Today's consumers have high expectations when interacting with brands. They desire a personalized approach as well as seamless customer experiences. While these standards can pressure marketing budgets, the complexity of consumer behaviors can present a unique opportunity for brands to connect with their audiences on a deeper level.
A key factor influencing a campaign's success is understanding the diverse needs and preferences of the intended audience. More specifically, research has shown that consumers of different ages have distinct priorities and values. By tailoring campaigns to address these differences, brands can create memorable experiences that foster engagement and loyalty. This article explores how mail and print service providers can help brands develop targeted, age-based campaigns to drive stronger connections and remarkable results.
Connecting Across Generations
Today's diverse consumer landscape necessitates a more tailored marketing approach. Generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns are no longer effective. By understanding the unique preferences of different age groups, brands can develop targeted messaging that resonates more deeply with their audiences. This is where the power of production inkjet technology becomes essential—it enables personalized and impactful campaigns for each generation.
The first group, which consists of digital natives aged 18 to 26, thrives on visually engaging and dynamic content. Accustomed to the fast-paced world of digital media, these consumers pay attention to creativity and personalization. Key elements for this demographic include vibrant colors, design flexibility, and the ability to personalize at scale. This means bold designs, personalized offers based on past purchases, and interactive elements. Given these preferences, inkjet technology is an ideal match. It enables the creation of eye-catching campaigns that resonate directly with this tech-savvy audience.
The next age group, often referred to as value seekers, includes adults between the ages of 27 and 68. This diverse group prioritizes trustworthiness, familiarity, and practicality. Given their hectic lifestyles, they respond best to ads that offer solutions and simplify their lives. High-quality printed materials reinforce brand credibility, while personalized coupons and discounts drive conversions. Additionally, the members of this group often prioritize a brand's commitment to sustainability, making inkjet's eco-friendly capabilities a valuable asset.
The third group, known as trust builders, includes consumers aged 69+. Simplicity, clarity, and trust are the cornerstones of effective marketing to this demographic. These consumers value established brands and straightforward messaging. In fact, they respond most positively to direct mail, and they often prefer it over TV ads. Given their focus on clarity and readability, abstract bold designs are less effective with this group than they are with younger demographics. Campaigns directed toward this age group must include crisp text with larger fonts and straightforward layouts, emphasizing the brand's history to build trust. Timeliness is also crucial, and personalized messages that address specific needs (such as healthcare or financial planning) are also highly effective. Inkjet technology plays a significant role here because it enables brand owners to deliver time-sensitive information in easy-to-read formats.
Age-Related Behaviors
Savvy marketers recognize the importance of a blended marketing approach. The data below from Keypoint Intelligence illustrates that direct mail plays a key role in driving digital interactions.
While each age group responded positively to direct mail and its influence on their online behavior, the contrast between the youngest and oldest respondents is noteworthy. Young adults are considerably more likely to engage with a marketing email after receiving a physical direct mail piece than their older counterparts. This suggests that traditional marketing methods like direct mail still hold significant sway over younger generations, and can serve as a bridge between physical and digital engagement.
Figure 1: Physical Mail’s Impact on Email Marketing
Looking deeper into the types of direct mail that foster brand connections, catalogs stand out as a powerful marketing tool across all age groups. More than half of all respondents confirmed that catalogs continue to influence their perception of brands, reinforcing the idea that tangible, well-designed print materials drive engagement. Notably, catalogs were found to significantly cultivate strong brand connections among young adults, likely because they offer an immersive experience that digital ads often fail to replicate.
Figure 2: The Impact of Catalogs on Brand Connection
The promising news for marketers is that relevance, clear messaging, and timeliness continue to be critical factors for effective direct mail campaigns, regardless of the demographic. Recent advancements in production inkjet technology have made it possible for marketing teams to access more cost-effective short runs. This facilitates A/B testing, the segmentation of messaging based on demographics or geography, and the implementation of highly personalized campaigns — all without compromising brand identity or print quality. As a result, direct mail remains a competitive and influential channel in today’s omnichannel marketing landscape.
Designing for Impact
To maximize engagement across various age groups, brands should focus on the following key strategies:
1. Design Tailored Content: Create catalogs with unique visuals and practical content that resonate with the audience’s age group to ensure relevance and engagement.
2. Build Brand Trust: Maintain consistent, high-quality messaging across all touchpoints, reinforcing your brand's credibility and reliability.
3. Offer Targeted Incentives: Provide discounts and loyalty rewards that align with the preferences and needs of the targeted audience, encouraging action and repeated interactions.
4. Emphasize Value Propositions: Clearly articulate the value of products and ensure timely delivery to enhance customer loyalty and engagement, making messages both relevant and compelling.
Production inkjet technology is a powerful enabler of age-based marketing, seamlessly addressing the diverse preferences and behaviors of different generations. Younger adults respond surprisingly well to direct mail despite being digital natives, so inkjet can be used to create meaningful connections. By incorporating interactive elements such as QR codes and personalized URLs, marketers can link print to digital for an engaging, omni-channel experience that aligns with consumers’ expectations for dynamic content.
When it comes to middle-aged consumers who often strike a balance between traditional and digital marketing preferences, inkjet technology delivers highly relevant, data-driven content. This group values detailed information and tailored offers, both of which can be achieved via variable data printing. This approach ensures that each mail piece directly addresses the recipient's specific interests and needs.
Within the 69+ age demographic, consumers tend to place a significant amount of trust in direct mail. Inkjet technology can be used to enhance clarity, readability, and print quality. Additionally, cost-effective short runs enable marketers to frequently refine their messaging, ensuring that printed materials remain relevant and engaging for this discerning audience.
Across all age groups, production inkjet's ability to support quick turnarounds and personalized content empowers marketers to respond swiftly to changing preferences. Relevance and timing determine success in today's fast-moving marketing landscape, and production inkjet ensures that direct mail continues to be a competitive and influential channel across generations.
The Bottom Line
Age-related marketing is a powerful strategy for engaging diverse audiences. By understanding the unique preferences of each age group and harnessing the capabilities of production inkjet technology, the mailing and printing industries can create campaigns that are not only visually appealing but also deeply impactful. From captivating young adults with personalized designs to building trust with older consumers, production inkjet offers the flexibility and precision needed to thrive in today's competitive market. The opportunity to connect with audiences across generations is here today, so make sure you’re ready to seize it!
Karen Kimerer of Keypoint Intelligence has experienced the many challenges of expanding current market opportunities and securing new business. She has developed a systematic approach to these opportunities, addressing the unique requirements of becoming a leader in our changing industry. She is well-versed in 1:1 marketing, web-to-print, direct mail, book publishing, supply chain management, data segmentation, channel integration, and photo products.
This article originally appeared in the March/April, 2025 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.
