The Akron Legal News

Marketers must adjust to aging boomer population

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 11, 2014

The baby boomers have proven to be a key group of American consumers and as they age some are lamenting about potential negative impacts on the economy.

But, some in the marketing industry are convinced the boomers are still a generation of opportunity.

“Those who warn of boomer economic catastrophes often look at the future through the rearview mirror. I propose that the boomer future is robust with opportunities,” said Brent Green, marketing communication strategist and creative director.

“Will some businesses lose money because boomers are aging? Yes. Will some businesses make fortunes because boomers are aging? Count on it.”

Nielson has released several studies over the past few years claiming that boomers account for more than 50 percent of overall consumers in America.

Because the generation is growing up a bit, some are worried that they may stop spending in many areas and cause a major loss for several industries.

Green, however, predicts that the generation will prove invaluable for the anti-aging, travel, and automotive industries.

“The Volkswagen Beetle became a metaphor for their road-tripping youth, and the Chrysler minivan became the soccer-mom brand when they were raising families. An imaginative ‘third-age’ vehicle, designed to compensate for sensory deficits with cool technologies and universal design will punctuate their automotive driving future,” he said.

Similarly, he said companies who produce anti-aging products, from makeup to fitness gear stand to gain a major profit from the generation that refuses to grow old.

“Most in this generation share a wish technically known as ‘compression of morbidity.’ They want more than just life expansion; they hope to stay healthy and active until the end and then quickly pass away. A keystone boomer value, left over from the 1970’s human potential movement, is self-empowerment, and a burgeoning age-management industry squarely addresses this value,” Green said.

Green, who has also written multiple books outlining the importance of the boomer generation and discussing ways that marketing teams can capitalize on that, said generational identification has been huge among the boomers.

He said part of that is their deep sense of shared history, whether it’s the leading edge of the boomers who lived through a cultural and social upheaval or the younger segment who watched as technology infiltrated their youth.

Advertisers can use that bond to tap into the pool of boomer consumers through three main marketing techniques, according to Green.

“Ageless marketing can inspire advertising messages that appeal across generational divides because of commonly shared values, such as the nearly universal desire for a cleaner environment,” Green said, noting that both the boomers and Generation Y kids share a passion for sustainability.

A second technique, life-stage marketing, allows companies to present their product as ideal for certain life situations.

Green emphasized the boomers’ growing role as caretakers and said caregiving support companies and those offering education may be able to capitalize on this approach.

Generational marketing lets businesses tap into the nostalgic associations made by many boomers.

“These nostalgic associations can become instant shorthand for positioning a contemporary brand constrained by cluttered media and product/service parity. Nostalgia is rich with opportunities for deeply personal brand interactions,” Green said.

Still he noted that some marketers link nostalgic memories with products that have very little to do with the overall message of the ad. Those ads are often ruled unsuccessful and the team sent back to the drawing board.

“Linkages between a brand and nostalgic meaning must make sense,” he said.

Through the innovation of new products geared toward the aging boomer population and the proper ads to draw them in, Green is convinced that the generation will continue to be main player among U.S. consumers.

“Lockstep with boomer aging, established industries are about to grow exponentially and new wealth will be created by enterprises yet to be conceived,” he said.

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