Should Your Ads Appeal to the Elderly?

By Selena McIntyre

People today are living longer than ever. In the United States, 12.4% of the population is over age 65. However, most advertisements do not appeal to people over age 65.

Did you know that people over age 50 eat out more than any other population group? Yet a majority of ads today are designed to appeal to people between the ages of 35 and 55. People ages 35 to 55 usually have mortgages, children, credit card debt, work-related expenses, and college tuition.

Guess what, the grandparents have few if any of these expenses. We all know how helpful our parents and / or grandparents can be when we have a lot of expenses. Elderly people may not purchase a lot of products for themselves, but they love to buy things for their grandchildren.

Designing ads for people over age 65

Colors

Bright colors get more attention than dark dreary colors. Yellow and red get more attention than any other color. I do not recommend using neon or fluorescent colors on ads because these colors are usually associated with bars and casinos.

Be sure to use a dark background with light copy or a light background with dark copy. For billboard ads, do not use a medium to dark color (red) on a medium to dark color (black, green, blue) because it will be very difficult to determine where the copy starts and ends. Elderly people will have the most trouble trying to read ads with similar colors.

Try to use three colors or less. Too many colors make advertisements look busy and can be confusing. You can read more about colors and their meanings by clicking here.

Simplicity

Unfortunately our vision declines with age. As we age, we are not able to see things as clearly as we used to. For this reason, ads that are designed for people over age 65 should have bigger copy and graphics. They should not have a lot of words because the more words used on a sign, the harder is will be to read. Instead these advertisements should be very clear with few graphics and words. The more simple and ad is the more effective it will be. Read more about the importance of simplicity by clicking here.

Copy

The general rule of billboard advertising is to use a total of 8 words or less on every sign. This rule must strictly be enforced when designing ads for elderly people. In fact your ad will be more effective if you use less than 8 words.

The size of copy is also important. Normally we recommend that all copy be at least 1 ½ feet tall. However for people that don’t see very well, all copy should be at least 2 feet tall.

The font of your ads should be plain, bold and easy to read. Yes these fonts can be boring, but they are very successful on billboard advertisements. A few good fonts to use are listed below.

• Arial Black
• Folio Bold
• Eras Bold

Fancy scripts can be difficult for young people to read, and almost impossible for older people to read. Remember that you only have about 3 seconds to get a consumers attention. Every billboard is only viewed for an average of 7 seconds so if a word is a little hard to read chances are it won’t be read at all!

Graphics

Of course we’ve all heard the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." With this in mind, it is easy to see why pictures are so effective.

Use big pictures instead of words as much as possible because pictures are viewed quicker and easier than words. It also takes less time and effort to determine your message with a huge picture than it does to read three words. For example, instead of saying "Turn Left," put a picture of an arrow pointing to the left.

Characteristics and Buying Habits of the Elderly

By the time people reach age 65, they either have enough money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, or they are watching every dime. The people that are very careful with their expenses are attracted to things (ads) that will help them save money. However, the people with large retirement funds, stocks, bonds, etc. are more concerned about the quality of the product than the product’s price.

The majority of people over age 65 are not into technology like the younger generations. Most elderly people are uncomfortable ordering things online. They prefer to order by mail or telephone. So always be sure to include a phone number on all of your ads.

Older people do not like changes and sometimes get confused with all the new options we have today. A good example of this is computerized phone systems that make you push several buttons before you get to speak to an actual person. The older generation tends to get confused and frustrated with all these options. This will cause them to get irritated and hang up the phone without ordering anything.

Unfortunately in today’s society, people are very cautious because of all the scams and con-artists in the world. For this reason, we only buy products or services from people we think we can trust. Elderly people have been scammed more than any other group of people, so they are even more cautious, and rightfully so.

Putting it all together

Remember that people over age 65 can not spend a lot of time looking at billboards, so it is our job to make the designs simple, quick to read, and pleasing to the eye. You can do this by using a combination of large words and pictures.

Don’t forget the importance of advertising for the elderly. Be among the few advertisers that design ads for the elderly and your sales will increase.

Sources: Oliver, Anthony "Shopping Through the Ages" August 19, 2002 "Eating Out - Transforming Meals from Waist Expanders to Health Enhancers" U.S. Census Bureau

Selena McIntyre has been a Creative Designer for BPS Outdoor Media since 1999. She has a Marketing Degree and several years of customer service experience. Selena has studied art most of her life and continues to do so now. She designs most of BPS’s billboards and has written several articles about the outdoor advertising industry. To see some of her work please visit http://www.bpsoutdoor.com/blog/ . Questions or comments? She’ll be glad to hear from you at nfo@bpsoutdoor.com