Marketing trend: the age-agnostic society

According to Nielsen and other accredited research institutes, one of the strongest marketing trends of 2020 is the one leading brands to a more age-inclusive approach in their strategy and communication, getting rid of all the previous aged-based stereotypes in order to be ready to interpret new spreading lifestyles. Here are some reflections and data.

Our society is ageing: in 2050, people over 65 are expected to be twice the number of under 5-year-olds. At the same time, attitudes to ageing are changing fundamentally: the “Boomers” are becoming the “forever young generation”, feeling they have lots of values and priorities in common with the younger generations and being no less passionate about life.

Nielsen affirms that today the “marketing’s most valuable generation” is the one that has celebrated more than 50 birthdays: the Boomers. Born into a post-war culture of affluence and optimism, they have worked hard their entire life, now they are responsible for 50% of the total expenditure on consumer packaged goods and just 18% of them think that their interests are defined by their age. Other than that, they have or they are looking forward to having more personal time on their hands and spending it on their hobbies and interests such as shopping, traveling, entertaining and socialising.

All considered, brands need to embrace the “age-agnostic society”, to stop ignoring the over 50 or making assumptions based on age. Businesses need to be more inclusive in their strategy and communication [i.e. representing people of various ages, backgrounds, cultures, and abilities], but also better understanding their audiences using in-depth research based on the concept of lifestyle.