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.
The Forgotten Market Online: Older Women
New Fashion Sites Target Youth -- Though Most Web Apparel Sales Are to Women Over 35
Dick Stroud blogged it last week:
All of this would be OK if it were not for the facts. 45-54 year olds spend twice as much online as their daughters. Not surprisingly the average age of an online customer at Saks.com … is 42.
Christina and Dick have nailed it – so I’ll simply link to a few bygone babblings:
Adult underwear no longer being given the silent treatment
The new TV commercials have ordinary boomer men and women engaged in some unscripted banter about the differences between the two sexes, such as whether men or
women make better drivers and which sex actually rules the world … The commercials were directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris and bear a striking resemblance to a short film he created for a recent Oscars telecast in which people talk off the cuff about why they like movies.
Bob saw my 4/9 post about the campaign and called me:
Why couldn’t it have been…?
And looking at the big picture – let’s hope that ad agencies will see these spots and realize they’re missing out not hiring people over fifty to create campaigns for just about any product or service.
So I get a quote or two in the article. Thanks, Bob!
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Related Post: Ads target empty nests, full wallets
#87 - Joseph Coughlin: Director, MIT's AgeLab
Coughlin, 47, runs the first multidisciplinary research lab devoted to using smart technology to bolster older folks' quality of life.
In my book (2005) I hint at a few things Dr. Coughlin talks about in the video clip. An excerpt:
And that’ll be due to pragmatic visionaries like Joe Coughlin and his research team.
Dr. Coughlin and yours truly ‘gigged’ together a few years ago:
MIT AgeLab
As you can imagine, I've 'seen'em all' when it comes to presenters and pundits specializing in age-related issues. Dr. Coughlin's presentation was nothing I'd ever heard or seen before. Mind-boggling technological advances are already here or down the road apiece.
More about MIT AgeLab and Dr. Joe Coughlin:
Next week in Sydney, Australia:
Asia-Pacific Tourism Summit
Baby boomers are the travelling phenomena of this era. Destinations and tourism operators wishing to be part of this exciting demographic niche need to start planning urgently to cater for the interests and requirements of the travelling baby boomer.
eTurboNews has a good piece about it:
Tourism operators pulling down the shutters for Australia - without realizing
Forget Gen X and Gen Y. It could be the baby boomers generation throwing the tourism industry a lifeline …
I’ve been writing about all this for years. A blog post and excerpt from my book:
The eTurboNews article also addresses the bigger picture:
… Advertising research has shown the baby boomers feel overshadowed by younger generations when it comes to products and services, and no-one is interested in courting them or their money.
No kidding. That’s my book, my blog. A recent post:
Why couldn’t it have been…?
A car? Laundry soap? A computer? A razor? Anything but some age-related malady.
Could be. I likewise mention this possibility in an online presentation (skip to the 17:30 timeline mark).
Mary Furlong, my good friend and heroine of all things Boomer, is hosting the sixth annual Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit on June 16th and 17th.
We invite you to join us for an exciting two-day program consisting of leaders across a wide range of industries. They all have one thing in common – they invest in or serve the boomer consumer.
The juiciest event will be The Boomer Business Plan Competition:
Grand Prize Winners will be selected on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. All finalists will present their business plans to an esteemed panel of judges at the 2009 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Business Plan Competition at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA.
If you’re not able to attend, make sure to track down press about it afterwards. You'll find out about the winner and many of the finalists. Their ideas for products and services are always refreshing, creative, and smart.
