Asia's ageing boom is a marketing wake-up call

The ageing of Asia’s population presents both an opportunity and a challenge for business and society. But how well is the marketing community rising to the challenge?  

Though they are one of the fastest-growing consumer segments, senior adults are too often the subject of regional marketing campaigns that lack real insight or appreciation of the nuances of this stage of life. In my industry, marketing tends to treat seniors as a single group with identical needs, wishes, and desires, creating a mismatch between what they need and what is on offer.  

Similar shortcomings affect the “sandwich generation”, the working-age adults managing the financial and caregiving demands of children and ageing parents. This group, an outgrowth of Asia’s ageing, often lacks guidance to navigate the many choices they must make for younger and older dependents. While the array of services for them is increasing, they may delay making consequential decisions because they lack adequate support or direction. 

In short, both groups are underserved by the brands that want to reach them. Treating seniors as a homogeneous group means failing to understand and serve them at a moment when the opportunity to make a real difference in their lives is profound. Treating those in the sandwich generation as passive observers of their parents’ ageing discounts the hands-on role they play and related pressures they face.  

Brands from many industries are looking to capitalise on Asia’s growing “silver economy”. Those that recognise and act on the lived reality of their target customers will build something far more valuable and durable than sales from one-off transactions.

Invest in understanding 

At AIA, we have invested in research and partnerships to give us deeper insights into the people we want to serve. We have developed an understanding of the behavioural factors that affect how seniors respond to health challenges. Similarly, we have explored the powerful connection between social environments and customers’ ability to age in good health.  

In addition, we have drawn on our customer proximity as well as our partners to get a better handle on the distinct emotional, financial, and time management needs of the sandwich generation.   

All this has helped us appreciate the diversity of our customer base and the complexity of their lives. It has given us the conviction to look beyond the conventional and easily quantifiable metrics that our industry uses to size up customers – age, gender, blood pressure, health history – and consider the more qualitative behavioral and psychosocial factors that can influence health outcomes, healthy longevity, mobility, and overall wellbeing.    

As I have reflected on these insights, it’s clear that marketers in all industries need to invest in understanding how people experience life. It may sound like obvious wisdom, but it can be difficult to find the commitment and follow through to make this investment rather than taking the easy route of falling back on stereotypes and generic conceptions of how people live and what they need. 

What this means for marketers 

Senior consumers range from affluent and active adventurers pursuing new experiences to individuals managing multiple chronic conditions – a spectrum demanding an equally diverse range of products and services. They deserve propositions and an approach to engagement that are informed by a deep understanding of the various ways – and circumstances in which – people age and how they respond to the ageing process. 

The sandwich generation needs clear answers from service providers – what does healthy ageing look like, what interventions work, how do you support a parent’s independence without intruding? They need straightforward guidance and support that empowers them to meet their family needs while also tending to their own health and financial wellbeing.   

The commercial logic is clear. Brands that are informed enough to engage customers meaningfully across life stages earn the kind of trust that compounds over time. A consumer who feels understood at 45 is far more likely to remain loyal to the brand that continues to connect to them when they are 65.  

But that requires continually updating our understanding of our customers and what life is like for them. Moreover, it requires us to identify where society is headed so that we are ready to respond when emerging needs become mature and customers are seeking solutions.  

With Asia’s population ageing faster than most brand strategies account for, the brands that will succeed are those that ask the right questions, sustain relevance across the full arc of a customer relationship, and cultivate the understanding that makes lasting connection possible.

This article was written by Stuart A. Spencer, group chief marketing officer at AIA Group.