Advertising to the Silver Market in Japan

This project investigates advertising to the silver market in Japan using three approaches: (1) analysis of television commercials, (2) analysis of magazine advertisements, and (3) interviews with advertising agencies.

The research questions of this project can be separated into three groups:

1. Target Group/Consumers/Segmentation (How can the target group be defined and the market segmented? Are other age groups also targeted for silver market products? Does ageless advertising exist, and if yes what are its characteristics? How does silver advertising appeal to the older consumer? What are the products explicitly for the elderly versus products specially marketed at them?)
2. Products/Services (Which product categories are advertised in silver market ads? Which product attributes are highlighted in ads? How are transgenerational products advertised?)
3. The representation of elderly people (How are elderly people represented? Is there a difference in respect to gender?)

The research aims of this study are to understand: (1) the Japanese silver advertising approach, (2) specific services, products, and product features for the silver market, and (3) changes in the representation of elderly people. The study also tries to find a more meaningful categorization and segmentation of the market, and develop ageless and/or transgenerational marketing strategies.

This project is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Michael Prieler, as well as the Institute for Media & Communications Research, Keio University, Prof. Dr. Shigeru Hagiwara. http://www.mediacom.keio.ac.jp/english/about.html. It is supported by a 2-year research grant from the Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation.