International Digital Marketing

We all want our brand to be attractive, exciting, trendy, sexy and … young. Our society adores youth, we want the young generation to buzz about us, brands and campaigns winning awards are aimed to youth. Facing declining sales, we cannot help hearing that we must rejuvenate, rejuvenate, rejuvenate…

However, many times there is a big conflict between the people we want to buy our brand and the people who actually buy it. Too many times the marketing and communication target is 20-30 years younger than the loyal consumers forming the grand majority of the database.

Cosmetic “brand” surgery?

Some brands tackle this by going through a long process of changing their brand image. More or less successfully. Ford experienced this problem in Spain with its upcoming launch of the new, young, trendy Ford Fiesta. In Spain this particular car model was perceived as a car for 40-50-year-old women, but few years before the launch, Ford Spain started creating a community especially for youth www.maskedummies.com. The booming trendy community changed slowly the image of Ford Fiesta and made the marketing message more believable in 2008. Another example of successful change of brand image is of course Old Spice.

But is it really so bad to be a brand for “old” people? What if the sales are declining, not because our brand is getting older and new generation does not buy it, but because we are ignoring the older generation who does?

Aging global population

With the declining fertility and improved health and longevity, the population aging has become the biggest demographic trend globally. In 2009 the global population of +60-year-old people reached 680 million, 11% of the world’s population. It has also been predicted that by 2030, the amount will increase to 20% in 55 countries.

By 2050, Europe will increase its elderly population from 40 million to 219 million, China will experience a growth of 30% from 109 million to 350 million and India will increase the number of elderly from 62 million to 240 million. Japan, with the largest percentage of +60 people, will increase the current amount from 27% to 44%.

While number of youth decreases across the planet and the number of older people increases, does it not make more sense to take advantage of the “older” brand image instead of investing resources and money to desperately rejuvenate the image? Older people are more loyal to the brand than the new multitasking and impatient generation. Besides – they have also more money and time to spend.

Aging Social Media and Blogosfare

Yes, but young people make more noise in the Internet you might say. Not true.

In January 2011, +55-year-olds represented 7% of the global Facebook users, however the amount of 45-54-year-old users reached 12% and the percentage of 35-44-year-old users increased to 18%. What comes to Twitter, +55-year-olds represented 9% of the global Twitter users, while 45-54-year-olds reached 17% and 35-44-year-olds 27%.

Meanwhile, the older generation is also getting more comfortable with blogging: 11% of the over 30-year-old adults blogged in 2010, compared with 7% in 2007. Also, during the last two years blogging by the 34-45 year-old Internet users has increased 6%  (up to 16%), 46-55-year-old bloggers saw an increase of 5%  (up to 11%), and even 65-73-year-olds blogged 2% more (up to 8%).

But how to reach the increasing older generation?

#1 Stay cool, but use more mature marketing message

Older generation wants to remain cool, but also see people and situations they can relate to – people little younger they are, well aging and sophisticated, such as Meryl Streep and George Clooney. What comes to the situations, if you know that 90% of the people in your cruise are +55, do not show images of young people and babies in your advertising – it pushes older generation away. Instead, show older generation having fun, flirting, enjoying life in a cool environment.

#2 Aim advertising for the right target

In advertising we are so youth focused, that we often forget that the hopes and dreams are different in each age group. They change as people get older, handling more relationships, family experiences, health, happy memories and personal fulfilment. If you are too young to know what your target group dreams about, ask them. They are happy to share their opinion.

#3 Listen and influence in consumer forums

Age makes us more wise and careful. Older people do a lot of investigation before spending their time and money. Older generation compares prices, goes to consumer forums and listens what people have to say in social media.

#4 Focus on emotional bond and quality

Older generation is more interested in quality and value for money than latest fashion. They do not like to be rushed into a decision, but have time to compare different options. However, older people are also more loyal and stay with brands they trust. If you success creating an emotional bond with older users, they do not hesitate to promote your brand to their friends and other users across the social media.

Old trends in young generation, new trends in older generation

To stay always ahead of the competition targeting older generation, it might be a good idea to remember that in the end young people are early adopters of the new technologies and communication channels and “old” people are slow to follow. It means that you can observe youth-focused brands while they try to exploit new trends and conquer new channels by trial and error, and once they become “hot” in your target age group you are well prepared to be “trendy”.

An interesting new study by AMRB and TRU shows that a large number of teenagers in the Middle-East and North-Africa prefer brands that help and allow them to express themselves and be distinct than others. The research firm surveyed 2000 12–19 years old teenagers in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to get an in-depth picture of their behavior.

In United Arab Emirates the average amount of money teenagers spend in a week is a high 65€, compared with the average sum of 26€ worldwide. They use 58€ a month in clothing to be able to stand out as individuals in “a largely conformist and homogenous society”. Teenagers in UAE also spend 20€ a month in consumer electronics, 16€ a month for mobile phones and related services, and 5€ for cosmetics. Saudi-Arabian teenagers spend also an above average amount of money a week, 38€ , yet in Egypt the amount lowered into 5€ a week.

In the whole, 70% of the participants possessed a mobile phone. 28% of the surveyed teenagers in the UAE owned a smartphone, a percentage which differs considerably of the other assessed markets. The most appreciated brands in the area are Pepsi and Adidas.

What comes to digital media in the three countries, Yahoo and Facebook were considered the most popular websites. Also, an increasing number of teenagers have started blogging to satisfy “a need for greater self expression”.

Have we been ignoring the teenagers in the Middle-East and North-Africa as a possible target group? The study opens interesting opportunities in this emerging market, however it has to be taken account that there are still some differences between “our” teenagers and the ones in the region. “MENA teens are much more closely tied to their families, culture and religion as compared to their global counterparts,” Gagan Bhalla, general manager of AMRB, says. “On the other hand they are very similar to global teens in terms of brand exposure, technological awareness and future aspirations”, she continues, “Marketers need to identify and resolve this conflict and find a balance where teens can have it all.” Considering the increasing amount of blogging, investigating the content teenagers write might be a great way to research how to approach these young consumers. They want to stick out of the crowd, but still respect their family and religion. My advice is to check what Adidas and Pepsi are up to, since they have reached the admiration of this target group.

A recent study surveying consumers buying behavior in China and the US revealed that word of mouth influences the final purchase decision more than advertisements. 48% of Chinese respondents declared worth of mouth to be their most important source of brand information compared with 43% of Americans, while only 39% in China and 45% in the US stated advertising via traditional or digital media to be their primary source. However, what comes to the final stage of the purchase process, among the 1800 adults in China and America who participated in the study conducted by Jack Morton Worldwide, only 32% in the US and 21% in China found it to be influential in the final stages.

In China, 52% of respondents felt that observing other people using a product influenced them the most yet in final purchase decision the importance raised up to 64%, compared with 30% in the US. Online research had higher impact for the Americans with 49% and promotion and sponsorship gathered 42% and the product reviews by experts resulted relevant as well.

Why the word of mouth plays such a big role in purchase decisions in China and the US? According to the study, the constant stream of new offerings available in China causes noticeable uncertainty among many Chinese consumers. Diversity, freedom of choice and the fact Chinese brands are competing now at the same level as foreign brands confuse people. Seeing people using a product that works and hearing positive opinions of the product reduces this uncertainty. These results added to the Trendstream study I referred to earlier, about consumers in the Asia Pacific region trusting and engaging with brands that communicate with them through social media, highlight considerably the importance of an engaging Social Media strategy in China.

In the US, the situation is quite similar what comes to the brand diversity and wide range of products. Especially before buying an expensive, relevant product, such as computer or car, consumers prefer listening other people’s opinions before making the purchase decision, and it includes their friends, experts, bloggers, and consumer opinion forums. Jack Morton Worldwide’s study recommends that the brand owners create “moments of dialogue” with their target audience to ensure that there is a long-term growth in the brand loyalty. These consumers could become their brand advocates. Indeed, instead of a one-way communication to the mass, more personal and two-way approach is preferable and more effective in the US market.