Older Australians are only sometimes included in media marketing strategies, a new report shows.
The report, Media for mature audiences, looks at data from 23 media brands that target older Australians to explore insights and data into the industry and key statistics on their channels.
It explores how publishers, such as The Senior, National Seniors, Readers Digest, Over Sixty and Active Retirees, include the mature market, which is a person who is aged 50 years and over, in their marketing strategies.
The report, undertaken by Evergreen Advertising and Marketing, uses publisher supplied data.
It found publishers believe that only 50 per cent of marketers sometimes include the mature market in their strategies, and just under 40 per cent said they were rarely included.
Evergreen Advertising and Marketing managing director Gill Walker said the publishers felt the mature market were too often missed on mainstream media briefs.
“One of the biggest things publishers said is that marketers didn’t include the mature market and that it is a bit of a waste considering the size of the population and in many cases, the wealth and influence of the older audiences,” Ms Walker told Australian Ageing Agenda.
It also found that 83 per cent of publishers believe specific mature channels deliver a better return on investment when targeting the mature market compared to mainstream channels.
Ms Walker said the results highlight that the mature market is underrepresented within current marketing strategies.
“There is a mixed belief that some of the broader titles will capture that audience, and in some cases, they will. But if you’ve got really relevant content, then it’s not going to be as well received,” she said.
“We often find that in the advertising and media industry, people tend to self-reference and the average age is about 35,” Ms Walker said.
She said many mainstream publications group people aged 50 and over in one generic cohort.
“They don’t spend the time analysing the differences and the need for different cohorts over an age group,” Ms Walker said.
The report also found the most popular content among older Australians is retirement, followed by travel, aged care and government information.
Ms Walker said the report highlights the need for more discussion on marketing to older people.
“The impact for marketers to older Australians is that they have to do their homework more when investing in mature media channels,” Ms Walker said.
Access the report here.
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