Category: boomers
A Rasmussen poll finds that 51% of U.S. consumers say they won't buy a car from an auto maker that is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Thirty-one percent said they’d be okay with it, while18% said they weren’t sure. Phoenix Business Journal 12/13/08
What are the most effective means of reaching consumers in social media spaces? A report from Netpop Research, “Social Networkers U.S., Who They Are And What They Mean for Next-Generation Online Advertising” provides trending data showing the growth of social networking users since 2006, including a comparison of social networkers to non-social media users, and categorization of broadband users segments. While now is not the best time for marketers who haven’t used social network advertising to experiment with (during challenging economic times it’s best to stick with proven ROI), the report provides useful insights on social media users. Download the report, free until 1/31/09. Clickz 12/12/08
Nearly 30% of online adults will immediately leave a website if they perceive it to be cluttered with ads, and more than 75% of those who remain on cluttered sites pay less attention to the ads there says a study from Burst Media. Marketing Charts, 12/11/08
The financial crisis has spawned a new generation of mattress stuffers, aka New Mattress Stuffers, boomers “who have lost their faith in the housing market, the stock market, their bank, their big corporate employer, their auto company, and their last president,” and they’re waiting for the next shoe to drop. The new mattress stuffers are trying to create “safe havens” by investing in U.S. Mint gold coins, purchasing safes, vaults and guns, and eschewing plastic for cash. Wall Street Journal 12/10/08
Retailers can help consumers make a decision, and prevent the loss of a sale by introducing “decoys, loss leaders, or other products similar to the ones they really want to market.” When consumers are trying to choose between two highly desirable options, its easier for them to make a decision when a third, less desirable option is introduced, according to research conducted by Akshay Rao, marketing professor at the
University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Using the example of a consumer trying to choose between two attractive sweaters, adding a third, less attractive sweater serves as a “’decoy’” that makes the other sweater appear more pleasing than before.” Science Daily 12/14/08
University of Minnesota (2008, December 14). Inside The Consumer Mind: Brain Scans Reveal Choice Mechanism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 13, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/12/081211141846.htm
53% of American Adults age 18 and older play video games while four out of five (21%) young adults play. Not surprisingly, the biggest players are teens; a staggering 97% of teens play video games. Obtain a PDF of the report. Pew Internet and American Life Project 12/07/08.
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Women 40-49 were later entrants to online than younger women, but a national poll by SheSpeaks, a social network for women’s insights and word-of-mouth marketing, says that 40-something female web users are highly involved in social networking, often demonstrating a more personal connection to online activities than younger peers.
The survey revealed that 40-49 online women “use the web and social networks in ways that mirror the rest of their lives – from finding out about a product, to shopping or monitoring their children’s activities – while the online focus for women 30 or under is primarily social.”
Not only is the #1 online activity of 40-something women shopping, (versus “connecting with others” for younger women), but they also research products online more than their younger counterparts.
Forty-somethings are more likely than younger generations to post product reviews on shopping web sites (62% vs. 53%) and to purchase products based on e-mails from a company (50% vs. 45%).
While they lag behind their younger peers in terms of using blogs to discuss products, 40-somethings demonstrate an active usage of peer-to-peer tools for sharing product and shopping information.
Source: SheSpeaks.com
PRNewswire
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Matures were known as the “Greatest Generation”; will Boomers (those adults turning 44-62 this year) become known as the Gloomiest?
According to a report by the Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, America’s Baby Boomers give lower ratings to their quality of life than other generations; to worry that income won’t keep up with inflation, and to believe that it is harder to get ahead now than it was 10 years ago. For example, when asked, “In the next year, how likely is it?”, 55% of Boomers said it is likely that their income won’t keep up with the cost of living, versus 44% of 18-42 year olds, and 43% of adults 63+.
Boomers are also less likely to believe that their standard of living exceeds their parents’ standard of living when they were the same age.
For example, Boomers rate their present life at 6.2 on a scale of 1-10, while 18-42 year olds rate their lives at a 6.5 and older adults at a 6.7
Pew researchers assert that Boomer attitudes are not just a product of current economic conditions, since they’ve always had a less positive assessment of quality of life issues. They suggest that these attitudes may be related to the attitudes and expectations about life that were formed when they were young.
Source:
“Baby Boomers: The Gloomiest Generation” - Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, 6/25/08
Also see:
"Baby Boomers: From the Age of Aquarius to the Age of Responsibility," Pew Research Center, 12/8/05
"Social Inequalities in Happiness in the United States, 1972 to 2004: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis," American Sociological Review, Vol. 73, No. 2, 4/2008
"Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life," Pew Research Center, 4/9/2008
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Looking to Reach Mall Shoppers?
Look no further than this recent Nielsen study that shows that Adspace Mall Network reaches 47% of mall shoppers viewed content provided on the Adspace Mall Network. The network plays a six minute programming loop that mixes consumer content and advertising messages displaying the 10 best deals in the mall and the 10 best sales on Smart Screens. The study showed that 34% of viewers had an average recall of specific ads they saw on the network.
According to the survey, shoppers viewed SmartScreens an average of 3.3 times per visit, had an average total viewing time of 114 seconds, with an average length of each view at 34 seconds. Teens were even more likely to watch the Smart Screens (57%) and devoted more time to doing so.
Sources:
Shoppers Check Out Mall Deals on Video Screens, MediaPost, July 21, 2008
Adspace Networks
Put Away Your Stereotypes About Gamers
40% of gamers are women, the average age of videogame players is 35 and 26% of gamers are over the age of 50. Those cursed boomers…From Marketing Charts according to Entertainment Software Association (via DMW).
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tips, trends & tidbits from the week of march 10th
Pepsi skewers the stereotype that digital advertising is just for young consumers. A NYT article reports Pepsi is forsaking mainstream media for an online launch of Tava, their new, no-calorie carbonated beverage. Pepsi hopes to reach consumers 35-49 who spend significant amounts of time online checking email or searching for travel, music and food info. Lots more brands would benefit if marketers abandoned stereotypes of these older (and moneyed) online users.
Tava, inspired by “distinctive flavors enhanced with vitamins and imagination,” features exotic flavors such as Mediterranean Fiesta and Tahitian Tamure for folks who are way too sophisticated for soft drinks or water.
Start-ups and website publishers beware: Just because material is widely available on the internet and you think you’re such a small fish that no one will notice or care if you borrow it, doesn’t mean you’ll get away with it.
According to TechCrunch, tiny start-up ManagedQ was using images that belonged to Snap without Snap’s permission. So Snap disabled ManagedQ’s access to the visuals, which essentially shut ManagedQ down.
Although it’s easy to sympathize with ManagedQ, it’s just as easy to understand Snap’s actions. So, if you decide to use material from another site without permission or attribution, be warned. It could happen to you.
This is reminiscent of the trademark skirmishes that occasionally occur between mega brands and tiny companies who play off the mega brand to create a clever name/tagline/logo of their own. The big brand’s legal eagles swoop in, handling the situation with such ferocity that onlookers see the infringer as the victim. The reality is that failure to protect one’s trademark weakens one’s ownership rights so trademark owners must be vigilant.
Comscore reports that during 2007 consumers submitted online requests for 32 million auto insurance quotes and purchased a record 2 million policies. That’s a 15% increase in the number of requests and a whopping 32% increase in the number of purchases from 2006.
What Were They Thinking? Okay, so I came across these Easter cards that offer your choice of a chocolate cross or chocolate hands clasped in prayer. They’re embedded in a card containing an Easter prayer. I love chocolate but I won’t/can’t eat it in the shape of a cross, nor will I eat chocolate shaped like body parts. Chocolate bunnies, however, are acceptable.
Have a great weekend.
Generational Marketing is based on the premise that marketers must understand the underlying drives associated with different generations and how those generations interact with each other to be able to effectively market to them.
Generational marketing proponents believe that the generation in which people are born significantly influences who they are, what they believe, what their values are, life skills, and ultimately, what they buy. Members of a generation share the experiences of their formative years, including cultural, economic, global, political, and technological influences.
The chart below displays the birth dates and key influences of each generation.
| Generation |
Key Influences |
Birth Dates |
|
Matures
“The Greatest Generation”
|
Depression, New Deal, World War II, GI Bill |
1909 - 1945
|
Boomers
The nation’s largest generation
|
Great Society, Economic Prosperity, Suburban Expansion, Sexual Revolution, Rock ‘n Roll, Drugs
|
1946 – 1964
Early Boomers (1946 - 1955)
Late Boomers (1956-1964)
|
Generation X
|
Divorce, Aids, Sesame Street, MTV, Crack, Game Boy, PC |
1965 – 1976
|
Generation Y, Millennials
Echo Boomers
The nation’s second largest generation
|
The Internet, eCommerce, Boomer Parent Indulgence, 9-11, Oklahoma Bombing, Reality TV, Digital Music |
1977-1994
|
Notes
- Since there are no hard and fast rules defining birth dates for each generation, numerous researchers and writers have redefined the dates based on their beliefs and particular purposes. Thus, other sources may cite different birth dates for generational segments that are different from those cited here. For example, Baby Boomer birth dates have also been listed as 1945-1964, Generation X birth dats as 1965-1984, Generation Y as 1985-Present (2008).
- Matures are sometimes broken into additional groups: "The GI Generation", 1905-1924, defined by its participation in WWII, and "The Silent Generation" 1925-1944.
- Generational time spans vary because they are based on key influences during the formative years of that generation. Thus, the 1909-1945 birth dates of Matures span a 36 year period, while the 1946-1964 time span of Boomers is an 18 year period.
Sources:
MRI 2008
AdAge 060208
Rocking the Ages: The Yankelovich Report on Generational Marketing
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Born 1954 to 1965, Generation Jones is a concept and name that represents the actual children of the sixties (more wide-eyed than tie-dyed); Jonesers were weaned on The Brady Bunch and Easy Bake Ovens and later were the teens of 70’s heavy metal, disco, punk and soul. (From Boomj.com)
See also Generational Marketing.
