23 September 2016

Deaf Ears, Gatekeepers, and Frustration

An expurgated, slightly altered email exchange with a magazine publisher. No comments or explanations necessary:

On Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 7:12 AM, ******* wrote:

Hi Chuck,
CVRCompI have read your book, Advertising to Baby Boomers, it's a great read and so true and I completely agree that the ad agencies are really falling flat when it comes to even keeping an open mind to advertising in a 50+ magazine... 

We have approached all the local ******* ad agencies and (our pitches) seem to fall on deaf ears. The owners are all 50+ but their gatekeepers are millennials and they have no interest in marketing to a bunch of old fogies but they are not doing justice for their clients who's demographic buys the majority of their products, IE: Cadillacs, Travel, Restaurants, Medical just to name the obvious.
 
Do you have any suggestions as to how to break this barrier between us and the ad agencies about marketing to Baby Boomers? When we circumvent them they take offense saying those are our clients... my response is you're not doing your job representing your client properly by targeting the clients demographic.

Thank you for you time concerning this matter.

*******


On Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 3:27 PM, Chuck Nyren wrote:

****,
Sounds like you're causing lots of trouble down there. Good.

I have no answers or concrete advice for you. My first thought is to 'circumvent' but you've tried that.

I've always thought that magazines like yours are half-lifestyle, half-general interest. Why advertisers and agencies don't get this, I don't know. I'd like to see ads for orange juice, paper towels, refrigerators, etc. - not only age-related products and services.

ZoomermediaNext week I'll be doing a presentation in Toronto for the Zoomer/CARP folks:

http://www.zoomermedia.ca/

I plan on bringing up the lack of advertising for general consumer items. I'll get back to you.
Chuck


On Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 12:36 PM, ****** wrote:

Hi Chuck,
Thanks for getting back with me.  It’s very frustrating and I really feel that the ad agencies are not doing their clients justice when it comes to marketing their advertisers. In our presentations we are now asking potential advertisers what the difference is between any of these local magazines except for their names.  They can't answer that question. We know for a fact that anyone who is 40 or younger will not pick up our magazine unless for their parents to see. I spoke with ***** Cadillac yesterday and their average buyer is between 65 & 70 but they are advertising in a local rag with a 23 yr old on the cover, totally wasting their marketing dollars.
 
I'll be sending you a copy of ***********, perfect as a national magazine but we first have to establish ourselves in ********, no easy task and we never expected the response we have been getting.
Sincerely,
******

26 August 2016

Double-Feature: Entrepreneurs & Spending Power

SCARSShorts & Trailers

Retailers should focus on aging baby boomers, not millennials, as profit centers

What is Ultralight Aging™?

Too old for market researchers but still able to spend a lot of money

1st Feature

imagesEntrepreneurship: The Hottest Start-Up Market? Baby Boomers
… The staggering size of the total longevity economy — bigger even than Japan’s — has been attracting more entrepreneurs, deep-pocketed financiers and places to pitch new ideas in the past few years …

Based on the book Advertising to Baby Boomers, released in 2005:

CVRComp… This book is written for a wide swath of business people, including Baby Boomer entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs targeting Baby Boomers with their products/services. Baby Boomers are now the largest demographic of new entrepreneurs. There are also numerous entrepreneurs of all ages who are inventing, creating, and manufacturing products and services specifically for the 45-plus market …

intermission110-minute Intermission
What to Expect From the Free Medicare Wellness Visit

2nd Feature

blobWhy Advertising To Boomers Just Got More Important
by Barry Robertson
Shocking new study defines vast Boomer (ugh!) spending power

… The late, but inevitable, Boomer arrival isn’t exactly news. For years, marketing experts have explained that while older consumers may be slower to adopt new technology, their huge numbers make them worth waiting for …

Don’t forget your hats and coats when leaving the theater.

26 July 2016

Television Still Shining

steve_left.JPGLong time Ad Guru Steve Hall isn’t really flabbergasted:

OMG! The Internet STILL Hasn't Killed TV!
Despite what the advertising industry rumblings might lead us to believe over the past few years citing the decline of television as we know it, television advertising is instead alive, well, and producing solid results…

I like it when someone else writes a post for me – and/or I’ve written the post before (in this case, loads of times) so I don’t have to start from scratch.  Copy ‘n Paste is fast becoming my mantra.

All you really need to read is a C ‘n P job from 2014 that’ll take you all the way back to 2007:

Television Repeats
… That silly retronym “traditional advertising” will remain the premiere force for introducing people to a product or service, along with sustaining its shelf life. Television, print, radio, and billboard ads will continue to have the visceral power they’ve always had – if only for their sheer size, simplicity, and cutting-edge audio/visual qualities.

I’ll leave you with this:

18 May 2010
Advertising Is Dead. Again.
It’s official. The last sixty-four years of advertising has been declared ‘ineffectual’.

07 July 2016

More Some of the News That’s Fit to Print

WinchellGood evening, Mr. and Mrs. Marketing from continent to continent and satellite to server and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press

It's hard to imagine that there was ever a report on transparency that was less transparentLaurie Orlov unstraps the Quackery and snake oil in the 2014-11-14-beany.jpghealth wearables industry. The Crystal Ball was hazy, but  Nostrachuckus may have predicted this awhile back: Never Leave The Hospital! Health Tech Wearables, Implanted Chips & Finally Live The Life You’ve Always Wanted With Wearables! More from Chuck Martin at MediaPost: The Wearables Gap In The Internet Of Things …  Norman Lear is Not Dead Yet. (Any juveniles in the cast? If so, I want an audition. I’m sixty-five with cute dimples.) … Dick Stroud sez it’s good to see an architecture and design firm (Coran) taking physiological ageing seriouslyMark Ritson sez Gap Inc’s Art Peck has been struck down by a severe case of ‘morbus digitalis’, a sickness characterised by erratic and irresponsible behaviour such as swapping TV advertising for Tinder. Yours Truly has been saying this stuff for years: Social Media - WOMM - Web AdvertisingA majority of Americans would favor banning prescription drug advertisements on television, a new poll released Wednesday suggests. Hmmm. Sounds familiar: The AMA, Those Pharma Ads, and My Thinking Cap … ‘Til next time.


Just for fun:

Welcome To Your Welcome To Medicare Wellness Exam!
by Chuck Nyren for Huffington Post
… A whole hour talking about me, and if I’m not talking about me the other person is talking about me. That sounded great ...

13 June 2016

Some of the news that’s fit to print.

wwGood evening, Mr. and Mrs. Marketing from continent to continent and satellite to server and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press

Marketing Author and Global Wayfarer Brent Green won’t be lonely.  Boomers Will Dominate Travel for 20 Years … We’re inquisitive about the ages of voters, not of the presumptive candidates. Which demo might decide the outcome?  Boomers 35% Of Voters In 2016 Presidential Election … Ever wonder why you’re probably wearing sneakers? Barry Robertson explains all: Boomer Megatrend Embraced By Millennials: Sports Shoes As Everyday-WearNot Surprising DepartmentBoomers find volunteering rewardingThe UI Blues: Discussed ad nauseam in my book, this blog and other blogs - web usability. Counting your pennies online? Banks' Neglect of Seniors in Digital Push Is Shortsighted by Kevin TynanWhere  VCs circle every JuneMarti Barletta wises us up: The end of ‘shrink it and pink it’: A history of advertisers missing the mark with women … The HR Follies: Years spent scratching our heads. Newest itches - Companies that use older workers are the most innovative & Why You Should Hire Someone Over 55. Older workers stay in their jobs longer and bring a lot of experience, yet it's harder for them to find jobs … Till next time.


Just for fun:image
The Path To Bodily Enlightenment
I’ve achieved Mindfulness! It took no effort at all!
by Chuck Nyren