Happy Holidays from the Boomer Project!
As you wind down your business activities and
increase your social activities, we'll offer some
updates on the world of today's Boomer Consumer.
This month we'll report on TV Land's new research on
Boomers and TV, update you on some new research
we've just completed, and provide a round-up of key
news items about today's Boomer Consumer.
Overall it has been a very busy fall for the Boomer
Project, as we find demand for our consulting
services on the increase among consumer products
companies. Financial Services and Healthcare remain
keenly interested in learning how to better market to
Boomers, but apparently some traditional packaged
goods companies are also seeing the value in
targeting an audience segment that is almost three
times the population of Canada, America's 78 million
Boomers.
Subscribers to the new paid
newsletter, "BoomerMarketingNews," are able to read
more in-depth analyses, opinions and research
findings. Each monthly issue features articles,
stories, features and interviews on marketing to
today's Boomer Consumer. The annual subscription is
$240, but readers of this newsletter can subscribe
for only $180 for the first year by using coupon
code "bab00m" (that's two number zeros instead of
the letter "o". Just click here to subscribe.
TV Land and Boomers
Last month TV
Land released the first set of findings
from research they have been conducting on today's
Boomer Consumers. Widely reported in the media
(here's the best
article we found), the key findings were that
Boomers don't like much that's on TV these days,
and don't think many advertisers are targeting
messages to them.
TV Land's response is to develop more
original programming aimed at Boomers, as well
as continuing
to provide classic TV programs Boomers love. Their
hope is to attract a large and loyal audience, and
to "monetize" that audience -- that is, sell those
eyeballs to eager advertisers.
This is a good idea, but it is going to take some time,
we think.
First, there's the argument that Boomers don't
actually need their own TV network, as put forth by
Brent Green on his blog.
Second, there's the problem that most advertisers
think they are already reaching Boomers because
they run ads in programs Boomers watch. But most
advertisers are wrong -- because most ads don't
actually feature Boomer-aged people or situations
relevant to Boomer-aged people today.
In fact, another TV Land study found that 45% of
Boomers say they "feel overlooked" by marketers
today, 75% say they "pay more attention when
the situation is one they can relate to," and 51% say
they "want to see people their own age" in TV ads.
According to this article in Variety, even if Boomers
are watching TV, they are invisible to the media and
marketers. Rarely, if ever, are their full numbers
counted when reporting on the viewing audience of
any TV programming. It's as if they don't exist at all.
Recently we had the opportunity to review a large
consumer products company's current TV reel
(supported by $250 million in ad dollars this year). Of
the dozen or so commercials, we only saw one with
people older than 35 years old. Except for the ad for
the "senior" product, which had actors 65 and older.
Like we said, TV Land may be on to something, but
it's going to take some time.
[Note: We interviewed Larry Jones, president of TV
Land for BoomerMarketingNews. That interview and a
longer discussion of this issue are in the December
issue.]
"Generations at Work" National Study
The Boomer Project, in conjunction with SIR
Research and Survey
Sampling International, has just completed a
national study of today's multi-generational
workforce. We compare and contrast attitudes and
perceptions among Boomers over 50, under 50, Gen X
and Gen Y.
The topic areas included:
- How job expectations and career needs vary
across different generations and different industries.
- How different generations prioritize the defining
attributes of a leading employers in today’s market –
the key attributes of an “ideal employer” and what
specifically they offer in terms of tangible and
intangible benefits.
- What different generations are looking for in an
employer – what they need, want, “have to have”
when they are looking at possibilities. Understand if
these needs and wants have changed over time.
- Challenges in cultivating employee retention and
growth – how Gen Y recruits feel about being kept
informed vs. Gen X vs. 20-year Boomer veterans.
- How generations view their work, position, and
career in relation to other parts of their personal life
and life goals. Understand how personal values
impact workforce values.
- Workplace values today and the extent people
report they have changed over the past five years.
Understand how changing personal and workplace
values are shaping employee-employer relationship
expectations.
We'll be reporting some of the key findings in our "BoomerMarketingNews" paid newsletter
starting in January. By late January we'll have the full
report available for purchase at our Web site.
Already some organizations and companies have hired
the Boomer Project to conduct on-site seminars and
workshops on "Generations at Work." If you are
interesting in learning more about this program,
contact Jocelyn Tice via email
or call 804-237-1683.
Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die
NBC
Nightly News with Brian Williams has been
running features on "American Boomers" throughout
the year, and this past week featured a
story on the continuing role and importance
music
has in the life of today's Boomer Consumer.
The factoids behind the story are that consumers
over 45 account for 25% of all music sales in the
United States, more than twice the share of any
other age group, and up from 15 per cent a decade
ago. Perhaps most surprisingly, the over-50s were
responsible for 24 per cent of the music industry’s
online sales.
Now you know who has been buying all those iPods
after all.
This should be good news for bands like New Earth,
a Boomer-aged band playing new music in the style
of the best bands of the 60's and 70's. They call
it "Boomer Rock," and from the online samples
we
heard, that's exactly what it is.
This should also be good news for businesses like New
Boomer Music, a recording company focusing on
music they describe as "like Classic Rock, only new."
Of course, we don't anticipate the radio
conglomerates to refocus on the Boomer market,
other than to keep playing what Gen Y's refer to
as "Old School" (which is Classic Rock to us).
Maybe marketers will stop regurgitating old standards
as the music in commercials targeting Boomers and
get our attention with some "New School" classic
rock.
Two Feel Good Stories for the Holidays
One: According to data collected by
Fidelity,
Boomers are on track to donate $100 billion to
charities this year, up 25% from last year. Cha-ching!
Two:
While there are some out there worrying about how Boomers will
handle aging parents (is there really a condition
called "Elder Shock?"), a study from the USC Leonard Davis School of
Gerontology finds that Boomers are ready, willing and
able to help older parents.
USC found that an adult child's desire to care for an
aging parent peaks at the age of 51 when individuals
are most likely to be called upon to provide parental
support. As expected, women consistently express
stronger familial obligations toward parents than men.
Further findings also indicated that as parents get
closer to death, they become more altruistic toward
their children – that is, they make fewer demands of
them in spite of their growing needs and increasing
dependence.
"Very old adults give priority to their adult children
and grandchildren and want to see them thrive, even
if it means getting less care then they may actually
need," said co-author Merril Silverstein, professor at
the USC Davis School.
Both stories remind us that those "self-absorbed"
Boomers aren't so self-absorbed any more.
In This Month's BoomerMarketingNews
We feature stories on:
- Boomers and TV -- an interview with Larry Jones,
president of TV Land
- A review of Marti Barletta's new book,
PrimeTime Women and an article about the
Red Hat Society
- Boomers and Newspapers -- a report on the
renewed attention Boomers are getting from the
editorial side of the newspaper industry
- Stories about products and services focusing on
Boomer Vitality -- have you scheduled your brain lift
yet?
- Commentary on current Boomer-targeted
advertising.
Available only by subscription online here. Remember to use your coupon code
of “bab00m” (that’s the numeral zero for the
two “o’s”).
Upcoming Events
The Boomer Project is presenting at the International
Builders Show in Orlando in February, as well as
private seminars and events for a variety of
companies and organizations.
If you know of a group or organization that would
benefit from learning more about how to market to
today’s Boomer Consumer, contact Jocelyn
Tice or call 804-237-1683.
Also, if you have any comments or questions
about any of the information presented here, please
let us know at
comments@boomerproject.com.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
