• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 17, 2002

According to a new Research Brief available from FIND/SVP, Baby Boomers who turn 50 develop a new set of values and self images that will affect how they act and spend. The Brief predicts that this vibrant population will be a $1 trillion dollar market by 2005.

With nearly 17 million boomers turning 50 in the next four years, the study reveals these First Wave Baby Boomers, the largest and wealthiest age cohort, will spend almost $700 billion in 2002 on products and services, yet market expectations of their spending habits don't match their own physical and financial reality.

"Once a boomer hits 50, they run into a wall of marketer indifference," according to Andy Garvin, President of FIND/SVP and Editor of the Research Brief. "While this cohort used to be the most desirable demographic, advertisers and marketers are instead focusing on Generation X and Y, as they view the Boomer audience as a marketing kiss of death. Writing off the four million boomers who turn 50 every year is a flawed strategy that ignores major opportunities to grow the bottom line."

The Research Brief, developed by Senior Project Manager Therese R. Revesz, offers instructive tips for marketers on how to more effectively entice and attract the Boomer crowd, such as: