rhc advantage becomes engaged to Age Concern and Help the Aged

rhc advantage, the creative marketing agency for older audiences, has been accepted as a Partner and Member of ‘engage’, the business network formed and managed by Age Concern and Help the Aged.

engage aims to bring companies together to share expertise in meeting the needs and requirements of older consumers, to promote best practice, and to advise on adapting business models and products for an ageing society. The engage network already has over 50 members, representing multiple consumer-facing business sectors across the UK and the world. These include Barclays, British Gas, BT, Currys, HSBC, Marks & Spencer, McDonalds, Microsoft and Sky.

engage also manages the ‘Age OK’ accreditation mark, which will be awarded to products and services judged to be sufficiently ‘age-friendly’. Next year, it is planned to extend the accreditation process to take into account the overall customer experience for older people. This is something that we see as particularly important. Being ‘age friendly’ must surely mean much more than an empty promise made in advertising and marketing communications. It is a belief that must extend across all aspects of the customer experience if it is to be credible.

For example, it is easy to believe that B&Q is age-friendly, given the consistency of its approach across employment, advertising and product. However, one can only assume that certain other retailers (sports retailers, say) are keen to deter anyone aged over 21, to the point of being age unfriendly, given their muzac and staffing policies. This despite some evidence that people over 21 - and indeed, over 51 - do buy sports clothing and equipment. New Balance, for example, is a well-known case history in this industry showing the successful growth of the brand once it stopped chasing youth and became more 'ageless'.

To take it a stage further, perhaps 'age friendly' and 'Age OK' are concepts that should be extended across other aspects of an organisation, such as employment practices. Thinking of our own industry, nearly 50% of staff employed by IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) members are aged under 30, while just 5% are aged over 50. This is in stark contrast to the distribution of people in the total working population. In this context, rhc advantage is very much the B&Q of the creative industry!

For more information - www.engagenetwork.co.uk www.rhcadvantage.co.uk