Talking To An Older Audience

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday June 7, 2008

Julianne Dowling

Julianne Dowling looks at how to adjust when the purse strings are tightening.

How can smaller businesses try to make themselves "recession proof" as household spending dips?

Despite the Reserve Bank's decision to hold cash rates at 7.25 per cent this week, business sentiment remains uncertain and inflation concerns continue to dampen the economic outlook.

While the typical defensive approach by managers is to improve cash flow and cut costs, specialising and building market share through innovation can be a lifeline.

Back in 1999 an Australian Business Foundation report identified several ways to innovate, such as going green and value networking, to transcend local limitations.

Professor Kevin Hindle of Swinburne University says innovation remains a good measure when it comes to gauging business resilience.

"If you have a toehold that others can't match, then you don't have to engage in cost cutting because you have something different and it's on the rise. People can get risk averse in hard times, but if you're consciously an innovator then you're still looking, and the innovations are born of the times."

The marketing specialist Evergreen is an example of a business that has used a specialisation to innovate and grow. It is also a pin-up for the power of collaboration to build market share.

By attuning to a neglected demographic, the 45-plus age group, it has been able to make a point of difference; in fact, baby boomers are fairly recession proof, says the founder Gill Walker, so marketers should be interested in their dollars at any time.

Since Evergreen was set up in 2003 it has grown to 14 staff and has enjoyed a 30 per cent increase in profits year-on-year.

Now, as belts tighten in agency land, Gill Walker and her partner Phil Thomas have a first-mover advantage and little fear of budget slashing.

"If you have a differentiated product, you're in demand and people feel that your work is warranted," Walker said.

In 2003 Walker was managing director of Sudler & Hennessey Australia and decided after eight years to take a break and complete a masters degree, looking at ageism in Australian advertising.

The idea and challenge to open Evergreen came after that.

"Most agencies want to be generalists. Being old isn't sexy in advertising terms but the new old is younger. Boomers (and many of them don't relate to that word) don't behave or dress like their parents."

Half the population was aged over 45 and this was where buying power resided, she said.

One of Evergreen's first and oldest clients was Southern Cross Broadcasting's Talk Radio Network, which after interviewing Gill "could see their audience fitted with my knowledge, so we partnered and did seminars for their clients".

Evergreen was commissioned to come up with a campaign - "Ever wondered what happened to flower power? It's now buying power" - and this also acted as a springboard for the business.

Further growth came through other categories targeting older, high net-worth clients, such as financial service players and retirement services.

"We went for marketers who were converted to the demographic and then tried to do it better," Walker said.

If you are thinking about adjusting your advertising efforts for an older audience, here is Walker's drill: older audiences love advertising, but "keep it simple."

"Boomer humour is different at different ages; younger people like sarcasm and put-down humour while over 40s prefer the witty and clever. Colours appeal differently as you age, and advertising needs to have higher contrast colours to stand out.

"We also found that as you age your ability to hear pitch changes," Walker said.

"Deeper voices are heard more clearly than thinner voices. People at age 60 are different to those who are 70 years. Media data on consumers over 50 is poor and tends to stop at 75. Yet it's important to understand the differences and nuisances between the decades."

As rates rose, those aged between 45 and 65 years old were less vulnerable, she said.

On average, they have paid off their houses at 58 and have less debt and more investments. They may worry about their children and the broader community but they are less likely to reduce their own spending needs.

"As you move into your 40s you don't need social approval so much. It's more about the experience of life."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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