Marketing to the Ageing Consumer ─ The Secrets to Building an Age-Friendly Business

As the populations of Europe and the US, soon to be followed by China, grow older, it is vital that marketers understand the effects of physiological ageing and their impact on marketing. The book that provides this advice is yet to be written.

This book contains models for companies to use to evaluate how successful their own strategies are and provide strategies and tools for improving their age-friendly marketing campaigns.

While most other marketing books focus on how ageing changes consumer behavior, the different ways of segmenting the older market, and the impact of ageing on the ways companies communicate, they simply address physiological ageing as a subsidiary subject. This book proves how the physical effects of ageing impact all consumer groups and nationalities, as well as all parts of the marketing cycle from the development of new products to post-sales support.

Current population demographics ensures that the issue of ageing will continue to increase in importance, as will the demand for informed comment and knowledge of the subject. Marketing to the Ageing Consumer represents a turning point in the sophistication of the techniques and tools available to companies to exploit the surge in numbers of older consumers.

DICK STROUD is a consultant, lecturer, and writer. He is the author of Europe's best-selling textbook on the business issues related to the ageing population—The 50-Plus Market. Dick is considered to be one of the leading thinkers in his field and is a regular speaker at conferences and is quoted in the media and research related to population ageing. Dick is the founder and MD of the marketing consultancy 20plus30 (www.20plus30.com) that helps companies improves all aspects of their marketing to the older generation. His clients include Royal Mail, Diageo, Virgin, Unilever, and Anchor Trust. Dick is a regular commentator on the use of new technologies and how they relate to older people. He is the author of www.apps4boomers.com, a blog that discusses how marketers can use apps to reach the older market. In addition, he authors www.guerillavideo.tv, a blog that discusses how older people use Web video.

KIM WALKER is the founder and CEO of SILVER, a business consultancy that helps companies leverage the opportunities presented by the ageing demographic. Business and the media alike respect his opinions on this subject and in the past year he has been interviewed by the BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Prior to establishing SILVER, Kim was President and CEO for M&C Saatchi advertising in Asia and prior to that he was COO for Aegis Media. He managed the global expansion of these networks into the Asian markets of Korea, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and India. He is the founder and Chairman of APRAIS (www.aprais.com), a London-based, global leader in B2B company performance evaluation, with 42 consulting partners worldwide. Most recently he has been involved with Dick Stroud in the development of tools and methodologies that enable companies to evaluate their readiness to thrive in an older world.