Effectively Targeting Older Consumers

Marketing strategies are used to convey product or service information and value offerings to a defined and specific audience. The ways in which these strategies are realized through graphic design may greatly impact the meaning and success of a marketing message on the intended audience. Some forms of messaging may unintentionally have a negative or positive effect on their viewer.;It is important to analyze the types of designed messages being communicated to different age groups. This thesis study focuses on single-page, printed promotional advertisements specifically created to market a product or a service to a Senior demographic, people aged 65 and over.;This thesis defines responsibilities for marketers and designers when creating promotional messages for an older market audience. These responsibilities are articulated as a result of careful analysis of research in graphic design, marketing and Senior demographics. The analysis prompts re-design of existing promotional strategies and led to a design application of an original advertising strategy to promote the value of a beneficial product. The strategies used in this application focus on specific language and design decisions that can be most effective to the diverse market of senior individuals.