MTV for oldies

The headline read: Businessman plans over-50s TV channel.

For somebody who spends his life advising companies about marketing to the 50-plus why is it I get a feeling of apprehension when I read about a ‘something’ for the 50-plus, be it a product, channel, conference, programme….

The answer is simple. The ‘something’ is only going to succeed if there are enough similarities about people, solely because of their age, to justify the venture. The truth is that people of the same lifestyle group have more in common with others of different ages than they do with people of the same age, in a different group. Anything that is age specific, with a few exceptions like age related discounts and things based on the physiological effects of aging will have a rough ride.

I wish this new venture well, but I have my concerns. Dick Stroud