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The 18-49 "Golden Demographic" Is Dead; The Next Decade Belongs To Those Age 50+
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA -- March 30, 2006
For almost 40 years marketers have been obsessed with the 18-49 year old demographic segment. To them, if you were 50 or older, you did not exist. Turns out for the next ten years, the opposite is true: in a startlingly analysis of U.S. Census data by the SIR Boomer Project, the 18-49 segment is "dead" -- virtually no population growth at all from 2006 to 2016 (from an estimated population of 135.1 million in 2006 to 135.9 million in 2016).
The 50+ segment will undergo a tremendous change as the rest of the nation's 78 million Baby Boomers turn 50 over the next ten years, causing that segment to increase 25% in size between 2006 and 2016 (from 89.3 million in 2006 to 111.3 million in 2016).
"Marketers trying to grow their business over the next ten years can either target the stagnant 18-49 segment, or they can develop strategies to appeal to the fast-growing 50+ segment," said Matt Thornhill, president of marketing research and consulting firm, the SIR Boomer Project. "Our message to marketers is 'It's the demography, stupid.'
"We doubt there's a CEO out there willing to bet the business on a stagnant market -- success over the next ten years will depend on developing plans for reaching aging Boomers," said Thornhill.
In a recent SIR Boomer Project national study with Survey Sampling International among Boomers and younger adults, the SIR Boomer Project learned that most Boomers over 50 see themselves in early "middle age" and that "old age" will not begin until age 75. That means they will remain active, vital consumers across all industries and categories for 20 or more years to come.
Compounding the perception that those over 50 are no longer important consumers is the finding from the research that younger adults, those under 40, think someone is "over the hill" at age 57. Those perception gaps between aging Boomers and younger adults in charge of marketing budgets will need to be bridged, and soon.
"Marketers ignoring Boomers simply because they are now over 50 is not just short-sighted, it's fiscal suicide," said Thornhill.
Contact
Matt Thornhill, 804-690-4837, or matt@boomerproject.com for more information.
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