Feature: Grey Is The New Black As Advertisers Take On The Oldies

Advertising group Grey London put its name to good use last month when it became the first major agency in the UK to target the over 50’s. Launching an offshoot dedicated to the older sector, its chief executive Steve Blamer commented on the potential of this untapped market by saying: “The opportunity has been created by a gap so wide you could drive a truck through it.”

Largely abandoned by the UK advertising industry, which spends less than 10% of its total budget targeting the older sector, advertising groups are finally waking up to the growth and potential of reaching the older sector.

The over 55 age group is growing at such a rate that by 2020 it will make up a third of the population, according to Government forecasts. As the advertiser’s favourite growth sector, the 15-34 year old market, begins to wane, the ‘greys’ will take over as the fastest growing audience.

Currently it is almost level with the younger market, making up about 26% of the population. However, by 2005 the tables turn in favour of the oldies, as the sector becomes the only one to increase its percentage of the population, up to 28%. By 2025 36% of the population, or 22 million, will be over 55, while the 15-34 category will fall back to just 23%.

Research by French group Senioragency, which is teaming up with Grey to launch the new division, shows that this older generation is not only a growing sector but also a lucrative one. They have more money than the youth sector and more time to spend it. They are settled, with their own homes and ideas, appreciate brands and quality and are active consumers of media.

In fact, in terms of television viewing this sector watches for longer each week than any other audience category. The graph shown indexes the various age groups’ average number of minutes viewed each week as against All Adults viewing, which is indexed as 100. By this index the average number of minutes viewing by the All Adults category is 1,624 per week. The only age categories to watch for longer are the 55-64 age group and the 65+ age group, as shown. Their viewing habits are consistent and traditional: last year the over 55s spent 31% of their total viewing time watching BBC1 and 33% watching ITV; only 7% of their viewing went to cable, satellite and digital platforms, compared to 17% among the 16-34 age group.

It is this loyalty which has prevented advertisers from targeting the sector in the past but which could work in the favour of long-standing brands such as the BBC and ITV as the fragmentation of media continues to threaten their audience base.