Dude - you are old (Marketing messages)

Today I want to raise another challenge I constantly face - How do you sell a product to a customer that by buying this product he basically admits something about himself that he is trying to avoid/hide/deny?

This question is one that I get quite often, usually in the context of SABI's products. Since we are selling products for the aging population, by actually selling our products we are making people feel old... which counter what we are trying to achieve making people feel cool and good about themselves.

There is a lot of research out there:

• Seniors in the US feel younger than their actual age, despite the prevalence of age-related health issues a total of 64% of those aged 55-64 in the US reported in February 2008 that they felt younger than their actual age according to a survey by Energizer Holdings. Despite this finding, around half of this age group suffered from high blood pressure while approximately 40% could be classified as obese. Health problems such as these did not detract some Seniors from feeling young in this region.
• Old age is increasingly seen as a positive life stage by consumers – the Pew Research Center researched consumer views of old age in 2009 and found that older adults have a largely positive take on their Senior years.Spending more time with family members was the key benefit of growing older cited by respondents aged 65 and over: around 70% said they were enjoying more time with their family and 28% said that this was what they valued most about growing older. And additional 25% said that they valued spending time with their grandchildren most. Pew’ study also showed that around two-thirds of respondents cited more time for hobbies,more financial security and not having to work as major benefits, while around 60% felt that older age offered them more respect from others and less stressed lifestyles compared to when they were younger. Notably, greater financial security was cited by only 14% of older adults as the most valuable thing to them about getting older, emphasizing that emotional wellness factors are the key positives coming with advancing years ratherthan practical/financial benefits. Interestingly, the research also showed that older adults today are not necessarily experiencing these benefits to quite the extent that younger consumers expect to enjoy them once they get older, suggesting that reality is not quite as rosy as expectations formed earlier in life.
• However, this does not diminish the clearly positive take that Seniors have on the opportunities afforded to them in later life.

The paradox between age pride and fear of aging explains why older consumers do not relateto many adverts

• The Senior population grouping consists of several different sub-cohorts, meaning differences in attitudes and behaviors must be recognized
• Similarities exist between what older and younger consumers want, meaning that they should not be excluded or taken for granted in product marketing
• Many older consumers feel that advertising does not speak to them
• Older consumers are more likely than average to rely on word-of-mouth

Implications for SABI: Shifting the ‘center of gravity’ in marketing campaigns can help to target down aging consumers. Late Mid-Lifers and Seniors are particularly likely to see themselves as 10-15 years younger than they are.

Consequently, marketers must help them fulfill their aspirations by a) emphasizing the relevance of products targeted at younger age groups to them, and b) by avoiding creating a staid image around products deliberately marketed at older consumers.

The question that I was trying to solve is HOW? How can I serve them and after quite a bit of consultation it hit me - THIS IS BASICALLY HOW PHARMA COMPANIES ARE SELLING EVERYTHING.
It is enough to sit in the evening in front of the TV and see a pharma company ad to understand what am I talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYwljWbg2Vs; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKDzeQSIp2M&feature=related; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBzfK8dFgtM;

The idea is to show the problem and then to show how you can improve the quality of life - it is a simple strategy that all the Pharma companies are using, but very few (other than infomercials) CPG companies used - but it is a very effective and valid form of advertising.
Before I realized that I was really struggling with it... a good friend told me just imagine what it was to sell Viagra (a discussion we had after Liron had a case about it in Sloan). They had to make the patient aware of the situation (he probably was) then he had to acknowledge it (and not have excuses like stress, work etc'), then go to the Doctor and ask for it and lastly ask at the counter a very specific drug with clear association -and you think selling SABI might be a challenge...
That's it for now
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