The Struggle for Older Marketers
Age shouldn't disqualify marketers, but is the marketing and advertising world ageist?
In an era of relentless digital disruption and ever-evolving consumer trends, the marketing and advertising world has become obsessed with youthful vitality. The premium placed on having a fresh, of-the-moment perspective that can connect with younger target audiences has made landing a coveted marketing role an uphill climb for older candidates.
While blatant age discrimination is illegal, unconscious bias still pervades many aspects of the hiring process in these intensely competitive and cutting-edge industries. There is a pervasive, but often unfair, perception that seasoned marketing professionals over a certain age are likely to be out of touch, stuck in their ways, and lacking the digital savvy required to thrive in today's data-driven landscape.
Even respected veterans with decades of experience creating successful, award-winning campaigns can find themselves typecast as dinosaurs detached from current cultural zeitgeists. Accusations of being behind the curve on emerging technologies, social platforms, and modern marketing tactics get lobbed at older applicants trying to convince hirers they still have the creative spark and innovative mindset.
“There's this pervasive idea in the industry that if you're over 40, you won't be able to connect with that key 18-35 demographic that so many brands are thirsty to reach,” laments Lisa Henderson*, a former CMO in her late 50s who has been looking for a new role after a corporate downsizing. “It's incredibly ageist and frustrating because those of us who've been in the business for ages understand consumer behaviour and branding principles better than anyone.”
That mindset hits particularly hard for older marketers coming from more traditional, pre-internet backgrounds in PR, promotions, and ad buying. In this era of digital dominance, having skills in data mining, programmatic ad platforms, SEO/SEM, influencer marketing, and social media content creation is the new floor for entry. Many older workers have found themselves forced to go back to school or take intensive training programs to upskill and update their toolkits.
“I can't tell you how many interviews I've tanked because I lacked a firm grasp of the latest CRM software or digital analytics packages,” says Kyle Robertson, 51, who cut his teeth in direct mail marketing before moving into email marketing. “It doesn't matter how many successful DM campaigns you conceived back in the day. If you don't know your way around Hubspot, you're toast.”
While ageism in marketing exists across the globe, some factors may exacerbate the problem for older candidates in New Zealand's marketing & advertising ecosystem. It's an extremely small, close-knit scene where the talent pool is limited, and insider connections are paramount. Breaking in can be very difficult for unknown outsiders at any age, let alone those fighting age biases.
New Zealand's embrace of digital disruption and focus on tech-driven innovation could make employers particularly unforgiving about any perceived lack of modern marketing capabilities in older hires. With high housing costs and remoteness from other major markets, there is heavy competition for roles from younger digital nomads and expats willing to accept lower pay. The big global agencies have abundant access to millennial and Gen Z talent from around the world to fill more junior roles and feed their upward pipelines.
“It's almost like my experience has become a disadvantage on my resume rather than an asset at this point,” says recent immigrant Akshara Patel, 47, who has been seeking digital marketing manager roles in Auckland after a successful career overseas. “I'm getting screened out at the onset in favour of direct-from-uni kids companies can pay on the cheap.”
Despite the impediments, savvy older marketers are finding crafty ways to swim against these strong ageist headwinds, like emphasising acquisition of contemporary skills. Continuous learning and upskilling around modern marketing technologies like CRMs, social ad platforms, and data tools is a must. Courses, certifications, freelance projects using new tools are all valuable credibility boosters.
There’s a need to revamp your personal brand by auditing your professional branding, from LinkedIn to your physical appearance, to project a fresher, more current image that dispels any cringeworthy cliches that scream ‘fuddy-duddy.’ Older marketers have a wealth of consumer psychology knowledge, strong campaign strategy foundations, and creative instincts that never go out of style. Positioning these as differentiators against green digital natives is key.
With agencies and brands alike heavily utilising contractual or freelance marketing support, entering the consulting arena is a savvy pivot for older marketers facing roadblocks on the full-time job hunt. It allows them to market their experience and subject matter expertise more freely, without the perceived stigma and biases that hamper hiring processes.
“Once I started selling myself as a fractional CMO and senior marketing strategist, the opportunities started flowing in from companies who appreciated the value of my institutional knowledge,” says Kerry Stone, 62, who transitioned to consulting after being paid off from her Marketing Director role. “There's no age discrimination when you're positioning yourself as the sought-after expert and voice of experience.”
Sandra Wilkins, 54, has carved out a lucrative niche providing email marketing and marketing automation support to startups and small businesses through her consultancy. “These younger companies don't have the resources for a full-time senior person, but they desperately need guidance to avoid rookie mistakes. That's allowed me to keep working at the highest level by aligning my experience with their needs and budget constraints.”
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While rampant ageism still plagues much of the marketing world, there are select industries and roles that may be more welcoming to seasoned pros with maturity and advanced skills. These include luxury, high-end and senior-focused brands looking to engage affluent boomer audiences; healthcare, financial services and other sectors targeting older consumer segments; B2B marketing roles that are more focused on quantitative results than cultural currency; traditional offline channels like direct mail that remain effective with older demographics; content marketing opportunities where depth of industry expertise is valued; and diversity-minded organisations making age inclusion a stated priority in hiring.
“I actually found it easier to land marketing roles in the healthcare and personal finance verticals because they actively want people on board who can relate to and speak knowledgeably to their older target audiences,” notes Monica Wilson, 56. “They get that a thirty-year-old just doesn't have the life experience and isn't the right voice.”
At the end of the day, age discrimination, like all forms of bias and ‘ism's,’ is rooted in pernicious stereotyping that pigeonholes groups of people into flawed narratives. It diminishes the incredible diversity of skills, talents, and potential that exists among marketers of every age cohort and generational divide. For older marketers still passionate about their craft and determined to soldier on, the path requires persistence, continuous reinvention, and most importantly, an unwavering sense of self-respect that demands equal consideration regardless of biases.
“I try to not even think about my age in interviews and let my work speak for itself,” asserts Jo Holmes, 49, who landed her current advertising manager role after a gruelling search. “I make it clear that I'm the consummate modern marketer who just happens to also have two decades of valuable experience to complement my skills. I refuse to let anyone put me out to pasture prematurely simply because of a number.”
Unfortunately, HR professionals can sometimes contribute to the ageism and biases that older job applicants face, even if it's not intentional. HR resume screeners often filter out older candidates right off the bat if their work history appears too long or they make assumptions about salary expectations being too high. All too often, experienced applicants are labelled as overqualified.
Certain interview questions like “How did you handle managing much younger staff?” or “What will you do to stay current with changing trends?” can betray ageist undertones that put older candidates on the defensive. HR all too often advise against older hires if there are misguided worries about them not gelling with the company culture or meshing with younger teams, rather than evaluating ability to do the job.
With dedication to knocking down those ageist stereotypes one impression at a time, the hope is that a new generation of transcendent, age-defiant marketers and creatives will emerge. Ones who are judged solely on the relevance of their ideas, rather than misguided cultural assumptions of what's relevant based on their birthdates.
*Names are fictitious, all quotes are based on the anecdotal observations of the author.
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