Not sure what this place is yet. Let’s just say it’s germinating:
An Ad Age article doesn’t tell us much:
BermanBraun Aims New Site Aimed At Invisible Demo: Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers surf the web too, albeit perhaps while wearing bifocals and on a decade-old version of Internet Explorer.
Good start. We know we’re going nowhere with this piece.
Baby Boomers, Luddites? Not So Fast.
… As far as Boomers being tech/web Luddites - I’ve been dispelling that silly myth for years - in my book and blog (Advertising to Baby Boomers, first published in early 2005).
And there’s the brand loyalty silliness I’ve been screaming about for years. It came up in the post last week.
More stuff in the article is old hat, discussed ad nauseam by yours truly and others.
One interesting quote:
"We'll be launching a need-to-know, quick-hit video series that will be distributed not only on the property but via email and ultimately via text as well...with an eye toward ultimately Purple Clover living across all media platforms [including TV]," Mr. Berman said.
Sounds like my advice for another project:
27 September 2010
Next Avenue: Baby Boomers & PBS
…I wouldn’t get all agog over the concept of multiplatform content by making this project a truly interactive venture. Of course, have a web site (PBS usually produces good ones). Mobile apps? Fine. However, don’t be sidetracked. Concentrate money and energy where the eyeballs are.
30 July 2012
Picking On The Big Boys & Girls, Part III: Next Avenue
The site says this on their about page:
Purple Clover is a new site for people who hate being called "baby boomers"…
…..Okay. Whatever that means. Maybe they’re still talking to themselves, trying to figure out positioning, while not quite realizing that most of us use the term Baby Boomers for news articles and B2B stuff – not when promoting products, services, media.
From my book, © 2005:
An interview with Ronni Bennett on her blog Time Goes By:
Chuck Nyren on Advertising and Elders (2007)
…Using the term “Baby Boomers” in news articles doesn’t bother me much (except that I’m getting sick of so many news stories lately). But using it in advertising (“Hey, Baby Boomers! Here’s the product for you!”) is pretty dumb. You don’t want to talk at people by defining who they are. This is insulting.…Again, it’s dumb to call baby boomers baby boomers in ads. The press calls them baby boomers, and when talking B2B (business-to-business), we use the term baby boomers. My book is titled Advertising to Baby Boomers but it’s a business book.
Purple Clover reminds me of a site across the pond:
high50
You’ve turned 50? Congratulations!
You’re now part of the most economically powerful, culturally significant, desired and desirable generation on earth.
Both target the high-end chunk of Boomers and older by being tongue-in-cheek, urbane, mildly irreverent. There’s little if any talk about the negative aspects of aging. And that’s a smart move. It’s exactly what I suggested AARP Magazine might do for one issue:
02 April 2013
AARP Is All New Redux: Part III (The Magazine)…Plan an issue with no age/malady related ads…Of course, I would leave editorial in the expert hands of Ms. Blyth and others – but might suggest this: For one issue, no articles about being old or sick…
Purple Clover’s advertising model seems stunted – until it wraps itself around a TV project.
___
Update 31 July:
Dick Stroud’s take on Purple Clover.
