Marketing to the Invisible Man
2 recent reports highlight how companies are missing selling to mid-life men. Here is what is happening and you can still get to your customers . . .
Marketing to the Invisible Man
The secret? You may not be able to find him, but you can help him find you . . .
I’m sure there are going to be those who raise an eyebrow at the idea of middle-aged men being invisible, but that is one of the key findings of a recent report by the Silver Marketing Association and The Kite Factory - "Marketing to Mid-life Men and Beyond".
There is a wealth of rich data in the report, but what struck me was the quotes from mid-life men to that advertising that is allegedly aimed at them -
“I find myself being stereotyped by funeral ads or retirement home ads”
“I’m not represented at all”
“I see plenty of stereotyped grandparents, the odd feisty pensioner, older people living it up on a cruise or shivering in a garret. I don’t often see people still working or playing a key role in the lives of their communities, children or grandchildren.”
Whilst some companies are cited as crafting good adverts, these quotes are an indication that there is a lot of marketing money being spent for little return . . . or even worse, on annoying the very group of people they are trying to reach.
They seek him here, they seek him there . . .
So what is the problem? The report highlights a few key areas, including men not seeing themselves in adverts, and not trusting a lot of what they see. There are also the range of channels that midlife men access adverts, and their “stickiness” in terms of brand loyalty.
It could also be a question of identity – what are modern men supposed to be? A mixture of Rip Wheeler, George Clooney, Bob the Builder and one of the Hairy Bikers? And when we add in that identity changes across the life course and through life evens, then it is no wonder that companies and their ad campaigns are failing to land with midlife men.
And this is the main reason for this failure for me - labels. Marketeers have to group people into definable categories when in fact (as with any characteristic group) this homogeneity is such a blunt tool that it misses the nuances of individuals.
On the other hand, it is impossible to market a product specifically to me as an individual.
Or is it?
Can we talk?
One of the standout quotes in the report was “When I am in the market for a product, I research as much as I can before making a decision, but brand awareness via advertising can help.”
At the same time I’ve been reading “Now You See Us” from Accord Marketing, on how AI is shaping visibility for UK travel brands.
One of the key shifts they are reporting is that the way we use online tools is changing due to AI. Our searches are becoming more intent driven rather than factual, and more conversational rather than transactional. We are not just asking the internet for things, we are starting up a relationship with it to get to where we want. And AI is both the key driver and key beneficiary of this shift.
Does anyone actually Google anymore? Yes, there are the AI overviews that now appear at the top of Google searches, but you still have 14,347,988 search results, and the top ones are only there because someone has paid for them. Not exactly a consumer friendly approach.
So, I experimented. I told an AI model “I want a ten day holiday, mixture of relaxing and activities, somewhere not crowded, temperature 18-25C in August”. I had some great options come up, and then refined the criteria with a budget, self-drive and what sort of hotel or accommodation I wanted. Further options, all looking great. I then said “Source me some offers” . . . .
What came through were links to well-known travel sites, with options that I recognised as what I wanted - stress free and tailored to me.
The reason these brands appeared was due to high brand awareness in and outside of the internet, rich content that curates experiences, and external validations that have driven more AI visibility. The AI model then matched these to my needs.
This experiment also backs up a worrying trend for brands highlighted in this report - AI is inserting itself between the search and the “click”. And a report by the BBC and Ipsos found that the use of AI by the over 50s increased by 250% since 2023 generative-ai-and-audiences.pdf
Taken together, this means that the blunt tool of most marketing approaches to midlife men is going to become even more irrelevant as the use of AI extends into our lives.
So what is the answer?
Patience, my friend. In time, he will seek you out . . .
The Silver Marketing Association report consistently marks social media and the internet as in the top three of sources used by midlife men, the “Now you see us” report says that brand awareness and independent citations are the key to brand visibility in AI, and the use of AI amongst the over 50s is growing rapidly.
So, putting all this together, it’s clear that success in marketing in the future, to all ages not just to midlife men will be less about categorising and clustering groups of people, but more about making it easier for potential customers to find your products when they ask AI for help . . .
To chat about how these opportunities affect your company or organisation, email me - paul@ageinguntapped.com
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