I’ve just been reading some nifty new stuff by Tom Peters. One of the big trends that I keep telling people about - but to almost no effect - is ageing. Fortunately Tom gets it. Here are a handful of statistics from his book on trends.

“In the US between 2002-2010 the number of people aged 18-44 will decline by 1% while the number of people aged 55-64 will increase by 47%”

“Americans aged 50+ hold 70% of global wealth and the average net worth of a household headed by someone aged 55-64 was $120,000 compared to $7,200 for people aged under 35.”

So why is only 5% of ad spend in the US aimed at people aged 50+?
Answer: Because ad agencies and marketing departments are almost exclusively staffed by people in their twenties and thirties and forties.

This isn't quite so true with innovation but it's not far off...