The last 20 years has seen an explosion in the 55+ demographic, with Stats NZ forecasting that by 2028 there will be over one million people in New Zealand aged over 65 in particular – twice the number in 2006.

Marketers not directly targeting 55+ are missing a critical trick. While they make up just 23% of the population, this segment accounts for an astonishing 60% of New Zealand’s $2.29 trillion in total individual net wealth.

The richest market in New Zealand

Thanks to advances in technology, medicine, and healthcare, people 55+ are more active and living longer. They’re also working longer – 20 years ago 40% of people in their 60s were still in the workforce, now it’s 63%. And because they’re still earning, they’re still spending.

“The older demographic is redefining ageing in terms of the way they live their lives,” says Professor Paul Spoonley, Emeritus Professor at Massey University. His specialist area is social change and demography.

“In general, they enjoy a degree of wealth that allows them a range of options, and they are living extremely active and varied lives. We have had to significantly increase the age at which we see frailty and dependence kick in, and totally rethink the stages of ageing. We need to think differently about how we understand and characterise these older cohorts, because they are truly redefining ageing – here and elsewhere.”

The wealthiest part of the population has also nearly doubled in size since 2006. “A significant number of them are in the market for cars, groceries, clothing, homewares, hardware supplies, travel, entertainment, leisure, pet food and accessories, supplements, insurance, broadband, you name it,” says James Davidson, Chief Planning and Strategy Officer at PHD.

“This is a demographic with the buying power to make a critical difference to the bottom line for a lot of marketers. I think it’s probably time they got the respect they deserve.”

Good strategy, bad strategy

Advertisers have largely avoided directly targeting people over 55 for decades, with marketers historically preferring to target audiences 25 to 54, 18 to 39, or all people 18 to 54.

“There’s a number of reasons for that, but I think it’s mostly because when TV was the number one media choice, brands would pick up the 55+ demographic for free, because they were watching the same content as younger audiences,” says Davidson.

“With the rise of digital and its targeting capabilities, that’s no longer happening to anywhere near the same extent. I think that’s created a bit of a vacuum, as well as an enormous opportunity for marketers with the right mix of brand, product, and marketing savvy to understand what’s going on.”

Ironically, not targeting people 55+ was a good strategy before the rise of digital media. Because broadcast channels like TV and radio reach all people consuming that channel at any given moment, when targeting a younger audience, a brand would also pick up the 55+ market as well, often negating the need to target them specifically.

Digital has changed that perspective because digital impressions are almost always one to one – meaning that one impression connects with only one person.

Breaking: 55+ watches television

For an idealised example of the 55+ market, take New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who turns 55 in July. After that birthday, he’ll suddenly see a lot less advertising than he does currently, because he will have become “commercially irrelevant.” Yet he’ll still be far wealthier than the average, with a very high level of discretionary income, active, and (presumably) employed, with a wide network of contacts and influence. For marketers, people like Luxon appear to make up the dream target audience.

One channel Luxon will still be using, like nearly everyone over 55, is television, Davidson says. “Older audiences over-index for consuming broadcast channels, so you reach a lot of them, even if your target audience ends at 54. It’s been called the silver bullet, but I don’t think that’s right. I just think you go where your audience is, and in this case, you can still find them in their living rooms sharing a screen with loved ones.”

The numbers make for remarkable reading, with 86% of 55+ watching TV every week, 50% as heavy users (23 hours or more per week), and an additional 33% as moderate users (14 to 23 hours per week) – for a total of 83% watching at least 14 hours per week.

Not only are they big TV watchers, but they are also incredibly big spenders in key areas of the economy, investing more than $50b annually on goods and services, including $1.5b on property maintenance and renovations, $6b on food and grocery items – a third of all spending at the supermarket till – and accounting for around 60% of all spend on flights and accommodation.

Davidson says: “I’m not an advocate for TV in a lot of scenarios, but combining television with other channels like radio and the right social is an incredibly effective mix for this demographic.

“Around 85% of 55+ listen to radio every week, and 73% are on Facebook at least weekly. Nearly 30% of them are also using other platforms like Netflix and YouTube.

“What this means is for bigger brands that can afford to advertise on TV, that want to make inroads into this lucrative market, they absolutely need to be on broadcast as often as possible.”

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