"Hey, we're over here!"
But that’s exactly the message delivered by a campaign recently kicked off by AARP, intended to goad advertisers into embracing the over age 50 demographic.
“I may be gray but my money is as green as it gets,” reads one of AARP’s broadsides. “I may be creased but my money is crisp,” says another. These are not-so-subtle reminders that although Madison Avenue loves to cater to 20-somethings, those millennial youngsters aren’t exactly rife with purchasing power these days.
The AARP crowd, by contrast, is doing OK. The average annual income for baby boomers as a group now tops $70,000. Those over age 65 are among the few that saw a net increase (from $29,400 to $29,775) in the challenging years between 2008 and 2011. And Americans over the age of 50 account for more than 60% of new car sales in this country.
Older adults tend to dine out more often, take longer and more luxurious vacations, and spend as much — if not more — on consumer goods as any other group. Yet marketing in these areas tend to focus on the younger set. This perplexing misfire might be explained by an out-of-date tradition — MadAve started targeting baby boomers when they were age 18-34, and never readjusted as that generation grew older. Or maybe it’s because MadAve itself is young: 40% of the advertising workforce is under 35.
Either way, AARP makes clear that the advertising industry spins its wheels selling to a generation that’s all but broke, while effectively ignoring one with pretty deep pockets. That’s self-defeatism at its worst, which is something marketing should never be accused of.
We’ll speak for ourselves, and hopefully for our most ambitious clients: AARP, you don’t have to tell us twice.
The C4:
- AARP — formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons — is now titled solely by that four-letter acronym and represents any Americans over the age of 50, retired or not.
- AARP has kicked off a campaign to remind advertisers of the purchasing power of its members.
- Americans of AARP age buy more than 60% of new cars. They’re among the few groups that saw little or no income decrease during the Great Recession. They dine out more, travel more, and spend generously on consumer goods.
- These statistics haven’t exactly been kept secret, yet somehow we advertisers still treat millennials (age 18–34) like they, not the boomers, are the golden geese. It’s a shame that AARP had to remind us how to do our jobs, but now that they’ve done so we’re happy to assure them: we’re on it.
