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Advertising to the over 50s - how should we do it?
Advertisers are missing the mark when it comes to the over 50s. See the full results of our survey below.
| How do advertisers get it right? Please tick the option you think is most important. | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Their ads make me feel something - whether they’re funny, sad or surprising | 30 % |
| Advertising relevant things | 26 % |
| Engaging with positive real-life experiences (travel/grandparenting/socialising) | 17 % |
| Using realistic models/actors | 12 % |
| Their ads reflect me and my life | 10 % |
| Other | 6 % |
| What are the most common ways advertisers get it wrong when marketing to older people? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Don’t realise 50 is not ‘old’ | 63 % |
| Patronising | 62 % |
| Assuming we’re a homogenous group. Targeting ‘older people’ rather than individuals | 61 % |
| Using words like ‘older’, ‘silver’, ‘mature’, ‘senior' | 55 % |
| Stereotyping ‘older’, e.g Shreddies ad | 41 % |
| Using models/actors who are too young | 28 % |
| Too much hard sell | 24 % |
| Using models/actors who are too old | 19 % |
| Other | 6 % |
| Do you consider yourself: | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| A conservative spender - only buying necessities and making do without luxury items (whether they are affordable on your budget or not) | 21 % |
| A spender - life is for living and you may as well make the most of it while you can | 22 % |
| Spending on others - very conservative in your own day-to-day life but generous with others, including any grandchildren and/or other family/friends/organisations | 31 % |
| None of the above | 25 % |
| What do you spend the majority of your disposable income on? (tick up to three) | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Children and grandchildren | 54 % |
| Holidays | 46 % |
| Entertainment (eating out/shows/days out etc) | 36 % |
| DIY/Home | 27 % |
| Clothes | 25 % |
| Gadgets | 10 % |
| Car | 10 % |
| Beauty | 10 % |
| Health | 10 % |
| Other | 11 % |
| Once you have found a brand you are happy with, how likely is it that you will change? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Never/unlikely - once I’ve found a product/service I like I stick with it | 15 % |
| I shop around to make sure I’m getting a good deal | 51 % |
| I shop around if the service/product isn’t delivering | 34 % |
| What is the most important thing you consider when staying with a brand? Select one. | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Quality of the product/service | 53 % |
| Price/value | 24 % |
| Good customer service | 10 % |
| Good fit | 8 % |
| Convenience | 3 % |
| Other | 3 % |
| When deciding on a product/service, what are you influenced by? Please tick all that apply. | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Peer to peer recommendation from friends | 70 % |
| Peer to peer recommendation from family | 57 % |
| Online peer to peer recommendation e.g. Gransnet and Mumsnet | 44 % |
| TV advertising | 13 % |
| Print advertising | 11 % |
| Influencers (bloggers/vloggers) | 8 % |
| Generic online advertising | 7 % |
| Targeted online ads (at your age group) | 5 % |
| 2 % | |
| Celebrity endorsement | 1 % |
| Which of the following platforms are you most likely to react positively to in terms of advertising? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| TV | |
| Net: positively | 35 % |
| Net: negatively | 25 % |
| Very positively | 4 % |
| Somewhat positively | 31 % |
| Neutral | 40 % |
| Somewhat negatively | 18 % |
| Very negatively | 7 % |
| Radio | |
| Net: positively | 19 % |
| Net: negatively | 27 % |
| Very positively | 2 % |
| Somewhat positively | 16 % |
| Neutral | 54 % |
| Somewhat negatively | 17 % |
| Very negatively | 10 % |
| Net: positively | 16 % |
| Net: negatively | 47 % |
| Very positively | 1 % |
| Somewhat positively | 15 % |
| Neutral | 37 % |
| Somewhat negatively | 24 % |
| Very negatively | 23 % |
| Peer review (in real life or online on a forum like Gransnet or Mumsnet) | |
| Net: positively | 77 % |
| Net: negatively | 5 % |
| Very positively | 25 % |
| Somewhat positively | 52 % |
| Neutral | 19 % |
| Somewhat negatively | 13 % |
| Very negatively | 2 % |
| Magazine/Newspaper | |
| Net: positively | 41 % |
| Net: negatively | 13 % |
| Very positively | 3 % |
| Somewhat positively | 38 % |
| Neutral | 45 % |
| Somewhat negatively | 9 % |
| Very negatively | 4 % |
| What sort of things do you buy (or at least click on) when you see an advert for them? Please tick all that apply. | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Fashion, beauty and skincare | 42 % |
| Holidays and travel | 37 % |
| Items for grandchildren (or children if your children are younger) | 37 % |
| Books and publications | 55 % |
| Things for homes and gardens | 50 % |
| Food and restaurants | 37 % |
| Things for your pets | 16 % |
| Tech items and gadgets | 21 % |
| Big one-off purchases | 12 % |
| Financial products | 7 % |
| In the last month, would you say you’ve clicked on an ad for at least one of the above categories? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 63 % |
| No | 28 % |
| Don't know/no answer | 9 % |
| Do you tend to shop for the things listed below, online or in person at the shops? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Fashion, beauty and skincare | |
| Online | 32 % |
| In person at the shops | 68 % |
| Holidays and travel | |
| Online | 89 % |
| In person at the shops | 11 % |
| Items for grandchildren (or children if your own children are young) | |
| Online | 53 % |
| In person at the shops | 47 % |
| Books and publications | |
| Online | 72 % |
| In person at the shops | 28 % |
| Items for homes and gardens | |
| Online | 39 % |
| In person at the shops | 61 % |
| Food and restaurants | |
| Online | 19 % |
| In person at the shops | 81 % |
| Things for your pets | |
| Online | 44 % |
| In person at the shops | 56 % |
| Tech items and gadgets | |
| Online | 67 % |
| In person at the shops | 33 % |
| Big one-off purchases | |
| Online | 37 % |
| In person at the shops | 63 % |
| Financial products | |
| Online | 66 % |
| In person at the shops | 34 % |
| Are there certain products that you use regularly that in your opinion should be targeted at your age group, but instead are always targeted at a much younger/different demographic? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 20 % |
| No | 28 % |
| Don't know/no answer | 51 % |
| To what extent do you agree with the following statements? Please leave blank any you're not sure about or don't have a view on. | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| I feel that the agencies creating ads really understand the 50+ age group | |
| Net: agree | 12 % |
| Net: disagree | 60 % |
| Strongly agree | 3 % |
| Somewhat agree | 9 % |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 25 % |
| Somewhat disagree | 38 % |
| Strongly disagree | 23 % |
| No answer | 3 % |
| Ads aimed at older people rely on stereotypes | |
| Net: agree | 85 % |
| Net: disagree | 3 % |
| Strongly agree | 36 % |
| Somewhat agree | 50 % |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 10 % |
| Somewhat disagree | 2 % |
| Strongly disagree | 1 % |
| No answer | 2 % |
| I have more disposable income at 50+ than I did when I was younger | |
| Net: agree | 62 % |
| Net: disagree | 20 % |
| Strongly agree | 32 % |
| Somewhat agree | 30 % |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 16 % |
| Somewhat disagree | 12 % |
| Strongly disagree | 8 % |
| No answer | 2 % |
| Brands whose ads resonate with me win my custom | |
| Net: agree | 52 % |
| Net: disagree | 8 % |
| Strongly agree | 10 % |
| Somewhat agree | 41 % |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 37 % |
| Somewhat disagree | 6 % |
| Strongly disagree | 2 % |
| No answer | 3 % |
| My age group is patronised by advertisers | |
| Net: agree | 79 % |
| Net: disagree | 3 % |
| Strongly agree | 35 % |
| Somewhat agree | 44 % |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 16 % |
| Somewhat disagree | 2 % |
| Strongly disagree | 0 % |
| No answer | 3 % |
| A US beauty magazine recently banned the term 'anti-ageing', suggesting that it “subtly reinforces the message that ageing is a condition we need to battle.” How do you feel about this decision? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| They’re right to ban the term - it’s meaningless | 24 % |
| They’re right to ban the term - you can’t stop the ageing process | 27 % |
| I don’t care what products are called, just whether or not they work | 41 % |
| They shouldn’t ban the term - anti-ageing is a term consumers understand | 9 % |
| When it comes to purchases that most of us don't want to think about but we are all likely to consider investing in at some stage of our lives (such as care homes, wills, funeral plans, stairlifts etc), what would be your preferred way of being advertised to? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Other | 9 % |
| Television | 11 % |
| Radio | 1 % |
| Magazines/newspapers | 16 % |
| Online | 19 % |
| Targeted mailshots | 4 % |
| Peer to peer recommendations | 39 % |
| Celebrity endorsement | 1 % |
| Print advertising | 0 % |
| Influencers (bloggers/vloggers) | 0 % |
| I am an active blogger | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 8 % |
| No | 91 % |
| I am an active Instagrammer | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 16 % |
| No | 82 % |
| I follow bloggers | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 29 % |
| No | 69 % |
| I follow influencers on Instagram | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Yes | 11 % |
| No | 87 % |
| How old are you? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Under 50 | 3 % |
| 50-54 | 32 % |
| 55-59 | 20 % |
| 60-64 | 20 % |
| 65-69 | 14 % |
| 70-79 | 10 % |
| 80 and over | 0 % |
| Rather not say | 1 % |
| Which of the following best describes your normal working status? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| Other | 3 % |
| Full-time paid employment | 18 % |
| Full-time self-employed | 5 % |
| Part-time paid employment | 18 % |
| Part-time self-employed | 8 % |
| Home parent | 2 % |
| Stay at home parent | 4 % |
| Carer | 3 % |
| Retired | 34 % |
| Unemployed, looking for work | 1 % |
| On sick leave/unable to work | 4 % |
| Where do you live? | |
|---|---|
| Total | |
| North East | 4 % |
| North West | 10 % |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 8 % |
| East Midlands | 8 % |
| West Midlands | 8 % |
| East of England | 7 % |
| London | 11 % |
| South East | 19 % |
| South West | 12 % |
| Isle of Man | 0 % |
| Wales | 5 % |
| Scotland | 7 % |
| Northern Ireland | 1 % |
| Channel Islands | 0 % |
Take a look at our breakdown of the results here.
1,025 responses from Gransnet and Mumsnet users over the age of 50 living in the UK. 6 September to 25 September 2017. The data is not weighted.