The 50-plus market - Dick Stroud

Explores how leading marketing practitioners are dealing with the 'ageing' of Europe's consumers. Using first hand research the key conclusion holds that in marketing and demographic terms the future is age-neutral and that the same marketing rules apply to the over-50s as to the rest of the population.

There has, in recent years, been a steady increase in the number of wealthy adults over the age of 50. It is now the over-50s who have the money to spend on new products, although many marketers have failed to realize this. A large part of the marketing world is institutionally ageist - favouring a predominantly 'young' or 'old' approach in devising their marketing strategies depending upon their perception of their target markets. This approach must change - marketers must develop more sophisticated approaches - in essence, marketers must now embrace the concept of age-neutral marketing.

This strategic change will be very much to their advantage. If they continue to fail to recognize the importance of the over-50s age group, then they will be disregarding a very large sector of their age-neutral market.