Ageism: A Serious Threat to Brand Integrity, Research Shows
Can the age of a brand’s customers determine its success or failure? Ageism is a significant issue that not only affects individuals but also jeopardizes brands and businesses. Age discrimination in marketing can alienate a substantial segment of consumers who identify with older demographics.
A recent study by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute used 17 years of panel data supplied by research firm Kantar to analyse almost 6,000 sub-brands from over 100 supermarket product categories, such as mouthwashes, teas, and yogurts. The study examined the relationship between category buyers’ age and new-to-market, growing, stable, declining, and dead sub-brands. The results suggested that in an era where inclusivity is essential, brands that embrace age diversity and implement an age-inclusive approach in advertising boost brand strength and enhance creativity while combating ageism. In contrast, ignoring older demographics can stifle growth and adaptability in a rapidly changing market.
Want to explore how ageism kills brands and learn to create an inclusive environment that values all consumers, regardless of age? Here are some important insights from the study that can deepen your understanding of ageism and its pitfalls:
- Relying on absolute age is not useful. According to the study, the mean (average) age of category buyers can vary widely in absolute terms so relying on absolute age is not useful. For example, the average age of buyers who buy Coca-Cola tends to be lower in absolute years than the average age of those who buy arthritis medication (D’Amico, 2007). In previous studies, the term “younger” meant university-aged students (Brennan, Dahl and Eagle, 2010) or buyers under 50 years of age (Simcock, Sudbury and Wright, 2006); while “older” meant buyers over 55 (Ford, Trott and Simms, 2016; Uncles and Ehrenberg, 1990) or an even older group at least 65 years of age (East, Uncles and Lomax, 2013). In contrast, “young” meant 18 to 25 (Winchester, Hall and Binney, 2014; Fry, 2011; Barrie, Jones and Wiese, 2011; Yap et al., 2014) and 18 to 35 year-old group (Moodie and Ford, 2011). In the current study, the terms younger category buyers and older category buyers refer to age relative to the category, while the terms young buyers and old buyers are for an absolute age.
- Younger category buyers buy new-to-market brands. In the latest episode of the Marketing Architects podcast, the host Elena Jasper and co-host Rob DeMars discuss the above academic study in order to draw easy-to-digest and actionable conclusions that can be applied as part of brand strategy. When considering if successful brands are more likely to attract “young” buyers, it turns out it’s a tricky question, depending on the age of the brand. It is not a general rule that if you are a successful brand, you automatically attract younger buyers. Like everything in marketing, it’s more nuanced.
According to the study, of all the age segments, younger category buyers appear to be more likely to buy recently launched brands. Lambert-Pandraud and Laurent (2010), for example, found that younger category buyers (in this case, younger women) tended to buy recently launched perfume brands. Older category buyers preferred brands that had been on the market longer. When a new product hits the market, it’s 3 times more likely to attract younger buyers than older ones. However, if a sub-brand continues to only appeal to younger buyers over time, it can actually increase the risk of failure. As Elena Jasper pointed out, this means an early win can turn into a slow death if a brand doesn’t manage to attract a broader, more diverse customer base.
- Young consumers are less loyal. One way in which younger category buyers and older category buyers differ in their buying behaviour is in the average number of brands they buy within a given category. As Elena Jasper points out, younger consumers are typically less loyal – they like to try new things but they do not always stick around. Older consumers, on the other hand, may not jump on the latest trend, but they tend to be more loyal to the brands they know and trust. The study found that for a sub-brand to stay healthy and grow, it needs to attract and retain buyers across all age groups, not just young buyers. More extensive repertoires may suggest lower behavioural loyalty towards brands or heavier buying of the whole category, which may be the case for many younger category buyers of frequently bought goods. For example, younger category buyers are also less loyal to brands of infrequently bought goods, such as cars. Older category buyers consider fewer cars or dealerships and increase their repeat-purchasing of brands.
- Concentrating your brand strategies solely on Gen Z? Think again! The study revealed an intriguing finding related to the so-called “dead sub-brands”. These are sub-brands that have been pulled from the market for at least a year. Before they were shut down, they had something in common about their audiences: they were more than 3 times as likely to skew towards younger buyers before they fail. Not surprised? We weren’t, either. So many brands focus on Gen Z (people born between 1996 and 2010), while neglecting the audiences with the highest disposable income, thus missing on success. As Elena Jasper comments, although it might feel good to be the hot new thing among the Gen Zers, if you are not bringing in the older customers, too, you might be setting yourself up for failure. The study challenges the idea that you should focus all your energy on capturing younger consumers. If your brand doesn’t appeal to everyone, it’s going to struggle in the long term. Therefore, if you want to grow your market share, you need to build mental and physical availability among all category buyers of all ages.
Curious to find out more? For further behavioural trends among the various age groups and generations, check our previous article on the post-modern consumer here.
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