Marketers need to avoid defaulting to generational clichés when it comes to targeting consumers over the age of 55, writes Aoife Marron, director, REDC Research.
At our recent in-person breakfast event, we invited marketing professionals to meet a demographic hiding in plain sight: adults aged 55 and over. They are the fastest-growing, wealthiest, and potentially most influential consumer segment in Ireland, yet they remain one of the least understood in modern marketing.
The session blended quantitative findings, qualitative stories and strategic interpretation to paint a fresh, human picture of later life. What emerged was a clear message for the industry: our perception of ageing is out of date, our portrayal of older adults is reductive, and the opportunity for brands willing to rethink the narrative is enormous.
A generation living better than ever
One of the most striking insights from our research is the sheer positivity radiating from the 55+ population. Contrary to the doom-laden storylines that often surround ageing, many in this group see this stage of life as their best yet. They’re less stressed than younger cohorts, feel freer than they have in decades, and finally have time, (glorious, unhurried, self-directed time!) to enjoy the moments they used to rush through.
They’re also, according to their own self-perception, younger than their years. Two-thirds feel younger than their actual age, and they speak in terms that marketers typically associate with much younger consumers: dreams, ambitions, learning, exploring, “living my best life.” Whether it’s dating again, picking up new hobbies, or planning trips they once put off, this is a group actively expanding what ageing looks and feels like.
Critically, this new lifestyle isn’t a rebellion against age. Instead, it’s a rejection of the outdated scripts society continues to hand them. They are redefining what it means to grow older, not by clinging to youth, but by embracing vitality, experience and agency.
Digitally competent, but wisely selective
Another myth that crumbles under scrutiny is the idea that older adults lag behind digitally. In reality, 75% feel confident navigating digital services. They use online banking, booking platforms, navigation apps, streaming services and digital communication tools with ease.
Their digital behaviour is not limited by capability but guided by discernment. They choose digital where it adds value and choose human interaction where emotion, complexity, or reassurance are involved. For them, blended service represents true modernity. When brands push automation as a one-size-fits-all solution, older consumers interpret it less as innovation and more as indifference.
Their selectivity is not a form of resistance. It is wisdom earned over decades of witnessing half-baked efficiencies. They know what good service feels like, and they recognise when brands are designing for speed rather than quality.
A set of tensions shaping their everyday experiences
Of course, this is not a lifestage free from challenge. The research highlighted several tensions that quietly shape the 55+ experience; tensions marketers rarely consider but urgently need to acknowledge.
First, while their inner lives are expanding, their outer worlds can contract. Many invest heavily in friendships, routines, volunteering, and family relationships to maintain connection. Yet loneliness can creep in around the edges, and brands that remove rather than enhance human touchpoints unintentionally deepen that isolation.
Second, financial pragmatism sits beside financial pressure. Most manage money wisely, but confidence varies, especially among women. Many wish they had planned differently for retirement. This fragile financial equilibrium becomes even more strained when brands layer complexity, small print or sudden costs onto already cautious decision-making.
There is also a tension between how they see themselves and how they feel others see them. Internally they feel self-assured, capable and far from “old.” Externally, they experience patronising service, dismissive tones, and social invisibility. Micro-moments like an eye-roll at a counter, a rushed tech explanation, an advert portraying them as frail, add up to a sense of diminished social value.
And finally, they recognise that brands rarely portray them accurately. Advertising tends to cast older adults as either frail, confused, comically inept or impossibly high-functioning. These clichés flatten a diverse, dynamic segment into stereotypes that have little to do with their lived reality.
Brand behaviours sending the wrong signals
Across the categories we examined – financial services, telcos, retail, beauty, wellness – older adults consistently reported friction with brands that, intentionally or not, make them feel like an afterthought.
Customer service is often automated to the point of invisibility, replacing humans with loops and bots even in emotionally high-stakes situations such as fraud, health needs or financial errors. Digital journeys are often constructed around younger usage patterns: tiny text, multi-step flows, jargon-filled instructions, and assumptions about familiarity with digital journeys.
In retail environments, inconsistent returns policies, intrusive data requests for small purchases, and self-checkouts without support generate stress. In telcos, switching devices or updating routers is filled with fear that one wrong step will “break everything.” In beauty and wellness, the portrayal of ageing is often unrealistic or fear-based, undermining trust and fuelling insecurity.
These are not minor frustrations. They are signals, communicated again and again, that say: “You don’t matter to us as much as younger customers.”
A new playbook for brands: respect, representation and realism
The opportunity for brands is not simply to correct mistakes. It’s to recognise the 55+ consumer as a major engine of growth and innovation. Doing so requires a shift in how brands design, communicate and serve.
The first step is to portray older adults with authenticity and range. The industry needs to put to bed stereotypes and embrace narratives that show capability, humour, style, intelligence and agency. Two powerful creative strategies emerged from our research: the “Agentic Everyday,” which portrays older adults as active protagonists living full modern lives; and the “Cultural Hero,” which presents them as stylish, witty, culturally impactful and socially central.
Equally important is redesigning experiences around simplicity, clarity and human access. This does not mean dumbing anything down. It means removing needless friction; clearer product explanations, more transparent pricing, readable packaging, optional human support, and consistent standards. It means designing not just for youth, but for adulthood in all its forms.
Finally, brands need to stop thinking in age brackets and start thinking in interests. A 58-year-old who cycles every weekend has more in common with a 35-year-old cyclist than with someone her age who prefers gardening or golf. Marketing should reflect these communities of passion rather than default to generational clichés.
The most powerful consumer segment you’re under-developing
The 55+ audience is not a niche. It is not a problem to be solved or a risk to be managed. It is a vibrant, growing, economically powerful segment filled with experience, ambition, curiosity and appetite. It is a segment ready to embrace brands that see them as they truly are—not younger, not older, but fully human.
The question for marketers is simple: will you continue speaking to outdated myths, or will you meet this audience where they are, living fully, thinking forward, and ready to engage with brands that reflect their reality?
Because the brands that get this right won’t just capture a market. They’ll capture a movement.
