Demographic series: Getting your message heard by the silent generation.

So, our demographics series has focussed on Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and, most recently, baby boomers, and now it's time to turn our attention to the often-neglected 'silent generation'.

Who is the silent generation? They're people born between 1928 and 1945, and because of their age, many brands don't see the demographic as a viable target. However, Forbes found that the silent generation holds roughly 1.3 times the amount of wealth as baby boomers, more than twice that of Gen X, and 23 times that of Millennials.

What's more, a typical 80-year-old's household is thought to have twice the net worth of a typical 50-year-old, but as recently as 1995, they were about equal.

Despite this, a whopping 77% of UK businesses say they don't market to the silent generation at all. There's such a massive opportunity for brands – especially those in sectors dominated by the elderly such as health, tourism, and leisure – to reach an under-targeted demographic that still has plenty to give. 

Here are our top tips for connecting with the silent generation.

1. Get your messaging right.

Dubbed the silent generation as they were expected to be seen and not heard, they grew up through the Great Depression and the Second World War and considered work a privilege. They hold the belief that you earn your own way through hard work.

To effectively reach the silent generation, you need to earn their trust and offer them value in return for their custom. How do you do this? Use formal and straightforward copy, focusing your messaging on issues they find important, such as spending time with family and building a legacy. One thing you could do is point out that your brand, product, or service removes any unnecessary hassle, is straightforward to use, and frees up time to spend with family.

In fact, time with loved ones is so important to this generation that it's well worth executing campaigns and assets that clearly tie into this theme. Instead of using stereotypical pics of ageing people in your campaigns, consider picking emotion-provoking, relatable images that give off a sense of family or belonging, and hopefully, these will resonate more with the silent generation.

2. The power of the written word.

The best way to get your message to the silent generation is by targeting them in more traditional ways. While some of the demographic are digitally savvy, newspapers are still one of their main sources of information, with Ofcom figures showing that 60% consume their news from them. In comparison, only 21% of 16-24-year-olds get their information from newspapers – the written word clearly holds a greater significance for the older generation.

Print campaigns offer an effective route to targeting the silent generation. You should include your messaging in written communications such as direct mail, newsletters, postcards, and flyers. For existing customers, there's also a range of reward solutions that you can explore to engage this less digital-savvy demographic, such as posting gift boxes or physical tickets through their letterbox rather than frequently used digital methods that could go unseen.

3. Keep it simple and accessible.

The silent generation expects brands to get straight to the point and has little patience for wading through tons of information. So, you've got to make sure the overall user experience is simple, clear, and direct.

When marketing to the older generation – who are more likely to have visual impairments – it's particularly important to take accessibility measures into consideration. We're talking typefaces that are large and easy to read, avoiding the use of too many images or busy layouts, and using appropriate colours together.

Putting such measures in place helps ensure you are enabling easy access to your brand and all it has to offer.

4. Home in on a lesser targeted generation.

While loyalty is important to the silent generation, many brands make the mistake of assuming they'll be customers for life and fail to spend any effort building meaningful relationships with them.

If targeted correctly, the older generation will switch to a brand that speaks to their wants and needs – especially those with children and grandchildren, who help them seek a good and reliable deal.

To sum up, if you use traditional marketing approaches with language and added extras that actually appeal to their needs, you have a brilliant opportunity to build those all-important relationships with the silent generation, getting them on board with your brand.

If you're after more info or advice on how to target the silent generation, or if you'd like a bit of help developing an engagement and customer loyalty strategy targeting a specific demographic, please get in touch today.