In the spirit of the season (vacation time), the
newsletter this month is a series of quick hits for a
fast summer read.
The Boomer Project's Matt Thornhill was featured
in a
story on PBS's "MarketPlace" about marketing to
Boomers. You can listen here:
Marketplace, August 5, 2005
Nike has launched a
new campaign
targeting real women with (ohmigawd!) real thighs
and butts.
This effort is driven by Nike's apparent acceptance of
the simple fact that the Boomers that built the brand
are growing older. Just read it.
Nike's New Campaign
- According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
annual Consumer
Expenditure survey (latest
version available, 2003), Boomers 45-54 years old
spend $50,101 annually on consumer goods and
services, compared to only $40,525 by young adults
25-34.
What's more relevant to anyone trying to grow their
business, there are more 45-54 year olds
than there are 25-34 year olds. That means in total,
the 45-54 year olds outspent the 25-34 year
olds by almost $400,000,000: $1.158 billion to $800
million. Ignore them at your peril.
We've been
telling clients in the travel and
tourism
industry that "VolunTourism" is a new trend to
watch. Here's
one non-profit that is making it happen now:
Habitat for
Humanity International
- Over 50 and Online: A new study by Jupiter
Research
reports that Boomers spend more online
than other demos:
Boomers Online and Buying
- But Boomers must not be buying clothes like they
did
when they were younger. At least, there's a
GAP that needs to be addressed:
New GAP Strategy
The Next
Next Trend: Boomer-Focused
Media:
Boomers
TV
Oomph!
- A new trend in financial services marketing: not
talking about money, but people's lives. We don't
have any insider information, but it appears to us
that this is a
direct result of them talking to Boomers over 50, who
certainly must have told them that what's important
now isn't accumulating more wealth, but more of
life's experiences.
From some recent TV spots:
Wachovia Securities: Against a
visual
backdrop of snapshots of people you hear each
ask "what if" questions about retirement and financial
planning. The announcer then says: "Introducing
Envision, a new way of working with our financial
advisors that starts with your life and plans your
money around it." (Makes you wonder what
the "old way" of working with them was like.)
Raymond James: Various visuals of Boomers
over 50 doing different things, with an announer
saying "You are unique. Raymond
James
financial advisors know this." (Thank goodness
they don't think we're all the same anymore..)
Citibank: Visual is an older couple on a
motocycle and sidecar riding down a country road.
Type comes on the screen to tell us "Numbers are a
lousy way to
describe your
net worth. There's more to life than money. There is
a bank than understands that." (And once more,
we're flabbergasted that there is a bank that isn't all
about money. Why, then, are they a bank?.)
Lincoln Financial: The TV spot tells the story
of a man selling a car restoration shop to pursure his
dream, to a man buying the shop to pursue his
dream. The announcer line: "Maybe you'll finish your
life's work
early. Maybe you'll hear a second calling and say
Hello Future." (To our thinking, this is the best of
the bunch. It enables the viewer to relate to the
story depicted without forcing the connection. And
the promise of providing guidance based on what you
want to do with your life instead of what you want
to do with your money is believable.)
- Sure, there are too many blogs already, but
nonetheless, as a public service, here are some good
marketing and PR blogs:
Marketing and PR Blog Listing
- And here are two that speak to Boomers and
marketing:
Advertising to Baby Boomers
Marketing to
Leading Edge Boomers
For those of you who have recommended the Boomer
Project to speak at your event, we appreciate it.
We're working hard on the next wave of the national
Boomer Marketing Report research, and hope to have
results to share in mid-September.
Meanwhile, we've just completed a training session
for an ad agency and were delighted to get this from
the agency president:
"Our session with the Boomer Project
was invaluable. Their insights into current baby
boomer behavior gave our agency an entirely new
perspective on the direction of our work.
"Our clients and our team came away with a new
perspective on how to reach this critically important
market segment. We look forward to having them
back each year to update us as they continue their
research.”
Please let us know if you know of a company or
organization that would benefit from such training.
Lastly, of course, if you have a comment on any of
these stories, just send us your
thoughts.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
