GEN MORE+ | The 50+ Opportunity Gap
Why Recognition Without Action Is Costing Marketers Billions (Yes, Billions)
When The Internationalist published Openly Gray’s commentary on the overlooked revenue potential in the 50+ audience, the response was immediate.
It resonated with marketers worldwide, who suddenly recognized how little strategic focus they’d given to this demographic — despite its extraordinary influence and spending power. That reaction pushed us to take a deeper look.
Without question, Gen X and Active Boomers are redefining what it means to age– with both cultural relevance and significant purchasing power.
These discoveries led to an Internationalist Insights Survey, conducted during the summer of 2025, asking marketers a provocative question: What if the most overlooked growth opportunity isn’t a trend… but a generation?
Our findings now shape a white paper, or Intelligence Brief, entitled The 50+ Opportunity Gap: New Rules for Marketers, which reveals why recognition without action is costing marketers billions. (Yes, BILLIONS.) This information is now available for download and also fuels Internationalist future content, think tanks, and industry discussions that help The Internationalist community reimagine marketing’s relationship with age, influence, and growth.
DOWNLOAD THE INTELLIGENCE BRIEF: THE 50+ OPPORTUNITY GAP
Two Big Insights from the Survey
Insight 1: Recognition Without Action
Marketers know the value of consumers over 50. In our survey, nearly all respondents described this audience as financially stable (92%), loyal (67%), and active multigenerational spenders (67%). Yet only 17% said their company has a dedicated strategy for the 50+ market. Most fold them into broader segmentation or focus on “universal insights” rather than distinct approaches.
This disconnect is striking: brands openly recognize the audience’s stability and purchasing power but rarely act on it. In practical terms, it means billions in overlooked revenue and missed opportunities for long-term brand loyalty.
Insight 2: The Assumption Trap
Several open-ended comments revealed an underlying bias: many marketers believe older consumers will “naturally” gravitate toward traditional brands as they age. One respondent admitted: “Interestingly, we know that our biggest purchasers are 50+ for big-ticket items like cars; however, given their loyalty, we feel free to focus on presenting a more ‘youthful’ approach in our advertising. It’s hard to get management to go older.”
But what if those assumptions are wrong? The 50+ of today are not yesterday’s consumers. Gen X is now entering this age bracket — a cohort more skeptical, less predictable, and less tethered to legacy brand defaults. If marketers don’t intrigue and engage them actively, they may never switch — or even consider — brands that have long assumed they’d be the “natural” choice.
Together, these two insights create a clear call to action: Marketers cannot treat the 50+ audience as inevitable or incidental. They must earn their attention, loyalty, and trust — just as they would with any other growth market.
Redefining the New 50+
This year, Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Jason Sudeikis, and Bradley Cooper all turn 50.
Note that Brooke Shields and Sarah Jessica Parker are now 60.
Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Barack Obama, and Michael Jordan
are all Boomers.
Millennials start turning 50 in 2030, but these “new 50s” need relevant messages now.
What You’ll Find in the White Paper
- How “recognition without activation” leads to missed growth opportunities
- Why legacy brand loyalty is fading fast among 50+ consumers
- Fresh insights from top marketers on reframing these audiences
- Redefining the New 50, 60, and beyond…
- Case examples of brands that connect with 50+ consumers through relevance and respect, as well as nostalgia and humor
- Practical frameworks for turning awareness into action
This compelling information also led to a new Internationalist commitment: GEN MORE+ — a feature dedicated to spotlighting the wit, wealth, and influence of today’s 50+ generation. From cheeky campaigns to serious statistics, GEN MORE+ highlights the advertising, research, and insights that help marketers act on one of the industry’s biggest blind spots.
ABOUT INTERNATIONALIST INSIGHTS
Building on The Internationalist’s focus on the people and ideas in international marketing, INTERNATIONALIST INSIGHTS was developed to quickly interpret global marketing trends at scale by surveying our worldwide audience and conducting in-depth personal interviews with individuals we have honored for their marketing contributions.
These results and perspectives are interpreted by seasoned executives and are dedicated to a big-picture view of our fast-moving industry and how contemporary marketing is changing business strategy in the digital economy.
INTERNATIONALIST INTELLIGENCE BRIEFS bring together these thoughts as white papers.
