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Active Development ?
Active Development supports
companies in ageless marketing, communication, and product development. In the
strategies we combine the expertise of the customer with our own knowledge of
the 50 plus consumers. Our services consist of consultancy, workshops, concept
development and implementation, qualitative research, training, project management,
target group events and panels.We specialize in qualitative research with target
group panels and creating concepts from those results. We have a growing database
of 50 plus consumers who are actively taking part in the panels. Before we set
up the qualitative research we gather and analyze all the available quantitative
data on the industry. A lot of high quality quantitative research has already
been executed over the years but it can not be used to create concepts because
it is lacking the meaningful insights.Our opinion is that marketing has become
much more complex with all the different media and technologies. Marketing segments
are more spread out over the different channels and the buying behavior has
more diversity than ever before. For us the positive result is that it gives
us the opportunity to create really innovative concepts.
On the creative side we
work with different suppliers on every project. We team up with copy writers,
web designers, advertising agencies, publishers, journalists, graphic designers,
market researchers and fellow senior marketers like ‘Arjan in ‘t
Veld from In The Field Marketing and Communication’.Active Development
was founded in 2006 by Martijn de Haas and Michel van den Bosch.
What is the situation
of the mature market in your country ? (are companies interested in the 50 plus
market ?)
In the Netherlands we have
a growing interest for the 50 plus market but little is actually being created.
There are numerous articles in magazines and newspapers about the opportunities
that this group of consumers are presenting, many workshops and seminars about
this topic are being held every month, and a lot of statistical research has
been carried out. Still this doesn’t seem to be enough to get companies
to actively change their traditional marketing.
We figure there are 3 reasons
for this lack of action by marketers.
The first one being that
they do not believe they have to treat them any different than the younger
target groups. They think that this group will buy their products anyway and
are more loyal to brands than younger people.
The second reason is
that they are afraid to move out of their comfort zone because others aren’t
doing anything either. There is also a kind of establishment that keeps the
traditional marketing alive. For instance the company that researches the
number of television viewers per program is completely focused on the shoppers
between the ages of 20 and 49 years. Television stations try to attract advertisers
with the outcome of the research so why would an advertiser change? If they
do consider 50 plus marketing they will order a market research first which
then postpones the decision again and finally resulting in nothing being done
at all.
The third and last reason
is that they seem to be trying to market to them at the wrong places. Enthusiastic
entrepreneurs are organizing events that use the age 50 plus in their communications.
Companies that want to enter the 50 plus market typically attend these events
first. Consumers between 50 and 70 do not react very well to signs saying
’50 plus here’ so they stay away. So only elderly people visit
those events and companies are disappointed by the lack of commercial potential
of the visitors. This disappointment confirms their prejudices of the 50 plus
consumers and they return to business as usual.
From personal experience
and from our fellow senior marketers we know that a lot of research is conducted
and a lot of plans are being made in different companies. It is coming but it’s
hard to tell how long it will take before the 50 plus consumers are fully recognized
as a group that can’t be ignored.
Could you speak
about one of your projects ?
art of our philosophy
is that we should prove our authority by actually operating in the market ourselves.
This is why we host a small fair for the more wealthy 50 plus consumers called
the ‘Levensgenietersfair’. This a fair that is held in relatively
big cities in Holland and holds about 30 exhibitors. The textual marketing
is ageless but the target is attracting the 50 plus consumer who has money
to spend on luxury articles.
From experience and psychological
literature we learnt that as people get older they value local social
networks more and more. They want to build close relationships with local entrepreneurs
who give them optimal service and a feeling of being a 'friend' rather
than a customer. For instance my father in law is telling me to buy our
new DVD-player in his city, which is about 100 miles from my home,
because he thinks the service is much better than in my own city. You do
not sell these people a luxury product on a one time meeting on a fair. They
have to get to know you and visit you a few times before they actually buy something.
So the fair is based on a gathering of 50 plus people looking for businesses
that will not only appeal to their product and service needs but also will cater
to their emotional needs. It is not easy to convince entrepreneurs of this concept
but once they have attended a fair they usually grasp the concept and start
building on that.
This fair delivers
a great input for our other activities, a database of enthusiastic 50 plus
consumers, and a proof to our potential clients that we actually know what we
are talking about.
For example, at the moment
we are very busy supporting a wine specialist entering the 50 plus market.
The market is saturated with importers but not many seem to get the message
right. We do not only develop the marketing and communication strategy but we
also committed ourselves to selling the wine to the target group.
> To know more, click
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