042 - Wendi Cooper: How Marketing is Failing the Modern Mature Consumer

Harleys and Jets vs. Bingo and Go Fish

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Show notes:

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  • The 85+ age group is the fastest growing. There are more people 65+ than under age five. This is a huge missed opportunity for brands not talking to the 50+ cohort.

  • 60 million U.S. adults are between age 50-70: lots of spending power

  • Peter Pan syndrome in advertising world

  • Wendi has been in DRTV since 1997 - and it's a lot of selling to women

  • 07:23 We are not data driven only because of the digital age, DR has been data driven since long before there was digital

  • 07:30 It has always been women purchasing on TV and in retail so why aren’t we honing in and speaking to them more?

  • Marketers are not reaching mature consumers effectively mainly because ad agencies skew so young

  • 9:30 Too many marketers assume people watching CNN are on their way to assisted living

  • 9:50 Programmatic - ad fraud - billions wasted per year

  • 9:55 Voice is the future - voice is natural for all age

  • 10:25 What should marketers do to reach the 50-70 group with voice?

  • 10:55 "I've fallen and I can't get up" - famous ad was original voice technology - necklace to send help

  • 11:53 As people become elders they need voice to contact loved ones and order prescriptions

  • 12:10 Bezos - Amazon pharmacy play - smart

  • 12:20 Voice for assisted living - ideas where older people will understand and use the technology

  • 12:50 Voice is even more intuitive than an iPad, but who is the teacher? This matters.

  • 13:15 50-70 year old market who are thriving - Flash Briefings for this group would be great (Wendi will create one)

  • 13:55 How do you market your Flash Briefing? The challenge here is widespread for all ages.

  • 14:50 As soon as you are able to create content you can drive people to a destination (e.g. Wendi put the first URL instead of an 800 number in a commercial)

  • 15:15 A TV commercial to drive awareness of the 60+ Alexa skill would work - Wendi feels this is necessary to bring mass awareness to voice

  • 16:00 Super Bowl ads about Alexa

  • 16:10 "Go get the Alexa skill" is the new download the app or visit the website

Ad agency ageism stats via Ad Age:

  • In 2017, the majority, or 63 percent, of workers in advertising, public relations and related services were under 45 years of age, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • The median age in the category was 39.2—roughly the same as a decade earlier. (By comparison, the median age in accounting, including tax prep, bookkeeping and payroll services, was 45.)

  • Broadly speaking, age bias accounts for nearly a quarter of overall complaints against employers.

Here are some great Alexa skills for seniors from Heidi Culbertson's company Ask Marvee:

https://askmarvee.com/alexa-skills-public/


Get in touch with Wendi Cooper, C Spot Talk:

wendicooper.com - Speaking of Age

https://www.facebook.com/cspottalk

LinkedIn - Wendi Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendicoopercspottalk/

YouTube: Wendi Cooper: https://www.youtube.com/user/cspotrundirect