In her guest article for markenartikel 7/24, Ines Imdahl writes about the extent to which companies are missing out on growth potential when they focus solely on young target groups & understand people 50+ as a homogeneous target group that wants neither new brands nor new forms of address. She believes it is time to clear up some of these target group narratives. And perhaps to dedicate yourself to a rejuvenation strategy of a completely different kind. How about changing and refreshing your own perspective instead of seeing the acquisition of GenZ as a target group as the sole means of rejuvenation?

Extend brand life

As exciting and fascinating as staying young is for people and brands, in around five years around 50 percent of Germans will be over 50 years old. This makes them the largest target group of all. And not only because of the inverted age pyramid, but also because from this point on there is generally no further differentiation. There are virtually no more age clusters, neither in marketing nor in advertising. While GenZ distinguishes dozens of subcultures and never tires of emphasizing that an entire generation could never be lumped together, this apparently no longer plays a role in the group of 50+, which is also extremely financially strong. In old age, people seem to become so similar that all age groups can be generously grouped together. 50-year-olds are in the same target group as their own parents!

A differentiated, fresh look at the target groups from 50 upwards would not only offer growth potential for brands and companies, but also a full 30 years of life extension. Because at 50 you are just as far away from 20 as you are from 80 years. Decades, therefore, that brands and companies ignore in their strategies and future planning.

Read an excerpt here & in full in the magazine to find out how to realize quick wins for brands and understand the groups, why it is important to develop new narratives for more target groups and why the advertising approaches of brands and companies - also as employers - should be more differentiated.