Marketing to the Babyboomers

Understanding the Lifestyle Needs of People Aged 50+
An article by Chris Schultz of Senior Agency


To know them is to understand them
• Age – get past the age barrier
• Generational influences
• Life stage
Relevance + Respect = Revenue

A Global Phenomena
• A sea change of market dynamics and brand loyalty
• An undertow of new consumer wants and needs
• A wave of consumer wealth and spending power

A Demographic Goldmine
Huge in number, wealth and disposable income
Adults 50+ will spend 2.5 times as much as Gen Y on a per capita basis
• Wealth, savings and spending power is concentrated in 50+
• 30% of the population that represents 50% total disposable income
and 70% of individual net worth
• It is the fastest growing demographic in NZ
• Fewer Teens and young adults = more ‘empty nests’
• Baby Boomers are fitter and healthier and will live longer
1.2m 50+, 56,000 BB will turn 50 this year, from age 55 60% have empty
nests

From 55 65% BB have there homes paid off, from 60 its close to 90%
86% think advertising is aimed at people < 50
73% will or might buy products that pay more attention to them
28% definitively “Yes”

The Fifty Plus Buy
* 50% of all new cars sold
* 80% of top of the range cars
* 50% of face care cosmetics
* 55% of total coffee
* 50% of mineral water
* 50% of food oils (60% of Olive Oil)
* 40% of yogurts and dairy products
* 35% of total travel
* 80% of all cruises
* 25% of toy sales
Senioragency Europe 2005

Traditional marketing wisdom about target audiences turned on its head!
Age

It is not a homogenous market!
Baby Boomers and are not all the same. Seniors are not all the same.
A Very Experienced, Smart and Savvy Consumer

• Don’t assume you have them
• Brand loyalty – propensity to try new things increases with age
• Want respect – one shoe doesn’t fit all
• Wise
• Seniors have the time to make decisions
BB 60% ready to try new brands – the older people 50+ get other they are
open to new experiences!

“Age Alone Doesn’t Cut it”
• A generalisation
• Difference between actual and perceived age
• Focused on not acting their age
• Doesn’t reflect any demographics true motivations, interests and
needs
“Age tells them you are talking to them!”
Generational Differences
To understand where they came from is to understand their core values.
What influenced them in the ‘influential years’ when they were 17-25 years?
Life Stage
• See themselves as ‘ageless’ – see life as a never ending cycle dipping
in and out of periods of education, work and leisure
• Continuously coming in and out of life stages
• Multiple life stages at once
• Repeating life stages

“Life Revolves Around the Family”
A Marketing Sweet Spot

The convergence of 2 separate trends:
1. Growing influence of women in all facets of the consumer economy
2. Impact of huge Baby boomer population moving into midlife and
beyond

Women 40+ as a Power Demographic
Focused on Life style – longer
• Quality of Life
• Growth of semi-retired and Life style workers
• To maintain lifestyles
• Because they have to
• Because they want to keep active
• Cannot draw the line at 65!
• Because they want to continue supporting their children!
• Living longer consuming longer
HOW!
A Dose of Realism
• Personal growth
• Meaning in life
• Real people, real life
• Problem solving
• Humor – but not at their expense!
Respect
• Ageism – society and European culture
• Ageing not age, Older not old >> active not still
• Experience, wisdom, interesting and eventful lives
• Stereotyping
• Fine line between brilliance and being disrespectful

Quality Solutions
The propensity for rational solutions increases with age.
So does quality:
If a new product is useful and innovative and of a good quality and they
are thinking of buying it
58% of 50 to 59 year olds will buy it
64% of 60 to 74 year olds will buy it
81% of 75 year olds plus will buy it!


You’ll be judged by your customer service
Even though your product may break down – you will be judged on how you
handle them and the speed to rectify.
They want to be treated as individuals not as numbers. They know the power
they weld and will vote with their feet!
“Let your message be formed by their value”
Trans-generational or Generational?
• Generational most of the time! It shows you understand them!
You’re already doing it with targeted youth campaigns
A flaw in most marketing campaigns is that the campaign is not ‘targeted’ at
all, but rather generalised to the point that it reflects a stereotype about the
particular segment of the population.
However, a good trans-generation ad has its place
Focus on the young and exclude the old
Focus on 50+, get your communication right, and include the young
Relevance + Respect = Revenue
Who Dares Wins
• Marketers or entrepreneurs
• Straight up business decision – looking for brand growth
• Competitive point of difference and competitive advantage
• Wait and see won’t cut
• Maximise the convergence of 2 trends – Baby Boomer Women
A lot at Stake
• Incremental brand growth
• New products and services
• Revitalisation of brands – cash cows
• Increased ROI
From Here?








• Don’t put it in the too hard basket
• Just being here is a good start
• Evaluate the opportunity for your products and services (with a
business hat on not a marketing hat)
• Ring fence the investment
• Know them and understand them (research and us!)
• Test the waters!
Senioragency is New Zealand’s first and best resourced
marketing agency dedicated to baby boomers and beyond.
To contact us:
Chris Schultz
Tel: 09 3094089
Mob: 021 994 335
Email: chris@senioragency.co.nz
Visit www.senioragency.com