Why grandparents?

Our chosen target market is Grandparents. According to an article by the BBC in 1999 there were an estimated 9 million over 60’s in the UK. This was estimated to rise over the next 30 years by 40%. The approximate population of Britain is 67 million. Meaning 7.4 percent of British people are over 60. In 2004 there was an estimated 7 million families with approximately 13 million children in their care. www.grandpsrents-association.org.uk reports that there are 14million grandparents in the UK and that 82% of UK children receive some form of care from grandparents.

These statistics show why the target market of Grandparents is a good choice with an estimated 14million grandparents in the UK alone the YSP would seriously benefit financially from the inclusion of this particular demographic in their friends scheme.

The elder generation we are aiming at will have grown up with books and stories as an important part of their childhood, today’s replacements are TV and video games. The walk would offer them a nostalgic experience. The story walk also offers them a sense of freedom and independence that they may have felt was lost with retirement and age.

It is the grandparents that we are aiming to make the friends of YSP. However, the walk is designed to help grandparents bond with their grandchildren as well as providing them with an escape from everyday life. We want the event and products to conjure the imagination of both the young and old alike. The later evening walks would seem magical with the story being told too the background of the sculptures illuminated at night would be a grand spectacle for both grand parent and grand child. The products will be interesting and carry the creative artistic theme of the parks environment but will not be too outlandish as to scare off either group, we aim to create familiar products with a fresh feel.

When reviewing social groups in our creativity and the end user lectures one particular group stood out, group J, Type J53 “High spending elders”. this is the group we are aiming at

"High Spending Elders contains well educated, early retirees and pensioner couples who see no contradiction between retirement and the enjoyment of an active lifestyle. Such people live not just on the coast but increasingly in attractive country villages."

Experian, Mosaic UK Group and type descriptions

With their location being perfect "country villages", their attitude to an active lifestyle exactly the kind we want the event to appeal to and their spare income they’re are more than able to afford products on sale. We aimed to find a market we felt would have a ‘sub market’ attached, one we could also indirectly sell to. In this case the grandchildren. The range of products we are soon to develop will be designed to appeal to both age groups. The young imaginations of the children will be captured along with the nostalgic grandparents.

In summary the choice of Grandparent should prove to be a stable, sustainable and more importantly profitable choice of target market.