Beginning in 2003, my business blog for Creative Services, Copywriting, Consulting, and Speaking. You'll find all sorts of information about the current trends in advertising and marketing to this unwieldy, diverse demographic.
Let's Talk About Sex (Newsweek)Baby boomers make up 25% of the US population, hold 70% of US assets and spend $2 trillion annually. It's time we discovered opportunities for infomercials, Internet ads and branding catered to the young-at-heart. 'Advertising to Baby Boomers' uses straightforward, jargon-free language to guide advertisers, business owners and agencies on how to craft campaigns successfully.
The author, Chuck Nyren, a veteran creative strategist, explains how to approach this important demographic. This second edition update is divided into three sections. The first part helps us understand boomers' self-image and desires; the second suggests how to market to them; and the third offers practical resources.
Nyren employs wit, helpful asides and experts' citations to refute stereotypes that damage campaigns. He reinstates respect for the demographic that's often insulted by well-intentioned- but-flawed advertising. Some of his suggestions include abstaining from poking fun of boomers' age (i.e., targeting them for cliché products). He also advises showing facts instead of using elaborate illustrations to explain why boomers need something.
So, if you want to avoid pigeonholing baby boomers and confusing or angering the demographic with your humor, check out this readable 182-page foundation for reaching them. We promise it will be filled with underlines.
It seems as if I’m smarter than I think I am:Baby boomers are smarter than you thinkYeah? Then how come I didn’t know this already?
Researchers have confirmed what many mature people already know – intelligence actually gets sharper with age.
And the New York Times is weighing in. When we think we're losing it, we're actually gaining it:Wisdom increases with age, research says
Scientists have discovered that intelligence, instead of peaking in our youth, remains stable and in some respects gets sharper as we grow older.
Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser BrainHmmm. I keep hearing that 50 is the new 30. Now I’ll be hearing that 50 is the new 70.When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong. Instead, the research finds, the aging brain is simply taking in more data and trying to sift through a clutter of information, often to its long-term benefit ...
"...Older adults, because they’ve retained all this extra data, they’re now suddenly the better problem solvers. They can transfer the information they’ve soaked up from one situation to another."
As the old saying goes, “Funerals are for the living.” Not anymore. Now there’s a place where you can theme, decorate, and DJ from the grave (or wherever you happen to end up) – thanks to two Baby Boomers: Nancy Bush and Sue Kruskopf.I talked a bit about this in my book. From Chapter Five:Plan your own funeral online
By Jackie Crosby
The generational cohort known as the baby boomers brought us the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement, the women's movement and the gay rights movement.
Could the death movement be next?
My Wonderful Life's promotional video is very cute. I’ll embed it here not because I think it’s so brilliantly funny – but consider this: Would you have seen a spot like this for funeral services twenty years ago? One with even a hint of humor? We’ve had quite an impact on almost everything.Offer Ends Soon!I’m not sure he needed the disclaimer. He must have friends like me he didn’t want to piss us off. At least too much. (Hey, Larry - is that a smudge on your sweatshirt or a Nike logo?)All my life I’ve been pummeled by advertising.
I have listened to and watched millions of 60-second spots. Over the years they have changed from live presentations by TV and radio personalities who have tried to cultivate my trust through a sort of pseudo friendship, into ever shorter and “punchier” 30’s, 20’s, 10’s and even five-second commercial messages delivered in MTV-style videos, no scene longer than two seconds, challenging my ability even to see what’s on the screen, much less understand what I think I’m seeing.
Even though I’d like to see campaigns that resonate with Baby Boomers – and he doesn’t really give a you-know-what – we both agree that they are, for the most part, pretty pathetic.
