Marketing matters: embracing and serving the New Consumer Majority by G. Richard Ambrosius, MA, and Helen Foster, BA

The United States is rapidly achieving a milestone: the nation’s first “mature market.” By 2050, Americans ages 65 and older will outnumber those under the age of 15, according to the US Census Bureau. While this was already true in some European countries and Japan, it is a change of epic proportion for the US. Yet little has been done to adapt marketing materials, hiring policies, sales training, or aging programs and services in response. ... This article examines our experience reviewing entries for the ICAA Rebranding Aging advertising/marketing awards competition for the last two years. The contest is part of the International Council on Active Aging’s Changing the Way We Age® Campaign, and recognizes excellence in efforts targeted to aging consumers in four categories. In the following pages we also make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns based on our combined 50 years’ experience in older markets.