To Age or Not to Age

Interesting:

To Age or Not to Age

No comment, since I'm not a molecular biologist. NostraChuckus will keep mum.

OK – one comment: “I hope I die before I get too old.”

Time for 50+ to Make a Comeback

As usual, not much new here – but it’s flattering to know that folks are catching on:

Time for 50+ to Make a Comeback
Feb 22, 2010
By Karl Jacobson
… Too often in the ad world, younger people  are hired instead of older ones, and there is a belief that youth in and of itself is good. However, the near 80-million strong baby boomer market, of which I'm a part, and where consumers spend billions of dollars, is still very important -- and perhaps should be spoken to by people actually part of that generation.

From an online article of mine published in 2003:

Back Into The Fold
The Giant Leap: There had better be a minor revolution in the creative end of the advertising industry. Talented men and women in their late forties and fifties need to be brought back into the fold if you want to reach us. This includes copywriters, graphic artists, producers, directors, and creative directors.

Truth is, you can analyze marketing fodder all day and night, read countless books about marketing to Baby Boomers, attend advertising and marketing conventions around the world, and soak up everything all the experts have to say. Much of what is out there is valuable and useful, some practically required reading, others instructive and illuminating.

But if you plan on implementing a creative strategy, and turn it over to a different generation of advertising professionals—you'll forfeit the natural sensibilities required to generate vital campaigns.

The 'old blood' has moved on. They're top execs or have retired. How do you get them back? Do they want to get their hands dirty again? These former crackerjack creatives must be convinced that they're needed.

What about new 'old blood'? For example, ex-entertainment industry writers and directors who've been replaced by twenty-one to thirty-five year olds? Or the creative folks who've blossomed late in life—perhaps never 'making it' when they were in their twenties and thirties? Get them involved in the advertising industry.

There are seventy million Baby Boomers in the United States. Within this unwieldy demographic, there are certainly seven thousand who have a grasp of the basic concepts of advertising—and will be Generational Marketing lifesavers whether your agency or production house is large or small.

I’d link to more – but every page in my book, every post on this blog, every presentation I’ve ever given is drenched in this polemic.

OK … one link about a piece by Rance Crain of Advertising Age:

Calcified Advertising Agencies
Agencies like to think of themselves as the last bastion of creativity, but they're in many ways the most calcified part of the process. Enlightened clients are beginning to realize this resistance to change is holding them back; the next step is to bypass their agencies' counsel.

Your Financial Advisor Is Not The Pillsbury Doughboy

A piece with not much new, but worth a look:

Silver Tsunami: Getting Real with Boomers
By Paul Menchaca   
February 17, 2010

This independent nature, which many boomers adopted when they were young, is now guiding them to retirement. Autonomy — or the ability to age in place — is part of a five-point value system that Sullivan applies to boomers. The others: Connectivity to family and friends; altruism, or the desire to give back to causes or charities which are important to them; and personal growth, whether it’s mentally or spiritually; and revitalization—through hobbies, travel or other activities.

So what does this mean to advisors?
According to Sullivan, it provides financial planners a means for connecting with their clients.

It all reminds me of a section in my book where I come up with a mock campaign for a financial services company: 


 
Take a look at this campaign for more inspiration:

Boomer Backlash II
The new TV commercials have ordinary boomer men and women engaged in some unscripted banter … The TV spots are carefully crafted to appeal to boomers…

Dublin, Istanbul, New York

Dick Stroud keynotes in Dublin on March 3rd:

 

 

 

 

 

Yours Truly will be in Istanbul on March 19th:

 

 

 

 

Kevin Lavery, Todd Harff, and organizer Les Harris will be in New York in May:

 

 

 

For all of us, busy is good. 

And good for advertisers.

PMP Spring 2010 Marketing/Advertising Catalog

Paramount Market Publishing has just released their Spring Catalog – and it’s a huge one, packed with fresh titles, author interviews, and stacks of real and virtual marketing parchment. Click to download. (PDF):

One title just released, one not quite released:

Custom Surveys Within Your Budget
Maximizing Profits Through Effective Online Research Design
by Brian Cooper and Maria Philips
Custom Surveys acts as a comprehensive guide to cost effectively managing a survey and covers everything from the evaluation of a research program to the actual output and analytics of the research.

Women, Wealth & Giving
The Virtuous Legacy of the Boom Generation
by Margaret May Damen and Niki Nicastro McCuistion
This uplifting book shares the stories of some of these wise women and how they have found fulfillment through giving. With over 43 million boom-generation women at or nearing the age of retirement.

My book is in there somewhere.

And here they are - Jim (The Publisher), Anne (The Art Director), and Doris (The President).  They’re all laughing and smiling, reading the eBook edition of Advertising to Baby Boomers.

It’s Easier Than Learning The Twist!

A good piece by Emily Brandon of U.S. News & World Report (and not only because Yours Truly and Brent Green are quoted):

Social Security Administration Sees Stars
February 1, 2010
(Chubby) Checker is the latest star in a series of celebrity-studded Social Security public service announcements that have come out over the past year, most of which feature actress Patty Duke.

I warn against nostalgia because it’s almost always a disaster when used in most advertising campaigns. And I don’t believe employing a celebrity spokesperson is usually a good idea. From Harris Interactive:

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS THAT ARE MOST PERSUASIVE

But Chubby Checker is fine.  He represents innocent times.  And it’s a public service announcement. Very few people are going to say to themselves, “Gee, I wonder if Chubby is getting the big bucks to push this product/service on me.  He probably doesn’t even use it. I’m no sucker! Just because he’s a celebrity I’m supposed to believe him?”

The spot is simple, with a simple message.  It works.