and no. This is the council’s objective of the strategy.
by: Dick Stroud
What follows is a splurge or facts and figures.
The results of the biannual internet advertising spend study from the Internet Advertising Bureau, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Advertising Research Centre shows online advertising expenditure reaching a potential new high of £2.75 billion by the end of 2007.
Continue reading "The 50-plus an important factor driving online advertising growth." »
by: Guy Kawasaki
I loved this PowerPoint adaptation of "You Know You're Old When" (be sure to read the comments). Here's also an audio version that I did. Just in case you missed it the first time around.
Continue reading "Presentation of "You Know You're Old When"" »
by: Dick Stroud
The only age group to show a rise in the divorce rate last year was the over-60s, the Office for National Statistics announced on August 31, 2006.
by: Dick Stroud
These images are taken from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, August 20, 2007. They demonstrate the fact that users almost never look at anything that looks like an advertisement. I implore you to read the article.
Continue reading "Web users ignore things that look like ads" »
by: Roger Dooley
Back in March, I predicted a fitness boom following a huge Newsweek cover story on exercise and the brain (Brain Improvement to Spark Fitness Boom). I’m still waiting. My own health club hasn’t had an observable influx of older members and, more significantly, I haven’t see any ads that make the link between exercise and brain fitness. Newsweek must be wondering if anyone got the message the first time, because they have returned to the topic with a new, lengthy commentary by Dean Ornish, M.D., Bigger Brains, Better Genes.
by: Dick Stroud
Saatchi & Saatchi has research showing that consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers are annually missing out on £600m of sales because they are failing to connect with women.
by: Dick Stroud
There is an article in today’s FT titled: Baby boom retirement aftershock looms. The FT is a subscription service but you will be able to access it for the next couple of days.
Finland is on the leading edge of Europe's demographic shock.
by: Dick Stroud
The UN report (World Population Ageing 2007) has just been published. If you live in Europe and want a copy then you can order one from here.
by: Dick Stroud
This Reuter’s article is an interesting reflection on the 50-plus and their tech literacy.
by: Dick Stroud
Thanks to Brian Scholz for highlighting an item, posted to his blog thesavvyboomer, that is dedicated to the space where Boomers meet all things Internet and consumer electronics.
Brian like me is amazed at the explosion of social networking web sites targeted at Boomers/50-plus. This is part of what he had to say.
Continue reading "Yet another missive about age neutral social networking" »
by: Dick Stroud
Chuck Nyren told me about this new ad campaign from Jeep as a good example of age neutral advertising. Absolutely right.
by: Dick Stroud
Future Lab is one of the blogs that republishes some posting from this blog. It published my musings about the way that social networking sites for the 50-plus are mushrooming and one cause is the surge in traffic volumes of sites like MySpace and FaceBook.
by: Dick Stroud
Anybody who reads this blog will know that I am always going on about the way that social networking web sites for the 50-plus are growing like mushrooms on a fine fresh damp morning. This research from Comscore is the metaphorical fertiliser that is stimulating this growth.
by: Dick Stroud
The UK’s Office of Communications has just published a report: “Ease of use issues with domestic electronic communications equipment”.
This is a must read for anybody involved in domestic consumer electronics.
by: Dick Stroud
Cinema audiences are still predominantly young with nearly half of filmgoers under the age of 25 but older viewers are a significant number and becoming more significant. The number of people aged 45 and over attending the cinema has doubled from 19 million a decade ago to 38 million last year.
Continue reading "Media buyers take note – the 50-plus are watching more films" »
by: Dick Stroud
A couple of bits of ‘research’ about the 50-plus have recently been published that the press have picked up chewed around, attached a catchy headline and blurted out.
by: Dick Stroud
This chart shows an Aging Vulnerability Index that attempts to measure how vulnerable countries are to an aging population. The index looks at things like pensions, healthcare, numbers of younger people, education etc...
by: Dick Stroud
[yt]JA_r9FUEgAA[/yt]About 4 years ago I was a speaker at one of the UK's 50-plus conferences and surprised to meet a marketing guy from Nintendo.
Continue reading " Nicole Kidman – an interesting and expensive choice by Nintendo" »
by: Dick Stroud
BrandChannel decided it was about time it did a feature on Boomers. If you know anything about the Boomer / 50-plus market you aren’t likely to learn very much. Lots of broad sweeping statements and the usual splattering of Boomer facts and examples.
by: Dick Stroud
This is what VW says about this campaign.
Continue reading "A double take or a double take too far?" »
by: Dick Stroud
UK internet users aged 55-plus are set to overtake 35-44 year olds as the demographic age group with the largest representation online. Those aged 55+ accounted for 22% of UK visits to all categories of websites in the four weeks to 12 May 2007, up 54% since 2005 and 40% since 2006. This compares to 23.5% of Internet visits from 35-44 year olds.
Continue reading "More 55+ Internet users than 35-44 year olds" »
by: Dick Stroud
What a strange headline in Advertising Age. The tag line explains: “Marketer Spies Goldmine in the Often-Overlooked Baby-Boomer Consumer”.
Continue reading "Unilever Resuscitates the Demo Left for Dead" »
by: Dick Stroud
Nearly a third of potential first-time buyers (31%) anticipate financial help from their parents, according to new research commissioned by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. But even more (35%) say that they would need financial help to be able to enter the housing market.
Continue reading "'Bank of Mum and Dad' lend £18,000 on average for first homes" »
by: Dick Stroud
The French have just had their presidential election that was won by Sarkozy by a 53% share of the votes. Sarkozy is a man of the ‘right’ - the loser, Ségolène Royal, is of the ‘left’ - if such political descriptors have any meaning.
Continue reading "'Averages’ are misleading and dangerous" »
by: Dick Stroud
Nielsen//NetRatings has released research about the UK’s internet population segmented by age and gender. If you want any proof of how age segmentation is a total waste of space it is this data.
by: Dick Stroud
I receive a newsletter called Phil Lempert-Facts, Figures & The Future that often contains some interesting bits and pieces. This edition had more details about Nielsen’s ‘pivot’ generation. This is the revelation that Boomers spend money on their kids and parents.
Continue reading "The pivot generation and the "poly-household" purchasing trend" »
by: Lynette Webb
“Life caching” as a concept has been around for a while and has always fascinated me. For their afficionados, Twitter and the constant chatter on Myspace-type boards are the first services that, to me, come close to enabling capture of the minutiae of daily life.
Continue reading "In the Future, You Will Be Able to Record Your Life" »
by: Dick Stroud
A few of us with an interest in 50-plus marketing received an e-mail asking: “How does the aging of celebrities affect the psyches of the 'normal' aging population?
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.
by: Dick Stroud
This is a document for the library. AXA has been conducting a worldwide study of attitudes to retirement for the past 3 years. This 120 page report shows the results for the United States, with international comparisons. Lots of good stuff.
by: Dick Stroud
The New York Times has a long thoughtful article about the vagueries of the advertising industry and its attitude to older people. It is well worth reading. These are three extracts that particularly caught my eye.
by: Roger Dooley
New neuroscience research shows that older individuals are less affected by the possibility of losing money than younger people. Gains, meanwhile, are equally attractive to both groups.
Continue reading "Twenty-somethings More Risk Averse Than Seniors" »
by: Dick Stroud
A rise in the number of niche services (often age related) means that social media is no longer the preserve of the young. My recent blog postings about the numerous 50-plus social networking sites is testament to this fact.
Click image to enlarge.
Continue reading "Social networking expanding across demographics" »
by: Dick Stroud
Fitness First, claims to be the largest gym, health and fitness club group in the world, has done a survey (8,000 respondents).
Over 93% of the over-50s claim to ate healthily, 84% said they were careful about alcohol consumption and three-quarters avoided additives in food. A total of 55% were content with their body shape and nearly four in five had a good work/life balance.
By: Stefan Kolle
OK, maybe this is slightly off topic - but let's just pretend it's a part of our discussion on Grey Marketing. A group of over 90 (some over 100) year olds have been brought together as a band to record The Who's My Generation. Taking place in the Abbey Road studios, a lot of wonderful references are made for the careful observer.
Continue to watch this must see video!
by: Dick Stroud
This article appeared in Advertising Age (US) - thanks to Chuck Nyren for alerting me.
It states the same and often repeated message: “the advertising industry should start taking note of the 50-plus consumer”.
by: Dick Stroud
According to WS’s study, titled "B2F Connections," boomers serve as important information sources for fellow boomers when making purchasing decisions.
by: Dick Stroud
As part of a three part series about the “Blair Years” the BBC broadcasted three programmes about how life has fared for three groups in society, during the past decade. This is an extract from the first programme about Baby Boomers.
by: Dick Stroud
A couple of weeks back I gave a Webinar for Microsoft Office Live about ways to improve online marketing to older consumers.
by: Lynette Webb
I came across this image a while back and liked it so much I decided to use it to do a shorter version of this chart, which - although I like it - is a bit of a mouthful of a quote!
www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/322112273/in/set-720575941...
Continue reading "i'm a digital immigrant - need to assimilate" »
by: Dick Stroud
Apparently the Dove pro.age ads are not being shown in some countries because the sight of naked older ladies is thought to be too much for the fragile viewers.
by: Alain Thys
Exactly a year ago this blog went "live" and we just wanted to thank everyone who's been part of making it something much more successful than we ever thought it would be. Today, we've got about 25,000 regular readers, over 1,400 posts, and more importantly, our base of daily feedburner subscribers keeps growing by the week (currently at 2,500).
by: Dick Stroud
This week I gave a conference speech with Jo Rigby from OMD. The event was staged by the Ingenious Group, the UK’s leading social marketing company.
by: Dick Stroud
Match.com is targeting single boomers the fastest-growing subscriber age group. The company says that since 2000, the number of boomers is up 350% to 1.7 million – that is 11% of its membership.
by: Dick Stroud
P&G recently announced acquisition of a stake in MDVIP, in which physicians keep practices small and focus on preventive care for fee-paying patients
Continue reading "P&G's acquisition of MDVIP - interesting idea" »
by: Dick Stroud
Continue reading "Greening The Greys - dreadful report title" »
by: Dick Stroud
This is in your face, no excuses, 50-plus advertising. I think it is great.
original post: http://www.20plus30.com/blog/2007/02/new-dove-ad-campaign.html
by: Dick Stroud
Dove, the Unilever-owned personal care brand, is stepping up its controversial Campaign for Real Beauty with the launch of television advertising showing naked women aged over 50.
by: Dick Stroud
Web 2.0 is a mass phenomenon, concludes a survey conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton. The survey claims that 41% of UK Internet users already use Web 2.0 sites, to interact and participate with others in a massive worldwide community of users.
by: Dick Stroud
Newsweek has an article about the way the 50-plus have miraculously discovered the joys of social networking.
by: Dick Stroud
Eons has been analysing it web stats and published some interesting insights into how people used their web site during 2006. You can download the press release from here.
Continue reading "Eons 50 Plus Boomer Online Trends For 2006" »
by: Dick Stroud
My final posting of 2006 sets the scene for how I intend to extend this blog in 2007. Yep, you got it - lots of video.
by: Dick Stroud
Ipsos MORI has researched the state of the European blogging world. It discovered it is beginning to develop a few wrinkles.
Click image to enlarge slide.
by: Alain Thys
As I compiled the most read posts on this blog, I couldn't shake the feeling that "there was a lot of great stuff missing". That's why I decided to do the "old media" thing and make a selfish editorial selection of what I thought were the twenty strongest thoughts expressed on this blog since its inception (one per contributor).
by: Alain Thys
It's the season to make lists and hitparades, so to end the year we'll do our bit as well. According to Google Analytics, here's a list of the ten most read articles since the launch of this blog on March 5th, 2006. It's an interesting mix, which for me, is also a testimony to the way the Long Tail seems to be working.
Continue reading "The Ten Most Read Futurelab Articles in 2006" »
by: Dick Stroud
AARP’s Policy and Research group has conducted a study to understand the European experience on health and long-term care.
by: Dick Stroud
Whenever anybody talks of Florida there is normally some reference to it being the old people’s state.
by: Lynette Webb
Here’s another old quote that I had reason to resurrect recently. I really like the terminology “digital immigrant” and “digital native”.
Continue reading "i'm a digital immigrant - may never become a native but need to assimilate" »
by: Dick Stroud
Isn’t it great when you come upon a ‘research’ paper that contains some decent research and is written in an accessible style. If you have every stayed awake wondering why Boomers plan to work so long then this is the document for you.
by: Dick Stroud
DowntownWomensClub.com, a women’s network and career website, surveyed 500+ businesswomen across three generations about their shopping habits, both online and off.
by: Dick Stroud
Today the FT has had a veritable fest of articles about social networking with references to the 50-plus. Starting with an article about Eons, with a quote from the company’s head of strategy: “older people are starting to turn to social networking sites for a specific purpose - to find useful information or make a connection.”
Continue reading "Social Networking and More Social Networking" »
by: Dick Stroud
Companies that have traditionally addressed a young audience try to tap into the growing market of older consumers – so the FT (German edition) says.
Continue reading "Youth Brands Look to Grow Old Gracefully" »
by: Dick Stroud
This is an interesting article about advertising and age in the US.
by: Dick Stroud
The Reader's Digest Association is bought by a private equity-backed group for $2.4 billion.
The deal does not change RDA's overall strategy, says the president and CEO, in a letter to employees.
Continue reading "Whatever Happened to the Readers Digest?" »
by: Dick Stroud
Grandparent Marketing Group claims to be the world's first communications company to specialize in the grandparent market. Well certainly there are no companies in the UK making that claim.by: Dick Stroud
International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) has done some research showing that more than 70% of the 400 luxury travel suppliers surveyed thought clients were looking for more authenticity when selecting a holiday. A further 59% stated holidays needed to be more experience-led and enriching than ever before.
Continue reading "It is al about authenticity and ‘experiences’" »
by: Dick Stroud
What is the one thing all grandparents have in common? No prizes for the answer – grandchildren.
The grandparent/grandchild relationship is not always one made in heaven but it is very often very strong. That must be good news for marketers.
Continue reading "Grandparents are good news for marketers" »
by: Dick Stroud
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Female Executives, the problems caused by the menopause are a big issue for many of its members.
by: Dick Stroud
Vue Entertainment the third biggest cinema chain in the UK, with 58 multiplex theatres across the country and in Ireland. There are plans to build another 20 before the end of 2008.
Continue reading "The Cinema World Wakes Up To the 50-plus" »
by: Dick Stroud
In the UK there is a lobby group trying to get the advertisings of toys banned until after the little darlings are safely tucked in their beds asleep (more likely accessing the Web). Why bother advertising to kids when you can get to their grandparents - the ones with no mortgages and deep pockets. No doubt somebody will try and ban this soon!by: Dick Stroud
Why does Wal Mart or Tesco not have a section of their stores dedicated to assistive technologies (i.e. technologies that assist people who have some form of disability resulting from illness or ageing)?
by: Dick Stroud
Focalyst, a joint venture between AARP Services and Kantar, the research arm of WPP, has published its findings about the 125 million Americans, aged 42-plus segment.
by: Dick Stroud
If you are interested in the way that wealth is distributed among baby boomers then this is an article you should read. It is about the US but the same principles apply in all countries.
by: danah boyd
Read the comScore press release. Completely. Read the details. They have found that the unique VISITORS have gotten older. This is _not_ the same thing as USERS.
Continue reading "comScore Misinterprets Data: MySpace is *NOT* Gray" »
by: Dick Stroud 
Focalyst is a joint venture of AARP Services and Kantar, the research, insight and consultancy arm of WPP. Focalyst claims to be the leading source of information about Baby Boomers and Older Consumers. The launch conference was held in New York on 28-29 September 2006.
Continue reading "The Focalyst Conference - First Impressions" »
by: Dick Stroud
The US finance industry is targeting the 50-plus with a series of dedicated web sites to help in the retirement planning process. New York Life, Allstate and MassMutual are just three examples.
Continue reading "Web Sites and Computer Games For the 50-plus" »
by: Dick Stroud
"Society is fixated on the alcohol problems caused by young people who binge drink in public, or the small number of alcoholics who are literally drinking themselves to death," says the director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Continue reading "That’s It – Only Fizzy Mineral Water – Dispose of the Bottle Opener" »
by: Dick Stroud
Fifty-Plus.Net International has launched a beta version blogging tool for the www.50Plus.com website. The press release says: “the site has been designed so that its audience, primarily those over the age of 50 have a safe, secure environment to socially network with others in this demographic”.by: Dick Stroud
We all know the story about Harley and how it was reborn on the sales from a tidal wave of baby boomers who decided to indulge their childhood fantasies and race around the roads like a bunch of hells angels.
by: Dick Stroud
For the last couple of days I have been chairing a conference about the Finance Industry and the 50-plus.
My session was about improving the effectiveness of web sites for the older buyer of financial services. Want to have a look at the presentation?
Original Post: http://www.20plus30.com/blog/2006/09/financial-services-industry-web-sites.html
by: Dick Stroud
How do US parents fill the lost delights of having their children living at home? It seems as if they get down to the car dealer and buy themselves a hot car.
by: Dick Stroud
Young people (The IPOD Generation) face a 50% tax burden.
Continue reading "What is bad for young people is bad for us all!" »
by: Dick Stroud
If you are interested in the way the fashion business is starting embrace the older lady then this is a good article. There is a lot going on in the US that I think the European fashion industry needs to understand.Continue reading "Boomer Women Steal Spotlight During Fashion Week" »
by: Dick Stroud
Last week I had a fleeting visit to Egypt to present at the Mediterranean Travel Market. Great fun.
You can download a copy of the presentation here.
Original Post: http://www.20plus30.com/blog/2006/09/still-kicking-sand-out-of-my-shoes.html
by: Dick Stroud
Youngsters are using fewer illegal drugs but a spike in use has been seen among older adults, perhaps because a few aging baby boomers have clung to their rebellious ways, according a U.S. substance abuse report published on Thursday.
Continue reading "Any Drug Dealers Reading This Blog? Focus On the Over-50s." »
by: Dick Stroud
Not all boomers (people born between 1946 – 1964) are the same and hence should be treated differently. Pretty obvious really?
by: Dick Stroud
Apparently, firstSTREET a US Internet Retailer and catalog company, is one of the first major retailers to expand it customer base and build online sales via the blogging community.
by: Dick Stroud
An article from the Sydney Morning Herald discusses Australia’s retirement savings gap of $452 billion ($93,000 per person). This is the difference between the retirement people expect to have and what they are likely to receive. Underinvestment in pensions is a scourge of the Western World.by: Dick Stroud
Half of all Americans over age 60 use the Internet, as do more than 80% of Baby Boomers, according to new research from Focalyst, a joint venture between AARP and The Kantar Group, one of the world's largest research and consultancy networks.
by: Dick Stroud
Yesterday, there was an item on the BBC’s You and Yours consumer programme about a Shirley, a 75 year old lady who tried to sign-up for Talk Talk, Carphone Warehouse’s broadband service.
Continue reading "Commendable Intention – Idiotic Execution" »
by: Dick Stroud
Why do people always have to come up with a daft sounding name when they research the 50-plus market? This article in Australia’s The Age is about the overlooked, underappreciated older bloke.
Continue reading "The Greydollarfella – Yet Another Daft Name" »
by: Dick Stroud
Creston (a marketing agency) has published an interesting report about the way young people use communications channels and its impact on marketing.
Continue reading " A Good Report That Deserves More Attention Than It Will Get" »
by: Dick Stroud
Ballbot is a narrow, 5-foot-(1.5-meter)-tall robot and is being developed at Carnegie Mellon University by Professor Ralph Hollis. He says that Ballbot represents pioneering work in the emerging field of ''human-centered robotics”.
by: Dick Stroud
The BBC web site reports Estee Lauder’s disappointing financial results and cites the heavier marketing spend as the culprit.
Continue reading "Estee Lauder Relies On 50-plus Women – Don’t Count On It" »
by: Dick Stroud
Thanks to Alasdair Buchan for drawing my attention to boomerdeathclock.com. Last time I looked there were 70,907,800 Boomers still alive – and counting.
If you visit the site, have a look at the Google Ads. They contain some interesting links.
Original Post: http://www.20plus30.com/blog/2006/08/boomer-death-clock.html
by: Dick Stroud
Someone, somewhere woke up this morning and thought: ”I wonder how popular podcasting is in Canada with the 50-plus”.
by: Dick Stroud
SeniorDiscounts.co.uk is a new web site; at least it is new to me.
by: Dick Stroud
You are going to see this statement appearing in lots of articles and reports: “Eighteen-to 26-year-old Gen Yers are integrating technology into their daily lives at a faster rate than any other generation, according to Forrester Research”.
