Who is Old? Seminar Presentations

Who Is OldThursday 24 th May 2012Tavis House1-6 Tavistock SquareLondonWC1H 9NA

Agenda13:30 Registration14:00 Chair’s Welcome – Ian Rutter – Senior Manager, Engage Business Network

Speakers14:10 Professor Dominic Abrams , Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent

14:35 Dr Rob Hicks , General Practitioner and Media Doctor

15:00 Break and refreshments

15:15 Julika Erfurt , Manager Strategy Practice, Accenture 15:40 Richard Watson , Futurologist, Now and Next

16:05 Tom Wright CBE, Group CEO, Age UK

16:15 Drinks and networking17:00 Close

Welcome

Ian Rutter – Senior Manager, Engage Business Network

How the Engage Business Network can help you

• The over 50’s account for 80% of the UK’s wealth:

£300 billion

• Total annual spending by households including someone aged 65+:

£109 billion

• Percentage of people aged 65+ who think businesses have little interest in the consumer needs of older people:

39%


• Understand the complexities of older generations and their consumer behaviour;

• Gain insights into core consumer markets through our unique channels:• Conferences and seminars;• Social Networking;• Business Matters on The Wireless:

www.ageuk.org.uk/the-wireless• Press and PR activities

• Increase knowledge from our emerging research into:• Market Segmentation;• Inclusive Product Design;• Communication Channels


Who Is Old? (and what are the consequences?)

Dominic AbramsHannah Swift

Centre for the Study of Group Processes, University of Kent

Age UK Business SeminarTavis HouseMay 24th 2012

Dominic Abrams and Hannah Swift Who is Old? Age UK Business Seminar

Acknowledgements

EURAGE

Dr Melanie VauclairDr Sophieke RussellDr Christopher BratProf Kevin McKeeProf Louisa LimaDr Sibila Marques

Age UKSujata Ray

European Social SurveyProf. Roger JowellDr. Rory FitgeraldDr. Sally Widdop

Department for Work and Pensions

Maxine WillettsClaire Frew


OverviewOverview

� Perception and Categorisation

� Feelings and Images

� Expectations and Decisions

� Effects

� Implications


Maximise your profits: Who would you hire?

Person A relatively more adept at

Settling arguments

Understanding others’views

Dealing with people politelySolving crosswordsand

Has a healthy diet

Person B relatively more adept at

Learning new skills

Being a creative problem solver

Using internet resourcesDrivingand

Takes exercise


At what age do you think“old age” begins?

A: 20-29B: 30-39C: 40-49D: 50-59E: 60-69F: 70-79G: 80+


At what age do you think“youth” ends?

A: 20-29B: 30-39C: 40-49D: 50-59E: 60-69F: 70-79G: 80+


Age Categorisation

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+

Age in 10 year blocks

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

Ave

rage

Est

imat

ed A

ge

Perceived Age at Which Youth Stops

Perceived Age at Which Old Age Starts

Perceived Start of Old Age and End of Youth Among People of Different AgesAt what

age do you think old age starts?

At what age do you think people stop being young?


62

5559

6060

6161

6161

62626262

636363636363

646464

6464

656666

6768

50 55 60 65 70 75 80

All ESS

TurkeyUnited Kingdom

CroatiaCzech Republic

SlovakiaFinlandEstonia

HungaryGermanyRomania

SpainSwedenNorway

LatviaNetherlands

BulgariaFrance

UkraineRussian Federation

SloveniaPoland

BelgiumDenmark

SwitzerlandIsrael

PortugalCyprusGreece

Perceived Start of Old Age


Perceived End of Youth

40

343434353535

3839393939404040

414242

4343444444444444

475252

30 35 40 45 50 55 60

All ESS

NorwaySweden

TurkeyFinland

PortugalUnited Kingdom

Russian FederationDenmark

CroatiaHungary

FranceEstonia

Czech RepublicNetherlandsSwitzerland

PolandSpainIsrael

BulgariaGermanySlovakia

LatviaUkraine

BelgiumSloveniaRomania

CyprusGreece


Perceived Duration of Middle Age

22

1515

1617

1819192020202021

212122

22222223

242424

262626

2829

30

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

All ESS

RomaniaCyprusGreece

SlovakiaGermany

LatviaUkraine

Slovenia

BulgariaSpain

Czech RepublicBelgiumTurkeyCroatiaEstonia

HungaryPolandIsrael

NetherlandsFrance

United KingdomSw itzerland

Russian FederationDenmark

FinlandSw edenNorw ayPortugal


Age categorisation is flexible


FEELINGSPrejudice - devaluing people because of

their perceived membership of a social group (Abrams, 2010)


PREJUDICE

Categorisation

Stereotypes and Emotions

Prejudice


Expression of Ageism

Only 4.8% of people across Europe

expressednegative feelings towards people aged 70 and over


Experience of Prejudice

34.5

24.9

17.3

0

10

20

30

40

Eth

nici

ty

Gen

der

Age

% in the last year


Perceived Seriousness of Age Prejudice

(ESS 2008-9)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Denmark Cyprus Belgium Sweden UK

Per

cen

t 'se

rious

'


IMAGES of AGE


Societal Status

5.2

6.7

4.4

2

4

6

8

20s 40s Over 70

Status

Mean Perceived Status of Age Categories (0-10)



Imagery


Competence and Pity


Money vs Respect


Incompetence

Pity

Donation£ £ £ £ £


Age and Work?


Worry that Employers Prefer Those in 20s

60.7

30.5

41.6

52.1

67.7

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Norw ayCyprus

DenmarkTurkey

Sw edenCzech

BulgariaEstonia

SlovakiaCroatia

HungarySw itzerland

United KingdomRomania

FranceSloveniaBelgium

SpainUkraineRussian

GermanyPoland

PortugalIsrael

GreeceNetherlands

Finland

Percentage


Acceptability as a Boss

2

4

6

8

30 year old 70 year old

Acc

epta

bilit

y (0

-10)


Maximise your profits: Who would you hire?

Person A relatively more adept at

Settling arguments

Understanding others’views

Dealing with people politelySolving crosswordsand

Has a healthy diet

Person B relatively more adept at

Learning new skills

Being a creative problem solver

Using internet resourcesDrivingand

Takes exercise


Skills-Age Stereotypes





Harmless?


Stereotype Threat

Stereotypes create disadvantage

the ‘burden of suspicion’ that a negative stereotype about one’s group’s abilities may be confirmed

E.g. maths stereotypes: women worse than men


Test of Cognitive Ability(Abrams, Eller, Bryant, 2006)

97 participants over the age of 59

“see whether old people do perform more poorly on intellectual tasks than young people” (high threat).

Vs “see how people differ in their responses on different

tasks” (low threat).


1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Low Threat High Threat

Anx

iety

Lev

el


-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1


Per

form

ance

inde

x


Test of Physical Ability(Swift, Lamont & Abrams, BMJ Open in press)

56 participants, average age of 82

“see whether old people perform differently in comparison with younger people” (high threat).

vs“see how people perform on various tasks” (low threat).


Strength

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14


kg

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14


secs.


Not all is lost…

Test of Crossword Ability(Swift, Abrams & Marques, J. Geronotology, in press)

125 participants, average age of 76

“see whether old people perform more poorly on intellectual tasks than younger people” (high threat).

vsNo information (control)

vs

“see whether older people do solve problems more effectively than younger people” (boost).


Is there a positive?

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

Threat No Threat Boost

Cro

ssw

ord

Per

form

ance

inde

x



Conclusions

• Age is both a physical and a subjective reality•Age-based expectations create traps and limit horizons•Imagery plays an important role in framing age expectations•Ethical dilemmas face marketing strategies related to age•Also huge opportunities to move beyond traditional age-based expectations

“Must be my age”Dr Rob Hicks

What they say ………

I’ll just have

to put up

with it

It’s my age

These are out-dated

Nothing

can be

done

Heart - Circulation

Blood vessels hardened

and narrowed

Heart less efficient

High blood pressure

Heart attack

Heart failure

Bones and joints

Weak and less dense

Wear and tear

Muscles weaker

Fractures

Stiffness and pain

Poor balance

Bladder and bowels

Prostate enlargement

Muscle weakness

Gut muscle tone less

Frequency

Incontinence

Constipation

Mind

Fewer brain cells

Reduced blood flow

Isolation

Loss of role/purpose

Memory loss

Depression

Loss of independence

Relationship breakdown

And the rest …….

Kidneys

Lungs

Hearing

Vision

Decrease size, less

efficient

Less efficient, less oxygen

Reduced high frequency

Less flexible – close up

No guarantees

Disease and illnesses

Loss of independence

Poor quality of life

Lifestyle Top 10

GetChecked

EnjoyStuff

SunAware

RestTake

5

SaferSex

LimitAlcohol

KeepActive

HealthyDiet

Don’tSmoke

Top 10

A New Beginning

Dr Rob Hicks

Who is Old? The Seven Myths of Population Aging

Julika Erfurt (Accenture, Strategy Practice)

The research presented in this presentation is based on an article by Julika Erfurt, Athena Peppes and Mark Purdy, “Seven Myths of Population Aging: How Companies and Governments Can Turn the “Silver Economy” into an Advantage”; European Business Review (Forthcoming)

Copyright © 2012 Accenture All Rights Reserved.

“Emerging economies will balance out the “silver tsunami” of developed economies”

Population aging is a global trend that affects many emerging

economies

Myth # 1 RealityReality

62Copyright © 2012 Accenture All Rights Reserved.




Emerging economies: getting older, too

The proportion of older age groups in China, Brazil and Mexico will rise substantially in coming decades

2010

2010

-35%-35%


“Countries with aging populations face decades of low growth”

By taking steps to increase the employment of older workers, countries can avert economic stagnation





Estimated US GDP growth as a result of increased nu mber of workers (US$ Trillions)


Enhanced participation of older workers means higher GDP

Increasing the number of older workers and making p roductivity-enhancing investments in human capital, governments and businesses could boost growth and job creation


“Employment is a zero-sum game, so retaining older workers will only worsen the crisis of youth unemployment”

Retaining older workers is likely to increase overall employment

growth





Labor participation trends in Canada (1976 – 2006)


Greater workforce participation increases the overall economic pie thus fuelling job creation

Participation among elderly workers is associated w ith greater participation among younger workers


“Older workers tend to be less productive”

Organisations can sustain older workers’ productivity by adapting

the workplace to their needs



Pro

duct

ivity



BMW’ s production line composed of a majority of eld erly workers increased its productivity


Age

Source: Harvard Business Review, 2010.

Adapting the workplace to older workers boosts productivity


“The entrepreneurial spirit declines with age”

Older people are more likely to set up a new business, and

they’re less likely to fail





Key facts about old age entrepreneurship Age-groups for successful start-up companies in the UK (2001 – 2005)

Source: National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, 2009.


Older people are more likely to set up a business and less likely

to fail

Entrepreneurship among older people could potential ly be even higher if age-related barriers were removed, such as limits for financial products, higher interest rates for loans, or exclusion from insurance products


“Old consumers are an unattractive demographic for marketers”

Old consumers have vast purchasing power, making them

an untapped opportunity for marketers





Yet, only 30% of TV advertisement includes someone over 50


US consumers over 50 outspent younger adults by $1 trillion in 2010

Older consumers are an untapped opportunity for

marketers

Baby boomers have vast purchasing power

Source: Willetts D., 2010.


“Older consumers are less likely to adopt new technology”

The digital divide isn’t inherently age based and it will close over

time

•





Change in internet use by age in the United States, 2000 – 2010

Source: Pewinternet, 2012


Internet use

The digital divide isn’t inherently age based and it will close over time

Many of the younger baby boomers were in the workfo rce during the evolution of computers and the Internet, and were the first to u nderstand the value of technology

CEO Checklist* for excelling in the silver economy

War for talent

Lifelong learning

New products & services

Brand, marketing & CRM

Silver economy strategy

Intergene-rational equity

• Tailored Investment : How much fundinggoes towards learning per employee age-group and are they fit for purpose?

• X-Gen Learning : Does the business useintergenerational knowledge management approaches?

• Productivity : is brain fitness offered and work place age-proofed?

• Routes to Market : What is the most powerful channel to engage with silver consumers (channel audit)?

• Investment : How much R&D does the business spent on new product/service development?

• Portfolio : What e-services and technology solutions are available/cater to the needs of the silver consumer?

• Branding : Is the business’ brand positioned to attract silver consumers?

• Insight : Does the business have good market intelligence on perceptions and trends?

• Sales tactics : Does the business havecustomer profiles for those beyond 55?

• Size of the prize : Has the business run a diagnostic to quantify silver opportunities?

• Innovation : Does the business have a silver economy innovation strategy?

• Is the company prepared for potential regulatory/legal changes ?

• Commitment/Awareness : Has the organisation articulated intergenerational justice as part of its sustainability commitment?

• Attracting/retaining talent : Does the business have an age-proof human capital strategy?

• Talent supply/demand : Has the business forecasted changes in its workforce, future skill profile requirements and availability of talent?

• Work models : in order to increase employer attractiveness, are flexible, tailored work models offered?

Corporate strategy

Workplace strategy

Marketplace strategy

* Not exhaustiveCopyright © 2012 Accenture All Rights Reserved.

No Country for Old Men (or Women)

How demographics, especially ageing, will radically

reshape business in the UK and elsewhere.

Thank you.Websites: www.nowandnext.com www.futuretrendsbook.comEmail: [email protected]

Tom Wright – CBE, Group CEO, Age UK