How can your brand survive to the crisis ? TVLowCost : the brains you need !

TVLowCost, the brains you need !

If your brand wants to survive to this recession, you should bring with you some perfectly adapted brains : those of TVLowCost teams around the world, for example !

2009 will see the “Low Cost Attitude” expand among advertisers… and TVLowCost will be there to implement it on TV advertising !

2009 will see the “Low Cost Attitude” expand among advertisers… and TVLowCost will be there to implement it on TV advertising !
We said many times that our model was the perfect answer to Recession times.

Advertisers are discovering every day that their traditional “high cost” ad’ agencies are unable to reduce their costs seriously to help them in the cost cutting era…

Our agency is born from the crisis and we demonstrate that television advertising can really become affordable, thanks to our unique method and our “All Inclusive TV packs” in each market where we are present.
So if you want to GET MORE FOR LESS in TV advertising, why not paying a visit to our agency in your country ?

The difference between « high cost » ad’ agencies and TVLowCost ? With us no bad surprise on your advertising budget!

 The difference between « high cost » ad’ agencies and TVLowCost ? With us no bad surprise on your advertising budget!

Are you tired by the outrageous prices of your “high cost” advertising agency ?
Why not considering working with our TVLowCost agency in your country ?
The only surprise you will face is … NO BAD SURPRISE! Surprising, no ?

Are you looking for “a recession times advertising agency expert”? Or “a low-cost TV advertising agency”? Or to “cheap TV spots”? Or “affordable TV advertising”? Or ”discount TV spots”? Whatever you call this, TVLowCost, the 1st Low-Cost TV agency network is THE PERFECT ANSWER !

TVlowCost is the answer

Are you looking for “a recession times advertising agency expert”?  Or “a  low-cost TV advertising agency”?  Or to “cheap TV spots”?  Or “affordable TV advertising”? Or  ”discount TV spots”?  Whatever you call this, TVLowCost, the 1st Low-Cost TV agency network is THE PERFECT ANSWER !

 

 Launched 4 years ago our unique agency network extends rapidly, we are already based in 11 countries and new ones will join us in the next future. You may ask yourself why? Simply because we bring affordable TV advertising solutions to advertisers willing to reduce the costs of their advertising effort in the very difficult times our economies are facing since a few years… and the worse is probably to come.
Traditional “high cost” advertising agency competitors are unable to reduce spectacularly their costs when brands need more than ever to promote themselves at the lowest possible cost!
Traditional “high cost” advertising agencies continue to believe that a splendid headquarters is important to seduce clients, when it is probably the contrary.
Traditional “high cost” advertising agencies continue to shoot expensive and complicated TV commercials in exotic locations in order to win creative awards, when clients need TV ads that sell.
Traditional “high cost” advertising agencies have not perceived yet the intensity of the competition on which their clients are nowadays. Recession is everywhere and advertisers are obliged to reduce their costs everywhere, including on their marketing expenses, no discussion. It’s time for them to change their advertising partners and discover that TVLowCost can do “MORE FOR LESS” and help them grow in this very tough period!

Recession ? Recession ! Recession… TVLowCost is the right medicine for your brand!

Recession ? Recession ! Recession… TVLowCost is the right medicine for your brand!

Recession is a popular descriptor recently, right? And not a single days goes by without hearing it many times. As Advertisers cut their budgets … they compound their difficulties.
With no advertising, how are consumers meant to make the best choices?  At TVLowCost, we believe we have just the right medicine for your brand: optimising the most powerful medium – TV – whilst actually reducing your budget!
Our unique ” All-Inclusive TV Package” enables you to reduce your ad budget by 3-4 times BUT still be present on Nat TV with a powerful and creative presence. In the 11 markets where we are established, TVLowCost proves every day that it is possible to “Get more for less” even with a reduced budget. But naturally you need to understand just how we achieve this. Check our various webs out and judge the creativity of our many TV Campaigns. Then call our local CEO and he will explain specifically how we can pro-actively help your Company side-step this difficult period. Prepare to be convinced!
 

Why is TVLowCost so well adapted to the “cost cutting” era? Because TVLowCost’ s unique approach : “GET MORE FOR LESS”, allows brands to increase their market share while spending less in TV advertising.

Why is TVLowCost so well adapted to the “cost cutting” era? Because TVLowCost’ s unique approach : “GET MORE FOR LESS”, allows brands to increase their market share while spending less in TV advertising.

Since a few weeks every “ADVERTISING AGE” issue announces advertising cost cuttings by the largest global advertisers. In the 4th of august 2008 magazine, they report the impressive decrease of marketing expenditures made by some giants in the last quarter. Procter & Gamble : – 19, 4%, Johson & Johson : – 8,6%, L’Oréal : – 6,6%, Unilever : -4,1%…

According to the journalists : “The pullbacks come as the marketers grapple with rising commodity costs, big price increases, rising private label sales and consumers who’ve been spending less. Unilever executives last week described the U.S. market as essentially flat.
A study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the Grocery Manufacturers of America showed the percentage of package-goods players whose North American sales were shrinking as a share of their total rose to 41% in the fourth quarter from only 6% in the first quarter of last year.”

It is now absolutely evident that a vast majority of advertisers are starting to reduce their costs to adapt themselves to the difficult market environment.
It is also evident that cutting advertising is not a good solution for the future of their brands, they know that perfectly, but they believe that there is no other solution in front of a “Recession” that could stay for a long period.

In the same AD AGE issue, Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow says. “When a company says it is going to meet its fourth-quarter estimate by cutting marketing spending and laying off 300 people in North America, we take it as a bad sign,”.

Advertisers should take a first decision : abandon their current “high cost” advertising partners and switch to TVLowCost.

Our unique “All Inclusive TV Packs” is the best answer advertisers can find, in order to reduce their
advertising costs AND increase in the same time their media visibility in the most efficient media: national television!
All the marketers know the efficiency of TV advertising, but they have been, for decades, “manipulated” by high cost advertising agencies and high cost media agencies who have made everything very expensive.

The result?

National TV has become a “luxury”. And when things are going badly, one cuts the “luxury”… At TVLowCost, all the contrary, we believe that national TV can be, and MUST be, the most affordable advertising for every advertiser. And we have built a completely new and different approach, in order to “cut the costs” of TV advertising!

Why not meeting the CEO of our TVLowCost agency in your country, you will rapidly discover that with TVLowCost, you can, in the same time, reduce your advertising expenditures and increase your marketing efficiency.

Sounds impossible? Give us a call…and make your own opinion!

TVLowCost ENTERS US MARKET.Offers A Powerful New Television Advertising Alternative For Cost-Conscious Marketers

PRESS RELEASE New York, NY— August 4, 2008

TVLowCost ENTERS US MARKET
Offers A Powerful New Television Advertising Alternative For Cost-Conscious Marketers
TVLowCost, the first independently owned, low cost, quality television advertising network announced today the launch of TVLowCost in the United States, expanding its network to eleven countries throughout the world. In a downturn economy threatened daily by recession, TVLowCost has made television advertising exciting and affordable to its clients through a unique streamlined targeted approach.
TVLowCost USA will offer it’s internationally known, highly successful, All Inclusive TV Pack to US companies. The All Inclusive TV Pack offers the security of a low fixed price of $500,000 for an entire television advertising campaign, and not a single penny more. Through the All Inclusive TV Pack companies are finally able to get more for less. The all inclusive package includes creative development, research, national advertising media, and the complete production of several commercials. TVLowCost has perfected this approach internationally creating advertising campaigns for such companies as Heinz, Wrangler, Bose, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Unilever. 
“We are excited to introduce our low cost television advertising approach to the United States,” stated Jean-Paul Tréguer, CEO and Founder of the TVLowCost International network, which was launched in Paris, October 2004. “Bloated ad budgets are the first thing companies ‘cut’ in a strained economy.  We offer companies an alternative advertising process infused with quality, speed, efficiency, and value that reach their target audiences. TVLowCost pulls together the best business building attributes of a TV ad campaign, eliminating the excess cost usually associated with traditional High-Cost agencies, while maximizing audience impressions through our unique process.”
TVLowCost creates targeted campaigns, answering the continually changing needs of clients without the itemized add-ons common with other agencies. This is done through its comprehensive, all-inclusive platform which has been perfected through its unique process. TVLowCost works with clients on a project basis, and because of this there is no need to change current agency arrangements.
“Companies have a real need for a low-cost way to reap the benefits of television advertising,” stated Jim Lurie, President, TVLowCost USA. “Similar to how Southwest Airlines, Costco and Amazon.com developed new disruptive business models, TVLowCost revolutionized an old business model and delivers high-quality, indisputable value and low-cost to advertisers.”

About TVLowCost
TVLowCost is the first independently owned, low cost, quality television advertising network. The company has an international network of more than 110 clients including Heinz, Wrangler, Bose, Ricoh, Daihatsu, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Unilever. With 200 employees located in offices throughout the world, TVLowCost creates targeted television advertising campaigns through a unique streamlined approach.

TVLowCost’s All Inclusive TV Pack offers the security of one low fixed price for a television advertising campaign, and not a single penny more. The all inclusive package, costing $500,000.00 in the U.S. includes creative development, research, national advertising media, and the complete production of several commercials.

The TVLowCost network is currently available in 11 countries across the world, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and most recently the United States of America.

Please visit the TVLowCost Blog at http://tvlowcostusa.wordpress.com/

Media Contact:
Jim Lurie, President
TVLowCost USA
(646) 839-6239
jlurie@tvlowcostusa.com

If you stop advertising during Recession, the risks are high to kill your brand. There is an alternative strategy : adopt TVLowCost “All inclusive TV Pack”…

If you stop advertising during Recession, the risks are high to kill your brand. There is an alternative strategy : adopt TVLowCost “All inclusive TV Pack”…

TVLowCost will easily demonstrate to you that our unique approach of TV advertising will help your brand being seen on TV for less money you can imagine.

Our “All Inclusive TV Pack” contains : the creative development + the shooting of several commercials + a consumer pretesting + IPSOS barometer + media planning and media buying on national TV channels with a high level of GRP’s.Have a look at our international web site and contact our local CEO in one of the 11 countries where we are established…
You will discover that you can “accelerate” during recession times while reducing your marketing expenditures. Interesting perspective, don’t you think so ?

 

TVLowCost

Cost Cutting is nowadays reality. BREAK THE RULES…with TVLowCost you cut marketing budgets, while ameliorating the efficiency of your TV advertising.

Cost Cutting is nowadays reality. BREAK THE RULES…with TVLowCost you cut marketing budgets, while ameliorating the efficiency of your TV advertising.

Not a single day without reading or hearing that companies are reducing their marketing expenditures, it’s today’s reality and it is highly probable that it will stay like that for a few months…or more.

This is a major opportunity for advertisers to BREAK THE RULES !
It’s when one has “no choice” that one will find new and original solutions, it has always been like that since centuries. It’s the ideal moment to see “what’s new” in the advertising world, it’s the moment to identify new partners who will help your company face this difficult period.

One thing is sure : you cannot do new things with old methods and old advertising partners inside old advertising agency organisations !

TVLowCost is the first and only TV advertising specialist that has adopted the low cost concept for qualitative “tailor made” television campaigns. We bring to advertisers a completely new and fresh approach of television advertising that really cuts the overall costs of developing a TV campaign. We claim and demonstrate in the eleven countries where TVLowCost is established that we make TV advertising affordable, at last.

So if you are a bit “stressed” by the necessity to cut your advertising budget, “de-stress” yourself, we have plenty of arguments that will show you that with a reduced marketing budget you will be much more efficient than with your previous “high cost” advertising agency ! Have a look at our international web site and call our local CEO, he will reassure you completely!

Booz Allen Hamilton predicts the TVLowCost model is the future

Recent finding by Booz Allen tells us  ”Low-cost business models could completely rewrite the rules of the effected industries”. 

This is what TVLowCost has been finding for TV advertising, commercial production and media. More and more prospects are turning into customers as they find the value in the Low-Cost TV advertising model to make television advertising affordable for all brands, at last ! And for TVLowCost it is a business model that can not be replicated by any just agency.If you would like to find out how TVLowCost delivers exceptional value please call any of our country manager !

An agency or any organization for that matter must be built from the ground up to deliver Low-Cost TV advertising.. because it is not just low price, it is quality with outstanding value and the business structure, foundation and processes need to be in place to deliver on the promise. 

Similar to the examples sited by Booz Allen Hamilton in their article.

AUSTERITY, RECESSION… it’s time to quit your “HIGH COST” advertising agencies and see how TVLowCost can transform TV advertising in a very affordable media !

 

Are you really sure that there are only bad news in this period ?
Are you really sure that the situation is so negative ?
Are you really sure that the only sound thing to do is to keep your current advertising partners ?

Nobody can be happy about the alarming news we read and hear everywhere, for sure, but let us be positive : it is an excellent excuse to become more “creative and open minded” !

When times are difficult, it is the right moment to identify new solutions to cope with them and decide to accelerate when the vast majority of the other brands will start slowing down.

 

TVLowCost constitutes probably one of the best answers you can find to defend your brand in austerity times, just because we are there to give you MORE FOR LESS…

If you are considering reducing your advertising expenditures, why not studying our approach of TV advertising ?
Why not spending an hour or two with our managers in your country to hear what they can do for your brand ?
If in the last 3 years and a half a little more than 110 advertisers have joined the different TVLowCost offices around the world to benefit from our unique cost-saving method, more than 450 TV commercials have been shot, do you think that this is just because we are “lucky” …

We, at TVLowCost, believe that the costs of TV advertising can be drastically diminished in order to help brands defend their market shares with reduced budgets. We believe in this and we prove that it works !

Ask yourself why brands such as HEINZ, UNILEVER, WRANGLER, BOSE, GOODYEAR, MILTON, RICOH and many others… have chosen us, they must have understood something special about us, no ?

TVLowCost accelerates! Our group opens its 10th subsidiary: TVLowCost USA, based in New York and managed by JIM LURIE. TV advertising becomes affordable in USA, at last !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TVLowCost accelerates! Our group opens its 10th subsidiary: TVLowCost USA, based in New York and managed by JIM LURIE. TV advertising becomes affordable in USA, at last !
The American agency, which employs already 10 co-workers, adopts the same method «to make TV advertising affordable, at last “  in the United States.
Have a look at our USA Blog
Since our foundation, we considered international by opening subsidiaries in Germany, UK, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where they meet the same success demonstrating that  we can be ” low cost and high quality ” at the same moment.
In every country, our ” all inclusive TV Packs “ includes : 1 ° the creation, 2 ° the shooting of a saga of TV spots, 3 ° the consumer pre-test, 4 ° brand awareness barometer by IPSOS, 5 ° the media planning and media buying for a solid national campaign.

to know more about our network : TVLowCost International

 

The TRADE Squeeze: TVLowCost frees your Brand from its ‘circular’, monotonous and predictable life!

“Low-cost” TV from TVLowCost makes TV AFFORDABLE to Challenger Brands. Why spend FORTUNES on non-TV Media when your Brand can enjoy the full benefits of TV for LESS THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE ? AND the Trade will love you …!

FMCG Brands and their Owners are on a continuous cycle of Trade Support that’s increasingly dominating Brand Budgets. And putting the squeeze on advertising and promotional spend.  Invariably it’s advertising that gets pulled because of its high cost in order to maintain profitability of the brand.

Winning the game … it’s cat and mouse with the powerful Grocery groups. Play the game … or risk not having a market for your products. Don’t support your Brand and risk poorer Distribution, adverse shelf positions or even worse, de-listing. And let’s be honest, the Trade ONLY get excited about TV advertising, right? Forget protestations that Mags/Print plus some posters around their Stores, oh and some online will fire up any Multiple Buyer! This harsh reality becomes even more vital for smaller Challenger Brands struggling on tight budgets.

If this sounds familiar… and you want to break out – CHANGE GEAR – and have your Brand supported on TV, then TVLowCost is the solution. We have made TV affordable. At last. And pioneered the Best Value all-in TV Package in every market where we are established.

TVLowCost has created complete V package … you will be on-air 8 weeks from agreed Brief, with an average 4 commercials pre-Tested and an Omnibus included too; full TV Shoot of course with all post-editing and running costs; AND a fully tailored Peak/Off-Peak National TV Schedule geared precisely to your Brand’s Target Audience. And punching hugely above its weight.

RESULTS! RESULTS! … we are getting our Clients remarkable Results in each of the markets where we are, just ask us. Here are some exmpales from UK : Milton earned +30% Sales across their range with +32% extra Distribution on top. Sudocrem +21% plus + the same for Distribution. Milton has rebooked follow-up TV bursts for both the UK and now abroad … as separately has Sudocrem, now on its 3rd burst in 15 months! Both Brands on higher spends after proving campaign efficacies,  both having been off TV for a decade or more. We are talking serious net business gains here, and ££payback. Plus exceptional Distribution gains. And their Housewife+Kids targeting will be pretty similar to your own?

Next step?… contact us and see our robust, Results-orientated presentation. And be prepared to be convinced – this is all possible, as 85 Projects and over 420 commercials from our Network have shown. Your own Brand will not look over its shoulder again. So don’t finalise your 08/09 Brand Plans without considering TVLowCost. Hope to hear from you. Thanks and regards.

“Low-cost” TV from TVLowCost makes TV AFFORDABLE to Challenger Brands. Why spend FORTUNES on non-TV Media when your Brand can enjoy the full benefits of national TV for less than you can imagine ? AND the Trade will love you …!

“Low-cost” TV from TVLowCost makes TV AFFORDABLE to Challenger Brands. Why spend FORTUNES on non-TV Media when your Brand can enjoy the full benefits of national TV for less than you can imagine ? AND the Trade will love you …!

Fast Moving Consumer Goods Brands and their Owners are on a continuous cycle of Trade Support that’s increasingly dominating Brand Budgets. And putting the squeeze on advertising and promotional spend. Invariably it’s advertising that gets pulled because of its high cost in order to maintain profitability of the brand.

Winning the game … it’s cat and mouse with the powerful retail groups. Play the game … or risk not having a market for your products. Don’t support your Brand and risk poorer Distribution, adverse shelf positions or even worse, de-listing. And let’s be honest, the Trade ONLY get excited about TV advertising, right? Forget protestations that Mags/Print plus some posters around their Stores, oh and some online will fire up any Multiple Buyer! This harsh reality becomes even more vital for smaller Challenger Brands struggling on tight budgets.

If this sounds familiar… and you want to break out – CHANGE GEAR – and have your Brand supported on TV, then TVLowCost is the solution. We have made TV affordable. At last. And pioneered the Best Value all-in TV Package.

We offer complete package from less than you can imagine … you will be on-air 8 weeks from agreed Brief, with an average 4 commercials pre-Tested and an Omnibus included too; full TV Shoot of course with all post-editing and running costs; AND a fully tailored Peak/Off-Peak National TV Schedule geared precisely to your Brand’s Target Audience. And punching hugely above its weight.

RESULTS! RESULTS! … we are getting our Clients remarkable Results in every country where we are established. Just ask your local TVLowCost manager to come and present them to you!

Next step?… contact us and see our robust, Results-orientated presentation. And be prepared to be convinced – this is all possible, as 85 Projects and over 420 commercials from our Network have shown. Your own Brand will not look over its shoulder again. So don’t finalise your 08/09 Brand Plans without considering TVLowCost. Hope to hear from you.

Advertisers, do not panic ! The generalization of the tensions on the costs obliges companies to question all their previous ways of management. In TV advertising , the economic approach of TVLowCost allows to restore the ” Marketing Purchasing Power ” of companies.

Advertisers, do not panic ! The generalization of the tensions on the costs obliges companies to question all their previous ways of management. In TV advertising , the economic approach of TVLowCost allows to restore  the ” Marketing Purchasing Power ” of companies.

When TVLowCost opened its doors, three and a half years ago, the advertising industry roared and declared in a peremptory and definitive way : ” this will never work! ” The argumentation developed in a certain number of interviews by the big bosses of traditional advertising agencies, demonstrated that the cost of the ” All inclusive TV Pack for 250 000 euros” was simply ridiculous and impossible … 

It is true that the advertising  industry is always strangely traditionalist and conformist !

Our intuition was right : numerous companies did not go to television, simply because the “ticket of entry “ was inaccessible for them. Today, the inflationary pressure that every company undergoes on its costs of supply, the spectacular rise of the weight of the distribution, the emergence of delocalized competitors, all this encourage companies to re-study from top to bottom their structures of costs.

Today’s name of the game is : “savings”! Today is the time to work with the only TV agency specialist of savings : TVLowCost!

With regard to this new context, it is cristal clear that the traditional ” high cost ” advertising agencies are very badly adapted to the new economic environment. It is not so easy to pass from a model to the other one … 

That’s why, among others reason, TVLowCost knows such a success with all the typologies of advertisers, because we allow each of them to reduce their marketing costs in a important way. By reducing the costs of TV advertising we allow our clients to improve their overall profitability, and this is very useful nowadays!

TVLowCost will save every drop of your marketing budget to make TV advertising affordable, at last!

TVLowCost will save every drop of your marketing budget to make TV advertising affordable, at last!

TV Production costs … yes, that hairy old issue. Truth is: even today the Ad Industry still does itself and Clients injustices with “high-cost” TV Production. Too many ad agencies still seem to ignore the Budget, and deliver back OTT costs complete with a bewildering array of excuses. Too much smoke and mirrors, and perhaps a few selfish agendas rather than brands’ results and returns (awards, awards, awards…)

Stories still abound from Clients with either damaging first-hand experiences, or others having suffered the dire consequences of poor budgeting. Still rife! Forced to accept higher-than-expected costs, they inevitably take it from the Media … 4 months later and no apparent lifts anywhere the Board loses faith in the campaign, its possibly cut and …  ’put down to experience’. The TV medium is written off too, and alternative low-profile options resumed. A shame … for the brand, the Client, ad agency, TV itself and the Industry. All too typical even today … 

We have an altogether different “LOW-COST” pioneering approach. We do stick to the budget. And only return with  work that we can deliver for the same.

BUT … way before that, we have wisely ’packaged’ up ALL elements for a complete TV Shoot in ONE all-in TV Package, representing the Best Value possible. That’s all preparation + the Shoot itself [we average 3/4 commercials per project] + all editing/post-prod + transmission costs. Add to that the huge $$ benefits of us containing ALL facilities IN-HOUSE – rather than use the typical array of additional specialist suppliers outside of the main Prod Company [all on high margins, naturellement] – and you ‘ll appreciate the precision, practicality, and cost-effectiveness of our remarkable proposition.

Our proposition? a fixed amount for a complete on-air TV campaign. Including full management, Creative, Group Discussion to check out the Ideas, the Shoot itself plus all editing/post-prod, transmission costs, v/o and music … then a pre-Omnibus check.  AND … including a fully-tailored National Peak and Off-Peak TV Schedule which will certainly ‘punch above its weight’ with sufficient Impact, Coverage and Frequency to register. We will be on-air 8 weeks [no, not 8 months] from agreed Brief. Food for thought …?

And Results? We are consistently delivering Results that “exceed expectations”. When most of our ex-TV Clients then go on to re-book further TV bursts – many being on their 3rd within 18 months after payback from the first burst alone – it’s all the proof we need for our efficacy. And with 85 clients and 420 commercials in 3 years from a wide range of Clients, all cynics have run for cover from the pure consistency of our positive returns.

TVLowCost’s mission is to simply to get deserving Challenger Brands onto TV, quickly, creatively, effectively and in the most cost-efficient way. And then yield Results that “exceed expectations”. With most spend going INTO THE MEDIA.

Do your brand a favour and call our branch in your country ! You will discover how affordable can TV advertising become under the influence of TVLowCost!

“GET MORE WITH LESS ! ” TVLowCost is the 1st TV advertising agency network created to reduce the costs of TV advertising and make television affordable : “GET MORE AND WORRY LESS”!

Yes, “Affordable TV advertising” can generate excellent Return On Investment ! 

This is the issue everywhere. Every advertiser knows that TV advertising is the most efficient way to boost one’s business. No discussion. But, how many can afford national TV advertising ? Since decades television channels, traditional “high cost” media agencies and advertising agencies have made everything to put in the advertiser’s minds that TV is a fabulous media, BUT, that they need a lot of money to get in.

Because they MUST be on Prime Time, because they MUST shoot their TV commercial in an exotic location, because they MUST do it in 35mm, because they MUST pay monthly fees during several months to the ad agency to elaborate the creation, etc.

At the end of the day, many advertisers say “TV advertising is not for me, too expensive”… and they invest in other less efficient and powerful medias.

In every business, low cost pioneers have demonstrated that there was a way to do things differently and reduce spectacularly the costs of things without losing quality. They show that inexpensive does not necessarily mean “cheap” or “poor quality”. They have created new business models from scratch, new working methods much more efficient, new team mentalities. They have demonstrated that a large number of customers (also including B to B clients) are ready to pay much less to get “the function without the frills”.

Television advertising needed a revolution. It was more expensive every year despite audiences fragmentations, despite new shooting cameras, despite travel cost reductions…

TVLowCost is born because too many clients are unable to get on TV with the traditional “high cost” agencies. TVLowCost “All inclusive TV Packs” changes completely the relation with advertisers. They know that, for a fixed amount in each country where we are, EVERYTHING is included :

“GET MORE. WORRY LESS”

No bad surprise, no additional costs. Our clients discover a very different kind of TV advertising agency :

An agency focussed on sales efficiency and not on winning new “creative awards and chocolate medals”.

An agency working hard to reduce the delays, in order to save money, and not taking months to elaborate a TV campaign.

An agency where clients are treated as partners to conceive the most economical campaign, and not only as “cash machines”…

“GET MORE WITH LESS” is our commitment to our clients, our international “Mot d’Ordre”!

TVLowCost … and the “Last 60 minute theory”. Hitting consumers with TV spots just before shopping is far more effective and affordable than over-priced Prime Time spots 12 hours earlier.

TVLowCost’s unique approach to “affordable TV advertising” also adds further campaign impact too! 

You likely know the theory of the “last metre”, developed by many Design, Packaging and SP specialists. This shows the vital importance of “product visibility in-store” so that consumers, with only a few seconds spare, will see and hopefully grab your brand and not competitors.
TVLowCost believes a similar theory applies to TV advertising: the “Last 60 minutes” theory. Whilst avoiding Peak Terrestrial airtime for cost and wastage reasons – priorising TV commercials in a tailored combination of Off-peak and Peak Terrestrial/MCH –  we make it possible for Clients to advertise their brands only minutes before consumers are in the shops. Better for purchasing, right?

This tangible “proximity to purchase” will undoubtedly also benefit brand sales when considering that consumers are hit, they say, by 5000 brand messages a day! Hard to believe, but true.  Studies undertaken by ROBERT HEATH in the UK clearly show the reality of this “carpet bombing”. By “commercial messages”, we are talking all forms of advertising of course but also the thousands of logos that surround us in our [mostly] city lives. 

ROBERT HEATH demonstrated the importance of what he calls LOW INVOLVEMENT PROCESSING (LIP). Namely, that our brains – consciously or subconsciously – record ALL such information, there being “no dustbin” function as such. It simply arranges this information in different “baskets”…

Eg. If a consumer is seeking a foot cream, information acquired will pop to the surface of her mind whereas info on cars – not on her shopping list – will not. 

What do we draw from these studies at TVLowCost ? Quite simply: the closer a branded message is to the act of purchase the more likely a sale. ie. Cost-effective Daytime TV advertising – far from being “bad” for a brand – is on the contrary much more effective. Hugely over-priced Peak spots the night before will have long faded into obscurity. Worth noting too that Daytime viewers tend to be more “available and focussed” than during evenings when all manner of domestic disruptions get in the way: kids coming home, homework, supper, laundry et al! Terrestrial Peak advertising really is NOT all that it’s cracked up to be in today’s TV market, where better value and efficiencies are readily available through other Channels.

This “Last 60 minutes” theory is also supported by dozens of  TVLowCost campaigns across our   network. We can also demonstrate that the “affordable TV advertising” that we create can really deliver remarkable business Results!

This theory is actually just common sense … in an ad agency world where obsession for “Peak only” should have come off the rails a long time ago!

Advertising during a Recession : “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.” Why recession should incitate you to choose TVLowCost, the affordable TV advertising agency?

“When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.”

Here we are, recession seems to be very pobable in front of us in the vast majority of countries. All the reasons seem to be joined to create a slow down in many markets. Many companies will start reducing their marketing expenditures in order to save money and try to keep a normal level of profitability. Every sound manager knows it is not a good decision to stop advertising, but “what else can I do ?” will they say… It is not so easy to maintain the same level of advertising investement when you know that your billing will probably be reduced in the months to come.

In a famous study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980-1985. The results showed that Firms that Maintained or Increased their Advertising Expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession Averaged Significantly Higher Sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. By 1985, sales of companies that were Aggressive Recession Advertisers had Risen 256% over those that didn’t keep up their advertising. In addition, a series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith  (below) showed conclusively that Advertising Aggressively during Recessions not only Increases Sales but Increases Profits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(source: Meldrum & Fewsmith)

Plenty of evidence demonstrate this, but, I still hear many advertisers saying :  “OK, I agree on this, but I cannot afford the costs of advertising on TV in this moment ?”

Well, then it’s time for you to change your habits and quit the world of “HIGH COST” TV advertising, and discovering that with TVLowCost, TV advertising is not only affordable, but also very efficient, for budgets several times inferior to what you used to pay! With the power of TV advertising to boost your business.

Recession should be the opportunity to adopt a “Low Cost Attitude” in TV advertising.

There is a big difference between PRIZE and PRICE…”When all the ad agencies fight to get Prizes, only one fights to diminish the Price” says an ad from TVLowCost Paris.

“High Cost” traditional companies would love to have low cost competitors like this one…

In a recession context, more than ever, you need our low cost TV advertising agency, in order to get television advertising “affordable”, at last!

With a recession hitting the vast majority of the world, more so than ever there is a need for advertisers to develop quality advertising that sells – but without the overhead, wasted time and “high cost” associated with almost every traditional advertising agency.
That is why TVLowCost International was developed. Think about it. Almost every industry has a player that changes the model and delivers a low-cost product without sacrificing QUALITY.
They do this by streamlining processes and doing away with frivolous steps that add huppla and cost, but very little in terms of the ultimate deliverable. Airlines, food, telecom, computers, cars, even legal services.
Why not a low cost TV advertising agency?
Quality television advertising that sells, at an affordable price, that is accessible to everyone…but is right for QUALITY BRANDS.
A simple concept whose time has come. At last!

“SELL OR ELSE”. David OGILVY’s phrase about the role of advertising is the best expression of what we believe in at TVLowCost!

I am reading a very interesting book in this moment. Called “AD LAND, A global history of advertising”, by Mark Tungate. It helps us going back to what the pioneers of our industry have made and said. Big Names such as BILL BERNBACH, or ROSSER REEVES, the inventor of the “USP” (Unique Selling Proposition) and, of course, DAVID OGILVY. It also make you understand that those people were not in advertising with the sole objective of winning awards in the numerous creative Grand Prix… Something many advertising executives of nowadays should remember!

I have probably read more than ten times, since I am in advertising, the fabulous book “OGILVY ON ADVERTISING” it really helped me to define the concept of TVLowCost. Let me quote one or two of his sentences:

“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”

“I do not regard advertising as entertainment or art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said : “Let us march against Philip”.

He also quoted several times his old friend ROSSER REEVES who said :

“Do you want fine writing? Do you want masterpieces ? Or do you want to see the goddamned sales curve start moving up ?”

All his life long, DAVID OGILVY repeated the same message : “SELL OR ELSE”

We, at TVLowCost strongly believe that our only mission, when we do a TV advertising campaign for any of our clients, is that one. Nothing to add!

At TVLowCost, « we try harder »! Like in this famous slogan, we fight against traditional advertising agencies, pure products of the « high cost » culture. We demonstrate everywhere that a TV advertising agency can be both low cost and high quality.

“We try harder”, AVIS famous campaign is a perfect example of what we try to do every day in the different countries where our TVLowCost network is established. Convincing advertisers that, at last, TV advertising is affordable for their brands, and that what they heard from “high cost” advertising agencies is not true anymore.
NO, to be seen on national TV channels, one does not need to invest its advertising budget on Peak Time exclusively. TVLowCost will provide you with excellent alternative media planning, using plenty of cheaper possibilities, with a high degree of efficiency.
NO, to shoot a creative & convincing commercial, it is not necessary to travel abroad to an exotic location. Excellent TV commercials can be shot “in town”, creativity is not function of the number of kilometers! TVLowCost reduces the bill like that.
NO, 35mm shooting is not better that High Definition Video, consumers will not see the difference, but the cost will be very different! TVLowCost uses the latest HD digital cameras, much more adapted to modern televisions diffusion.
NO, to conceive a brilliant TV advertising, your agency does not need to be situated in a very expensive and “ modern design” headquarter located in the most expensive area of the town. What counts really is the talent and dedication of the people working on your brand! At TVLowCost, our offices are situated in convenient and simple offices. Our client’s money does not have to pay for our “luxurious way of life”
NO, it is not necessary to wait for months to leave your agency plenty of time and plenty of monthly fees, to elaborate several convincing TV spots. In 8 weeks, TVLowCost will deliver you the finalized spots, consumer pretest included. 8 weeks and 6 steps involving you… and no monthly fee…
NO, covering the walls of your advertising agency’s entrance and agency’s meeting rooms with Awards is not a proof that this agency will do an efficient TV advertising for your brand! It could even be a sign that this agency is mostly interested by its “glory”! Never forget that to win awards, agencies have to seduce other creative jury’s, it has sometimes little to do with seducing and convincing consumers… At TVLowCost our only obsession is your market share!

If, like John Wanamaker, you feel that “half of your advertising budget is waisted”, why not switching to TVLowCost? You will save a lot of money and discover that TV advertising can be both low cost and efficient!

 “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half” (John Wanamaker)

John Wanamaker opened his first store in 1861, called “Oak Hall”, in Philadelphia. Oak Hall grew substantially based on Wanamaker’s then-revolutionary principle: “One price and goods returnable”. In 1875 he purchased an abandoned railroad depot and converted it into a large store, called John Wanamaker & Co. “The Grand Depot” is considered the first department store in Philadelphia.

John Wanamaker was an innovator, creative in his work, and a merchandising and advertising genius, though modest and with an enduring reputation for honesty.

He is the author of this famous phrase : “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half” (sometimes wrongly attributed to David Ogilvy).

This issue seems to be, even today, a valid issue for many advertisers! Here again, we believe that TVLowCost unique approach is a strong garanty for advertisers that they will save a lot of money in comparison to what they could risk waisting with “high cost” traditional advertising agencies who fight too often with clients to impose them their point of view and their outrageous costs! Not speaking about their creative “dictators” refusing to pretest their campaigns with consumers, because “they know” what is good for the brand!

 When working with any TVLowCost agency in the countries where we are, a client will adopt the “All included TVLowCost Pack” where pre-test focus group is automatic, where Brand awareness barometer is automatic, where reduced costs is automatic.

So, if you are concerned about the amount of money you dedicate to advertising, come to us, and you will start by reducing spectacularly the amount of your budget and reducing spectacularly the risks of being not efficient !

TVLowCost is made for advertisers looking for affordable TV advertising. With us you will “Get more for less” with your advertising budget.

Down to its very roots, TVLowCost is a unique advertising agency with a very different approach of TV advertising than the usual “high cost” traditional agencies. We have these ‘low cost’ principles in mind.
We have developed 4 key steps to handle an advertiser’s TV communication problem.

1. TV Media Planning … avoiding the obvious, finding the “clever” spots

When the majority of advertisers concentrate on Peak-time with its larger audiences but huge resultant costs, TVLowCost exploits the many opportunist buying occasions on other channels during Off-peak. With great effect. The laws of ’supply and demand’ at Peak-time force prices radically upwards with so many competing but airtime during the Day or Late can often be 5/6 times cheaper. Add to this that such programming often has more tightly focussed target audiences with stronger reasons to watch … and you can gain great added value plus better cost-efficiencies from such a strategy. All consumers are “good and interesting” consumers at the end of the day; it’s only what you need to pay in order to reach them that’s the real issue.

2. The All-in-One ‘TVLowCost’ revolution !

Having worked with all categories and sizes of advertiser, we appreciate the enormous pressures on ad budgets and the ease with which they can be exceeded. The Ad Industry is not often sympathetic to such constant headaches. In turn and with TV always being seen as an expensive medium, many advertisers avoid the risk altogether.

Too risky, right? We’d say ‘No’ and our ‘All-in-One TV Pack’ is the answer. Our contract (for £200k in UK, or 250 000 euros in France or 300 000 euros in Germany)) guarantees the following all-inclusive services with no extra costs:

Management of the entire process [8 weeks from Brief] … Creative fees and rights of use … full TV Production through to copy clearance, on-air transmission and running costs … a qualitative pre-test plus a two-stage quantified pre- and post- campaign Impact & Awareness check by IPSOS … and a tailored Off-peak TV airtime package with minimum 100+ national TV spots. No extra costs. No nasty surprises.

3. A minimum of senior staff focussed on the essentials

A key principle of ‘low cost’ generally, and it works.

Avoid expensive non-essentials and hangers-on; only deliver what the consumer actually needs. A ‘low cost’ airline’s planes are just as reliable as those of the major carriers. Its crews just as competent. But the lounges, free drinks and over-generous staffing levels can stay with their competitors … simply because they are not needed in this case.
TVLowCost applies these same rules. A tight team and not a troop. Modest offices with no OTT HQ’s. No shareholders applying constant pressures on margins at all costs, profits being their sole mission. We apply only the skills necessary to ensure total success, and from one combined team. Our 4-step process and ‘low cost’ culture enables a new TV campaign to hit all those screens on time, on budget, and in only 8 weeks too.

4. TV Production – the less expensive way

Campaigns can cost more or less, as you like. But great creative ideas are simple and don’t always have to be executed expensively. They also sell by themselves.

A commercial complete with famous actor and shot on 35mm on the Barrier Reef will certainly cost, but is it all to mask … that there’s no great idea there in the first place? Maybe. We’d prefer to focus on bringing out the product’s tangible plusses – its competitive edges – rather than applying loads of expensive seduction techniques to do the selling.

There is a difference in approach here. Our advertising is here to sell and boost your brand’s awareness!
Our system of TV Production at TVLowCost concentrates on producing the best in the most tailored and so economical way possible. Every time. Always shooting in our studios or out locally, with digital High Definition film and simultaneous cameras, with Directors with wider experience than just ads, and with production methods proven in the US … these are only some of the methods we use to trim costs down to ‘as needed only’ levels. TVLowCost then uses this leverage to deliver quality work … to our Clients. And then together celebrates converting both non-TV advertisers and lapsed users to using TV advertising again, still the most powerful of all media today.

Why make TV advertising more accessible?

Because it is still by far the most effective medium. It is television that makes certain brands world famous, such as Coca-Cola, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Danone… Television remains the highest impact and persuasion medium of all. In 2004 TV was watched by the general public all over the world on an average of 3h30 everyday. 73% of our free time is spent watching television! In just a few days a brand can be shown to millions of potential customers. Early morning, 3pm in the afternoon or even in the middle of the night, there are hundreds of thousands of viewers watching programmes. Applying our ‘ Low Cost ‘ approach to TV makes it far more accessible to advertisers who want it – need it – to build their brands’ profiles and reputations, boost their sales, and defend their market positions.

The ‘TVLowCost All-in-One Pack’ is the most economical, value for money entry ticket to TV available. For a very limited budget in comparison with what you will pay with a “traditional HIGH COST agency”, your brand will benefit from a full strategic, creative, production, research and media airtime package. All-in-one. No surprises, and with nothing else to pay.

With an average UK 30 sec TV commercial costing around £140k for production alone today or 250 000 euros in France – and with running costs and airtime on top – the added value within this all-inclusive opportunity is indeed exceptional. The Off-peak TV airtime Package, tightly targeted, will also deliver around 50% coverage at 3 OTS – an equivalent to a minimum 100+ national TV spots. We have a variety of primary Target Groups – Housewives + Kids, Housewives 16-54, Adults 55+ and Kids 5-14 – but can tailor Packages to suit.

TVLowCost: 100% solutions for Challenger Brands

TVLowCost makes TV advertising accessible – and very affordably so – to all advertisers with smaller budgets. So, what do we mean by  Challenger Brands – and what are the circumstances of the 3 types of Client who will gain most from our ‘All-in-One TV’ proposition?

Challengers are secondary/tertiary brands with high ambitions but limited resources and skills – certainly against their larger competitors who probably out-gun them 5x [even 10x] in marketing spend terms, their war-chests bristling with armoury. So, our ‘Davids’ have to be altogether smarter and out-think, out-create, out-tactic, out-whatever … their respective ‘Goliaths’ in order to make their limited funds work harder. A ‘2+2=6′ challenge.

TVLowCost … is a remarkably low-cost but  high-impact new weapon to this end, offering remarkable value for money . Our ideal Clients are:

1] New-to-TV Brands … a brand that sorely needs TV for the first time but previous cost appraisals have scared them away, so they’ve existed in print advertising and other lesser means, propped up well by effective BTL. But … still they face delistings and the second of the Big 5 Grocers is threatening again.

2]  Lapsed TV Brands …  whose fortunes have similarly driven it to use lesser media props but, with a previous TV ad heritage and strong residual brand values, a good dose of TV would see them all dusted off and re-born. And the Trade would love it!

3] Smaller Brands in larger Company portfolios …  those deserving but lesser brands residing in the Marketing Director’s bottom drawers at the ‘Big Company’. Whilst his/her priority brands enjoy fuller marketing funds, these make do with the crumbs and valiantly keep their heads above water. Most monies have to go to retaining distribution but … wouldn’t TV be great? And right now? And we surely do have that small budget needed to make this a reality!

Adopt the “Low Cost Attitude” to create your next TV advertising. Making your tv campaigns affordable and efficient is the mission N°1 of TVLowCost.

Why « democratising » television advertising is a top priority for brands everywhere in the world ?

Because TV it is the most efficient medium.

It is television that makes certain brands world famous, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsico, l’Oréal or the products from Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Henkel, …  Television is the perfect impact medium. In 2008 television is watched by the general public all over the world on an  average of more than 3h30 everyday. 

73% of our free time is spent watching television ! In just a few days a brand can be shown to millions of potential clients.  Early in the morning or even in the middle of the night or at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, there are hundreds of thousands of viewers watching TV programs.  To apply « Low Cost » to television advertising is to democratise it and make it available to all advertisers who need it to build their reputation and boost their sales to defend their position in the market.
The « TVLowCost All-included Packs » : a Revolution that meets the needs of advertisers everywhere.

For 250 000 €, 100 000 € or 200 000 £, according to the countries where we are established, TVLowCost agencies allow advertisers to broadcast a minimum 100 TV commercials on national televisions contacting millions of consumers with high level of repetition !  Knowing that usually this is just the cost of producing the ad .

Let me give you an example : in 2008 the average budget to produce a TV spot in France is 250 000 €. 250 000 € is also the cost of 3 TV spots of 30 seconds at 8 o’clock PM in the evening on the main channels in the different markets.… Compare for yourself : ask to your HIGH COST agency how much it would cost to produce and broadcast an advertising campaign in comparable conditions…

Is low cost Tv a cheap and low quality TV advertising ?

The spots proposed by TVLowCost are real television commercials, it has nothing to do with “home shopping spots” or certain cheap TV commercials that can be found on cable television channels.  There is no worry either of ‘outdated’ advertising messages which could be dangerous for the brand image. 

Our TV commercials are shot by very demanding and experienced directors.  The “TVLowCost All-included packs” have demonstrated in every market the efficiency of short formats, such as 12, 10 or even 8 seconds. Is a 10 or 8 second TV spot too short ?  Not that short : at a normal pace of 3 words a second you can say between 24 to 30 words.  Whereas billboards work with only four or five words.

A 8 or 10 second spot will “get to the point”, it is a guarantee to concentrate on the essential, the famous « USP” Unique Selling Proposition ». Short means less expensive and more television commercials broadcasted, thus the brand has more possibilities to repeat its message to the consumers. Never forget that …

REPETITION CREATES REPUTATION !

The ideal solution for challengers or secondary brands belonging to global companies. TVLowCost « democratises » TV advertising by giving access to the “king of the medias” to advertisers who do not have huge marketing budgets. 

2 types of advertisers are particularly concerned : small businesses and challenger brands who need television to “boost” their consumer demand otherwise they risk to be « ejected » from the retailers.  And large global groups who cannot support each of their local brands with large media expenditures.  Instead of focussing exclusively on promotion to support their secondary brands, they can keep up their brand awareness and top of mind presence thanks to TV. 

Nowadays, all over the world, many advertisers have to reduce their advertising budget to “absorb the shock” of the dropping prices. With TVLowCost, these brands are able to continue their appearances on television.

By reducing the necessary budgets to go on TV drastically (by 4 to 5 times what advertisers usually pay), TVLowCost offers a credible solution for thousands of advertisers exhausted by the relationship with their traditional HIGH COST ad agencies!

Stop the creative ayatollahs and dictators of “high cost” traditional advertising agencies!

Stop the creative ayatollahs and dictators!

With this blog, we risk losing the last friends we’ve kept in the world of traditional high cost advertising agencies. It’s not too serious…they’ll get over it and so will we!

What we’re going to describe is obviously biased. Clearly, all advertising agencies are not to be put “in the same basket”! Nonetheless, a number of advertisers have this type of relationship with their agencies on a daily basis; they know who they are…

What is fascinating for anyone who observes this world with a critical eye is the propensity of advertising agency practitioners to consider that they are “always right”. The creative team “knows” what the consumer wants to hear and knows better than anyone what’s happening in the consumer’s mind! Consequently, there is no question of putting forward the slightest criticism of the creative idea, the text or the layout used…or, worse, the size of the logo! (for, of course, the logo shown on the model is often minuscule and in a corner…)

Immediately, the “poor client” finds himself facing a creative team member who’s going to defend his project “tooth and nail” without tolerating the slightest change to his “creative work” (which should get nothing but applause and hurrahs). And what should be a normal discussion meeting of a few minutes between two partners becomes a psychodrama in which the client must beg to be kindly offered an alternative at the next meeting…(if it’s not asking too much?)
This incredible nerve is sometimes excusable, or at least a bit “explainable”, when you’re dealing with experienced creative directors who know the category of products in question particularly well. By dint of designing campaigns for various food brands, you end up knowing some of the effectiveness triggers for food advertising messages, and the same thing goes for cosmetics, cars etc.

The “hiccup” occurs when this attitude, on the part of the creative ayatollahs (by ayatollah, we mean “absolute rejection of criticism”), is not limited to a few seniors in the creative department but is a “culture” shared by most advertising agencies’ creative departments.

The consequence is, alas, predictable: how many times a day do you have the impression that you don’t understand anything in the TV commercials that you see on your screen?
 
How many times do you ask yourself who can these billboards, these classified ads, these commercials be aimed at? How many times do you say that, obviously, everything’s happening too quickly for you and that there, you were “really cast adrift”…Don’t worry, you’re not the only one to react this way to the TV commercials; there are hundreds and thousands of us, indeed millions, every night.

You know what the problem is? In a lot of advertising agencies, nobody gives a damn about you understanding the product or buying just about you talking about it and noticing it – which I am sorry does not lead to sales!

What counts is that the creative team who make these ads find them “faaan-taas-tic”!!!

Furthermore, when the prize winners’ season arrives, a deluge of awards (Grands Prix, Golden Lions, Silver Lions, Bronze Lions etc) rains down on this kind of impenetrable commercial from the Art Directors’ Club, the Cannes International Festival of Advertising Film and a few other “chocolate medals” issued by judging panels of professionals who engage in self-congratulation while “returning the favour” to each other from one year to the next.

Moreover, even creative teams are aware of the “impenetrable excess” they have sunk into to get a chance of coming back crowned from Cannes. In this respect, listen to what was said by a “star of French creative talent”, the secretary-general of the very influential Art Directors’ Club, Gabriel Gaultier, also CEO of the Leg agency, a very fashionable agency:

“French advertising’s conformism is especially prompted by the race for international awards, which is logical and not harmful in itself, just harmful in its consequences if we limit ourselves to this cryptic language which still works in Cannes.”  

Ah Mr Gaultier, we fully agree with you!

You think we exaggerate? Well, OK, a little but basically not all that much. You only have to look at the repeated results, year after year, of studies and investigations that measure the advertisers’ degree of satisfaction with advertising agencies to realise to what extent advertisers complain of the excesses and extravagances of advertising campaigns that are too often disconnected from consumer “realities”, expectations and levels of understanding.

The advertising agency sector has been in a deep and lasting credibility crisis vis-à-vis advertisers for many long years, and bit by bit advertisers are getting rid of entire areas of their agencies’ services: space buying, then media planning; more and more communication strategy is withdrawn from agencies and entrusted instead to large consulting firms (ie in the USA)…
 
The real question that has to be asked from now on is as follows:
how long will creative design remain in the hands of traditional advertising practitioners?

Why “driving a Ferrari if you have no money for the petrol ?” This is the impression you will get working with traditional high cost ad’ agencies for your next TV campaign!

What’s the use of driving a Ferrari if you have no money for the petrol ?

Let us imagine that “At Last”, you’ve finally agreed with your agency’s creative team, they’ve made a step (oh, a very small one…and often with bad grace) in your direction and you’ve made several towards them (because after all, the advertisement has to come out!).

Your campaign is ready to be filmed. The great moment arrives: you’re going to launch production of your TV commercial… This section of the collaboration that’s beginning with your agency will be particularly important for the campaign’s success; this is where it must not fail! You also risk discovering the extent of the dramatisation that some agencies deliberately organise around this stage of the work.

Well then, let’s set out on an imaginary voyage, as children say:

“Let’s say you’re an advertiser and you have a meeting with your advertising agency”…

First of all, you’ll discover that there is only a single director (generally English, American or Japanese) who can bring your advertising script to life suitably and with talent. The fact that this director was recently awarded one or two Golden Lions at the Cannes Festival obviously has nothing to do with the fact he’s been thought of; it’s mere chance. Besides, on screening his “tape”, you can judge his talent for yourself (“Yes, of course, but how much does he cost???”).

Of course, as he has immense talent, a truly innovative vision of the job, very modern and different ideas on the way to shoot (which guarantees that your film will “stand out” strongly in the advertising slots), and surrounds himself with a team of loyal international assistants that he requires with him, he is “exclusively” with a production studio. (“Er, what does that mean?”, you wonder.)

Oh, not much, he is slightly dearer than the budget discussed, but he has “such power in dealing with images and such good direction of actors” that it would really be a pity not to choose him. And then he’s under exclusive contract to one of the biggest commercial production houses in NY or London or Sydney, which also absolutely guarantees an exceptional result. Besides, let’s have a look together at some of the advertising masterpieces shot by this production studio…(“Yes, that’s true, I acknowledge that these ads are famous, but…”)

As for the shoot, he had a fantastic idea, really nice, to shoot the script in Argentina where we’re certain to have sun all year round. Because it’s not easy to find guaranteed sun in October, is it?  (“Yes, but on the other hand, is it really necessary to shoot it so far away? The scene still takes place in the garden of a suburban family house with mum, dad and their two children around the table, doesn’t it?)

Oh, yes, there too, he really “enhanced the storyboard” by suggesting that this scene, which was really too ordinary, be situated in a nature reserve to better express the “potent naturalness” of your product. Moreover, the agency retorts, Argentina is renowned for the quality of its film production crews and then…”it’s no more expensive to shoot there than here”! “Oh really, and what about the trip to get there???”

You know, this director has real mastery of 35 mm which he uses with a Steadycam and we guarantee you that it will really be seen in the image “rendering”!

“What? You’re shooting in 35 mm! But that’s a lot dearer than video, isn’t it?” But, come on, you can’t compare the sharpness of 35 mm with a digital image,…

For the rest of the dialogue, we no longer have a recording; when the agency showed you the production estimate, suddenly your … vision blurred and you lost consciousness…

Any resemblance between this scene and real persons is obviously purely accidental and the result of chance.

Most of the ads shot by production houses are still shot in 35 mm format (you know, the format of cameras with “Mickey Mouse ears”, which are still used to make feature films, because these films are shown in cinemas and need an image with substantial sharpness.)

At this stage, it’s worth pointing something out: on TV, no consumer is able to distinguish between a well-shot digital video (high definition or not) and a well shot 35 mm film…

The only difference, (oh, peanuts), is that the bill will be increased by 30 to 40% for exactly the same script (and a rendering that is frankly very close). The equipment is expensive to rent, the 35 mm raw stock is frightfully expensive, then it has to be converted to video for the editing which is done in digital form, you need camera operators and assistants who are expert in 35 mm, much more powerful lighting than with video, bigger power generators etc.

Here, too, you might wonder for what really objective reason traditional advertising agency creative teams still routinely want to use this format which costs their clients so much more? The progress in digital image capture is getting more impressive each day. You may or may not know Jean-Jacques Annaud’s film, “Two Brothers”, was entirely filmed in high definition digital video, so that these little cameras could get as close as possible to the tigers without danger to the camera operators. His film was shown on the biggest cinemas screens arounfd the world, without anyone saying, “Oh, dear, there’s a clarity problem and the image is too grainy…”

Ultimately, that’s how we get soaring ad production budgets.
Perhaps all that doesn’t matter too much if you are an international major brand and your commercials are shown, and thus paid off, in several countries. When L’Oréal, Levi’s, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and others like Coca-Cola or Nestlé shoot a commercial for the entire world, production often accounts for relatively little in the purchase of space. But not everyone belongs to this “club of world tenors”; not everyone is present in prime time from January to December on the major channels of every country with media budgets of tens of millions of dollars…

In the economic battle to conquer consumers’ attention, it’s essential to maximise occasions to contact the target audience so you have an opportunity to make it think of you. If your agency spends a big portion of your available media budget just for the TV production, let us make a sporting analogy…
 
What’s the use of having a Ferrari if you haven’t got the means to run it on the racing circuit?

A consumer is exposed to an average 5000 brands message per day. TVLowCost will help your brand by reducing spectacularly the cost of the most powerful and influential media.

5000 brand messages per day and you and you and you!

Two figures to set the scene: on average, a “housewife under 50 years of age” is exposed to 18 to 25 minutes of TV advertising daily in the main countries. Each prime time TV viewer is considered to see more than 100 to 150 commercials on average per evening…not bad, eh? And that’s only on TV. Add to that the attempts to get your attention made on radio, billboards, press, cinema, internet etc.

Better still, according to work done in England by the research team directed by Robert Heath, we are exposed to the phenomenal number of 5000 communications by different brands per person and per day! You may say, they’re going too far: that’s unbelievable.

Well, according to this researcher, it must be understood that we absorb a large part of this information unconsciously. This is his theory of Low Involvement Processing (LIP).

Without us realising it, without any special effort on our part, our brain records this information subconsciously. That will obviously play a role in our knowledge of products and brands from all household consumption categories.
 
Our brain constantly chooses what “interests” us. It stores this information at a “conscious”, accessible, close level and classifies elsewhere what “doesn’t interest us” and archives it in an area that is, so to speak, more “distant and less of a priority”.
It’s often said that we are entering an era of “Permission Marketing” in which the consumer is more and more able to build barriers around them to stop appeals that they consider undesirable.

The practical consequence is that the only means of convincing the maximum potential clients is to try to be present in the media as often as possible in order to have a chance of getting there “with the right offer, at the right time”…when such and such an individual’s “drawbridge” is open.

That’s what we never tire of repeating to our clients: the fundamental criterion in media planning is repetition.

It’s no use being “king of the world” for 15 days per year, spending several million dollars in prime time or on a national splash of billboard advertising and then being silent till the next half-year.

It’s better to “whisper in the consumer’s ear”, yes, …but the whole year round! Thanks to TVLowCost reduced budgets a brand can be on TV often to “repeat, repeat, repeat”

“Cheap TV spots”, “affordable TV advertising”,”discount TV spots”, “low cost TV advertising” are becoming trendy expressions among advertisers!

A few years ago, it would have been an insult to hear any marketer speak about “cheap tv spots” or “low cost tv advertising”!  

During those golden times it was nice to spend a lot of money in the production of TV commercials. It was “in” to go shooting in exotic locations, one week trip for a 30 seconds commercials was “normal”.

HIGH COST traditional agencies were the only available solution for brands willing to go on TV screens. Nobody was shocked by the huge amount of monthly fees ad’ agencies were charging and the 5/6 months they took to create and shoot a single commercial… and every advertiser was proud to see its commercial among hundreds of others exclusively in Prime Time slots, nobody discussed the efficiency of those “nights of carpet bumbing”. Consumers where supposed to watch all those splendid ads and run the morning after in the shops to acquire the marvelous products they discovered during the evenings!

BUT THE WORLD HAS CHANGED…

Today, every marketing manager has to “cut the costs”, “reduce the spendings”, “optimize its marketing budget”… Times are tougher, competition is fierce, retailers are becoming very powerful with their own private label products, emerging countries are able to produce at 1/5th of your production costs…

And, last but not least, CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING DIFFICULT to convince, they are wiser, they are fed up by never ending prime time slots, they are no more impressed by splendid and intellectual commercials difficult to understand for normal human beings…

Consumers today, more than ever, want to simply understand why and how your product, your brand, will satisfy them better than the products they already use.

So, for any advertiser in the world, now,  the “name of the game” is SAVING MONEY ON MY ADVERTISING EXPENDITURES.

Times have changed, now brands adopt the “LowCost Attitude” in every investment they have to do. TVLowCost success in all the countries where we are established is the best proof that marketing teams are looking for a TV agency expert able to bring them affordable TV campaigns with a high level of quality. So whatever you called them : low cost tv advertising is THE FUTURE of TV advertising, no doubt!

TVLowCost is making your TV advertising affordable. Not “cheap tv advertising”. Low cost TV advertising does not mean low quality TV advertising!

In my trips all over the countries where our network is established to meet our TVLowCost clients and many advertisers interested by our approach to reduce spectacularly TV advertising costs, I insist on the fact that our low cost offer has never meant reducing the quality of the TV ads nore the quality of the media planning. It is because we have suppressed all the “frills”, so popular in traditional “high cost” agencies, that we succeed everywhere to demonstrate to advertisers that with TVLowCost they, at last, “GET MORE FOR LESS”. The advertisisng industry, very surprisingly, is incredibly traditional in its methods and behaviours. Let me give you some examples of this:

-Splendid headquarters. Have a look at the top 50 advertising agencies haedquarters in any country, you will be amazed by the prestigious locations and very costy design of them. We, at TVLowCost, believe that to be creative and efficient an agency does not need to be in splendid offices, but in functional ones.

-Creative super stars paid fortunes. Have any idea of the incredible salaries and advantages of the top creative in those ad’ agencies ? Sometimes 4 to 5 times more than the CEO’s or GM of their clients. At TVLowCost, we believe in talent, but what we do is different : our creative directors are partners of our companies. If we do profits, they have a share of them, if we don’t… they work harder to get new clients and new success for them! Being a partner of an independent agency is the best way to get people involved and responsible of their proposals to clients…

-Shootings in exotic locations. Do you really believe that a TV commercial needs to be shot in Australia, in Argentina or in South Africa to be efficient ? Of course not, except in some very specific cases. So why so many shootings are held over seas? Let me tell you : for the “fun” of creative people and some account executives. Not for the efficiency of the TV ad!

-Choosing Gold Lion’s Directors to shoot the ad. Here again, how amazing it is to see the creative people willing absolutely to work with “Mr X” or “Mr Y” who won Gold Lions in Cannes Festival last year. Of course they are talented, but everybody knows that creative people want them because their collective obsession is winning awards for their new TV campaign! And a commercial shot by a famous TV director will get more chances to be well perceived by the creative members of the numerous jurys distributing awards to their colleagues (and very often to their own agency network). The problem with this habit is that the cost of the TV commercials will “skyrock” because those directors are shooting commercials to get new awards, not necessarly to be efficient for the brands…

-The “Prime Time” obsession. Everywhere we see this : advertising agencies and media agencies continue to nearly exclusively recommend to their clients to invest their money in prime time slots. Despite the outrageous cost of them, despite the growing evidence that consumers are exhausted by the evening TV spots “bombarding”. Every day, new surveys show evidences of the growing inefficiency of this choice, but the whole industry continues to replicate the same mistakes… Why ? Maybe because they like to see their own ads, maybe because their commission system is based on the amounts spent by the clients and in Prime Time it’s big money, maybe because the “prime time conspiracy” brings good money to all the traditional ad industry partners ?

We, at TVLowCost have demonstrated that doing all the contrary of these “bad habits” was extremely efficient and was able to reduce spectacularly the costs of TV advertising.

Refusing to follow the “old rules” of TV advertising was the best way to help clients grow their business with very limited amount of money. Our “All included TV Packs” create the conditions of a real “democratisation” of TV advertising. Have a look at our different web sites and you will understand how clients “Get more for less”!

You cannot “become” a low cost company, you “are born low cost”, the perfect example is given by TVLowCost, the 1st TV advertising agency network.

 

 

Many traditional “high cost” advertising agencies believe that they just have to reduce their prices to be competitive in front of us… but this is not very efficient, and they usually fail to impress clients, who rapidly understand that this was just a “trick” to attract them. Because you cannot claim to be a “low cost advertising agency” like that. I remember a conversation I had a few months ago with the CEO of EASYJET when he said to me that to “one cannot decide to become a low cost company, one must be born low cost” in order to be succesfull and profitable in the long term. All winners in the low cost industry started from zero, this is a clear prerequisite condition.

When we launched the first TVLowCost agency in Paris in october 2004, we started from a blank page and build our company from scratch. We had the unique opportunity to build our business model with no staff, no big salaries, no big rent, no company cars, no retirement plan, no splendid headquarter, no parent company in the Stock Exchange, no “bad habits”… Thus, we were able to really determine a complete new way of approaching TV advertising with no “weight over our shoulders”!

3 years and a half after, we are in 10 countries managing 80 clients and winning every month new clients to help them save spectacularly on their marketing and advertising costs, we have produced 420 TV qualitative spots at a cost that our industry believed impossible to reach, just because we broke all the usual rules of this very “high cost” industry. We have demonstrated hundred of times that the “prime time” dictature was the best way to waste money when day time and night time spots where far more efficient for 4/5 times less money than the usual media planning strategies. We have demonstrated that TV advertising could be both very affordable and still the most economical and efficient media when so many people complain about it. It is the way traditional advertising agencies and media agencies use TV which is no more efficient, not the media in itself! The success of TVLowCost is not a surprise, it is the way traditional agencies continue to be so “high cost” which is so surprising!

The “Waouh Effect” : a key factor behind the success of Low Cost companies.

The Waouh Effect is a crucial reason explaining a part of the growing success of low cost offers in any field. It is the reaction that clients and consumers have when they discover the BIG price difference between a low cost offer and a traditional “high cost” company’s offer for a product or service not SO different! The “Waouh Effect” starts with a surprise : “how is it possible ?”. Then goes to angry : “the high cost companies have been making outrageous profits on my back!”. Then the client has an amazing will to shout the good news to all his relatives : “you MUST try this… it is amazingly interesting!” And the “word of mouth” is at its maximum… The Waouh Effect is the best advertising a company can dream of : it is free, it is made by the customers themselves, it is made by friends and relatives to their personal “circle”, thus with a high level of credibility and efficiency! Thanks to the Waouh Effect, companies save a lot of money that they would have been obliged to invest in advertising… Their traditional “high cost” competitors are obliged to spend a lot in publicity and advertising to make themselves known from the consumers, when efficient low cost companies benefit from this extraordinary Whaouh Effect, thus keeping their costs low… and becoming more and more attractive! At TVLowCost we have benefited from this phenomena several times already : our clients speak to other advertisers they know and recomend us to them… Nice ! BILL GATES said : “the best advertising ever is a satisfied customer”, what else to say ?

TVLowCost the little lowcost advertising network exasperating the big “high cost” global advertising networks

I love this picture, just for the fun! It really makes me think about TVLowCost facing the big global “high cost” advertising networks. When we did open our doors three years ago, all the industry said : “ridiculous”, “impossible”, “it will never work”… 3 years after, everywhere, our TVLowCost agencies beat the big players and attract their clients no more willing to pay their outrageous tariffs! Yes, there is room for two kind of advertising agencies : the “low cost” and the “high cost” : advertisers it’s your choice!

TVLowCost, an amazing success. Proof that a low cost approach to TV advertising is waited and needed everywhere!

Launched 3 years and a half ago in PARIS (october the 1st 2004), TVLowCost is now present in 9 countries with subsidiaries launched with local entrepreneurs joining us. We are currently in France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Australia, NZ! We work for 80 brands and have shot 420 TV commercials in just 3 years and a half…

Our book “LowCost Attitude” is being translated in many languages in order to share our philosophy with clients and prospects. We demonstrate every day that our “Low Cost Attitude” approach is more and more shared by marketing managers allover the world. Companies are under pressure in every country to save money and improve their ROI on their advertising campaigns. The “High Cost” traditional ad agencies are unable to answer this need, they are too “rich”, too “superficial”, being obsessed by creative Awards and not by obtaining visible results for their clients.

A new generation of ad agency is waited everywhere, we have the pretention to believe we answer perfectly to this need! Have a look at our web site TVLowCost

Sharing my do’s and dont’s about advertising to baby boomers and seniors

I recently was approached to be a speaker at a big european conference in MAASTRICHT in netherlands called “SILVER ECONOMY 2006”. In this huge conference, experts from different fields came to deliver their point of view about our Society transformations. I was asked to be the “marketing and advertising expert”.

Here is a part of my speech that you may found interesting (?) to read ….

“Being a consultant in marketing and advertising with my company Senioragency, I would like to start with a little story about consultants to indicate the situation. Imagine that It’s not 9.15 in the morning but it’s 5 o clock in the morning and we are not in Maastricht but in
Kenya. At this time in
Kenya a very nice thing to do is to step into an air balloon and fly over this wonderful place where you see animals starting their day. Some of them go to drink, some of them go to eat the others. There are two people on this trip, but there is plenty of wind and after two hours they are completely lost. And
Kenya is not exactly the place where you land and walk back to the camp, so they start to be nervous. Then they see a Massai with a few sheep around him and say:”hey can you tell us where we are?” The guy looks at them and takes his time, so they say: you may not have understood us, our accent is probably to good. Can you tell us where we are, (with a French accent wich is better understandable). Then the guy says: ”yes you are in an air balloon!”, upon which one of the guys in the balloon responds: ”this guy is not a Massai, he is a consultant because what he says is right, intelligent and completely useless. Thank you very much. So you know that I may be completely useless. Today I’m not speaking about pension funds, ageing or this kind of very serious subject. I will share with you unserious things, marketing, which of course I think is a very serious business too. I will mention some figures regarding the 50+ share of the market. On some of the markets in Europe, 50+ people own 45 percent of all new cars sold, 50 percent of face care cosmetics, 55 percent of coffees, 50 percent of mineral water, 50 percent of yoghurts and dairy products, 35 percent of total travels and 80 percent of cruises.  

The market share of fifty plus is growing which is no surprise since this population is growing too. One might say, in front of such a big market, it’s logical that all the companies, all the brands, all the advertising agencies understand this and certainly do a lot of advertising aimed at this market. However, it’s exactly the contrary. 95 percent of all marketing and advertising expenditures in
Europe is dedicated to the customers under 50, so the 50+ customers today benefit from something like five percent of media/advertising pressure which is peanuts. 50+ people everywhere in the world are considered as a niche, which is quite  unbelievable when you think that this niche counts hundreds of millions of people, roughly one third of the population. People over 50 for many people are no longer relevant. This is the major challenge we are presented with and organisations in
England were lobbying for something called AGE CONCERN. The question we should ask ourselves is why does everybody keep  ignoring this enormous market. The answer to that question is much too complex to address today in 45 minutes. What I will do is just show you some things which to my feeling are shocking. It concerns the insulting way advertisers present 50+ people. To quote the bible: ”none are so blind as those who will not see”. If you don’t want to see something this way of advertising does the job. We know we are terrified by ageing, our own ageing, the ageing of our parents, of the people we love. Naturally our attention, our focus is on young people, on teenagers, on babies, on families with young people. In marketing, everywhere in the world, when you enter an advertising agency you know that the vast majority of the campaigns built by young creative people, are addressed to young consumers. This is the only interest of millions of companies in the world. . 

All the marketing know how in the world, is build on targets in young age groups. The world is ageing, yet those people refuse to admit that their clients are ageing and that a fifty plus client is a good client for the brand. This is the situation and nothing has changed since I am working on that. Many things have changed but nothing on a large scale has changed. We are the first and only international advertising agency, we are the only advertising agency working in that area. You may find some consultants, you may find some research companies. You may find some websites, but when it comes to advertising agencies we are the only one. Proof that for the ad’ industry the 50+ consumers are not considered as an important potential, amazing, no ? The good thing is that we advise more then three hundred brands all over the world and some of those brands are quite interesting. They are not only brands for dental features or earing aids or incontinent diapers etc. Yet these are the only kind of products,that companies associate with 50+ consumers. Let me share with you some “secrets”, which really are not secrets at all about 50 plus consumers. One thing important thing to consider is that we are in front of a big, big, big market, we are not addressing a “niche”. We are in front of a large population which is growing fast so it’
s a necessity to segment your offer, to understand what those people of different ages need in order to efficiently address customers. Without going into details we use a kind of segmentation that is roughly admitted everywhere and that we built some fifteen years ago.  

First we have what we call “the HAPPY BOOMERS” (a registered brand from Senioragency ) the generation between fifty and sixty still working, very active and in excellent shape. Then you have the generation sixty to seventy five years old that we call the “LIBERATED”. The key word is freedom, because they’ve got plenty of time, plenty of energy and roughly a very good health, they want to enjoy the best time of their life. Then there is the seventy five to eighty five generation that we call “the PEACEFUL”. People start slowing down, because health is an issue and because solitude is an issue very often, because men quite often are nog longer there after the age of eighty. Lastly there is the eighty five and older “the OLD PEOPLE” which is
a major issue for our society and plenty of experts are much more competent then I am about this topic. This is a big issue, this is a big market also and my job is helping companies to develop good programs, good marketing and good communication to address the different segments.  The subject of my conference is : “DO’S AND DON’T’S in marketing and communication” and let’s start with how companies today are addressing this target group, or non-addressing this group by using it as a punching ball for their advertising campaigns. I will ask the help of this wonderful lady. She is the head of the pom pom girls from Sun City in
Arizona  and with her help we will open the senior advertising box, that I call the “stupidity box”. Let’s open the magazines. All the ads with no exception are coming from fifty plus adressed magazines. So you understand that those ads are supposed to seduce those consumers.  

 We have established our network in nearly twelve countries and every month we ask our people to send us centrally the best ads and the worst ads they find in their market. By having the ads coming every month we started understanding that those ads were organised according to four big principles that advertisers ask their agencies to respect. The 1^st principle is “make sure that the ad is not readable” .Because of course we don’t want those older consumers to give a bad image of our brand in consuming it. They put an ad in the magazine and say : “please don’t read it”. Take this ad made in
Belgium for a car. You want a young image for your company so you use red on black ink which is not readable in a very small type. It is now absolutely sure that no fifty plus consumer comes and buys the car. Many ads are made up like this.  The 2^nd principle is: “say something which has no meaning”. An example is this brilliant ad from a company saying that “life starts at 45”. Interesting, but what is the product about? I couldn’t tell you. Let’s now approach the most crucial principles. 3^d principle is: Place an ad where “you humiliate your customers” and you are sure that they will not want to buy your product. Take this ad from the
Netherlands about an OTC drug.  I’m pretty sure every Dutch man wants to resemble that fantastically sexy guy. Or this ad about an extraordinary bicycle from Yamaha perfectly adapted to fifty plus people, because it has a little electrical engine. The only way to sell this product is to show this ugly lady, and this one too. In this way a senior person will not buy this product for sure.Take a look at this ad from Baygon :  “It is a long time since they don’t touch me at night.” What is it, the mosquito’s!  How insulting can you get? 

In this last and 4^th principle we approach the true genius of the advertising agencies:“please remind them that the ending is not far away”, in case they didn’t know.  It’s important to remember them that death is not far away. Take this ad from
France, “The grandma I prefer is in the fridge,” from a brand called MAMIE NOVA ie Mummy Yoghurt, it’
s a famous yoghurt brand. This ad is from
England for the Fila shoes : ”Any last request before dying, oh yes could I have this fantastic shoe from Fila!”  

The fantastic thing is that those companies have paid agencies to do those stupid ads and they have paid to place the space in the magazines. It makes you feel sometimes like you don’t understand what life is about.  Even more interesting is TV advertising, which has
a power that no other media can reach, the power of audio visual is superior to the power of print. One should know that collectively the advertising agencies all over the world are obsessed by one thing: their own creative image. A good agency is an agency that collects awards, coming from whatever kind of competitions all over the world. The most prestigious one is the
Cannes advertising festival every year in june. The advertising agencies all over the world work all year long in order to get some awards and one of the most successful recipes is “insulting seniors”, using them as a “punching ball”, because the creative juries love that. All the ads I will show you now have been very successful on that aspect and earned golden Lions in
Cannes. The first thing is what I call the Dental Saga. People in advertising agencies have the idea that all 50+ people have dental systems. In this film from
Norway the line is: ”we guarantee you a full pension, so you will not be obliged to do these kind of funny things with your wife”. Seniors wearing dental systems are very nasty, and not in love with others, this is the image we are presented with. Parkinson people and Alzheimer people are used in ads. This one is from
America. Let’s imagine that you replace the old lady with a young girl or a black man or a gay man, do you think somebody would have shot the commercial? And that was a do it yourself company from
Germany. Is it not nice playing this ad
about a moment where an old man is dying? 

Let me say a few words about the role of generational marketing when you really want to address this public. In this context I’d like to use the phrase: to really know someone you must walk in his shoes for a long time. You must go back to the history, you must understand what a person has known when he or she was a young person. The key elements in personal life, international actualities etc create the period which we call the generation. To the age segmentation you must add some key elements such as where is this person in his or her lifecycle. If you really want to be efficient in terms of marketing communication you must add the generation because a person of fifty years old today has nothing to do with a person who was fifty years old thirty years ago. The combination of these three aspects will give you the attitudes, the belief of the population and the sensibility to communication styles. If you analyse all this you will then understand the consumption behaviour. This is the job we do for our clients, helping them to understand this and then be able to develop the right marketing offer and the right communication.  A new generation was born in ‘ 46 called the baby boomers. The first ones are now sixty and we call them the “happy boomers” (a registered brand from Senioragency International).  

We developed this concept because those people are at the beginning of a very nice period, the first “word in their alphabet” is pleasure. A lot has changed with the coming of the babyboom generation, the lifestyle of women especially. A fifty years old lady nowadays has taken care of her body all her life. They have worked and put on make up everyday which is very different from the previous generation where a lot of woman were waiting at home with their families. They are not accepting the body evolutions of the menopause and fighting it and dressing sometimes like their daughters. The ROLLING STONES should be retired, since a long time but they don’t want to retire. Thank God, I’m one of their fans. When one considers what they have done and taken and drunk during their life the good shape they are in is amazing. Now it’s time to mention the do’s. How should you speak to a senior audience?  

First rule: Tell them what they want to hear. Fifty plus people want to hear that life is fabulous, they want to enjoy and discover new possibilities and start new things. They’re not standing at the end of their life but at the beginning of the golden period. Show them a sense of  humour. I remember this fantastic slogan from AARP which says “life before fifty is nothing but a warm up”. That’s the kind of communication they will appreciate.  Second rule. They are the centre of the world. They like to be portrayed like that. Consequently in the ads, in the communication on should mix the generations. Show the warmth between grandparents and grand children, demonstrate that they are very wise and experienced and they were not born yesterday. They have experience, they know the things. They love this kind of image, around the computer, with generations, with their parents, with their children, with their grand children.  

Third rule. Your product must be the hero, but a useful hero. Demonstrate that this product or this service will make everyday life easier. They like modern innovative products and services but they must be easy to use. Mobile phones for instance are an interesting item for seniors. This ad, made in
Tokyo at a time when nobody in the world cared about that fact, shows a phone that is easy to use with three pre-programmed buttons. If you are in danger you can just push the button and call your son your doctor or the police. The panel is very readable so this is a perfect product. I like this next ad also which is aimed at people suffering from arthroses and arthritis. I think it is a creative idea showing the kind of pain that you have when you suffer from that. Look at this brilliant poster from  the New Beetle from VW in
England “Less flower, more power” in reference to the flower power. It’s obvious to everyone that the key target group is  the happy boomers.  The fourth rule concerns celebrity marketing. Don’t hesitate to use stars. Every generation generates it’s own heroes and a singer/star demonstrates that a message is for their generation without saying: ”Hey old guy this ad is for you”. This is because the person speaking has the same age as the generation and the target group. This also increases the impact and gives reassurance that the product has quality.  

I want to finish with a very positive mood. Some advertisers have a much better understanding of fifty plus and find a nice way to speak. Let’s now see some brilliant ads, doing exactly the contrary. Who said that people stop working at retirement? Last time I was in
Arizona I found this car plate and loved it. We are out spending our kids inheritance.  I think that is a good introduction to this commercial. Just for the fun, let us conclude saying that Baby boomers are now called “baboons” because it means baby boomers no savings.  Remember, old is beautiful. “

ROLLING STONES, it’s better to have a public of baby-boomers than teenagers!

150 million revenues in 2006!

The Rock veterans THE ROLLING STONES have “exploded” all their younger singers competitors in 2006 in terms of revenues generated. This is mainly due to their concerts around the world than their records sold. Their  A BIGGER BANG TOUR has generated 138 million dollars, it’s 92% of their 2006 revenues. It is more and more evident that it is better to have a public of “rich” baby-boomers than “poor” young people…

Hopefully, one day, brands will understand that what is true for a rock band could be true for their own products sales!

I wait your feed-backs!

Voilà! After a “warm-up” on the blogosphere… I am speeding-up and have decided to invite people sharing with me their views and react to my own point of views! So I am proud to be now registered on Technorati! <a href=”http://www.technorati.com/claim/hdfpytf5hm” rel=”me”>Technorati Profile</a>

Yes, TV advertising is efficient… but in Prime Time : “too much is too much”!

I regularly read articles where people complain about TV advertising growing inefficiency. And they tend to “condamn” TV in whole. I think that those people are mostly wrong to condamn the media in itself. The issue is not a supposed growing desinterest of the consumers in front of television advertising, the issue is that all the ad agencies and media agencies continue to exclusively recomend to their clients to go on Prime Time for their communication. And this is wrong, for sure! Who can believe that consumers are fascinated by the constant “carpet bombing” of ads they have to watch during the evenings ? Who can imagine that a 10 minutes slots with 20 or more different ads followed 15 minutes by another 10 minutes slot, followed 15 minutes after by … can be efficient any more ? The problem of TV advertising is not that it has lost its efficiency it is that … TOO MUCH IS TOO MUCH…

At TVLowCost, in each of the countries where we have open, we demonstrate to clients that they should stop listening to their High Cost traditional agencies and media agencies who continue to recomend them going on the evening Peak Time programs. We show to the clients that if they go on day time, or on night time, they will be able to speak to the consumers in a much better moment. Consumers are more relaxed, available, concentrated and “ready to do something for us” than during the evenings! And it costs far less, oh yes, far less! Why traditional High Cost agencies and media agencies continue to ignore the benefits of a wiser media planning evitating Prime Time ? Uhh, good question ! I believe because it is less “sexy”, it is less “easy”, it is less” money consuming” (and agencies are paid on proportion of the total media budget), it is less “visible” by other creatives (never forget the collective obsession of ad agencies to impress other creatives with their “brilliant ideas” in order to get creative Awards to fill their loby entrances and meeting rooms…).

But the economical crisis is there, the “necessity to cut the unnecessary costs” is everywhere. The “Low Cost Attitude” is growing among clients, and we are the only ad agency network built for that state of mind! So, please do not complain about a supposed less efficient TV advertising, it’s false, but complain about your High Cost advertising agencies and … fire them!

TVLowCost opens in Canada. A major step for our network.

Launched in october 2004 in Paris, our TVLowCost network grows very rapidly to respond to the high interested expressed by advertisers everywhere. After France, our network is present in UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy and now North America with an agency in Toronto open January the 15th, 2007

TVLowCost seems to be “the right offer at the right moment”! More and more clients are exhausted by the traditional High Cost ad agencies always obsessed by their own creative image, more than the results of their campaigns for clients. The “divorce” between advertisers and traditional agencies is everyday more visible. Clients are tired by the incredible costs presented by their High Cost ad agencies for Prime Time ads less and less efficient. Today, the “Low Cost Attitude” philosophy is growing among clients management, they understand that, more than ever, they need to study carefully the way they spend their money on advertising, specially on TV advertising where the budgets can rapidly become huge… TVLowCost method and culture is exactly meeting clients search to “cut the unecessary costs” in TV advertising. This is why TVLowCost is probably one of the fastest growing advertising network internationaly : 6 countries open in 2 years, 60 TV clients, and more than 200 commercials shot ! The “Low Cost Attitude” is winning ground everywhere! We demonstrate everyday to advertisers that with TVLowCost they GET MORE FOR LESS. And it’s just the beginning…

TV channels targeting Baby Boomers and seniors have a great future.

 

No doubt that many 50+ viewers are exhausted by the stupid “Real TV” programs that have envaded the world of television in every part of the world. Those programs made by young people for young people reflect the “youth obsession” we face in marketing and advertising.

In Danemark, the TV station CHARLIE launched end of 2004 is clearly targeting 50+ consumers. Belonging to the TV2 group, CHARLIE transmits from 1PM to 1AM on cable and satellite. The programs and news are presented by mature speakers. (have a look : http://charlie.tv2.dk/ ).

Mature audiences are looking for different programs than young people : they do not have the same references, do not like the same musics, do not respet the same “generational heroes”, do not have the same bodies, do not have the same cultural references, do not have the same values, etc. So it is “evident” that they need another kind of television programs…

BUT, there is a BIG problem…TV producers are obsessed by young audiences, they know that advertisers and their ad agencies and media agencies are ready to spend fortunes to reach young targets present on TV… and not a single peanut to reach “OLD PEOPLE”. Because for TV channels one becomes old as soon as the age of 50 is reached!

Thus, the example of CHARLIE TV is very interesting, because it is RARE!

LIFE BEFORE 50 IS NOTHING BUT A WARM UP!!!!!

I love this slogan, I found it in an advertising made a few years ago by AARP; I think it’s brilliant…specially now that I am 51 !

Traps to avoid if you want to seduce baby boomers and seniors!

As we have seen many times, marketing to mature consumers is still in its early stages. It is still prey to countless prejudices, and the vast majority of advertisers and agencies know next to nothing about the target group. As a result, while
“The Old Continent” is in the midst of a so-called ‘grandpa boom’, the all too rare advertising campaigns aimed at seniors are generally inappropriate, if not appalling. And yet with just a little common sense, even without being an expert, it is possible to come up with a worthwhile campaign. Here are six traps to be avoided at all costs if we want to get through to ageing baby boomers and seniors: 

Confusing marketing to seniors with depiction of seniors

When asked about marketing to seniors during an interview for a popular TV program, the head of a large Parisian advertising agency brushed the subject aside, claiming that ‘showing seniors in an advertisement only works for a small number of products.’ This is a good example of a typical blind spot!

Who ever said that marketing to seniors means ‘showing seniors’?

But many advertisers believe that it’s enough to show a few old people in good health and to use larger typeface in order to sell successfully to the over-50s. Needless to say, most of the time this approach leads to disappointment.  Being a senior means, first of all, having experience. Any 60-year old member of society has 60 years of consumption behind him. It’s easy for him to see through the creative platforms behind the advertising campaigns that target older people. In these circumstances, how can we possibly imagine that showing his peers will be enough to win him over? Without a soundly argued case for the real added value of the product, any campaign will be doomed to failure. It could even damage the brand, to the extent that it will often be perceived as sheer opportunism. One comment that often comes up in our qualitative research is: ‘Now that they’ve finished fleecing the young, it’s our turn …’.  Having said that, we should be careful not to go to the opposite extreme. If it is based on a proper strategy, the use of seniors in advertising can make a real contribution to the success of a targeted campaign, particularly one aimed at the very old, who can both recognize themselves and instantly understand that the message is addressed to them. In this context, endorsement by a personality popular with their generation is particularly relevant, as it adds a real measure of credibility. Let it be clear that on no account is this a panacea, but rather another avenue worth exploring. 

Ignoring the consequences of ageing 

It’s a well-known fact that art directors are terrorists. Especially when it comes to the copywriters, who work away furiously at polishing texts destined to become unreadable, inaudible and invisible. Yet if there’s one rule of marketing to seniors that’s clear to everyone, it’s the following. We all grow old – no matter what generation we belong to, or what age we are. Vision, hearing, touch, mobility … all our bodily functions reach their peak around the age of 20, and steadily deteriorate till we die. Given that fact, why do so many advertising executives expend their efforts on making their ideas inaccessible? Do they overestimate the importance of their profession? They must know that advertising is never more than a kind of unavoidable ‘pollution’, at best a distraction between the news and the weather forecast. Seniors aren’t keen on our profession. They have been promised too many things that have never come off. And as nobody is very interested in them these days, they have switched off. If no effort is made to meet them halfway, there is no point in expecting the slightest interest on their behalf.  Even when a campaign is strategically sound, it won’t stand a chance of influencing them unless it goes back to first principles. Here’s a fun activity to do: get yourself a magazine for seniors and analyze it. You’ll be surprised at how many ads are in very small print, have coupons that are too small to fill in, or use pink text on a pale blue background. Do the same in front of your TV set. In most commercials, the voice-over is drowned out by music, the sequence is too fast, the telephone number is impossible to get down, etc. Do advertisers really have to put up with such mistakes? 

Making a laughing stock of them 

Older people are known to be a popular butt for jokes. Portraying them as embittered, ridiculous, or overtaken by events is far from new. It probably comes down to settling scores with age. Advertising, in particular, with its obsession for the cult of youth takes every opportunity to have a go at the elderly. In most cases, of course, advertising does not resort to this kind of behavior to target seniors. That would be the last straw! But this doesn’t mean that seniors are blind or impervious for all that. So many commercials, posters, advertisements are put across from this negative viewpoint that enough is enough. No, really, they don’t find it funny any more. The older ones feel totally rejected. As for the younger ones, these fifty-year olds in their prime, at best they don’t feel concerned, and at worst they feel their parents are being got at.   

Touching a raw nerve  At the age of 50, the effects of ageing are beginning to be felt. Menopause, far-sightedness, cholesterol, death of parents, retirement looming … we need go no further. But here is another game at which advertising executives excel – that of making us feel guilty for being old. Whether it is done to poke fun or not, we are shown worn-out bodies, declining performance, minds that are slowing down, etc. Sometimes, it’s just to make us aware of a problem. But what’s the point of taking a negative approach? Seniors are not dangerous drivers who need to be reminded that people get killed on the roads. Every day they combat ageing with all their energies. Pointing out that that particular battle is a lost cause may not be the best way to win seniors over to the brand in question. All the more so when, as is fortunately the case, they have a positive outlook on life.  Getting the generation wrong 

When seniors are lumped together in a homogenous group called ‘the old’, the mistake is relatively easy to identify. For example, it’s a well-known fact that even though legibility is important to the over-50s, the youngest among them have absolutely no need for things to be written in Size 18 typeface. Similarly, it’s obvious that showing a grandfather climbing the stairs with ease has no relevance to a 55-year old. An error that is harder to deal with, in that it requires ongoing knowledge of the senior population, is the failure to apply the principles of generational marketing. This can sometimes be subtle, but it can make all the difference to a message being appropriate. An example would be thinking that a ‘Master’ (50-59 year old) would be affected by an Edith Piaf song when in fact he or she is a Beatles fan. Conversely, it’s also the hope of bringing all the age brackets together round the values of the baby boomers. The ‘Liberation’ generation of today were not part of the May 68 student movement. And thirty years on, they do not – nor will they ever – have the slightest nostalgia for the Hippy era. The emergence of a new generation of seniors will, of course, break down many barriers. But even so, the effects of age and life cycles and the cultural differences in relation to younger age brackets are not going to disappear. We are currently witnessing the advent of a new kind of conflict between thirty-year olds and their parents, despite the fact that the latter are supposed to be a very open, understanding generation.

Two years ago, the magazine Technikart put it this way: ‘The fifty-year olds who wanted to forbid the forbidden can no longer tolerate the idea that we can revolt. They have become as reactionary and smug as their fathers.’  (Patrick Williams, aged 30).    

Having a good grasp of all the generational variables, dealing with the points each group has in common and knowing where they diverge, and anticipating how consumers will evolve at each stage in their lives – these will probably underpin seniors marketing in the futuret. But given the ground that still needs to be made up on even the most basic questions, it is likely to take a good many years yet. 

(have a look at : www.senioragency.com ) 

Senior or not Senior ? That is the question…

What ‘senior’ means in marketing 

Originally, the word ‘senior’ referred to the most experienced soldiers in the Roman legions. Over time, the term evolved differently in different countries. It became simply ‘Mr’ in Spanish and Italian, but ‘seigneur’ (lord) in French. As for English, it undoubtedly remained the most faithful to the original Latin, maintaining the idea of ‘maturity’ and ‘expertise’. And in the fashionable professions these days, the word ‘senior’ is one of the essential buzzwords: Senior Account Executive, Senior Brand Manager … Senior Vice President! What wonderful connotations…  Today, the word “senior” is mainly used to refer to the over-50s. Why so young? It would be so reassuring to tie it in with the notion of retirement. Or better still, to old people’s homes (often renamed seigneuries in French). But we could also ask ‘Why so old?’ After all, great sportsmen often retire at 30. 

There are a number of objective reasons for this: 

First of all, for marketing people, 50 marks the death of the consumer. When we’re talking about the general public, don’t we always refer to the ‘under-50 housewife’? A horrible male chauvinist expression, to which our Anglo-Saxon neighbours prefer the highly technical label ‘principal person responsible for purchasing, aged 18 to 49’.  

Then, for the various population experts, there is a succession of important events that occur around the age of 50 and which plainly change people’s lives. At 49, on average, women become grandmothers for the first time. Three years later, in general, they’re in the throes of the menopause and are telling their husbands it’s high time to stop smoking and to watch their diet. At fifty, the main mortgage is paid off, and at 52 their youngest children leave the nest. A few years later, their own parents will die. This sad news will often result in a sizeable inheritance (at 57, on average).  Over and above the strange terms used in marketing, then, everything clearly leads us to see 50 as a turning point – one that it is convenient to take as a starting point for a so-called ‘seniors marketing’ strategy. 

What a ‘senior’ is not  Senioragency (www.senioragency.com ) has had the opportunity to run hundreds of in-company seminars. Never have we presented seniors as a single group. On the contrary, we have systematically stressed the need to establish coherent segmentation criteria in relation to the company’s characteristics.

There are various options: first of all, we need to understand that the ‘senior’ population as such does not exist. Over-50s form too large and varied a group to be summed up in a stereotype. Without going as far as marketing’s distant ideal, the ‘one-to-one’, there must at least be segmentation.

One of the options is the generational approach, which has the advantage of being dynamic and taking the sociocultural context into account. We could thus refer nowadays to the May 68 generation (born between 1945 and 1955); the Algeria generation (born between 1935 and 1945); the Liberation (referring to the Liberation of France in 1945) generation (born between 1925 and 1935); the Wall Street Crash generation (born between 1915 and 1925); the Roaring Twenties generation (born between 1905 and 1915) and the Verdun generation (born between 1895 and 1905).

In fact, this is a view of things that we in our agency are tending more and more to share, particularly as a way of accounting for differences in behavior between ‘new seniors’ and their elders.  But there are many other ways of segmenting this group, each of which has its merits: age, health, occupation, time available, social class, etc. None of these is perfect, of course, but each can be used to enrich the others. For our part, we generally opt for age as the basis for segmentation.

Despite being an artificial approach to things, it has numerous advantages: 

– Simplicity. Everyone understands the principle and the content, which is quite something when it comes to a subject as little-known as seniors. Many a more accurate and original segmentation method has not met with the success it deserved because it was poorly understood.

– Applicability.
Age is a concept that can be found at the heart of nearly all market research and all planning tools. It is therefore compatible with media tools, for example – something that is fundamental.

– Universality.
Age as a variable has a similar, comparatively objective impact whatever the sector or country concerned. It is a determining factor for life cycles and even for generations. It is an approximative segmentation method, but one that is more comprehensive and often more objective than most of the alternatives.

– Durability. The concept of generation is an appealing and dynamic one. But since the generations are constantly in motion, they are obviously impossible to handle consistently over time. A 50-year old nowadays is quite different from the generational viewpoint from a person of the same age 20 years ago.  

– Effectiveness. Segmentation by age has long been applied in many marketing programs. We’ve seen other methods come and go, and be challenged, but age has continued to dominate almost everywhere.  

Do we really need to reinvent the wheel?  For Senioragency (www.senioragency.com ) we have established and given a name to four age segments. These have been put to good use over the last five years and are likely to remain unchanged for a good few years to come. The four segments are: 

– the ‘Happy Boomers’ group (50 to 59-year olds)

– the ‘Liberation’ group (60 to 74-year olds)

– the ‘Peaceful’ group (75 to 84-year olds)

– the ‘Very Elderly’ group (85-year olds and over)    One thing is sure: seniors as they are depicted in most advertising do not exist! Yes, there are over-50s who are systematically disregarded in the vast majority of companies’ marketing policies. Yes, there is an experienced population out there that is more demanding, better-off overall, and often has more free time. But there is no single large group of ‘old people’ that nod off in a recliner, sipping seltzer water

Even today, products targeted at seniors are called ‘niche products’. It’s a funny kind of niche that contains no less than a third of the population of all the big industrialized nations. Everyone knows that there are more over-50s than under-20s. Our society is undergoing enormous changes, and the number of older people is going to increase in the years ahead. By 2040, seniors will make up half of the population of
Europe. We will really live up to the ‘old continent’ epithet then. 

	1962	2000	2010	2020
-20 yrs old	32%	25.6%	23.8%	22.5%
+60 yrs old	17%	20.6%	23.1%	27.3%

 (source: National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), based on INSEE data), with a fertility rate of 1.8) Three well-known phenomena account for this change: the increase in life expectancy, fall of the birth rate, and large number of baby-boomers reaching the age of 50.  The combination of these three factors has led to a spectacular rise in the number of seniors. We could even call it a real tidal wave, unprecedented in the history of mankind. It really is unprecedented, since, in the past, life expectancy didn’t even reach 50 (45 on average in 1900). This is probably one of the main reasons for unfamiliarity with the target group: we don’t have any experience of it. In fact, we don’t even know exactly what ageing is. Seniors themselves are the first to be surprised when they each 60 in good shape. Even the medical profession isn’t ready! And of all specializations, geriatrics is the least popular by far. Here’s a very telling story: an article in a very serious publication expressed concern about the increasing number of cases of breast cancer in women. Was this due to the hole in the ozone layer? Pollution? GM crops? Of all the hypotheses, the most obvious and most likely was overlooked. There are more cases of breast cancer nowadays because there are more women of an age likely to contract the disease. In such a context of ignorance, it is not surprising that marketing and advertising professionals have their own blind spot. 

‘It’s where the money is’  

The myth of the little old lady of slender means who ekes out her widow’s pension is an enduring one. And, unfortunately, there is still some truth in it. Among the oldest strata of the population, rare were the households where both husband and wife had a job and the wherewithal to make proper financial provision for their retirement. Fortunately, in the post-war period, changes in people’s attitudes brought about rapid changes in society: supplementary insurance schemes, women in the workforce, access to higher education, etc.   Thanks to all these changes, retired people are, for the most part, among the most comfortably-off nowadays. Is this surprising? After all, they worked for over 40 years, tightened their belts to be able to pay off their mortgages (70% are home owners!) and give their children an education. They also paid taxes, Social Security contributions, etc. If all these efforts over the years did not lead to an improvement in retirees’ material situation. our model of society would be called into question … 

         Percentage rate of personal assets 

AGE	Savings accounts	Savings products	Mortgages	Bonds or investment funds	Mutual funds	Shares
– 50	51.2%	84.2%	45.5%	2.7%	6.6%	10.3%
50-59	15.9%	82.0%	47.6%	5.6%	12.6%	16.7%
60-69	13.4%	81.7%	38.4%	7.2%	14.6%	16.4%
70+	19.5%	85.2%	26.3%	9.6%	16.4%	14.4%
Total: 50+	48.8%	82.9%	37.4%	7.5%	14.5%	15.8%

(Source: Le Marketing Book Seniors – Secodip 2000)

They are very dynamic consumers Affluence is, of course, no guarantee of consumption. Many advertisers still think that the over-50s keep all their money in bank accounts when it’s not under their mattresses. The most commonly held belief is that while outgoings decrease with age, so does expenditure. The typical senior, then, is first and foremost provident. Except where health is concerned, he will descend irremediably into miserliness, but will leave his descendants a sizeable inheritance. An elderly consumer will accordingly have few needs or desires, and will be content always to buy the same product, preferably the cheapest one. Needless to say, the reality is quite different. Affluence often results in the desire to treat oneself, whatever the age of the consumer. With the rise in importance of the post-war generations, who did not live through the same period of hardships as their predecessors, seniors have become the top customers for many products and brands. They are the leading purchasers of private cars, mineral water, dairy produce, cosmetics, luxury travel, electrical appliances, designer clothes, etc. The tables below clearly indicate that seniors are positive, dynamic consumers. 

Purchase made:	Total	+ 65
out of need	33%	34%
for pleasure	9%	15%

Price sensitivity	1993	1994	1995	1996
18-24	79%	81.5%	85.3%	84.5%
65+	74.8%	73%	76.7%	65.3%
Price sensitivity in the young	+ 5.2 pts	+ 8.5 pts	+ 9.4 pts	+ 19.2 pts

As for the notion of over-cautious buying, it is refuted by all the figures and market research. Obviously, by the age of 50, many major items will already have been bought. Obviously, as the years go by, tastes have been formed and become harder to modify. Common sense indicates that whatever their financial situation, seniors will behave more rationally than their younger counterparts. But in no way does that stop them from consuming, in a more demanding and discerning way. 

50+ consumers also buy for others 

Without going into too much detail on the principles of intergenerational marketing, we should remember, all the same, that young seniors are at the heart of the family. More than 80% of them are parents and grandparents, and nearly 70% still have parents alive. Just when they are at last comfortably off, they find themselves once again in the position of having to provide the generations around them with concrete assistance (an obligation that is usually accepted with good grace). No wonder they are often known as the ‘sandwich generation’!  Grandparents are particularly sensitive to the education and well-being of their grandchildren, spending up to one month’s income per year (more than 3 billion euros) on various presents, savings plans, school items, etc. For example, seniors account for more than 30% of the purchases of children’s toys in all sectors. Through all the help they give to both the younger and the older generations, young seniors are the most important group when it comes to consumption. 

Adopt the “Low Cost Attitude” for your TV advertising.

Why « democratise » television advertising is a top priority for brands everywhere in the world ?

Because TV it is the most efficient medium. It is television that makes certain brands world famous, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsico, l’Oréal or the products from Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Henkel, …  Television is the perfect impact medium. In 2006 television is watched by the general public all over the world on an  average of more than 3h30 everyday.  73% of our free time is spent watching television ! In just a few days a brand can be shown to millions of potential clients.  Early in the morning or even in the middle of the night or at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, there are hundreds of thousands of viewers watching TV programs.  To apply « Low Cost » to television is to democratise it and make it available to all advertisers who need it to build their reputation and boost their sales to defend their position in the market.

The « TVLowCost All-included Packs » : a Revolution that meets the needs of advertisers everywhere.

For 250 000 €, 100 000 € or 200 000 £, according to the countries where we are established, TVLowCost agencies allow advertisers to broadcast 100 TV commercials contacting millions of consumers with high level repetition !  Knowing that, usually this is just the cost of producing the ad . In 2006 the average budget to produce a TV spot in France is 250 000 €. 250 000 € is also the cost of 3 TV spots of 30 seconds at 8 o’clock PM in the evening on the main channels in the different markets.… Compare for yourself : ask to your HIGH COST agency how much it would cost to produce and broadcast an advertising campaign in comparable conditions…

Low quality TV advertising ?

The spots proposed by TVLowCost are real television commercials, it has nothing to do with “home shopping spots” or certain cheap TV commercials that can be found on cable television channels.  There is no worry either of ‘outdated’ advertising messages which could be dangerous for the brand image.  Our TV commercials are shot by experienced directors very demanding.  The “TVLowCost All-included packs” have demonstrated the efficiency of short formats, such as 12, 10 or even 8 seconds. Is a 8 second TV spot too short ?  Not that short : at a normal pace of 3 words a second you can say 24 words.  Whereas billboards work with only four or five words. A 8 second spot will “get to the point”, it is a guarantee to concentrate on the essential, the famous « USP” Unique Selling Proposition ». Short means less expensive and more television commercials broadcasted, thus the brand has more possibilities to repeat its message to the consumers. Never forget that …

REPETITION CREATES REPUTATION !

The ideal solution for challengers or secondary brands belonging to global companiesTVLowCost « democratises » TV advertising by giving access to the “king of the medias” to advertisers who do not have huge marketing budgets.  2 types of advertiser are particularly concerned : small businesses who need television to “boost” their consumer demand otherwise they risk to be « ejected » from the retailers.  And large global groups who cannot support each of their local brands with large media expenditures.  Instead of focussing exclusively on promotion to support their secondary brands, they can keep up their brand awareness and top of mind presence thanks to TV.  Nowadays, all over the world, many advertisers have to reduce their advertising budget to “absorb the shock” of the dropping prices. With TVLowCost, these brands are able to continue their appearances on television. By reducing the necessary budgets to go on TV drastically (by 4 to 5 times what advertisers usually pay), TVLowCost offers a credible solution for thousands of advertisers exhausted by the relationship with their traditional HIGH COST ad agencies! 

Communicating to mature consumers, a few golden rules.

During my trips around our network I meet many journalists or marketing managers and very often, they ask me to give them a few “Golden Rules” to communicate efficiently to 50+ consumers. The aim of this text is to draw up a list of the recipes and rules that are effective with the over 50s.  It is not a “science”, but, I hope those golden rules will be of some help!

First golden rule: be positive! 

To make yourself understood, be positive! Any message addressed to the over 50s should not remind them about their problems. They are well aware of them. Focus rather on other things. They like life, want to enjoy it and are interested in everything; your product or service can be part of it. If, at the same time as it makes them laugh, your advertisement also pleases them, then it is a success. Your advertisement should show them achieving something new and exciting, taking on an ambitious project or helping others. Never forget that situations where their own sense of humour is shown to be triumphant are especially effective.

Second golden rule: Select a means of expression that sits halfway between advertising and information – the ‘TV infomercial’ 

The over 50s consumer is a somewhat prickly person who is much more wary of advertisers arguments that than the younger consumer. He is only moderately impressed by the vast majority of the advertisements he sees. He sees them as favouring style over content and being basically aimed at a young public (‘commercials made by the young for the young’). Several surveys have revealed this division between the over 50s and the majority of TV commercials. There is a solution to winning over and reassuring the over 50s; this is the ‘TV infomercial’, an American neologism from ‘information’ and ‘commercial’. Senioragency has specialised in these throughout our network. We shall examine why it is that the new type of advertising constitutes one of the most effective means of communicating with the over 50s.

·        The over 50s consumer, being prudent, suspicious even, needs much more information before deciding to buy.  The TV infomercial is able to deliver a large number of facts and arguments about the product.

·        Through its scenario, the TV infomercial can tackle the obstacles to purchase (for example, through dialogue) and reply point by point to any objections.

·        By showing during part or the whole of the spot a freephone number, it facilitates direct interactive contact to provide further information or to place an order.

·        By far the most persuasive factor for the over 50s is that, for many of them, the TV infomercial is not really advertising. In fact, the simplicity of the technical presentation, the matter-of-fact style and the focusing of the discussion on the product are totally different from other advertising spots. The over 50s viewer appreciates the absence of superfluous decoration and devours the infomercial like a marketing videocassette or like an advertising press report on TV.

·           Finally, in order to be effective and economically viable, this type of advertising spot is screened during the daytime, that is between 6.00 and 17.00-18.00 during the week. Utilising these off-peak periods has the great advantage of allowing the advertisers to enjoy extremely attractive rates (only a few hundred euros for the most economical). In this way brands can be presented for long periods for budgets that cost 5 to 6 times less than those required for blanket screenings and repeats aimed at those under 50.

Third golden rule : surround them with people of other generations.

Grandparents like to show kindness to their grandchildren and to teach them about life. In the best of situations, there is even total complicity between the two generations. The other advantage is that the child become adolescent will share personal secrets and worries with grandparents in preference to parents. It is therefore a great stage for people over 50; they have children, but none of the disadvantages of having children! Who has not seen their father radically changed when becoming a grandfather? New patience, tolerance, greater availability – one has never known him like that! For the over 50s, the family has become the centre of happiness. Contact with young children and adolescents is a kind of rejuvenating bath that brings infinite pleasure. Some successful commercials have played upon this emotional theme. We can mention Werther’s Original sweets whose advertisement shows a typical grandfather and his grandson, or the very original poster and press ads for the Chrome de Azzaro perfume range that had the idea of showing three male generations, a less conventional way of pointing up the relationship between generations. In the field of charity, some advertisers have learnt how to exploit this sentiment (remember that the over 50s are the main donors).

Fourth golden rule : portray them as they see themselves, lively and attractive

Since they are fit, we should show them as active, lively and the driving force in situations that show the value of their punch and dynamism. A talented American commercial for the Nike brand showed a baseball team whose average age was 76; the star of the spot was aged 100. This commercial is powerful and credible because it is based on an authentic case, making everyone want to be like this man at his age. The finale of the film was spectacularly successful. The star sayd ‘It must have been the shoes!’. The spot ended with the brand’s marvellous slogan ‘Just do it!’, a perfect message to bridge the generations.

The Unilever Group screened in Europe a very effective and amusing commercial for its Olivio spread brand depicting some over 60s men playing football and at the same time gently flirting with their spectator wives. Another very successful commercial was launched world-wide in the autumn of 2000 by Estée Lauder, the giant American beauty products corporation, to promote its face cream for the more mature woman. For Resilience Lift, the brand had the idea of once again featuring its star model of the 1970s, Karen Graham, who was aged 23 when she had first appeared for them. Now, 30 years later, she was asked to perform again. Better still, since Karen Graham had always been keen on fly-fishing (sic!) and had, at the end of her modelling career, opened a fishing school in Montana, the advertiser had the excellent idea of having her adopt the same pose as thirty years previously, dressed in a fishing outfit.

Fifth golden rule: tell them about the product, they are only interested in that For them, the star is the product, the tangible reality, argued and verifiable. Commercials or spots that give the impression of favouring appearance and aesthetics over content rarely move them. They want the concrete; they want to have it explained to them why this product should be tried, and perhaps chosen, from the rest. They are not inclined swing suddenly towards some new offer without a reason. An effective way of communicating with them is to use the magazine press, direct marketing and now : the WEB !. We should not forget that they belong to the generation of the written word, which is the only medium for developing an argument in detail.  

Sixth golden rule : use advertising celebrities belonging to their generations

Celebrity Marketing is specially efficient with mature audiences. The more you age, the more you like “authorities” to speak to you. Each generation grows with what I call “generation heroes” (sportsmen, actors, writers …). These ‘icons” are loved, respected and famous among the members of the generations. If you have to speak to a 70 years old consumer, it is much more efficient to use a 70 years old famous spokesperson than a 70 years old unknown model. In the first case, everybody will recognise with pleasure the “hero” and forget about its age, in the second case, the risk is high that the consumers will see an “old man or an old woman”. Thus, using celebrities is the most efficient way to say to people “hello this message is for you folks”, without having to raise the age issue. Using celebrities will also contribute to the prestige of the brand!

Low Cost TV advertising is possible, but “High Cost” ad agencies hate that idea!

Anyone can find different ways of selling cheaper without making a loss. But you do need that will-power, and most ad agencies won’t even give it a try. In truth most advertising agencies priorise awards : look at how “mad” they are to show you the Gold Lions they have won in Cannes Festival, right from the entrance of their splendid headquarters! To be sure to come back from their annual trip to the french riviera with some “Lions”, they try to convince their clients to accept expensive production costs to gain that ultimate prestige, despite the pressures of today’s economic reality. So shooting is in 35mm, in South Africa or Argentina, with the last “à la mode” director who has been awarded in the recent festivals, and of course, he works in exclusivity with a production company. And everybody explains to the client that there is NO other solution to do this commercial!

Whatever the climate, whatever the difficulties of the client, some seem to have their heads well and truly planted in the sand.

But not all brands can afford such high-rolling attitudes [and good luck to those that can] since their scales and lower experience with Media generally make them more cautious. Happily, for all brands tip-toeing around TV for the first time – perhaps some lapsed TV ones too – and for smaller brands in larger company portfolios, there is another way … TVLowCost

Why advertisers should stop ignoring the potential of 50+ market ?

 

If there is one statistical domain that is easy to project into the future it is demography. Here there is no need for futurologist, magicians or card readers to tell us about tomorrow. We just have to follow the curves and within a few per cent anyone can show us what the demographic structure of a country will be in 10, 15 or 20 years. The information is known, available and fully annotated in every report from the national and international demographic institutions that relates to the latest census. What is more, this information is free.In an economic world in which every year billions of dollars and euros are spent on consumer studies, panels, test-marketing, pre-tests and post-tests, in order to better understand the attitudes and behaviour of consumers faced with products and services from different competing companies, studies that are jealously scrutinised and decorticated by cohorts of eminent directors (research, marketing, strategy, communication, media, etc), how can it be that the most important demographic phenomenon of the beginning of this new century has passed by virtually unnoticed?

The planet is ageing. Our continent more than ever now deserves its name Old Europe. The USA and Japan are struck by the same phenomenon and almost no one seems to see it, or draw the obvious marketing and communication conclusions from it. Even today, nearly 95% of the media plans drawn up by advertisers and agencies are aimed at the sacrosanct under 50s buyers because, as everyone knows, after 50 one no longer consumes or spends, perhaps because one is dead? A perfect illustration of one-idea marketing!

The study of the mass media (such as TV or the Press) is interesting because they are the mirror of our society and they reflect the dominant culture of a given period. In 1998, six European
public service broadcast organisations joined forces in the Gender Portrayal Network: YLE (Finland), NOS (the Netherlands), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway) and ZDF (Germany). The basic database for this study comprises 371 hours of prime time TV and 10497 speaking individuals. Regarding age, it can be concluded that people over 65 hardly figure in prime time TV; only 2% of the people seen in prime time were aged 65+. In this age group, twice as many men, compared to women, were presented. There were scarcely any differences between the six countries. A total of 7423 minutes of speaking time was analysed, showing that people over 65 accounted for 239 minutes (3%) in total! In prime time TV, only 2% of the leading actors were over 65 and they were all male (from the study, ‘Who speaks in television’, November 1998).

We will quote from another research study, ‘Older people on television’, conducted by the BBC and Age Concern in the UK. Researchers watched 356 programmes lasting 168 hours on the following British channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, UK Gold and Sky One. Despite the fact that people aged 60+ represent 20% of the UK population and watch an average of 35 hours of TV per week (more than any other group), the research showed that only 10% of presenters, reporters, interviewees, contestants and fictional characters were over 60. Compared with younger people, older people had less prominent roles on television. 96% of older people were interviewees, compared with only 76% of younger people. 3% of older people were major presenters compared with 9% of younger people. 1% of older people were minor presenters compared with 15% of younger people.

To conclude this research overview established by the Dutch media researcher, Huub Evers, working for NPOE (the Netherlands Platform for Older People and Europe), we will consider the Dutch study (van Selm, Westerhof and Thissen) made in 1996 on images of older people (50+) in commercials; this involved a content analysis of some 1000 commercials. Older adults were shown in only 3% of these (i.e. 28 commercials). ‘Elderly persons, and especially older women, appeared to be highly underrepresented. Above all, older people appear in commercials in which food, especially sweets, is recommended. Also, a high proportion of the commercials deal with financial issues, such as pensions and insurance. Generally, older people play a characteristic role and they are not the target group. Only a few commercials (e.g. those concerning health support products, such as reading-glasses and incontinence towels) are aimed at older adults as a target group. A considerable number of commercials (60%) were humorous. The authors interpret the results as characteristic of a predominantly negative portrayal of older people.’

How are we to explain why so many experts in marketing and communication, whose talent and professionalism cannot be doubted, uniformly neglect millions of moneyed and available consumers who have only to be wooed?

The keys to this mystery may be found in the following seven points.

A panicky fear of death 

We have a fear of dying and everything that reminds us of this event makes us profoundly uneasy. In the West our relationship with death is considerably affected by the strength of the dominant religions. In India, for example, the attitude towards death is infinitely less tense and dramatic, since it is seen as a necessary step towards reincarnation. Any tourist visiting the Indian subcontinent is amazed at the nonchalance of the thousands of pedestrians squatting at the roadside who remain where they are even when they are brushed by lorries passing at full speed. Culturally, death is not perceived as an end, but as a new departure. In the West, the reaction is different; we are tortured by the prospect of death and we therefore blot out this unattractive image (the ‘ostrich’ policy). Old age is perceived as the antechamber of death. When we see old people (and as we know the concept of ‘old’ is always relative: a man of 25 will be very old for a child of 10, and an adult of 50 will appear an old buffer for a young graduate fresh from college), we immediately ascribe to them all the attributes of old age: illness, peevish character, infirmities, dependency, and so on. Preconceived ideas about the over 50s are countless and their importance in the minds of the public is, as we shall see, considerable.

The loss of status of the elderly 

In the history of the majority of civilisations, the elders have played, and in many continents continue to play, the role of wise men and women who are consulted when decisions about the community have to be taken. This is a natural and uncontested role, since nothing can replace experience when it comes to decision-making. On the professional front, there can be little doubt that it takes tens of years of practice, with success and failure, in order to perfect one’s trade or skill. In the Middle Ages, the apprenticeship among the cathedral builders bears witness to this requirement. In Japan, where the cult of the elder has for long been one of the essential pillars of society, these people are called ‘living treasures’. The whole population venerates them because they are trustees of an ancestral knowledge in the highly esteemed domains of Japanese culture and art; lacquer work, engraving, indigo dyeing and metalwork. In the world of art, writing and music, the art never ceases to develop and expand with the passing of time. However, in our western societies the role of the elder has continued to diminish for tens of years to the point where he has lost his natural authority. Within the family cell, the grandparents no longer live with their children and grandchildren (accommodation too inadequate, professional migration, desire for independence, etc). Within the company, the combined pressures of economic crisis and rising unemployment drive the directors to push thousands of experienced staff into early retirement because in their eyes they have two major defects: they are older and more expensive to employ that younger staff.

Our society dreams of a world where the young hold power at a time when all the statistics show the futility of such a dream.

The dictatorship of youth, beauty and activity 

The myth of youth is a collective obsession that dominates our cultural, economic and political life. Look young is the guiding order of the day. This obsession sometimes borders on the ridiculous when some political figures, in order to appeal to the younger electorate, take to using what they believe to be the language of adolescents. Such behaviour, which is so widespread to be anecdotal, has led the psychiatrist Yves Pélicier to come up with the following analysis: ‘In some primitive societies, eating a young animal, drinking the blood of a young creature or having sex with a very young person was said to have rejuvenating qualities. Today, we are witnessing a modern version of this sacred cannibalism. The youth culture is like a magic cult.’ Is growing old a shameful thing? Yes, if we are to believe the leaders of mass communication. This is why the men and women in the posters, on magazine covers and in the TV sitcoms are so handsome and attractive.They have been there since the 1960s and don’t have a wrinkle! Still slim, sun-tanned and sexy, increasingly unclothed, with exotic or seductive expressions. They are all different but all share a common facet; they are bursting with youth. (And do they not say that the career of a model is over when she is 25?) This idealised view of the body and beauty allows for few exceptions. Advertisers have interiorised this ideal of women and men to such a point that it is very rare for them to use and older model. When one is used, it is generally in an exaggerated context. We are therefore now in a century where more than 33% of the population of developed countries is 50 or older and where the vast majority of advertising campaigns continue to portray male and female consumers as though there had been no demographic evolution. To quote Nick Long of Market Behaviour Ltd: ‘Advertising executives, mostly under 30, were profoundly uninterested in understanding the over 50s and their views and associations were largely with stereotypes of decrepitude, imbecility and physical repugnance.’ One of the primordial functions of an advertising campaign is to trigger identification of the projected model. Can we really hope that millions of consumers will recognise themselves in the young people who might just as well be their children, or their grandchildren?

Mistaken identity 

The test is striking. Ask people point-blank: ‘Describe a retired person to me.’ You will then be given in large measure a portrait worthy of the nineteenth century. ‘He is not very rich, not very healthy, holds reactionary political views, lives buried in his small suburban house, from where he only ventures in his cloth cap to collect his pension and his daily paper. Back home he might listen to some Glenn Miller or Ella Fitzgerald before blissfully settling down in front of his TV where he will swallow all the rubbish before falling asleep in his chair like every evening.’ Faced with this question, the natural tendency for most people is to describe the popular view of society portrayed in films and novels since the end of the Second World War. It is also an unconscious portrayal of the lifestyle of our grandparents. This generation were the disadvantaged of the twentieth century. Born before the First World War, they subsequently experienced all kinds of fear and privation that marked them for life. They emerged with their health often weakened and a morbid fear of failing. With such images in our heads, we often forget that a retired person, or even an early retired person, may well only be 57 or 58, enjoy good physical health, be cultivated and interested in everything, possess more than adequate available income and enjoy rock music as he has done all his life (one has only to recall audience shots at concerts by the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd or Phil Collins).

Advertising and marketing: the youth tribe 

How powerful is the microcosm. In Paris, New York, London and Tokyo, some thousands of individuals look after on the one hand the marketing (the advertisers), and on the other the communication (the agencies). They rule over thousands of brands which every year spend 10 of billions of dollars and euros on advertising campaigns. This is the tribe of marketing and advertising executives. Like all tribes, they have the same origins, the same thought patterns, the same benchmarks, the same haunts. They have graduated from a large commercial college or university. They admire the rigour of Procter & Gamble, Danone and Colgate, and the creativity of L’Oréal. They would never fail to read the latest issue of their professional press (Advertising Age, Campaign, Stratégies, etc) while at the same time pretending to take a very detached view of such publications. They frequent the same fashionable restaurants, the same film previews and subscribe to the same sports clubs. They never fail to attend the ‘high mass’ of their profession, namely the Cannes Festival of Advertising Film. Above all, they share one special characteristic: they are overwhelmingly young. With an average age of 28 to 35, marketing directors and group heads of marketing communicate easily with agency executives and creative staff, where it is a well-known fact that, after 45, if one has not become the chairman one is no longer working in advertising. For example, in the UK, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising revealed that out of the 12800 people working in its member agencies in 2000, only 776 were aged over 50. In the USA, it has been shown that 82% of people working in advertising agencies were under 40, while 39% of the marketing directors were under 35 and only 10% over 50%. Should we regret this youth? Certainly not, since it is partly what enables advertisers and agencies to come up constantly with the new products and new ideas that constitute the dynamic of this industry. Nonetheless, it also one of the basic reasons that explain this unbelievable ‘marketing genocide’ of millions of over 50-year-olds. Living in this half enclosed world, the advertiser and his agent naturally find it difficult to establish contact with a consumer who is two or three times their age. It is much more convenient to communicate with people of one’s own generation whose reactions and expectations are more easily anticipated and understood. In conclusion, we should recognise that the baby boom (1946-1964) and the socio-economic context created a euphoric economy that has facilitated the sale of goods and services of all kinds. The younger generations did not hesitate to buy the latest products, taking full advantage of the credit facilities offered by every store department. These cohorts of avid consumers created the good times for advertisers during this amazing development of the consumer society. Today’s scene is quite different and the over 50s could well be the lifebuoy for many markets.

The age of the captains 

We should not apportion all blame for the marketing blindness to the advertising and agency executives. There is another factor that plays its part: the age of the company directors. How many times have I observed at the end of countless promotional seminars presented to company boards the half joking, half serious response of the chairman and directors, all generally in their fifties. They had just become aware that they belonged to this age group and for those of them who were particularly concerned about their projected image, this came as a shock. It is well known that 50-year-olds are especially shy about their age (except when they can benefit from a special service or tariff). People do not like to see themselves growing old and, consciously or unconsciously, that markedly affects their attitude towards the strategic choices in their business. At heart, the dream of many directors is to be like Richard Branson, the emblematic head of Virgin, experienced businessman, in his fifties, but a perpetual instigator and innovator who shows himself to be younger than many who are actually younger than him. It is somewhat the myth of the boss who is forever up-to-date with the trends that is involved when one shows that the over 50s have specific needs and values that require dedicated generation marketing.

The fear of giving an ‘oldie’ image to one’s business 

‘For years, I have done everything to promote my brand with the best – a young image, a young target group, a young advertising style, and you want me to take the risk of tarnishing it by appealing to the over 50s?’ That is the near instinctive reaction of advertisers when the 50+ market comes up for discussion. But, on American market, for several years brands popular with teenagers, such a Levi’s. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Nike, Kellogg’s or Pepsi, have shown that these approaches are not irreconcilable. Nevertheless, it is clear that for a very large number of companies this argument is a strong brake on the emergence of marketing strategies that include the 50+ group. This reticence comes from a tendency to caricature the strategies employed to include the over 50s in the marketing approach. But things are not simply black or white. There is no de facto reason why the integration of the over 50s into the design of products or into the communication strategy should cause the loss of the younger market. We can even claim that, in many cases, the values produced, such as ease of use, or the communication values, such as greater rapprochement between generations, are able to bring spectacular success in both the younger and older groups. A French study, carried out by IED (the Youth Institute), involving 400 young people aged 18-25, corroborates this claim. In response to the question: ‘More and more companies are offering products and services and advertising campaigns aimed at people aged from 50 to 70. What do you think of this?’, some 36% replied: ‘I think it is quite normal for the brands to be interested in the over 50s.’ 27% replied: ‘I think that these brands become more attractive by taking an interest in all generations.’ 32% said: ‘It makes no difference to me; it’s not important.’ Only 2% stated: ‘I find it makes the brands look old.’On the other hand, portraying over 50s in an unfavourable or confrontational light in order to appeal to the young runs the serious risk of displeasing everyone. For a number of years advertisers have been in the habit of using laughable 50+ people to show younger generations that their brands ran no risk of being consumed by such grotesque beings. Every year, throughout the world, there are new campaigns for products aimed at the young that use over 50s as a contrast foil. This provokes much amusement among a few hundred advertising executives who take the opportunity of awarding themselves prizes for such work, but the commercial outcome is generally disastrous. This is because it is persistently forgotten that the over 50s are also buyers and within the family group there is little conflict between the generations; the grandchildren love their grandparents and do not see at all in the way that the advertisers depict them. What interest do companies have in making enemies of millions of consumers, shocked and even offended by the negative representation of their generation? Humour is fine, but why this type? As Hege Christensen and Kristin Undheim, authors of the Bengal Trend Report on Scandinavian Seniors, write: ‘Seniors are the mass media’s most faithful customers, but neither advertisers nor TV companies are particularly interested by them. They don’t think that they will able to make any money on seniors, and anyway, they don’t even know if they like them.’ This is perhaps why brands such as Fila in the UK have no hesitation in running campaigns in which the voiceover to a picture of an old man and woman asks ‘Any last request?’, as though before dying the only intelligent thing they could do would be to buy a pair of Fila sport shoes. Would they have dared to do the same by making fun of gays or minority ethnic groups?

One thing is certain, tackling the over 50s market requires great tact and extreme prudence, because the 50+ consumer is experienced and demanding, this is why Senioragency skills and know how is so useful form advertisers all over the world!

Brands must adapt rapidly themselves to mature consumers : “Senior Design” is the solution!

“Design for the young and you exclude the old. Design for the old and you include everybody.” 

It is not easy to put oneself in someone else’s shoes, especially if this person is older than you are. The individual alone experiences such internal changes. Furthermore, the changes are slow and are spread out over decades. Identifying them helps to understand their implications for marketing to the over 50s.

It is difficult to determine precisely at what age the different phenomena of deterioration come to be more pronounced; it depends on the individual. As David Lebreton has written: ‘Ageing is a slow and imperceptive process. A person moves gently from one day to the next, from one week to the next, from one year to the next; the events of daily life punctuate the flow of the day, not the awareness of time…wear builds up on the face, enters the tissues, weakens the muscles, reduces energy, but without trauma, without sudden rupture…the ageing process advances at walking pace.’ Nonetheless, one can claim that the age of fifty is a significant marker throughout the world.

Let me just describe what occurs with one of our senses :

Sight 

Eyesight declines from one’s youngest years. It reaches its maximum capacity before the age of 10. From then on it declines. After 40, the crystalline lens tends to yellow and harden while the pupil contracts; opening and closing becomes slower. This contraction requires more external light (two to three times more than that required by adolescents). From the age of 50, it is said that nearly 90% of people require spectacles (long-sightedness or presbyopia). The more one ages, the more subsequent problems become more serious.Difficulty in distinguishing certain colours:

Colours, such as blue, green, pink and violet, become difficult to identify. All pastel shades merge into a uniform halo. Mixtures of dark colours and pale colours are scarcely perceptible.

Implications in marketing to mature consumers:

To overcome these problems, contrast must be used in visual items of communication destined for the over 50s. This ranges from the choice of colours and materials for an architectural interior to the colour codes for packaging.

In TV advertising spots, advertising posters and direct marketing mailings, foregrounds and backgrounds must be sufficiently contrasted and the use of red against blue avoided in order to prevent a monochrome effect on the part of the viewer. On packaging, reflective and shiny surfaces should be avoided.

Difficulty in adapting to sudden changes is also a big issue. Moving suddenly from darkness to light, and vice versa, or from one colour to another destabilises the vision. It then takes some time for the eye to readjust to seeing clearly again. Changing images incessantly runs the risk of causing visual chaos.

Practical implications for marketing

Reject completely in TV commercials the MTV clip video style of 15 shots in 5 seconds.

Go for longer shots, a more linear approach and long formats (such as for example ‘TV infomercials’ lasting 1 minute screened during day-time schedules). It will be hard to adopt these common sense principles because the designers and producers of advertising films are strongly influenced by style of the big film-makers and the video clip culture. They find it hard to resist the ultra rapid style of a Goude or a de Mondino.

Loss in close up vision

It becomes more and more difficult for the eye to see things that are close. An adolescent sees an object at 10 cm; a person of 70 sees it at 1 metre. It is estimated that only 15% of people over 75 have 10 by 10 vision. After 50, the accommodation is insufficient to read fine print at less than 30-35 cm from the eye.

Presbyopia arises from the change in the accommodation faculty of the crystalline lens. The eye refuses to focus its lens on close letters or objects. Spectacles become essential, then they too become insufficient. One then turns to the magnifying glass that one sees beside the telephone book or the TV guide in old people’s houses.

Practical implications for marketing

Use a type body size larger than normal. 10 point is the minimum, with something between 12 and 14 point the ideal.

In addition, some typographic fonts are more difficult to read than others. Try to avoid fonts that are too complex or unusual and choose styles such as Times, Garamond or Century, with good inter-linear spacing for legibility.