Marketing English Education to Mature Customers: Comparative Study of the Techniques Used by English Schools in Japan and South Korea

Abstract

As the population of the world ages there is increasing need for an assessment of the marketing strategies that are used to target the elderly. The literature on marketing of foreign languages to the elderly is sparse. Although academicians are divided on the specific age at which a customer transcends to the mature market many agree that this market can begin with members 50 years and over. Neilson and Curry (1997) and Moschis (2003) have written in depth expositions on the strategies that ought to be used in respect to members of the mature audience. The Moschis Framework is one of the most relied on segmentation model in respect to the elderly as it combines gerontographic and psychographic variables in order to develop a profile of the elderly not based on age or life stage variable. A qualitative approach was used to garner the data needed using in depth interviews and archival research. Japanese marketers are more prone to appeal to the younger self referent ages of the elderly through their use of younger looking models, brighter colored pamphlets and creative settings for advertisements. Koreans are more conservative in their approach and are inclined to appeal to the nationalistic tendencies of older Koreans. However both groups use similar segmentation techniques with age being the dominant variable. Further research should incorporate other segment of the mature audience and be expanded to look at the marketing strategies that could be effective in marketing online English courses to Asian customers.



Author Information
Jeremy Chambers, Advan College of Languages, Japan

Paper Information
Conference: ACLL2018
Stream: Learning Environments

This paper is part of the ACLL2018 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon