The man responsible for managing advertising for Procter & Gamble, one of the the worlds largest consumer products companies, has said that ‘Age’ will be next on the agenda for advertisers to address as the industry moves to unpick the stereotypes it has helped perpetuate. P&G’s chief brand officer Mark Pritchard was quoted here in […]
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Steroid abuse at 60? Now that’s no stereotype!
We are getting used to seeing ageing stereotype-busters in the media and they are increasingly delightfully positive portrayals. In this blog, I’ve written about some of the darker stereotypes of ageing; ageing prisoners, the rising incidence of sexually transmitted disease in retirement homes, increasing drug abuse and suicides, but this one is new to me. It […]
5 emerging trends for healthy-ageing food products in Asia
A recent conference in Singapore discussed nutrition trends toward healthy-ageing. Called the Healthy Ageing APAC Summit, a speaker from Euromonitor explained 5 consumer trends shaping demand for new ‘healthy ageing’ products; Food for prevention Seeing food as a first line of preventative medicine. Becoming more nutritionally aware of the relationship between good food and good […]
Is P&G’s Olay going Ageless?
An Ageless Cafe by Olay popped-up at an up-market shopping mall in Bangkok recently. This intrigued me for two reasons. Firstly, because Olay is one of P&G’s flagship brands and despite its extraordinary global marketing sophistication, P&G has made some fundamental mis-steps when tackling the issue of ageing. I wondered if the Ageless Cafe had […]
Are older consumers unworthy of innovation?
Why is it that innovation seems to be the unique domain of younger consumers? Each year I look forward to The Future 100 report published by JWTIntelligence. It’s a snapshot of the year ahead and the most compelling trends, themes and phenomena. A fascinating read which you can download via the link here. However, there’s something […]
Buying Grandparents tech gadgets for Christmas? Think first.
It’s almost inevitable that tech gadgets will feature on a Christmas list these days. But when buying for older people, you need to think more carefully. The old joke about buying a drill kit for the wife’s birthday applies equally when buying for parents and grandparents. Are we buying because WE think the device is […]
Health and wellness of older consumers means big opportunities for FMCG companies
Older consumers say that health and wellness influences their product purchases. In fact, according to a report from GlobalData, 62% of consumers aged over 55 say that the way a product impacts their health and wellness often or always influences their product choice in food. Clearly, mortality is a powerful motivator to change behaviour. It’s a […]
Gillette tackles product design for the ageing consumer, actually for their caregivers
Gillette has designed a razor solely for assisted shaving. It’s called Treo. As caregivers are often adult children in their fifties and above, I wondered if this product was designed with the user and the receiver in mind? While there is a specific page dedicated to the Treo on the Gillette website, when I searched […]
Japanese companies innovate in response to the ageing consumer
With the dramatic rise of the ageing consumer in Japan, and the resulting shrinkage of the domestic market, companies are having to respond with product and service innovations to meet the changing consumer needs. For example, the ready-made food sector is booming due to the rise of single-person households and ageing consumers as reported here […]
Hearing-aids will become easier to buy. But will they be easy to use?
My brother-in-law suffered hearing loss attributed to years of working close to the squeal of a dentists drill. But he refused to wear a hearing-aid because of what others might think of him. In the USA, about 48 million people (20% of the population) have hearing loss in at least one ear, but just 14% […]
