• ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Conditional Positioning Vs. Absolute Positioning
    One of the most effective ads I've seen was created by American General Finance several years ago. The ad was simple yet compelling. It pictured a man (perhaps in his late fifties or early sixties standing in the water on a beach with his pants rolled up above his ankles. He appeared to be watching a sunset. The caption under the image read "Live the life you've imagined" (a quote by Henry David Thoreau). The ad allowed the reader to interpret the message based upon his individual needs and desires. It was a great example of conditional versus absolute product …
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Nostalgia Is Good, Change Is Better
    Bowling alleys and roller rinks are hot spots again, and even drive-in restaurants and movie theaters have made something of a comeback. Retro is the new trendsetter, as witnessed by the return of Converse All Stars, the Dodge Challenger, Pac-Man, Parcheesi, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old Spice. In a previous entry, my colleague mentioned Cheerios cereal with retro packaging, and PepsiCo's Pepsi Throwback, sold with the original graphics and formula.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Building With Multiple Generations In Mind
    The recently released "MetLife Report on American Grandparents" revealed that 1 in 10 households is headed by a grandparent with at least one grandchild living there. The study reports that part of the reason for this is high rates of unemployment among the children's parents. Interestingly, in 1980 there were only 28 million Americans living in a household that included two adult generations or a grandparent and at least one other generation. By 2008 the number was 49 million Americans living inter-generationally.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    The "M" In MHealth: It's For Boomers
    The mobile healthcare industry ("mHealth") often seems focused on the needs of seniors, the older-than-Boomer generation whose aging bodies place the greatest demands on our healthcare industry.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Life Transitions Create New Opportunities For Marketers
    The American Advertising Federation Central Regional Conference was terrific last month. I presented there about the economic strength of baby Boomers and their behavior online and began with this statement: if you are a marketing or media executive and you don't know that Boomers hold 70% of the U.S. wealth and Boomer women make or influence 80% of household purchase decisions - then you should be looking for a new job.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Digital Media: Tipping Point for 50+ Marketers?
    It wasn't long ago that we struggled to get marketers to even acknowledge the value of the 50+ consumer. The economic downturn greatly advanced our cause, as brand marketers began to realize that their bottom lines depended largely on consumers they'd previously ignored.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Steve Jobs -- A Visionary Boomer Adman
    One of the most influential Boomers in our lifetime died yesterday. Not only did he change the way we use technology, he also taught us a lot about making great advertising.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    A Paradigm Shift Mandates New Marketing Rules
    In the last quarter of the 20th century, a demographic force -- the advent of "the Pill" in the 1960s -- resulted in the fertility rate dropping below levels necessary to replace the population.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    How Marketing To Moms Is Like Marketing To Boomers
    In preparing for this year's M2Moms --The Marketing to Moms Conference, I've touched based with a number of the speakers to find out what's on their minds. I've been struck by how much of today's best practices for marketing to the current batch of Millennial moms can be directly applied to marketing to their Boomer mothers.
  • ENGAGE:BOOMERS
    Looking At Lucrative Lifestages: Engaging American Grandparents
    The recent release of "The MetLife Report on American Grandparents," by Peter Francese with MetLife Mature Market Institute, reveals the changing face of grandparents in the United States. It also provides a roadmap for companies with products and services for children. Increasingly, grandparents are helping young families financially navigate in this tough economic climate, paying for items essential to day-to-day life, and also looking forward to big-ticket items like tuition, cars, and college.
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