Old dogs,

new tricks62 drinks trade

In focus - Consumers

With the over-50s market embracing technology more than ever before, Scott McLaughlin of Clutch takes a look at what’s making this generation tick, and asks the question - can your brand keep up?

If you have ever witnessed a dog chase after a moving car, you may have asked yourself why such a pointless activity seems totally rational for the dog. Does the dog truly believe that it can

catch the car? If it was in fact successful, what then would the dog do with the car? Is the car held in such esteem by the dog, or is it the fear of the unknown that motivates the chase? According to

63drinks trade

veterinarians it’s the chase itself that is most enticing for the dog. When we sell our products and brands to the Australian market, is it the

selling or the market that’s the most important and engaging endeavour? Are we more in touch with these markets than the dog is with the car, or is it the shiny acceleration of consumption that whips us into a frenzy? Unlike the dog, we know the facts - but do they matter anymore to us than it matters to the dog to understand the mechanistic workings of the car?

You have to admit that ‘earth shattering’ facts like:

w Just over 40 per cent of the available Australian Liquor market are aged over 50 years

w Alcohol incidence declines (slightly) when you get older, more so over 65

w More than half of over 50s have internet connections at home (70 per cent of 50-65 year olds)

w Nearly a quarter of Australia’s regular gym users are over 50 years of age

w 14 per cent of iPhone users are over 50

…..are fundamentally as useful to us as it is for the dog to understand the fine outer suburban art of the “hand-brake”.

Recently I was involved with a marketing campaign, where a young

copywriter depicted people of my vintage (circa 1970), as being nostalgically reflective of our bygone era. Rather than putting a down payment on my new walking frame, I simply resigned myself to the fact that age, aging or being old was a relative judgment. I remember in the early to mid 90s where a mobile phone that didn’t stick out of your jeans pocket was new, and one that did was old, and now, as I grow tired of my 14-month-old 3G Nokia that does everything but wash the car, I realise that the expectations have indeed shifted. If being old is a relative measure or a state of mind, then ones age is fast becoming a redundant pre-determinant of behaviour, brand usage and consumption. I know that in my case, both of my parents are in their 60s, one who is busy selecting music for their own funeral and the other who is focused on improving heart rate recovery in the next of three spin classes that will be attended this week.

We hear all the time how Australia’s older population are staying younger older, but what does this mean to us as marketers? Do we now run SMS promotions on well-aged Scotch? Or do we think we should sponsor a new iPhone App called “60 and Single”?

In the end, unless you like missing the mark you are far better off targeting “states of mind” than you are age. Just like a 13-year-old wants sunglasses and a 65-year-old wants a new web cam, aspiration, expectation and self perception are driving brand relationships and demand now more than ever.

Let’s simplify it a touch and look at some broad and yet dominant states of mind among our over 50s.

Just a state of mind

The first and perhaps most interesting will be those with ‘great expectations’. These brand discoverers are a discerning and demanding customer expecting that their patronage and purchasing is sought after, well regarded and indeed respected. Just over 15 per cent of Australia’s over 50s think like this, looking to leverage their hard earned and copious asset bases for better quality, better health and lifestyles, better experiences and much, much better service. Well armed and informed, they will take cues from those in the know, rather than those in the store, and will choose the best brands at prices that don’t insult ones intelligence, in retail environments that satisfy their curiosity and their passion for the finer things in life.

There are those with the ‘family at heart’, which if not in their living room, will be looking for the occasional treat for themselves in between a majority of decisions driven by the needs of others. These consumers are represented by more than 30 per cent of our over 50s. These Australians will trade off quality for price for themselves, and yet will buy more esteemed products destined for the mouths of loved ones, from whom, they get a lot of their new information. Quite the value hunter, these consumers will know where they can do better, and will be periodically enticed by in-store offers that take them north in the value chain. With a general inclination for loyalty it will be the whole package that entices them in retail where relationships and recommendations from sales staff are sure to influence choice.

One other state of mind is that of the “routine seeker”. Making up approximately half of our over 50s this group would associate brand trial as a risk. Extremely price sensitive, when the brand value “friendship” is being stretched just a little too much they will feel forced to adjust their behaviour to better suit their budgets. An extremely loyal brand consumer, they will greatly value, but not expect to be rewarded for their custom. Comparatively not open to trying new things, much of the marketing effort will be lost on this market unless it specifically rewards them for doing what they do or buying what they buy normally. Even then, such effort may be seen in a transactional view as being wasteful given that demand from this market is relatively static.

The right attitude

When you think about these three broad descriptions of the predominant ways of thinking for today’s over 50s, hopefully you can see that whether we want something better, want to serve others or want to keep things the way they are – our age is of little importance. Just imagine for a minute how demanding the over 50s market might be in 2039 and tell me again that age or being old in whichever relative measure matters at all, or whether its expectations that drive markets.

The question is, as time goes on, will people change their attitudes based on their age or will their attitudes and behaviors transcend this measure of time? As the markets “state of mind” gives chase to that moving car, does anything matter more than the chase itself? The fact is that neither the car, the dog, nor the age of the dog matters at all; it’s the motivation of the chase that we need to understand. Today’s so called “old dogs” have new tricks; does your brand keep up with them?

Just like a 13-year-old wants sunglasses and a 65-year-old wants a new web cam, aspiration, expectation and self perception are driving brand relationships and demand now more than ever.