Silver Summit

Earlier this month I attended this year’s Silver Marketing Association Marketing Summit, promoting best practice and with the latest insights for the older UK demographic. I was commissioned to write a report on the key findings from industry experts from their research and marketing developments. As a mature consumer myself and a marketer of some years’ experience, I didn’t learn very much that was personally new to me except, hard to believe, that many marketers out there today still don’t ‘get’ the grey market and tend to slop everyone over 50 into one big target sector. Ye gods - please don’t bracket me away with an 80 year old! I see that I fall into the ‘Suburban Stability’ segment of affluence, given that I own my own mid-range house and have no children to support with the Bank of Mum and Dad. In theory, I am more time rich than I’ve ever been yet happily spend most of that ‘free’ time on unpaid work projects. Ironically, life sometimes feels busier than ever. An area of supreme sensitivity for the good old ‘over 50s’ and which I do identify with, is being addressed in a patronising fashion by those dazzling young marketers. In these days of record hot temperatures, I’m quite capable of keeping myself comfortable and safe, thank you. I don’t need anyone to race round here with a cool towel to wrap around my neck or to plunge my feet in a bucket of cold water. Hmm, come to think of it, I wouldn’t say no to that today!