Bet on Boomers?

There are several things holding marketers back most of which are ideological and can easily be overcomeThe inertia of the status quo amp160The dawn of the modern age of branding and mass marketing coincided with the comingofage of a massive generationamp160 In 1964 the first of the Baby Boomers turned 18 and entered the 1849 cohort and as the Boomers searched for the meaning of life Madison Avenue found meaning in their magnitudeamp160 At 80 million strong there was good reason for brands like Pepsi to declare that it was the choice of a quotnew generationquotFor decades thereafter all of marketing39s philosophies processes tools and best practices were optimized around the 1849 targetamp160 This audience was larger and more lucrative than any that had ever preceded it and business was good so it39s no wonder that marketers settled right into a comfortable status quoWith so much 1849 demographic to go around no one bothered to consider an age 50 consumer with the exception of the pharma brands that were in the business of fixing the ailments of old ageamp160 Even though today39s 50 consumer is completely different so much more youthful and valuable the inertia to want to favor a younger audience has a halfcentury of momentum on its side and is not easy to overcomePerceived Value amp160Marketing has always had a bias to believe that a younger consumer is more valuable than an older oneamp160 If everyone aspires to be young forever why wouldn39t you want to portray a youthful image for your brandamp160 amp160And then there39s loyalty to consideramp160 There39s always been an assumption that winning a young consumer today lets you enjoy the benefits of their loyalty for a lifetime eg get that first shave with your razor and they39ll use you foreveramp160 With the growth in the size and value of the aging audience and the continuing erosion of loyalty in a world of infinite alternatives and instant gratification it39s time to rethink these assumptionsamp160EitherOr Mentalityamp160amp160We39ve convinced ourselves that smart marketing is about making choices which it is amp8230 and isn39tamp160 I recently moderated a panel discussion at an international auto show the theme being Millennials vs Boomersamp160 It didn39t take long to realize that many of the auto execs were talking out of both sides of their mouthsamp160 They claimed to embrace Boomers as buyers who can afford luxury cars now but they were also obsessed with Millennials whom they saw as their customers of the futureamp160 When I told them that the panel was about making a choice they unanimously opted for Millennialsamp160 The answer was not surprising but the rationale was they said that they would prefer to target Millennials because they quotdidn39t want to sell Boomers their last carquotOf course with longevity being what it is today the Boomers are far from buying their last car and actually prefer to own cars plural in a day and age of ridesharing and Zipcaramp160 The point here is that the quoteitherorquot mentality of choice didn39t serve anyone wellamp160 Instead marketers need to balance the present and future potential of their franchise with a multigenerational strategyamp160 Think of an quotandandquot application that targets both audiences for a diversified outcome which is easily done in today39s world of addressable digital mediaRiskrewardamp160amp160Marketing to age is about change and change is fundamentally about riskamp160 Today39s companies talk about how they39re quotmanagingquot risk which in theory is about striking the right balance between risk and reward so as to enable successamp160 However in practice it seems as though it39s become more about minimizing risk so as to avoid failureamp160 In companies where this is happening it39s usually because the employees do not feel any direct relationship between personal risk and personal rewardamp160 If taking on additional risk like marketing to a cohort that the company has no experience with leads only to the same reward they39re currently getting then it39s not a risk worth takingamp160 Personal survival trumps risktaking every timeMost marketers are youngamp160 Lastly it must be noted that the average age of people in the marketing industry is 32 and the average for their ad agency counterparts is 27amp160 While their age has nothing to do with their competency young marketers have yet to lead the lives of people of ageamp160 It39s hard to relate to something you39ve never experienced and it39s human nature to avoid things that are hardamp160 The path of lesser resistance is to market to their own generation especially when it can be rationalized as the cohort of the futureThe overriding message here is that it takes a long time to change longheld beliefsamp160 Fair point but success in business is also about being opportunisticamp160 In the case of marketing to age it39s about doing business where no one else is which means you have to get there firstamp160 The odds of success are high so it39s time to place a betamp160 The fact that few are in the game yet is the best news you could hope forClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Bet on Boomers?

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Peter Hubbell

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Bet on Boomers?

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