Advertising to older people has always been a challenge to many organizations. The challenge is due to the fact that those advertising do not like taking the aged as target group by itself (Zhang & Harwood, 2006). The size, diversity and complexity provided by the elderly people make business people believe that it is hard to win the aged. Again, business people make a mistake by believing that older people need something different or unique.
For instance, the assumption that the elderly use specific goods or services is wrong. According to Jones and Mullan (2006), older people can as well switch brands and where they buy them from time to time just like any other person. As such, advertisers should not exclude older people but should involve them actively.
A good scenario of bad advertising to elderly consumers is the use of misplaced adverts. For example, “use product B to brighten your skin”. Since elderly consumers are more comfortable with their natural skin, the use of health freaks, as well as supermodels, pisses them off, and lowers their motivations towards the products being advertised (Jones & Mullan, 2006).
However, they tend to be comfortable with great health looking and fabulous advertisements. Another example of bad advertising to elderly consumers is the use of misplaced adverts whereby advertisements for the young are used where the audience is the elderly, such as “30 products for the young”. Such completely discourages them from purchasing such goods.
Having the above examples, organizations advertising their products should consider all groups of consumers. As a result, the advertisers should look for best ways in which to advertise goods so that they appeal the elderly too. In the case of good advertisement examples, the advertisers should strive to grab the attention of the elderly such as “Take out insurance for your old age”.
The attention is grabbed by avoiding what is normal in advertisements and trying something new. Elderly people do not often read the ads but what can attract their eyes and hence their attention. As such, advertisers should use images that attract conversations among the elderly consumers. Another good example of advertising to elderly consumers is the utilization of simple and clean messages such as “register for retirement benefits for a bright future”.
Elderly consumers put more emphasis on easy to understand ads. According to Robinson, Gustafson and Popovich (2008), there are both positive and negative stereotypes for the elderly consumers. Positive stereotypes are always clear and create attractive messages. On the other hand, negative stereotypes lead to ridicule and demean the elderly people. In many cases, advertisements specifically targeting elderly consumer goods are highly stereotypical in terms of the traits, culture, and age they portray.
To improve advertisements for the elderly consumers, the following strategies should be put in place. To begin with, the advertisers should consider areas where the elderly are highly concentrated. They should then develop advertising materials that are simple and easy to understand. All attention should be directed to the elderly consumers for instance creating direct emails that target them.
Some will be willing to reply to such emails if they are send using large fonts and bold colors. The advertisements can also be placed on radios and televisions. The advertisements can be made more attractive by incorporation of factors that align with the needs of the elderly.
In addition, advertisements can be carried in publications that target the elderly populations such as the senior local magazines (Robinson et al., 2008). Advertisers to reach the elderly consumers can use caregivers placed in charge of the elderly. In many cases, the caregivers advise the elderly on the right products to use.
References
Jones, S., & Mullan, J. (2006). Older adults’ perceptions and understanding of direct‐to‐consumer advertising. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23 (1), 6-14.
Robinson, T., Gustafson, B., & Popovich, M. (2008). Perceptions of negative stereotypes of older people in magazine advertisements: Comparing the perceptions of older adults and college students. Ageing and Society, 28 (02), 233-251.
Zhang, Y., & Harwood, J. (2006). The Portrayal of Older Adults in Advertising: A Cross- National Review. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25 (1), 264-282.