|
The Boomer Project has been busy
making changes
to our Web site, online store and research reports.
We're still "under construction" on the new, improved
content and information, but plan on launching it in
early June.
Meanwhile, here's the May "Jumpin' Jack
Flash," with
some updates on the world of marketing to Boomers.
But first, don't forget about the Boomer
Project's upcoming one-day seminar in Atlanta, June
23: "The Boomer Boom: Profiting from America's
Largest and Most Important Demographic Group"
Speakers include John Martin, president and CEO of
SIR Research; Mary Fernandez Mills, founder of
Boomers TV; Josh Herman, from Acxiom, the top geo-
demographic targeting company in the world; and
Tom Lynch, VP of Marketing Integration at financial
giant ING.
This event is filling up fast, and subscribers to this
newsletter can save $100 off of the registration cost
by following this link:
Atlanta Seminar.
Also in this issue: Keeping "aging" Boomers in
perspective -- some data from our own national
study among Boomers and young adults.
Plus, the new "Slice of [Empty Nest] Life" trend in
advertising is explored.
There's more news and information about Boomers
and retirement planning, from Merrill Lynch and from
the Retirement Security Project.
Lastly, we'll talk about the trends in "do it for me"
home improvement.
Stop the Clocks:
Boomers Have 20+ Years
Until "Old Age" Starts
The mad rush to put all 78 million Boomers into their
Golden Years continues unabated. Media story after
story reports what Boomers are thinking or doing
about retirement and old age.
Yet this year only the oldest 4% of Boomers will start
turning 60. Only now have the majority of Boomers
reached 50 -- with still half of them to go.
More importantly, according to our national research,
Boomers see themselves in Middle Age, with "Old
Age" being something that starts in one's mid-70's --
or some 25 years in the future for half of the
Boomers.
Further proof that the end is not yet near for
Boomers is the popularity of two books currently
attracting media attention. First is Lee
Eisenberg's "The
Number," which is about determining
your nest egg and planning how to live in
your "retirement years."
The second is "1,000
Places to See Before You Die,"
a comprehensive travel guide for empty nest Boomers.
Each week we check on Amazon.com to
see the
current sales rank for both books. As of May 23, "The
Number" comes in at 1,780th in sales. "1,000 Places"
is 268.
Seems it turns out the current "number" for Boomers
is "1,000."
That's why we shouldn't get too far ahead of
ourselves and start planting
Boomers in the ground. They are far from old age and
far from finished.
Market to them as if they're young, they're foolish
and they're happy.
Slice of Empty Nest Life
For the last 30 years consumer product advertisers
have relied on
the "slice of life" technique in ads to show their
product in use. Most of the time it's a family of four
in the kitchen enjoying the latest creation from Mom
and Betty Crocker/Pillsbury/Kraft/etc.
With car commercials, it's the family going to
soccer/store/grandma's house/etc.
We've spotted a new, and we suspect, important
shift in those "slice of life" commericals and print ads
for products and services that once only featured
parents with younger kids.
The "life" now being depicted is an "empty nest" life.
The
kids are gone, or off in college. They aren't in
elementary school anymore.
The first spot in this new category was from Pillsbury
last year for their Microwavable Biscuits. It's a 50-
something couple talking about "experimenting" now
that the kids are gone -- it could easily be mistaken
as a spot for an erectile dysfunction drug, but it's for
biscuits. Go figure.
More
recently, we've spotted empty nest couples
redecorating junior's room but keeping the
StainMaster carpet. We've seen Toyota Highlander
owners dropping junior off at college with all his
stuff, and driving off to enjoy their mid-sized SUV
without him.
And we've seen Lowe's Home Improvement show us
junior drive back home from college to do the laundry
with the new washer/dryer just delivered and
installed by the local red-vest-wearing Lowe's team.
Look for this "slice of empty nest life" trend to pick
up momentum because there's nothing new or original
in advertising -- what works for one company is
copied ad nauseum by others. Pun intended.
The good news is that these marketers realize that
one way to appeal to older Boomers is to advertise
to their life stage, not their age. No matter if you're
45 or 60, if your children have left for college, you're
an empty nester. Age isn't the connection, life stage
is.
And over the next 20 years, all Boomers with kids will
experience them leaving the nest for good.
We hope (read the cover story in Newsweek called "The Fine Art of
Letting Go").
Boomers and Retirement, Part 3
In the last two monthly issues of Jumpin' Jack
Flash, in April and March, we reported on Boomers and
retirement, and the issue continues to draw
attention.
Let us share three developments.
First is the non-profit, non-partisan
organization
called the
Retirement Security Project. Their goal is to
develop common sense solutions to retirement
planning so Americans aren't left dependent on the
government. Their big initiative is to make signing up
for a 401(k) program automatic when you join a
company -- making it an "opt-out" instead of "opt-in"
option.
Their own studies show that people want an
automatic sign-up (by an overwhelming majority).
The need for such a program is evident, as seen in
this sorry and scary statistic on their site:
Among those near retirement
(households headed by adults aged 55 to 59) half
had $15,000 or less in an employer-based 401
(k)-type plan or tax-preferred savings plan account.
Support for the Project is across the board, as
Democrat John Edwards and Republican Jack Kemp
have joined forces with RSP. The New York
Times weighed in with an editorial in February
supporting the effort, and more recently, The Wall
Street Journal reported on it.
We suspect this initiative will ultimately become law,
changing financial services marketing for the better.
Second, Merrill Lynch has released another
wave of their "New Retirement" research among
adults 25-70, with a special focus on Boomers. The
full details can be found here.
An interesting finding from the study is that 71% of
the respondents said they plan to "work"
in "retirement."
Kind of makes the term "retirement" obsolete, doesn't
it?
Related, those who plan on working during their
retirmement years gave the following reasons for
doing so:
All of these answers support what the Boomer
Project has been preaching for the last year about
the endless quest Boomers will undertake over the
next 40 years to maintain "vitality" in five key areas:
financial, physical, mental, social and spiritual.
"Work" will be a key way they'll stay vital.
Third, another financial services giant, this
time international giant, HSBC, released more data
from their global study on Boomers and retirement.
The details are here.
In their survey, 83% of US respondents said they'd
keep working in some capacity. The reasons:
- Need the money: 30%
- Mental stimulation: 15%
- Keeping physically active: 22%
- Connecting with others: 7%
- Having something meaningful or valuable to do
with your time: 21%
Sound familiar?
Lastly, in both studies, fewer and fewer people think
it is the government's responsibility to fund their
retirement.
Good news, once again, for the financial services
sector.
The Do-It-For-Me Generation?
Both Home Depot and Lowe's recently announced that
their "do it for you" business is growing twice as fast
as their traditional "do it yourself" business.
Seems aging Boomers aren't as interested in swinging
a hammer as they are in swiping a credit card.
The home maintenance and home improvement
catogories are poised to explode (or "boom," if you
will) over the next 20 years as Boomers grow weary
of the wear and tear on their bodies when they do all
the work themselves. Home Depot estimates it is a
$110 billion category.
As of now, Home Depot provides 24 "do it for you"
services, including painting. Lowe's tops that with 40
DIFY services.
It is interesting that the home maintenance, repair
and improvement category doesn't, as of yet, have a
national company or franchise beyond these two big
box retailers that provides reliable, reasonable
services everywhere. Sears has attempted to do
that with appliance repair. But no one is offering to
clean my gutters, organize my garage, cut my grass,
paint the spare bedroom, mend my fence gate, or
assemble my storage closet.
Oops, now everyone knows what I'm doing this
Memorial Day weekend.
This is a trend to watch -- and capitalize on.
Hiring the Boomer Project
Companies and organizations hire the Boomer Project
to provide on-site training about marketing to
Boomers, give presentations and seminars to internal
and external audiences, conduct marketing research
or provide marketing consulting services.
Contact Matt
Thornhill to learn more.
Also, if you have any comments or questions
about any of the information presented here, please
let us know at commen
ts@boomerproject.com.
Matt Thornhill
The Boomer Project
|
