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In advertising and marketing, aspirational age is an ideal age whose characteristics consumers aspire to embody. Thus, marketing messages aimed at that target age will resonate with consumers of other ages. [1]
The aspirational age in Western society is the cusp between childhood and adulthood. In theory, consumers younger than this age aspire to the maturity and freedom it signifies, while those older than it seek to recapture the youthfulness and freedom from responsibility of this age. Thus, products pitched at notional young adults will appeal to a broader target market.
The aspirational age can be identified as the age of which consumers associate positive experiences with, such as freedom. For example, most adults are preoccupied with day-to-day responsibilities which can be viewed as stressful. Marketing to the aspirational age therefore, allows businesses to attract a generation of nostalgic consumers. The aspirational age as a tool is thus essentially modelled on the notion of nostalgia. From the adult's perspective, the psychology behind the 'aspirational age' can be defined as a recapture of youthful days. 'High-speed modern living, stress and the impact of recession' have all been considered as factors which influence a consumer's longing of their 'aspirational age'. [2]
The aspirational age relies on a youth-obsessed culture, which is particularly associated with the Western World, specifically America. Crux Research [3] states that the aspirational age in the form of adverts targeted to kids, essentially works as 'adults aspire backwards'. Thus utilising this emotional link allows marketers, if effective, to target a wider audience.
A study of 'Age Related Vicarious Nostalgia and Aesthetic Consumption' [4] from the University of Wolverhampton concluded age as a phenomenon which is not 'totally bound to chronological time constraints'. In this sense, nostalgia 'has a bearing on the cognitive age of the individual', making it useful for businesses to market towards the aspiration age, in an attempt to trigger a pleasant cognitive response. The Harvard Business Review [5] article on a study conducted by the Grenoble School of Management, states that 'nostalgic feelings increased people's willingness to pay for desired objects'. The article concludes that the psychology behind the aspirational age is 'useful to brands looking to elicit feelings of nostalgia in their promotions' . The article uses Subaru's 2012 'First Car Story' as an example, although the car does not target 16-year-olds, the campaign allows adults to create their own first car story through animation. The desired result, as the study suggests, is that when consumers think nostalgically, they spend more money.
Examples of real-life businesses who appear to market towards the aspirational age include Urban Outfitters and Pepsi. An article by The Business Journals [6] identifies how using technology, businesses market their products to the aspirational age. The aspirational age then becomes a tool for product development alongside marketing. The article cites Urban Outfitters' nostalgic marketing of introducing old famous brands i.e. Lisa Frank, Nickelodeon's '90 Are All That' time slots and Pepsi's 'Pepsi Throwback' as example of businesses which market towards the aspirational age. Thus the aspirational age as a tool, targets the particular age whilst simultaneously allowing the older generation to reflect on products or services they once loved.
Differences between generations would however mean that marketing to the 'aspirational age' today might not necessarily attract older consumers, as their experiences of being younger would differ greatly. Social changes and technological advancements would have influenced different experiences thus different aspirations.
Businesses can market to the aspirational age, yet this would vary depending on the industry. For example, music labels can build brand development according to their own 'aspirational ages'. Labels can identify the age of 32 as an aspirational age for example. How Music Builds Value identifies the 32-year-old lifestyle as a time which can 'supersede the elements of mass-market life'. The case study cites that the label (Smashburger) can create an 'aspirational experience' by targeting 32-year-olds due to being a 'magical age'. [7]
Differences within a particular industry can also occur in terms of appropriate aspirational ages. An Integrated Approach to New Food Product Development [8] recognises the aspirational age as '1–3 years older than the calendar age of the child'. This would depend on the product and who the manufacturer aims to target. If the business desires a wider target audience, the target age should be 'acceptable to the youngest age in the target'. The article recognises the aspirational age as the 'safe' choice as consumers would not 'reject a product that has a simpler flavour profile'.
The aspirational age of the Western world would differ greatly. For example, to assume the aspired age (if accepted as within adolescence) would correspond universally could be stereotypical. Heavily influenced by societal laws such as marriageable age or legal drinking for example, differences in experiences would thus lead to different idealised aspirational ages between cultures.[ citation needed ]
A report by Age UK recognised advertising aimed at the aspirational age rather than the biological age as 'stereotypical'. A study conducted by Age UK, [9] led by Sandra Chalmers found that elderly people felt that their generation were 'completely ignored'. Thus under-representation of older consumers due to marketing towards an aspirational age can be risky. Ann Murray Chatterton examined 52 commercials to find 35% included someone who was above the age of 50, and 12% including someone above the age of 65 years. Consequently, older consumers are less represented in an attempt to capture the target audience.
The article Nostalgia: A Neuropsychiatric Understanding [10] even suggests that product development using smell can induce 'nostalgic recall' and is thus an important 'marketing tool'. In this sense, the aspirational age can be embedded as a factor within product development.
Reversals of the aspirational age would differ as the child's aspirational age has risen 'whilst the adults has fallen'. [11] Children at Play: An American History assessed the relationship between products and age within America to conclude that 'marketers who once sought to sell toys to fourteen year olds have lowered their age target to ten'. The aspirational age will continue to adapt as societal changes occur.
"An eleven year old no longer asks for a stuffed animal or a fire truck and instead desires a Madden NFL football game, a cell phone, an iPod, or a Beyonce Knowles CD, while a thirty-five-year-old may also indulge by buying a Madden football game, a cell phone, an iPod, or a Beyonce Knowles CD". [11]
Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product, service, or good.
Positioning refers to the place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products of the competitors and different from the concept of brand awareness. In order to position products or brands, companies may emphasize the distinguishing features of their brand or they may try to create a suitable image through the marketing mix. Once a brand has achieved a strong position, it can become difficult to reposition it.
In marketing, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers based on some type of shared characteristics.
Marketing Communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on any way a business communicates a message to its desired market, or the market in general. A marketing communication tool can be anything from: advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, social media and promotion to public relations.
In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or issue, most of the time persuasive in nature. It helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers' mind, it can be either a cognitive or emotional route. The aim of promotion is to increase awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.
Brand loyalty is the positive feelings towards a brand and dedication to purchase the same product or service repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions or changes in the environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors such as positive word-of-mouth advocacy. Corporate Brand loyalty is where an individual buys products from the same manufacturer repeatedly and without wavering rather than from other suppliers. Loyalty implies dedication and should not be confused with habit with its less than emotional engagement and commitment. Businesses whose financial and ethical values, for example ESG responsibilities, rest in large part on their brand loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.
In marketing, lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business. Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition or for sales leads. The methods for generating leads typically fall under the umbrella of advertising, but may also include non-paid sources such as organic search engine results or referrals from existing customers.
Neuromarketing is a commercial marketing communication field that applies neuropsychology to market research, studying consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective response to marketing stimuli. The potential benefits to marketers include more efficient and effective marketing campaigns and strategies, fewer product and campaign failures, and ultimately the manipulation of the real needs and wants of people to suit the needs and wants of marketing interests.
Celebrity branding or celebrity endorsement is a form of advertising campaign or marketing strategy which uses a celebrity's fame or social status to promote a product, brand or service, or to raise awareness about an issue. Marketers use celebrity endorsers in hopes that the positive image of the celebrity endorser will be passed on to the product's or brand's image. Non-profit organizations also use celebrities since a celebrity's frequent mass media coverage reaches a wider audience, thus making celebrities an effective ingredient in fundraising.
A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. Businesses that have a wide target market will focus on a specific target audience for certain messages to send, such as The Body Shops Mother's Day advertisements, which were aimed at the children and spouses of women, rather than the whole market which would have included the women themselves.
Food marketing brings together the food producer and the consumer through a chain of marketing activities.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
"Youth Marketing" is a term used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities to communicate with young people, typically in the age range of 11 to 35. More specifically, there is the teen marketing, targeting people age 11 to 17, college marketing, targeting college-age consumers, typically ages 18 to 24, young adult marketing, targeting youngsters use professionals, typically ages 25 to 34.
A target market is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools, enabling companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media marketing, including current and potential customers, current and potential employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public. On a strategic level, social media marketing includes the management of a marketing campaign, governance, setting the scope and the establishment of a firm's desired social media "culture" and "tone."
Emotional branding is a term used within marketing communication that refers to the practice of building brands that appeal directly to a consumer's emotional state, needs and aspirations. Emotional branding is successful when it triggers an emotional response in the consumer, that is, a desire for the advertised brand that cannot fully be rationalized. Emotional brands have a significant impact when the consumer experiences a strong and lasting attachment to the brand comparable to a feeling of bonding, companionship or love. Examples of emotional branding include the nostalgic attachment to the Kodak brand of film, bonding with the Jim Beam bourbon brand, and love for the McDonald’s brand.
Multicultural marketing is the practice of marketing to one or more audiences of a specific ethnicity—typically an ethnicity outside of a country's majority culture, which is sometimes called the "general market." Typically, multicultural marketing takes advantage of the ethnic group's different cultural referents—such as language, traditions, celebrations, religion and any other concepts—to communicate to and persuade that audience. Cultural and Ethnic variation in multi-cultural societies such as the United States provides marketers with the opportunity to connect with consumers by developing consumer segments for targeted marketing initiatives. For example, insight into to the culture and ethnicity of consumers is applied directly to consumer targeting through a variety of marketing initiatives in the U.S.
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Nostalgia Consumption is a recent social and cultural trend that could be described as the act of consuming goods that elicit memories from the past, being associated with the feeling of nostalgia.