E-Market Paper

Gary Guyette

New Media Markets

Instructor: Dr. G. Boone

Due- 12/12/07

 

 

E-Market Analysis

Elderly Americans

 

            In today’s ever faster growing technological world, the need for speed, youth and innovation is more evident than ever.  People are becoming more mobile with their technologies and more impatient. So much so that we may have lost sight of wisdom, patience, and good old-fashioned simplicity.  These are some of the qualities possessed by the elderly population.  Senior citizens can be classified in many different age categories.  Some say 60 years of age and older, others say 55 and older, and some say simply say a retired person is considered elderly.  One thing is for sure; older Americans age 50+ are present on the web now more than ever and are a growing market worth looking at for marketing purposes.  A survey of older Americans by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 31% of senior citizens, age 65+, have been online, but nearly 70% of next generation seniors have been online. (Big)

            In 1961 the percentage of elderly age 60+ was 4.57 of the total population, in 1981 it was 5.14, and in 2001 it was nearly 7.5 percent (Misra).  The population of seniors is already large and still growing.  Life expectancy is becoming longer among both males and females in developed and developing nations.  Although the total population seems larger than expected, the relevant population is also large and growing.  That is to say, only senior citizens with Internet access would be relevant to the web and E-marketing research.  More over, next generation seniors are a more promising group due to their income.  Seniors have more trouble coming up with disposable income to spend on the web.

            Between 2008 and 2030, the senior market will grow by over 95 million people (Census).  This enormous growth is more than 4 times the growth of 18-59 age groups for the same period.  Added to the pure number of seniors in the United States, they also control over 70% of all disposable income and currently spend $7 billion plus online each year (Bloch, 2001).  The combination of a lot of time due to retirement, extra money, and growing numbers are a recipe for a lucrative marketing demographic.

            According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, online shopping done by seniors, age 55+, had increased 47 percent between 2000 and 2004 (Bloch, 2001).  This group of older Americans, of next generation seniors will be more closely looked at throughout this research.

            Because of the increasingly active lifestyles of today’s seniors they demand more than we would generally expect from the web.  Of course they still demand pills, meals on wheels, health products and plane tickets; the typical “old-person” products.  My own grandmother, age 73 recently purchased a new Macintosh laptop that put my own to shame.  She bought it online.  Seniors are buying everything from Mp3 players, to ring tones, to RVs, to toys for grandkids. Also senior dating services are becoming more popular and seniors have the resources to use them (Bloch, 2001).

            In a recent informal phone interview with my grandmother and grandfather, I asked them simple questions about their Internet use.  My grandmother was more helpful than my grandfather, whose safe nature and lack of technological change prohibit his help.  Although his wisdom did give the impression that senior sites should be risk free, as simple and possible, and credible.  My grandmothers use for the web included, e-mail to her eight children, solitaire, hearts, news (more particular relevant news), and her many comments to Christmas shopping because it is so close to the holiday.  She also commented a lot on the pop-ups, which she referred to as “balloons,” or “pops.”  She said they get in her way and involve more concentration.  Among the total seniors who have gone online, about 33% say e-mail is an important part of their lives and couldn’t do without (Bloch, 2001).

            Two sites geared toward next generation seniors are http://senior journal.com and http://50something.us.  Both sites appeared on a “top site for seniors” in a Google search.  Senior Journal (SJ) is a more business like site with many links to news related sites and top senior stories.  50something (50) on the other hand is a more enjoyable site with games, special activities, real estate, and less complete news stories.

            The audience for both sites is very clear.  The word senior appears in almost every link, headline, or category.  The news stories are not as current as news would be expected on either site, but the stories are relevant to the interest of a majority of seniors.  The stories have to do with, among other things, money, government, and hope-hearted senior stories.  50 appears to be secure and well used.  It has an e-mail system which SJ does not have which I believe makes the site feel more secure and credible.  Many seniors are skeptical of the web, so credible recommendations or credit worthy advertisements are needed on the site.  The 50 site does a much better job of attracting the senior audience with pictures of golf, cooking, and warmth.  SJ on the other hand appears to be more business like with less pictures, but does have better quality information.

            50 also has a better navigation system built into the site.  50 has a image map on the top left of the site to bring the user back to the homepage any time during exploration.  The buttons and links on the page stand out.  SJ has a very list like feel to it’s links and has no image map nor buttons, only text links.   Both sites have an inviting homepage and URL and links are well placed and work well.  The contact information is easy to find on the SJ, but does not appear on the 50 site.

            The visual design of both sites is not particularly well done.  They both have an almost too simple and thrown together look.  Although the pictures on 50 seem to be inviting and warm, the site has an unorganized feel.  The site almost can’t make up it’s mind if it is a leisure site or a news site.  The light grey background with dark grey writing doesn’t pop to the user and is sometimes hard to find certain links.  The tables on 50 give it some organization, but the lines are lost with contrast.  SJ on the other hand has a simple set-up that works for it’s particular type of site.  The news stories are well placed in order, and the contrast is well done with a white background and black text.  The site could use more graphics to lighten up the mood and give it a more inviting feeling.  If pictures of the news stories were used simultaneously with the headline, it would had a even more business like environment.

            Aside from the grey on grey issue of the 50 site, the rest of both sites are easy to read and well spaced.  A site map to the left hand side better organizes the 50 site’s text, and the SJ site has a weaker site map.  Spelling does not appear to be an issue in either site.

            Because the 50 site is a more leisure based web page, it gains and maintains attention better than the SJ site.  50 has multiple games and uses pictures, graphs, and tables to display information to the user whereas SJ plays the middle man roll and sends the user to other sites to game and view media.  Neither site has multimedia or sound on a significant level. I believe this does not hurt either site because seniors want simple and easy, not noisy and busy.

            Overall each site has it’s own ups and downs.  Both sites are looking to gain the attention of the growing senior population by targeting their needs.  The senior journal took a business like approach to the senior population by providing an easy to use well-organized news site with outside links to other needs.  50somthing took leisure like approach to the senior population and provides games, pictures, and enjoyable activities for seniors.  It also has news feeds, but on a more personal level. 

 

 

 

Blue Bloch, Michael. Marketing to seniors on the web. (2001). Taming the Beast.net

 

http://www.census.gov/ (Census)

 

Misra, P.K . Integration of Endogenous Cultural Dimension into Development. (1997) Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi

 

 

Older Americans Big on Internet, Elderly Not There Yet.  (Big) http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/SeniorStats/5-01-19SeniorsInternet.htm

Note this article did not have an author.

 

 

Sites used to review.

 

http://seniorjournal.com/seniorlinks.htm

Senior Journal (SJ)

 

http://www.50something.us/index.php

50something (50)

Press Release and Blogging

I used the Boston Celtics Organization to find a press release. The release had the same set up that we found in class and dealt with the celtics signing Mark Blount to a new contract. The release can be found at http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/blount_20040714.html.
This issue has been blogged about on countless sport websites including HoopHype, NBA Blog Squad and ESPN.nba.com. Both positive and negative views are expressed on the blogs about the contract and about the Celtics organization in general. I could not find a multi-media blog about the Celtics. The blogs seemed to be pure opinion rather than film, or pictures.

Demographic on the Internet

U.S males age 18 to 34 total nearly 27% of the total amount of males on the internet population. These males, 18-34 are continueing to grow in population and marketers continue to persue their attention. The group continues to watch less hours on television and spend more time surfing the internet. There activities on the internet include; playing games, downloading videos, music, podcasts, and even sometimes shopping. Marketers are trying to find the right mix of media to catch the attention of this target group.

New Trend on the Internet

One of the newest trends on the internet is direct updates sent to a cellular device. The cell phone companies are all advertising how fast people can get sports updates sent directly to their phones. These updates include scores, stats, and game reports. This new trend is inspired by the popular use of fantasy sports online. People want there updates fast and regularly, and the internet is catering to their whim.

Picture

On the following site was a picture of New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez walking into a Toronto strip club with a blond women. The photo's seemed to be taken from a cell phone or cheap camera, and the site had no clues to a copyright signature. http://www.waswatching.com/archives/2007/05/post_goes_after.html

Internet Activity

Personaly, I spend the most time using my email, instant messaging, and playing sudoku/tetris on the internet. I use the email and messaging to keep in close conntact with freinds. Becuase I am from Connecticut and go to school here at Suffolk, email and instant messaging make it easy to contact my friends at home. One thing I would like to try on the internet is Skype. I have freinds that are studying abroad, and I think the Skype tool would be useful to keep in touch with them.

Intro to the Internet

What surprised me the most about the intro to the internet was how far behind some of the European countrys were in terms of internet users. I thought France and Italy would be nipping at the heels of China and Japan, and definatly no so close to Mexico or Spain.