Older Audiences Rock!

Happy Birthday, Sir Elton John – 63 today. And thank you, because your birthday has reminded me to get this particular rant off my chest.

Sir Elton is one of many rock musicians now in their sixties. Beck, Bowie, Clapton, Jagger, Springsteen – the list could go on, ad infinitum. The really big bands of this vintage can still pack the largest venues whenever they want – think of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, the Who. They command huge audiences, many of whom are the same age as they are.

And my rant is this: older audiences rock, but most of the marketing communications directed at them do not. In fact, if advertising and communications are directed at older people at all, they are almost always directed at some sort of mythical minority group, made up of caricatures, grotesques and stereotypes, instead of the incredibly diverse group most of us know. The best we over-50s can hope for is to be portrayed with white teeth, coiffeured grey hair and Blue Harbour leisure clothing.

To continue. Jimi Hendrix is currently topping the charts with a ‘new’ album, despite having died 40 years ago. And perhaps the biggest name of them all, Sir Paul McCartney, 67, has already sold out his June performance in Hyde Park. With a full-time staff of 150 for his world tour, and a ‘Platinum Package’ ticket priced at £938.83, Sir Paul is certainly doing his bit for the economy. And yes, he is continuing to work beyond the state retirement age, presumably out of choice.

And it’s not just the performers. If you’re not sure what the term ‘older audience’ really means, then just go to a rock concert. People who used to shake their mane of hair in front of the PA speakers can now be found nodding their grizzled heads politely. None conform to any stereotype of what an ‘older audience’ might look like. At a recent rock music event I attended* nearly all of the audience, like the band, were over fifty. But the diversity was there to be seen – from bespectacled chaps in sensible pullovers, tapping their feet politely, to ageing tattooed bikers, wearing faded band T-shirts. We all shared an interest in a particular band, but little else.

This older rock audience consumes many different types of music heavily, and in many different ways – from gigs to downloads. It is a diverse audience, which does not conform to the stereotypes of how older people are expected to look or behave. In fact, like any other ‘older audience’, neither does it conform to the way in which older people are perceived and portrayed by many businesses, their advertising and their marketing communications.

So, if you’re talking 'bout my generation, please try to talk to us in a language we understand.

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* ‘Down at the Doctors: a weekend in Canvey Island with Dr Feelgood’ – http://markbeasley.blog.co.uk