Abstract

My project is about cell phone marketing and how large companies like Apple and Samsung are
exclusionary towards older consumer groups in the way that they advertise their products. My
interest came when my Grandma was getting a new phone and the cell phone provider convinced
her that she wanted a simple phone rather than an iPhone. I know she can handle it but she and
the company did not think she could. Then she wondered why I would never FaceTime her. My
major research question is to what extent are cell phone companies excluding a valuable market
in the older consumer and why are they being exclusionary? Im going to focus on advertising
techniques of the major cell phone companies and they way their ads are perceived. I am also
going to suggest ways to fix their campaigns and design non-insulting technology for older
consumers to buy and use.
Annotated Bibliography
Cole, Catherine, et al. "Decision Making and Brand Choice by Older Consumers." Marketing
Letters 19.3/4, Seventh Tri-Annual Choice Symposium (2008): 355-65.
In this article, Cole, (who has a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a professor
at University of Iowa) studies the degree to which the age of the consumer determines marketing
techniques companies use to advertise their products. Results indicated, Older consumers tend
to have both a more limited time perspective and more limited cognitive resources than younger
consumers, potentially reinforcing any tendency they might have to show increased prevention
focus relative to younger consumers (3). The older consumer tends to shop for products focused
on prevention of loss of cognitive ability and health. However Both socio-emotional
information relevant to ones well-being and meaningful financial information can motivate
older adults to deploy cognitive resources flexibly and perform equivalently to younger adults
meaning that the divide between young and old is narrowing. This echoes my evaluation of the
market and sources like Cell Phone Gender Gap with old people being a viable age group to
target products with as they have the financial means and incentive to buy. This article is useful,
providing background to marketing and reasons why older groups are a viable market. Though it
does not directly speak on cell phones, the same information can be applied.
"Older Adults and Technology Use." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project
RSS. Pew Research Center, 3 Apr. 2014. Web.
This source comes from one of nations most reputable research firms the Pew Research Center.
Its purpose is to describe the various types of older people who use cell phone and those that do
not. There are two groups: the affluent seniors with good health and the less affluent usually with
disabilities. This source is helpful in providing current statistical information about seniors and
online technological use. For example, Six in ten seniors now go online, and just under half are
broadband adopters and there are also several graphs and charts that concisely share
information. I am going to use this source as evidence for my argument that with the proper
advertisement and means the older consumer groups have the ability to posses a strong
purchasing power. This source helps to connect to "Cell Phone Gender Gap conforming
previous information about consumer groups. Statistical evidence is necessary to help prove and
support points.

Pringle, David. Softer Cell: In Mobile Phones, Older Users Say, More is Less; all the Features
just Confuse, they Tell Vodafone, so it Tries Making a Simple One; Pushback from
Young Staffers, Wall Street Journal. (2005).
In this article Pringle, (a telecoms and technology correspondent for the Wall Street Journal)
argues that older people are adverse to technology and therefore do not want to spend enormous
amounts of money each month on a cell phone bill. The result is a simple cheap phone used only
for phone calls. He asserts, These consumersweren't interested in the cameras, Internet
browsers and many of the other features that are becoming standard on the latest cell phones
and just want the basics in case of an emergency. This source provides a counter argument for
my own. I believe that this Vodafone with no camera, no browser and hardly any icons is
insulting to an older consumer, discounting their intelligence and their ability to learn new
things. I do not believe that marketing towards older consumers should be directed towards only
simplified products with large buttons. I will use the source in opposite the other pro-marketing
towards older consumers to show the juxtaposition between how cell phone companies feel
about older consumers and what actually is present in the market.
Smith, Ruth B. Journal of Marketing 57.4 (1993): 151-2.
In this article Smith, of the University of Maryland, discuses in a book review of Marketing to
the Older Consumer: A Handbook of Information for Strategy Development by George P.
Moschis. The book review allows me to gather the important information from the book without
actually needed to read the entire book. The purpose is to analyze what the older consumer
groups consist of, dispel any misconceptions, explain how they make their marketing decisions,
and how to market products in the most advantageous way. I will use this review to understand
the literature behind marketing towards the older consumer and possibly try to understand why
they are a neglected market when it comes to technology although the source does assert that the
baby boomers that are now the older consumers were once at the forefront of technology. In
conjunction with my other sources that refer to marketing in general rather than specifically to
cell phone marketing, I will apply the general knowledge to specific situations regarding cell
phones.
Solomon, Doug. "Cell Phone Gender Gap to Narrow in U.S.; Age Research Fuels Marketing
Strategies." Wireless Insider 19.25 (2001): 1.
In this article, by Solomon comes from a trade journal named Wireless Insider. The purpose of
this article highlights the major users of cell phones in 2001 based on gender and age. I am most
heavily focusing on age portion of the data. Males tend to use cell phones and spend more than
women but not by a significant amount as it is with age comes the disparity. The research
indicates that the largest users of cell phones at the time is males ages 31-45. This demographic
today in 2015 can be nearly 60 years old, which causes me to wonder why, are cell phone
companies ignoring the group that used to be their largest consumer. It can possibly be old
stereotypes are clouding their goals, like the assumptions produced in Softer Cell. This article I
useful in providing a spring board to make assumption and questions from. It works
cooperatively with Coles source and contradicts my counter argument source Softer Cell.
Wolf, Friedemann, Philipp Sandner, and Isabell M. Welpe. "Why do Responses to Age-Based
Marketing Stimuli Differ? the Influence of Retirees? Group Identification and
Changing Consumption Patterns." Psychology & Marketing 31.10 (2014): 914-31.

This article written by three German professors at the University of Berlin is designed to
understand the complex minds of the aging consumer. The purpose is to understand the patterns
of purchasing power. It also contains valuable statistical information regarding how consumers
spend their money. What I consider most valuable for this source is it contains responses of
their age-related labels. This is important to understand how the consumer sees himself I the
market and in the eyes of the consumer. I am going to use this source in order to support the
claims I am making about the older consumer being able to support the cell phone market.
Although the older consumers have become a more important share of the market, companies
have not changed their techniques to match the changing markets (1). This source is in
agreement with my other sources stating that the older consumers are a viable market that are
being ignored by the major marketing groups.