Once upon a time, marketing teams were told that they had to cast as wide a net as possible to sell a maximum amount of products. But things are changing quickly.

These days, cosmetics brands are being advised instead to target their marketing to each distinct age group. Demographics at either end of the spectrum – both the young and the old – offer distinct potential for brands if marketing teams can craft the right messaging.

Industry expert Vivienne Rudd recently provided insight about how to shape these age-specific marketing strategies.

Young Consumers

Products like Tattly’s friendship bracelet tattoos and The Muppets OPI Collection of character-inspired nail polish illustrate that cosmetics brands are already thinking of innovative ways to reach the pre-teen-and-under market. (OPI even went so far as to coordinate the nail polish line’s debut with the release of 2011’s “The Muppets Movie.”)

But to derive the most benefit from this demographic, cosmetics brands are also encouraged to prime consumers to think ahead about more practical needs. Thus, “tweens” are increasingly being targeted with anti-acne products before their first pimples, and teens are pushed toward anti-blemish lotions in “the transition to adulthood.”

Though young consumers are exposed to a number of media platforms, brands are encouraged to focus on marketing to this demographic through social media, as opposed to engaging in a full blown, multi-platform approach. Consumers of this age group are most likely to be influenced by their friends.

Older Consumers

Though anti-aging and wrinkle-reducing marketing claims are a dime a dozen in cosmetics, surprisingly few brands actually cater their messaging directly to older demographics. Instead, they rely on the promise of youth to appeal to a wide swath of consumers.

With few cosmetics brands currently treating older consumers as their own unique demographic, there’s room for companies to win over the age bracket. Rudd suggests that some of the biggest opportunities for brands lie in sunscreens and face care products for the 50+ crowd, and after shave for older men.

With the number of people in the 55-74 age bracket estimated to double in the next two years, successful targeted marketing to this demographic can substantially increase a brand’s customer base.

Conclusion

Cosmetics brands are increasingly discovering how important it is to craft unique messaging for each age demographic in the consumer pool. Middle-of-the-road marketing has neglected to specifically address young and old consumers until quite recently, leaving lots of potential untapped.

To read the article that provided inspiration for this post, click here.