Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Saga for the younger variety of oldies who want to 'keep doing'




I have always felt a little sorry for Saga. Not that sorry, because amongst those working in the ageing business the company has something of a reputation for arrogance.

It has the textbook case of being a high profile brand but for increasingly the wrong reasons. It is also a great example of a brand that has aged with its customers, despite its best efforts not to do so.

So here we go, new blood brought in to the company from Tesco has got the branding gurus working hard and now it is results time:

Saga is relaunching its brand, unveiling a new look and feel for the brand as well as its first ever strapline ‘Keep doing’ as it looks to evolve the business to ensure it remains relevant for today’s over 50s, rather than being seen as a brand for “old people”.

Marketing Week has a good coverage of the story. I am glad I am not the marketing director, who I hope is a brilliant strategist. The dilemma for the brand is that the more it positions itself to younger old the less differentiation it has. The longer it holds on to (and relies upon)  its older-old customer the harder it will be to break free from the inevitable decline it will face in revenues.

Maybe 'keep doing' is going to do the trick but I have my doubts.

It is very easy to be critical and I guess what the company is doing is its only option. It is a bit like putting a tattoo on grandad. As long as it is out of sight I guess it cannot do any damage. Dick Stroud

1 comment:

Chuck Nyren said...

Over here we have AARP. I'm sixty-six, and sometimes feel as if I'm aging out of their target demographic. I'm sure by the time I'm seventy I'll be too old for them.