Millennials are frequently the main focus of attention for agencies and clients, as this tech-savvy audience continually looks for the next shiny, new thing. Conversely, the over 55 ‘baby boomers’ or the ‘grey market’ is often overlooked, even though this older generation tends to have more disposable income than the rest of the population. According to The Telegraph, only one in five marketers directly target this age group.
The grey market is an often untapped and untargeted audience of happy spenders. According to research conducted by Coniq, over 50s spend 71% more per shopping centre visit compared to other age groups.
SunLife’s Big 50 report in 2017 surveyed 50,000 over 50s, with 89% of respondents stating that they didn’t think brands were interested in them, whilst 74% didn’t think they were represented in mainstream advertising.
“Over 50s make up a third of the UK population, but hold almost 80% of the wealth. Consumer spending amongst over 50s has risen at 4.4% a year over the last decade, compared to just 1.2% for the under 50s. Yet three quarters of people over 50 say they never feature in mainstream advertising,” states Dean Lamble, SunLife CEO.
Better understanding of the media behaviour and device ownership of both millennials and the grey market is possible through Mediatel’s ongoing Connected Screens study.
Running since 2014, with six-monthly data release periods, Connected Screens tracks media use and advertising across multiple screens on an on-going basis to help understand how consumer juggle the range of screens available to them to connect with broadcast and broadband media and advertising.
Our recently updated free whitepaper “Millennials v Grey Market” allows readers to delve into these two audiences to spot trends in the numbers and commercial opportunities. These insights can then be used in their campaign and planning process.
There are often stark differences, as well as surprising similarities, between the media behaviour and device ownership of millennials (16-24 from our fieldwork’s age ranges) and the older generation (all respondents age 55+). Download the free whitepaper to find out more.
Subscribers to the Connected Surveys module can access all the exclusive data which made up this report from Mediatel’s Connected Screens survey. For any further information on the module please contact screens@mediatel.co.uk.
