Businesses Fighting For Baby Boomer Dollars

A very good piece by Mary Motzko – and not necessarily because I’m quoted.  Yours Truly is in heady company:

Businesses Fighting For Baby Boomer Dollars
Marketing Campaigns Aimed At Boomer Generation
While baby boomers are open to advertising, there are certain avenues companies should avoid as to not turn their targeted audience against their product.

After being interviewed, I suggested that Ms. Motzko contact Dr. Harry (Rick) Moody.  She did:

When creating an ad aimed at baby boomers, Harry Moody, the director of academic affairs for AARP, warns companies to not generalize those over 50 into one group. Moody said that grouping all baby boomers together as the same audience "is sure to lead to disaster."

Also interviewed is Mark Bradbury, Research Director at AARP:

According to Bradbury, baby boomers are used to redefining what it means to be a certain age. They did it when they were young, then again in their teens and 20s, and now they're trying to redefine what it means to be 50.

That sounds familiar.  From my book:

Or you can hear me scream it over The Who and Led Zeppelin.

Experts in Asia and Australia

This blog gets half its hits from international ISPs – and half of those are from Asia and Australia.  Why?  Both continents have huge older populations, and marketers there are wisely rethinking demographic priorities. 

Gill Walker contributed a sumptuous chunk of insight in a recent Henry Stewart Talks Seminar.  Her appearance on Australia’s Today Show is likewise a treat – and it includes one of my favorite troublemaking spots (for Nestlé's Entice).

Click here or the picture below to watch the interview:

A recent blog post featured Kim Walker.  Last month he was a guest on Channel News Asia’s "Primetime" morning show:

For a more academic approach to it all:

The Silver Market Phenomenon
Thirty-three individually authored chapters examine the challenges, chances, and perspectives of the current demographic shift--aging and shrinking populations--in many countries around the world …

There’s a chapter by you-know-who in there somewhere.

GobbledyGoogle

On Friday I stuck this piece in my virtual holster, but Dick “Quick Draw” Stroud was speedier to the trigger:

Even Google talks nonsense
It looks like it was written in 10 minutes after a rapid canter through Wikipedia.

Notorious for ageism, it’s no surprise that Google’s Boomer marketing advice is old hat, confusing, and clunky:

“… Boomers, in particular, tend to benefit from nostalgic targeting that reminds them of their youth.”

In-A-Gadda-Da-What?

Puncturing Myths

As usual, there aren’t really any myths about Boomers and media/advertising that haven’t been punctured by Yours Truly and many others.  A pretty good list from a year ago:

How Well Do You Know Boomers?
Myth #6 - Boomers are brand loyal and will not switch
Golly gee, willikers. If you don't know this by now ...

But I guess the industry is still in a river in Egypt.

At the recent Upfront Summit, Crown Media CEO Henry Schleiff apparently caused some trouble.

Click here or the picture below to view the video clip:

The chief of Hallmark's TV operations doesn't think enough people appreciate how rapidly the traditional TV audience is aging or what that means.  (Ad Age)

I was quoted along with Mr. Schleiff in a Kansas City Star piece last year:

Baby boomers become the forgotten consumer
August 4, 2008
By Jennifer Mann
"Our viewers have assets, not allowances," Schleiff told Wall Street analysts.

agency fifty/bureauvijftig

Dear Chuck,

As promised an email about our new agency ‘bureauvijftig’ (literally translated agency fifty, we glued the words together). Our new website (which still needs some images) is www.bureauvijftig.nl.

bureauvijftig is a creation of Arjan in’t Veld (25), Dick Vos (66), and me, Martijn de Haas (37).

 
Dick is the ex-owner of a large and successful advertising agency in the Netherlands.

Arjan is director and a target group specialist from his former company Inthefield.

I am the marketing strategy and target group specialist from Active Development.

We have several people connected to the agency including art directors, copy writers, online specialists, ages 20 to 66. Some are direct colleagues and some are ambassadors doing freelance jobs. We stress the importance of this broad range of ages as we completely agree with your philosophy on communication for age groups is best made by people belonging to these age groups.*  Combine this with sharing insights and experience in a broad range of marketing, communication and advertising aspects and you will be able to connect effectively to a specified audience.

Our main goal is making connections and combining the best of 2 worlds:

• the young and the so called mature consumers
• young and old specialists
• the online and offline worlds
• research & creation
• science & marketing

We have managed to hook up with the leading university professors in the field of researching the aging population in the Netherlands and worldwide. 

Our products are:

• a huge research database; all the target group research that we have acquired over the years and are still acquiring
• a consumer panel; at least 1700 older consumers and a population of 95,000 older consumers from which we can recruit more respondents for qualitative or quantitative research.
• a thermometer test; a tool of testing a campaign or assumption in a population. This test can be followed online by the clients.
• a 2-second test; people decide within 2 seconds if they like your communication. With this test we can see the effectiveness of the first impression. This can also be followed online.

In general we are continuing our old ways but bigger and better with a healthy mix of ages. We already attracted our first big client and we feel that this economic spell will force companies to look at the mature market.  Our pay-off is result driven communication in which we promise results and even take 20% of the client’s risk.

As you had already discovered, we have changed Arjan’s Mokkamarketing.nl to www.target50.nl. It is an inspirational blog like yours where all our co-workers and ambassadors can report and give opinions on articles and videos about the mature market and the aging population.

We are aiming at becoming a strong player in the traditional industry by bringing new ways. We hope to fly you in some day to give one of your presentations that inspires them all.

Last week we also met George P. Moschis who is an interesting researcher and professor you probably know.

I hope this explanation is clear and am looking forward to you and your comments and questions.

Kind Regards (also from Arjan),

Martijn
_______________________

George Moschis and I are with the same house, Paramount Market Publishing:

Baby Boomers and Their Parents
Surprising Findings About Their Lifestyles, Mindsets, and Well-Being
by George P. Moschis, PhD and Anil Mathur, PhD

My Book: Advertising To Baby Boomers

*An excerpt from Advertising to Baby Boomers:

More about diversity in the advertising industry:

Old Masters and Young Geniuses

What Kind of Genius Are You?

Baby boomers are smarter than you think

Trust Your Gut

Irony

People generally get better.

Calcified Advertising Agencies

Rance Crain Makes Perfect Sense Yet Again

Diversity = Productivity

Managing Age Diversity in the Advertising Industry

My best wishes for success to you, Dick, and Arjan!