Silver is the new gold

A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute (Urban world: the global consumers to watch) concluded that from 2015 through 2030, people in the 60-plus age group in the United States, Western Europe, and Northeast Asia (Japan and South Korea) will generate 51 percent of urban consumption growth in developed countries and 19 percent of global urban consumption growth, or $4.4 trillion. These consumers spend heavily on healthcare, but that's not all they buy. In the United States, this group will contribute more than 40 percent of consumption growth in housing, transport, and entertainment. Data from 2011 show that people over 50 bought nearly two-thirds of the new cars sold in the United States.

In both Northeast Asia and Western Europe, consumers aged 60-plus will account for about 60 percent of urban consumption growth . In the United States and Canada, this category will account for 47 percent of urban consumption growth.

Urban Growth: The global consumers to watch (McKinsey Global Institute, 2016)

Companies in every sector - even some that don't traditionally target that age group - will need to learn how to cater to the elderly. And what a tall order this is for many such companies. Accustomed to focus on younger consumers, many brands don't hold much appeal to the silver-haired crowd. I should know, for I count myself among them.

To make things clear, I'm not in the 60-plus age group, yet. But even before I crossed the big 5-0 milestone, I had this feeling that most mainstream media outlets and the consumer goods brands that advertise there didn't care about me. Most TV shows, magazines, websites and other media seemed to focus almost exclusively on a much younger audience. More recently, the incredible proliferation of social media platforms seem all designed with the younger consumer in mind, paying no heed to older folks like me. As a result of the intense focus on the newer generations, the content in all media feel, shall we say, puerile. Brands advertising in the midst of so much juvenile content will not catch my eyes, and if they do, it will be for the wrong reasons.

This lack of attention to a large demographic group by media outlets and their advertisers resulted, at least in my case in an ever increasing dissatisfaction and lack of interest in their content and messages. I watch TV and don’t find anything interesting there. If I go to the movies – something I enjoyed years ago, but less and less now - 9 out of 10 times I leave the theater disappointed and with a feeling of having wasted my time. I pick up a magazine and drop it, appalled with the stupidity of its content. Most social media platforms can’t hold my attention for more than a few minutes (Linkedin being an exception in this case). Needless to say, brands advertising in those media are wasting their money if they were trying to communicate with me.

In conclusion, if you are responsible for a consumer brand and would like to target this most important segment of the global population in the next 15 years, you have your work cut out for you. As a bona fide member of the silver-haired age group, I can tell you are not doing a good job communicating with me. My interests are not being well covered in most media outlets, and advertising your brand as if it were intended only to teenagers is not going to impress me. Go after the silver and you may strike gold.