Adults that are 50 and older comprise $2.4 trillion in annual income that accounts for 42% of all after-tax revenue (U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey). With that number continuing to grow, it is more imperative than ever for companies to understand what attracts the senior consumer. The Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA) understands this and has sponsored a webinar titled, Age Branding. The webinar was presented by Harry R. (Rick) Moody, Ph.D., Director of Academic Affairs for AARP, in an effort to help professionals learn more about how to structure their own branding in order to find success in the senior market.
Age branding can be compared to product branding – it is an expectation, a look, a message. Think “AARP” or “Geritol”. The branding of these well-known products has determined the way senior consumers react to them – some more favorably than others. The brand sends a message or tells a story that, according to Moody, is the first step to success. During the Age Branding webinar, Moody explained the process of age branding and named the four brand categories of how seniors and baby boomers define themselves, such as:
- Age Denial: “I don’t have to get old”
- Age Adaptive: “Age represents problems, but I can deal with them”
- Age Irrelevant: “Mind over Matter; if you don’t mind it doesn’t matter”
- Age Affirmative: “The best is yet to be”
Harry R. Moody, Ph.D., serves as Senior Associate with the International Longevity Center-USA and Senior Fellow of Civic Ventures. Dr. Moody previously served as Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel , Administrator of Continuing Education Programs for the Citicorp Foundation and the Co-Director of the National Aging Policy Center of the National Council on Aging. Dr. Moody is also the author of over 100 scholarly articles and book chapters, as well as a number of books including: Abundance of Life: Human Development Policies for an Aging Society; Ethics in an Aging Society and Aging: Concepts and Controversies, a gerontology textbook now in its 3rd edition.
Dr. Moody’s Age Branding webinar was sponsored by SCSA as one of the many resources that they offer to their members. The webinar’s purpose, to further educate professionals on the ever growing and changing lives of senior citizens, is an example of SCSA’s commitment to educating professionals on the behalf of older adults.
ABOUT SCSA. SCSA was established in 1997 to enhance education and standards among professionals working with senior citizens. SCSA’s mission is to educate professionals to work more effectively with their senior clients. We believe that the right kind of planning, recommendations and referrals can make aging a state to be savored instead of a fate to fear. For those who work with seniors, this means understanding the key health, social and financial factors that are important to seniors—and how these factors work together. CSAs are able to integrate this into their professional practices, no matter what field they’re in. They’ve learned how incredibly gratifying it is to help seniors achieve their goals, and the seniors they’ve worked with have learned how important it is to work with someone who truly understands their age-related circumstances.