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As baby boomers get older, their age-related goalposts seem to steadily move backwards. The former hippies who once said, “Never trust anyone over 30,” are now using mantras like, “Life begins at 50″ or “beautiful at any age”
Boomers’ words and actions are powerful, given they account for a huge chunk of the population and have more financial might than younger generations after decades of accumulating wealth from cooperative stock markets and rising real estate prices.
It’s a generation with a lot of influence – but you wouldn’t know it by watching mainstream advertising, where the focus is overwhelmingly on youth.
A concentration on younger demographics may have made sense decades ago when brand loyalty was a thing and advertising could create a customer for life – but that kind of devotion is long gone.
“Once you hit 55, it’s like you don’t see any creative briefs, a media buy or research targeting anyone that old. It is like you fall off a cliff,” says Jeff Weiss, chief executive officer of Age of Majority, a consulting company for marketers looking to tap into older consumers in Canada and the U.S.
Marketers are missing out on billions of dollars in sales by neglecting the 55-plus “active agers,” according to research from the consultant, who splits his time between Boston and Toronto.
He polled marketers on the generational split in spending by Canadians a few years ago. At the time, they estimated that millennials (under 35) accounted for 38 per cent of consumer spending, 29 for Gen X and 32 per cent for boomers. In fact, millennials account for just 18 per cent of total consumer spending, while those 55-plus account for more than 40 per cent of outlays.
“Marketers should know better,” Mr. Weiss says. “They think that younger adults have a lot more money than they actually do. And now you see more focus on Gen Z and they have no money.”
By comparison, the 55-plus set have financial resources and still, for the most part, buy big-ticket items such as vehicles, appliances and furniture, but they don’t see themselves portrayed in ads. Paul Brent …….
