Creative insights for aging audiences

February 6, 2009 by Dave Haynes

Marketing Charts has a piece up about Baby Boomer attitudes towards photos in advertising, and it may offer some clues to people doing creative for digital screens targeting more mature audiences. Whil;e most of what is done in our space is motion graphics, a lot of times the images and message have to be brief and almost fixed because we know people are glancing, not staring, at the screens.

The research is from a New England agency called Creating Results that focuses on marketing to the grey hair and wonky knee set.

The “Photo Finish” study of more than 400 Americans age 40+ was conducted to determine which type of photography is most effective when advertising to Baby Boomers and older generations, as well as some members of Generation X. Survey respondents were shown a series of pictures and asked to respond to questions about which attributes they preferred.

Key findings about images in advertising:

• Vibrant pictures featuring brighter colors and expressive models trumped subdued images with cooler colors and contemplative models, 65% to 35%.
  
• 65% of respondents preferred images in which the model’s face was clearly identifiable vs. cropped photographs.
  
• The older a consumer, the stronger his or her positive feelings for identifiable photos. 76% of those over age 75 preferred recognizable photos, as well as 75% of 65-74-year-olds and 62% of those ages 55-64.
  
• Lifestyle photography was preferred to product photos by all respondents (59%) and was most effective with those designated by Creating Results as Caregivers (71%), Gardeners (78%) and Volunteers (75%).