1.2 Marketing Planning – Resources, Research and InsightsAuthor: Helenor Gilmour and Carol Prest

There are currently over 20 million adults aged 50+ living in the UK with this figure forecast to grow by a third over the next 20 years.Since 2007, there have actually been more people of state pensionable age than under-16s in the UK and they now hold 80% of the UK’s wealth, as well being more likely to purchase magazines and newspapers than younger adults.This is a huge opportunity for DC Thomson, the publisher of titles such as The People’s Friend and The Sunday Post (both of which have high percentage of readers over 50) but how to ensure we target the lucrative 50+ market effectively?

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04/02/2014 15:01

What do the over 50s want?

In 2011 the only regular insight DC Thomson had into the over 50s market was from its existing readership, mainly through reader surveys and letters pages. And although the editorial teams had detailed knowledge of their existing readers the only insight available on non-readers, within the magazine business, was from ad-hoc research which tended to be problem not insight driven. The truth was DC Thomson was only capturing the views of a vocal minority, not the silent majority, and we just didn’t understand enough about a market which accounted for almost half of the UK population!

Do we need to know more?

YES! Circulation across the magazine market is challenged yet the average age of the readers was increasing and we needed to understand this new market segment. Furthermore the advertising department were frustrated at the lack of understanding of the market. They were faced with media buyers, often in their 20s, who stereotypically wanted to place stair lift or incontinence adverts and the advertising teams didn’t have the tools to convince them otherwise.

The hard bit…

Insight was required at heart of the mature portfolio but how was it going to be delivered?

DC Thomson’s children’s titles had already benefitted from the Youth Insight programme, a bespoke segmentation of the 7-14 year old market, and since its launch in 2007 it had supported product development and successful launches. The plan was to create a similar bespoke mature segmentation of the over 50s market (The Mature Insight Programme). BUT could this deliver what the business required and where do you start segmenting over 20 million people!

A pilot wave

The design of a mature segmentation began with qualitative research which initially identified 4 large segments. The Insight team at DCT took those 4 segments and using quantitative analysis from the Target Group Index, detailed consumer knowledge and a high degree of creativity built hypotheses around 10 segments.

We created pen portraits with detailed lifestyle and attitudinal statements which were then tested by Martin van Staveren, FMRS Technical & Quality Control Director at TGI. The segments we created successfully segmented 96.4% of the UK 50+ market!

In total, ten mature segments were verified:

Mature Insight was soft-launched into the magazine division in December 2011 which allowed us to identify our champion stakeholders and identify at which areas the segmentation could most effectively be focussed for best return. The editorial teams were inspired but the commercial teams (in particular advertising) could really see the potential!

The quantitative analysis was then supported by a detailed qualitative programme, UK Wide which recruited each of the segments, tested our hypotheses and brought them to life with photographs, videos and diaries.

The research identified that the segments fell into progression by age and social grade, with children leaving home, retirement and bereavement being key influencing macro factors.

Showing the value…

Planning for the full roll out of Mature Insight began to ensure that it would to be a valuable resource for the business. Our champion stakeholders became integral to the process and planning days were held with the Insight team, the research partner and stakeholders which offered some important takeaways. It should;

• Haveacommercialfocus(particularlyadvertising)

• Includenewspapers(particularlycommercialdepartments)

• Concentrateonthekeysegments(notimewasting)

• Showchangessince2011(particularlydigital)

• Sharewidertrends(economic,marketandsocial)

• Rethinkthebranding(Maturesoundsold!)

Defining the objectives

Drilling down further with the editorial, advertising and other commercial teams some key objectives were set for the first official wave of Mature Insight.

Advertising had highlighted the struggle they were having with media agencies. My Weekly and the People’s Friend had re-launched in 2012 but their existing adverts were off-putting to the target segments. They couldn’t break down the traditional stereotypes held about the over 50s.

The advertising teams needed Mature Insight to:

• Helpmaketheover50sattractivetoyoungmediabuyers

• Losethestigmaofmature

• Dispelthemyththatover50sarenotpurchasers/consumers

The other editorial and commercial teams also wanted to:

• Identifyupandcomingtrendsandopportunitiesfornewproducts,servicesandinvestment opportunities

• Assesstheimpactofsocialchangesonthemarkete.g.theraisingoftheretirementageandthe pensions crisis

• Bringeditorialandcommercialteamsclosertotheircoreandtargetaudiences.

The question was could Mature Insight help to break down mis-held perceptions, bring the teams closer to their core and target audiences and open an opportunity for innovations?

The Official Launch

In preparation for the full roll-out The Insight Team refreshed and updated the quantitative data creating updated pen portraits and identifying areas of commercial potential. Parallel qualitative research was commissioned and focussed on the segments of most interest and potential. In particular we briefed out a myth-busting piece to be used by the commercial teams to engage new commercial partners and bust stereotypes of the mature market as staid and stuck in their ways. To ensure the objectives were met a strategic plan was set.

The Insight team had to:

• Createatoolkittobreakdownstereotypes

• Inspirethecommercialdepartmentsbyseeking3rdpartyexpertise

• Sourcethesignificanttrendsintheover50smarket

• Bringthesegmentstolifetoreinforcethemessagefromthepilotwave(andintroducetheprogramme to the newspaper division)

A phased approach was planned for the newspaper division as they already used MOSAIC for setting their target audiences. The Game Generation would complement not replace MOSAIC – it was a resource primarily for the commercial departments. Management briefings, one to one meetings and pitching the new segmentation through day-long sessions were used to engage the teams prior to the launch of the first wave.

“It’s NEVER too late to tell me about skin products… give me pots and pots! When there’s a new one out I say to my granddaughter ‘Nanny could have 20 pots of that!’”– Golden Retiree

“I would go to Top Shop,NewLookand

Dorothy Perkins… there may be a piece

or 2 that I can put with what I’ve got already”

–LivingfortheWeekend

“I’ve been told I don’t have a sense of humour or maybe just a warped one. We’ve been married 42¾ years. I’m the feisty one, I make all the decisions and he has learnt to say yes & nod.”– Happy Home Bird

“I use my Kindle on holiday because it’s so easy to carry it around. I’d like to use it more often but I don’t have the time. We love technology, I don’t know how we’d live without the internet, we do everything on there. Whenever we are buying a big ticket item we always check it out online.”– It’s all about the kids

Christine – “I love spending money Martin always says if we won the lottery, I’d spend it all within days. I buy things for our home…I love our house. We have so many parties here but now we share them out with our daughter in her house.” – Just the two of us

Archie was surprised when Joan told us that she always quite fancied a boob job!– Golden Retirees

What they said…

We’ve Got The Wrong Name!

On reviewing the outputs from the qualitative work and hearing from busy, articulate, feisty and funny “matures” it became abundantly clear that the name Mature Insight simply did not adequately reflect this market. We turned to our teams and issued them with the challenge of naming the programme to reflect their target consumers. The result was…

…reflecting the over 50s passion for challenge, embracing change especially the digital revolution and their general “up for it” attitude!

The first wave of the Game Generation

The first official wave was launched at a one day conference in Dundee. The conference was split into short and concise sessions and focussed on the segments with real commercial value, just as the stakeholders had requested.

The conference was focussed and never lost sight of the objectives. The trends session looked at the macro factors like the economy as well as digital insights. The segmentation section only included those groups which were targets for DC Thomson products and the myth busting section showed the true economic value of the over 50s!

The insight team had also secured the presence of an industry expert, Mark Beasley of rhc advantage, an agency specialising in the over 50s market.

For the 9-5 session staff were asked to submit questions prior to the conference, which the Insight team then answered on the day (including digital opportunities). This gave a glimpse into the information that was available in the business.

Finally an open question and answer session was held with advice being offered by the research agency, the expert and the insight team.

The day was supported by ad-style campaign posters (for the advertising team to use in pitches), videos – dispelling myths and supporting the commercial viability of the segment and hand-outs offering a reminder of the day. The conference was video recorded and made available as a webcast.

Results

The Game Generation conference had successfully managed to have a commercial focus, which brought the project to the next level for the magazine business and complimented the use of Mosaic targeting for the newspapers.

One of the biggest wins for the Game Generation was the increased leverage the advertising teams now had when speaking with media buyers. Since the conference the teams now have the confidence and tools to secure high profile advertisers like Boots No.7, who featured for the first time ever in both The People’s Friend and My Weekly.

The magazine editorial teams now have such a good grasp of the segments that they have requested even more insight to assist them to make their own titles work even harder for the target audiences.

The Game Generation has not only helped advertising to bust myths, or inspired the teams to further improve their products but it has also highlighted opportunities for two innovation projects currently under wraps.

Finally it created a huge buzz in the business, with high level attendance by senior managers and even the DC Thomson Board. The demand in the business for Insight has never been so high!