Brands have never known more about their audiences. So why does so much targeting still feel predictable?

Perhaps the problem isn’t the data. It’s what we do with it.

Most marketers know demographics only tell part of the story. We know a 65-year-old today can’t be neatly bundled into a generic ‘older consumer’ segment. We know age doesn’t dictate interests, attitudes or behaviour.

So why does so much marketing to older audiences still look like it’s 2005?

Too often, defining an audience becomes the answer, rather than the start of the question.

Brands know their audience’s age, income, interests and behaviours, but somehow still arrive at a disappointingly conventional campaign.

At Eulogy, we think audience insight should make you question the obvious. Who really influences the purchase? Who are you overlooking? What assumptions are you still making, despite everything the data is telling you? Having worked with Doro, the leading tech brand for senior audiences, across PR and social for many years, we know its audience isn’t simply the person ultimately using the phone. Family members play an important role too: researching, recommending, reassuring and often influencing the final purchase decision.

That gave us a much more interesting creative opportunity for Doro’s recent product launch.

We partnered with a series of influencers, including Grime Gran, not simply because she was an unexpected face for the campaign, but because she allowed us to reach across generations: entertaining and engaging older consumers while also connecting with the family members who influence their choices.

Our ambitious and daring work with Doro allowed us to challenge expectations without patronising the audience or pretending age was irrelevant. Most importantly, it came from understanding how people actually behave, rather than simply what demographic box they sit in.

That’s what intentionally creative means to us. Not creativity for its own sake, but finding the unexpected opportunity in what your audience is telling you.

Marketers don’t need more data telling them who their customers are. They need agencies prepared to challenge what everyone assumes they should do with it.

You have the data. Dare us to do something interesting with it.