In response, age-friendly branding is emerging as a concrete business strategy that helps organizations better serve older adults and improve experiences for everyone. Michael S. Mulvey, professor at the Telfer School of Management, led a new interdisciplinary research project on the topic alongside Linda Garcia, professor emerita at the Faculty of Health Sciences and founder of the Miroir Foundation, and Dan Padgett, professor at Auburn University. It shows how institutions can move from good intentions to practical, repeatable changes in how they design spaces, services and communications.
Published in the Journal of Product & Brand Management, Mulvey, Garcia and Padgett’s study doesn’t call for organizations to “do more.” Instead, it helps them understand how age-friendly practices are already emerging, and how they can be adopted more consistently instead of ad hoc.
Why age-friendly branding now
Older adults control close to 70% of disposable income in developed markets, underscoring their growing economic influence. But business and marketing research on age-friendly practices represents less than 1% of the academic literature with “age-friendly” in the title or abstract. As a result, many organizations have been adapting their services and environments without a clear, shared framework.
The study defines age-friendly branding as deliberately transforming products, services and brand experiences to improve accessibility and inclusion for older adults, while using universal design so all customers enjoy the benefits. It shows that three forces are pushing organizations in this direction: regulatory requirements, imitating successful peers and evolving professional standards around equity, diversity and inclusion.
“Age-friendly branding is the ultimate act of strategic self-interest,” says Mulvey. “It allows businesses to turn a massive market failure into a competitive edge, capturing a demographic projected to wield $96 trillion in spending power by 2050 while building the accessible, universal marketplace your future self will eventually require (and appreciate).”
“Age-friendly branding allows businesses to turn a massive market failure into a competitive edge, capturing a demographic projected to wield $96 trillion in spending power by 2050.”
Michael Mulvey
— Professor at the Telfer School of Management
How age-diverse teams strengthen inclusive design
Sustainable age-friendly branding depends on who’s involved in decision-making. Age-diverse teams across leadership, design, communications and front-line roles can better anticipate barriers, identify unconscious assumptions and test solutions with real users.
Involving older adults through advisory panels, co-design workshops or user testing helps organizations move beyond stereotypes and address the diversity of later-life experiences. “We entered an era around 2023–2024 where nearly 60% of Canadians over 65 — and more than 80% of those over 80 — were living with multiple chronic conditions yet continue to engage fully in life,” says Garcia. People live almost 20 years past the average number of years in good health, and “these are years of connection, participation and choice.”
She adds that “the opportunity for business is not to accommodate decline but to design for how people actually live — with flexibility, dignity and a deep understanding of what makes life worth living.”
“The opportunity for business is not to accommodate decline but to design for how people actually live — with flexibility, dignity and a deep understanding of what makes life worth living.”
Linda Garcia
— Professor emerita at the Faculty of Health Sciences and founder of the Miroir Foundation
Five ways organizations can design more inclusive services
Across policy reports, business guides and real-world examples, the research team identified five practical areas where organizations can make their spaces, services and communications more age-friendly.
Physical environments play a critical role in accessibility. Improvements such as better lighting, reduced glare, higher-contrast signage, barrier-free entrances, added seating and clearer wayfinding can significantly improve usability without full redesigns.
Service experience is often the highest-impact, lowest-cost route. Training staff to recognize different mobility, sensory and cognitive needs can immediately improve inclusion. So can adjusting the pace and explanations, and offering discreet support. Empathy and respectful communication also help counter everyday ageism in service interactions.
Digital accessibility remains a challenge. Simplified navigation, readable font sizes, strong contrast and compatibility with assistive technologies improve usability. Maintaining non-digital alternatives and offering guidance also support users as services move online.
Products and packaging can create barriers when usability is overlooked. Easier-to-open packaging, clearer labels and instructions, ergonomic design and simplified controls improve comfort and accessibility for a wide range of users.
Inclusive communication ensures these efforts appear authentic. Representing older adults realistically, avoiding stereotypes and using clear language strengthen trust. Visual clarity, including readable text and appropriate contrast, is just as important as messaging.
Together, these tools turn age-friendliness into concrete design and service choices that organizations can embed into policies and operations.
How organizations can move from ad hoc changes to consistent practices
Organizations rarely adopt age-friendly practices in isolation. They respond to pressures within their broader environment, including accessibility laws, building codes, procurement policies, industry examples and evolving professional standards.
For universities, health organizations, municipalities and businesses, the implication is clear: age-friendly branding can be part of institutional strategies, design guidelines, funding criteria and recognition programs rather than relying on individual efforts alone. This approach supports both organizational performance and broader social goals, including inclusion, reduced ageism and healthy aging.
Combining organizational drivers, practical design tools and age-diverse teams makes age-friendly branding a concrete path to better access, stronger service quality and more inclusive experiences.
