Baby Boomer Audiences

Posted on November 10, 2006
Filed Under What's New |

The neglected. America being the land of marketers has a better handle on the baby boomer audience - and the echo boomer, young people who think like boomers.

So getting into a discussion with Harry in the comments section about the scale of the audience for films with intellectual structure and liberally dosed with meaning I went looking for some psychographics and numbers:

First here:
Simply put, the Baby Boom generation experiences crowds wherever it goes,
whatever it does,” according to Cheryl Russell, demographer and boomer expert.
David Stewart of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of
Marketing notes that younger and older boomers “share a common child-centric
time of upbringing” not experienced by Generation X. The shared values of the
younger and older boomers include a belief in a meritocracy, respect for
knowledge and a lack of respect for authority, according to Ken Dychtwald,
president of Age Wave. Stephen Kraus, a partner at Yankelovich Partners, says
that younger and older boomers share a mindset characterized by individuality,
emphasis on youth and self-absorption”

And then here:
They were America’s first mass market and an advertisers’ dream: 77 million baby boomers who came of age with television. As kids, they were consumers of baby foods and breakfast cereals. As adults, they were trend setters. But as they outgrow the desired 18- to 49-year-old demographic, they are creating a new frontier for marketers.

“If you’re a marketer and you want to grow your business, the pie that’s going to get bigger is the over-50 pie,” says Matt Thornhill, with The Boomer Project, a research group that helps ad agencies better understand the mindset of people over the age of 50.

And then here:
n order to help marketers more accurately engage the diverse Boomer market, CMB and Arnold Worldwide have identified the following five distinct subgroups:

* Status Seekers: The largest segment identified, Status Seekers make up 26% of Boomers. The group is characterized as materialistic and feels that money is the best measure of success. They enjoy the finer things in life and are willing to pay more for brand names. 31% of Status Seekers drive a vehicle they feel makes a statement about their personality and style.
* Traditionalists: This group accounts for 23% of Boomers. Traditionalists are defined by their conservative political, economic and social views. They have traditional attitudes and belief systems, are known for following the rules, and are smart consumers (interested in value, trust and variety). 45% of Traditionalists report that they’ll go out of the way to buy American-made products.
* Blue Collar Skeptics: 18% of Boomers fall into this group. The Blue Collar Skeptics are just that – skeptics. They are hesitant to trust big businesses and are concerned about the amount of information online. As they fall on the low end of the Boomer income bracket, this group is more stressed about time and money than the rest of their generation. 68% of Blue Collar Skeptics fear they haven’t saved enough money for retirement.
* Activists: The most politically and socially active segment, 17% of Boomers are Activists. They are generally liberal and also donate a significant amount of time and money to charity. Activists are concerned about the environment, are brand-loyal, and are financially smart. 37% of Activists describe themselves as ‘green consumers’ (i.e. buying hybrid cars, recycling, etc).
* Achievers: The minority of Boomers, just 16% fall into the Achiever category. This group adopts technology early and relies on it heavily. They are focused on success and wealth and are heavily involved in social activities. 24% of Achievers claim to be the first among their friends to have new gadgets and devices.

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