Malte Marwede explores the impact of cognitive distance in product development, in particular whether large distances between developers and the customer target groups adversely affect the creation of customer-centric product ideas. Furthermore, he shows how practical user involvement measures can potentially mitigate negative effects of cognitive distance in an applied industry-context. Silver Agers, people in their third age, and the aviation industry are in focus for the empirical analysis. Extensive market knowledge and insights are provided for this target group.