21 December 2006

Wrapping Up The Year

with a few odds and ends...

Those cheapskate, selfish Baby Boomers are at it again. Or are they simply fiscally irresponsible? Or both?
U.S. baby boomers seen donating $100 bln this year
U.S. baby boomers are expected to give roughly $100 billion to charity this year, marking a 25 percent increase from 2005, a study released on Thursday shows.
A few same old, same olds:
Baby Boomers Say TV Ads Neglect Them
The finding is especially significant because a majority of boomers surveyed--58%--say TV is their primary source of information about new products and services … Boomers surveyed … placed a high premium on humor, with 91% praising funny advertising, and actors who look like them. Fifty-one percent said they identify more with people in their age group. Tanya Giles, senior vice president, research and planning for TV Land, says … "Savvy marketers would do very well to court these consumers."
And…
Boomers Break the Mold
Many marketers and advertisers are ignoring the largest and potentially the most productive consumer group in the U.S. - Baby Boomers (40-59 year-olds) - The 82 million Baby Boomers currently make up 39% of the population … it's clear that Baby Boomers are just as likely as Millennials and Gen Xers to purchase and use many advanced technologies … Baby Boomers are more likely than others groups to be absorbed in different forms of media and can be reached through a variety of advertising efforts.
And (yawn)…
52% of Grandparents and 68% of Baby Boomers Want Tech Products for the Holidays
All information in articles of mine from three and four years ago, in my book written two years ago, in this blog over the last year and a half. Information heralded as new insights.

I'm getting drowsy. Any more exciting new insights and I'll fall asleep before my nap.

Here's something I missed, however - tipped off by a post at Aging Hipsters:
Psychological Neoteny
In a recent issue of Medical Hypotheses, (Dr. Bruce) Charlton argues that unlike previous, more settled societies that could afford to honor a narrow and well-defined worldview (that is, a "mature" one), modern life is tumultuous and ever-changing. Accordingly, it rewards those who retain a certain plasticity of mind and personality. "In a psychological sense, some contemporary individuals never actually become adults," he writes … Furthermore, he argues, social roles have become less fixed in modern society. We are expected to adapt to change throughout our lives, both in our personal relationships and in our careers, and immaturity, as Charlton added, is "especially helpful in making the best out of enforced job changes, the need for geographic mobility and the requirement to make new social networks." In fact, he speculates, the ability to retain youthful qualities, now often seen as folly, may someday be recognized as a prized trait.
Sounds like what everybody says about Baby Boomers, doesn't it? How immature we all are. We never grew up. This may or may not be true - but if true, it's obviously for good reasons.

Which reminds me of the big catch phrase of the year: 50 is the new 30, and/or 60 is the new 40, or some rubbish like that. Again, I talk about this at length in my book (before the phrase became popular), saying something along these lines: Baby Boomers do not think they are still in their twenties or thirties. They are redefining the ages they are.

And I'm not happy that someone put it better than I did (or at least more memorably and succinctly) — No, 60 isn't the new 40:
"60 is the new 60." - Gail Sheehy
One Baby Boomer blogging. Reminds me of what I just wrote and sent to my publishers for the 2nd Edition of the book. I talk about how so many sites that try to lure Boomers are rather vapid, empty.

Two things I never thought would turn me on: a cooking show and the postings of a Flack. A PR Blog that's sarcastic, intelligent, sexy, funny.

Gift giving? Here's the new Baby Boomer Donkey Kong - although I bet this game is better.

Happy Holidays. Two interesting marketing tomes are on their way to me, so expect book reviews in the New Year.

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