Significance of Age and Advertising - Report Example

Significance of Age and Advertising Name: Instructor: Course Code and Name: University Date of Submission: Significance of Age and Advertising Introduction Advertising is a promotional technique that aims to communicate about products between the advertiser and the consumers. Not all advertisements are suitable to create the recall messages on all age groups. It is therefore important for the marketer to segment the adverts in relation to age groups. This helps in delivering the right messages to specific groups. Age as a basis for Segmentation in advertising is a practice that has been used since 1970s.Researchers have also been conducted to identify how consumer-buying behavior is related to age groups as a basis for segmentation in marketing.Age cohorts in advertising refer to people of the same age group who derive similar experiences in buying and consumption.Examples of age cohorts include baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. Baby boomers is the age group born between 1946 and 1964. Generation X was born between 1965 and 1985 while generation Y was born between 1986 and 1993. Age segmentation in relation to adverts involves understanding the kind of adverts that appeal to different consumers of different age cohorts. In developing effective advert messages that appeal a specific age group, a marketer must first determine the attitudes and beliefs of different generations. This enables the marketer to understand the consumer behavior and respond accordingly. Determining the cohort group to advertise to helps to understand the audience. Knowing the audienceenhances successful direct marketing campaigns. Different audiences have different motivations, needs and wants. Knowing the audience to the marketer therefore helps him to respond with the right messages that satisfy their motives, needs and wants.Knowing the generation, you to want to market within alsohelp a marketer in timing. Communicating through adverts at the right time exhibits significant difference in the marketing results. This therefore helps in understanding the audience’s timelines and when they are available to buy a product being advertised. Many consumers need a conviction on why they should buy a particular product. The offer being advertised should therefore give consumer the satisfaction being sought after.Knowing the target age groups also helps marketers informulating the message for communication. Every agegroup has particular messages that resonate well with their needs andthis is what the marketer should go for. Generation X Generation X constitutes about 17% of the U.S population. This group ischaracterized by independence and cynicism. This age group exists in the shadows of the baby boomers. Being in the age of 30s and 40s, this cohort represents a group of consumers that are probably starting families and therefore they portray a high demand for homes. This generation was born in time that recession was high. Besides, this group is synonymous with single parent households, cable TV, the internet and technological devices.Their consumption of media materials is different from other generation although it is closely related to generation Y. Generation X population is smaller than that of the baby boomersand generation Y. This generation is affluent, technologically well informed and exhibits broad loyalty in their consumption patterns. Generation X is linked to household and family activities thus real world situations are appealing to them. This generation also prefers calm and safe approach when it comes to advertisements. Men in this age grouptherefore are appealed by advertisements that exhibit simple tonality (Smith &Ann 2007). They are therefore dialogue driven with messages that are cool and calm. Females in this age group display a difference in the tonality of adverts that appeal them, as they are sentimental. They are thus focused on milestone events. When it comes to tone, females in this age bracket are concerned about real life activities like family events such as weddings. Adverts messages that embrace family events are therefore more effective in females of this cohort. Unlike the females, males in this age group are more appealed by adverts that dwell on the themes of football, cars, projects and houses.Based on humor, females in generation X are appealed by adverts that are family friendly. These are adverts that are safe for the family and in no way inappropriate to them. Males are more appealed by adverts that exhibit clever humorous messages. These are messages that are low key and illustrate a high level of complexity. Based on the charactersfeaturing in the adverts, females in this age gap are suited by those that display a real world setting or those that illustrate relatable situations. On the contrary, males in this gap are influenced by adverts that show characters that exhibit masculinity, skillfulness and authenticity (Klein, 2007). This generation is characterized by subtlety in what appeal both genders. Adverts that connect well with the females are those that use sentimental milestone events to create emotional pictures. However, men in this cohort are more appealed by adverts that portraymasculine sensibility by using cars and sports. Though these differences exist, this generation is unique inthat both genders know their wants, likes and are aware of themselves. Concerning media, this generation is not limited to a specific media. This age group is therefore reachable through print, emails, social media and mobile devices. To start with, this generation favors print media since it is composed of enthusiastic readers. Direct mails are also important advertisementmedium for this generation. According to researches done by three different companies, 87% of this generation bring in the mail the day it is delivered.Reaching this generation by direct mails can also be supplemented with online marketing through targeted site advertising (Gurau 2012). Generation Y This generation is a force to be reckoned with by any marketer. This group exhibits high appreciation for communication. Besides, this group is always switched on and connected with their peers through the latest technology.This group is art different and their media is the same. Generation Y is resistant to advertising and they are not limited to a specific advertising medium.This group is characterized by high tendency to purchase and therefore spend their money freely and quickly. Having grown in a plethora of technological devices, this group is tech savvy and very knowledgeable.Researches done on the credibility perception of this age group in relation to an advert are conflicting.It is not clear which media credibility is more influential to generation Y between broadcast and print media versus traditional advertising medium. It is also not clear about how generation Y feels about new media replacing traditional media. Past research conducted on South African millennial generation, showed that consumers in this group interacted more with broadcast media than with print media. This generation therefore exhibits more reliance on radio and television (Craig 2007). New media presents manyopportunities for this group. Advertising to this generation needs an understanding of what they want. This is through turning your social media in a two-waycommunication, as this group loves sharing feedbacks. This gives the marketer an opportunity to improve brand, products and services.This group also loves adverts that embrace visuals with infographics, games and videos. For a marketer, advertising in the YouTube may win this group. Advertising to Baby boomers This generation accounts for more than 30% of the American population.It has more wealththan any other group and therefore controls the largest wealth of Americanhouseholds. It is estimated to control 70% of the total American wealth, which is equivalent to$7 trillion. This group owns four fifths of all the money in savings and loan associations. Although this group has high buying potential, it is not fanatical to brands neither does it show any kind of loyalty. This group is also characterized with watchingTV the most as compared to other generations. In terms of consumer demand, this age group accounts for 40% of total consumer demand. As of 2012, 53% of baby boomers in America were using the internet and the email. Although this group is less likely touse internet, this development shows that in years to come more ofthem will have adopted the modern technology.As a marketer, advertisements targeting the baby boomer are more effective when doneon televisions. As thisgroup exhibits limited mediums of advertisements, TV advertisements are more likely to reach a big number of them. As this group also shows interest for the internet, adverts through direct mails can reach a good number of them. Traditional means of advertising such as the TV should also be complimented with modern advertising methods such as social sites inorder to tame the 36% that have shown interest for social sites.With their consumption for packaged products such as coffee, magazines and diet soda reaching nearly $230 billion, adverts that are embedded on these products are more likely to influence their buying behavior (Valentine& Thomas 2013). As people in this age groups gets older and some even having retired, they are more interested in hobbies and leisure activities. For a marketer, developing an advert that encompasses holiday activities would be more attractive to them.Baby boomers value experiencesover products. Moreover, as they get old, baby boomer resist broad based marketing and they prefer a customized advert. As a marketer, an advert targeting this group should therefore portray a personal touch (Weiland 2007). Conclusion The aim of advertising is to create awareness and provide persuasive messagesto prospective customers. The role of the marketer in this case is to provide a message that resonates well with various target age groups. As such, it is necessary to know the age groups of prospective customers in order to respond effectively to their needs. List of References Craig J. 2007, “Advertising to Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Ys. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri-Columbia. Gurau, C 2012, "A life-stage analysis of consumer loyalty profile: comparing Generation X and Millennial consumers."Journal of Consumer Marketing,vol. 29 no.2, pp.103-113. Klein, R 2007, "Marketing To Gen X, Y, Boomers And Seniors : Ruth Klein."Marketing To Gen X, Y, Boomers And Seniors : Ruth Klein. N.p., 8 Nov. 2007. Retrieved from http://www.thematuremarket.com/SeniorStrategic/-9409---5.html on 16/4/2014. Smith, JW. and Ann C. 2007, “Generation ageless: how baby boomers are changing the way we live today--and they're just getting started.” New York, NY: Collins. Valentine,D and Thomas LP 2013,"Generation Y values and lifestyle segments." Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol.30,no.7, pp. 597-606. Weiland, C 2007, “Advertising to Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Ys. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri-Columbia. Read More