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Mark Bradbury

Member since November 2008Contact Mark

  • Research Director AARP Media Sales
  • 780 Third Avenue
  • New York New York
  • 10017 USA

Articles by Mark All articles by Mark

  • The Increasing Insanity Of Marketers' Indifference Toward Older Consumers in Marketing Insider on 11/20/2019

    The latest U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey provides a wealth of evidence why 50+ has become a critical consumer segment. The data speaks for itself.

  • The Increasing Insanity Of Marketers' Indifference Toward Older Consumers in Marketing Insider on 07/15/2019

    The latest U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey provides a wealth of evidence why 50+ has become a critical consumer segment. The data speaks for itself.

  • Inside the Disconnect Between Pharma Marketers And Boomers in Marketing Insider on 08/21/2018

    In 2018, TV ads simply can't do all of the heavy lifting for consumers age 50+, who use 18 different resources of healthcare information, among them several print resources.

  • The Inside Track On The Booming Pet Market in Marketing Insider on 02/14/2018

    It's time for marketers to pay attention to the 50+ pet owner market.

  • The Tide Of Boomer Marketing Continues To Turn in Engage:Boomers on 08/16/2017

    There is a noticeable momentum shift in the marketing of mainstream brands to Boomers. Using innovative ad campaigns, big brands are making bold statements about the value of Boomer consumers, and brands that have been neglecting Boomers are looking to step up to the plate. We are nowhere near critical mass, but enough strides are being made to support the notion that Boomer spending power is forcing a profound and potentially lasting disruption in long-standing marketing norms.

  • Christie Brinkley Shatters The 60-something Stereotype in Engage:Boomers on 05/04/2017

    Boomers are often credited with making 50 the new 30, but with more than half of this generation now over 60, they're making 60-something look pretty darn good, too.

  • From DIY To DIFM, Boomers Lead New Trend in Engage:Boomers on 01/19/2017

    With the latest technologies unveiled this month at CES in Las Vegas, there was plenty of buzz about the newest ways to automate a variety of our day-to-day tasks. Not surprisingly, Boomers are ready to take advantage of these innovative products as part of the surging "do it for me" (DIFM) trend.

  • Building Brand Trust In An Age Of Mistrust in Engage:Boomers on 10/20/2016

    Older consumers are disproportionately skeptical of marketing, believing that marketers either don't understand them or ignore them altogether. A recent study indicated that fewer than one in four people age 50+ believe marketers do a good job of representing people like them in advertising. How can marketers who want to meaningfully impact America's most powerful spending block-who are responsible for more than half of all consumer spending-address Boomers' skepticism?

  • Understanding Three Key Motivators For Boomer Travel in Engage:Boomers on 08/11/2016

    Riding a southbound Amtrak train home to New York last Sunday night, I was asked by the passenger next to me about a whale watching video I was posting on Facebook. I told her I'd just spent a most memorable weekend reconnecting with a college friend, Michelle, I hadn't seen in 30 years. On Saturday, we'd visited Gloucester, a small fishing town on Massachusetts' North Shore, where we ate, shopped, explored and went whale watching, my virgin experience doing so.

  • Adult 2.0-Going for Gold After 50 in Engage:Boomers on 06/10/2016

    At age 47, I was inspired by athletes in the 2010 Winter Olympics to play ice hockey, a sport I'd given up seven years earlier after breaking my leg. A series of concussions forced me to quit again at age 50, but my passion for sports and competition remained intact, and I'm eager to find inspiration for taking up a new sport while watching the upcoming Olympics.

Comments by Mark All comments by Mark

  • The Increasing Insanity Of Marketers' Indifference Toward Older Consumers by Mark Bradbury (Marketing Insider on 07/15/2019)

    You’re spot on, Ron. It goes far beyond ad creative. 

  • The Increasing Insanity Of Marketers' Indifference Toward Older Consumers by Mark Bradbury (Marketing Insider on 07/15/2019)

    I agree. Marketers still want older consumers’ money, but they are unwilling to speak directly to them to get it. Imagine asking your spouse, “After this long, do you still need me to pay attention to you and your needs? Do I still need to talk to you for you to stay? Wouldn’t it just be ok for me to sit here and obsess over the hot young ones as they pass by?”  Relationships can’t go on auto-pilot. It just doesn’t work. Ask the many well-established CPG brands that have lost significant share of market because they ignored their older consumer base. As for mainstream ads starring older folks, you can deliver those ads via media that is used primarily by older consumers, or marketers can leverage the many ways to custom target older consumers online. 

  • Confessions Of A Middle-age Millennial by Eric Trow (Engage:Boomers on 09/27/2016)

    I question whether you've become a Millennial, or if Boomer attitudes have influenced the Millennial generation. It seems to me that most of the 8 characteristics listed are hallmark Boomer traits that Millennials learned from their parents and have simply taken to another level. Either way, these are useful characteristics that may enable marketers to appeal to multilple generations with thoughtful cross-generational efforts.

  • Revealed - 6 Ways Boomers Are Impacting The Consumer Landscape by Mark Bradbury (Engage:Boomers on 08/06/2015)

    Keep in mind that 50+ means adults age 50-100+.  Over the next 10 years, Boomers will grow the 60-79 segment of the overall 50+ population. 

  • Expressing Herself: What Marketers Can Learn When Madonna Tackles Ageism by Mark Bradbury (Engage:Boomers on 04/02/2015)

    @Matt -- "The time to change attitudes about growing older is upon us." I couldn't agree more. Growing older is one condition everyone is born with." Nice line that I will use in the future. @Barbara -- "We need more "visible" outspoken "old" anomalies like Madonna. They inspire us to challenge our potential and be all that we can be — chronological age and cultural expectations be damned." LOVE THIS.

  • How Gen X Will Help Baby Boomers Challenge Ageism by Mark Bradbury (Engage:Boomers on 04/03/2014)

    Thank you for taking the time to read my piece and for requesting support for some of the content. To be sure, defining generational birth years, size and characteristics is not an exact science. The years that define Gen X, or any other generation for that matter, vary widely depending on the source. Many estimates are more conservative than the 1965-1984 span used by the Joint Center for Housing Studies. In 2012, New Strategist released its 7th edition of Generation X: Americans born 1965 to 1976, which is often quoted as an authoritative text on Gen X. In late 2012, GfK Custom Research North America conducted a study on behalf of the MetLife Mature Institute, which used the same years (1965-1976) as a basis for its research, and estimated Gen X at 51 million. (Their findings can be downloaded free at https://www.metlife.com/mmi/research/generation-x-mtv-generation-mid-life.html#findings.) Any number between 50 and 80 million supports the argument for marketing to Gen X even after age 50. To describe all Gen Xers as pessimistic or skeptical would be a mistake, just as it would be a mistake to define all Baby Boomers as optimistic. However, generations do develop distinct personality traits, largely impacted by the historical events, parenting norms, etc. My goal was not to demean Gen X, rather to identify attitudinal differences between Baby Boomers and Gen X that have marketing implications. A great source for a much broader source of generational differences, including the optimism/skepticism difference, can be found here: http://www.wmfc.org/uploads/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf. Feel free to contact me at mbradbury@aarp.org should you want to discuss this issue in more depth. Mark Bradbury

  • Happiness: The Gift That Keeps On Giving by Mark Bradbury (Engage:Boomers on 12/06/2012)

    Note that the data table is incorrectly formatted. MediaPost is working on correcting this. My apology for the inconvenience.

  • The AARP At CES: Finally Listening To Boomers? by Stephen Reily (Engage:Boomers on 02/13/2012)

    Nice post. A point of clarification... AARP originally named the American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999 it officially changed its name to "AARP" to reflect that its focus was no longer retirees. AARP requires members be 50 years of age or older, not that they be retired.

  • Digital Media: Tipping Point for 50+ Marketers? by Mark Bradbury (Engage:Boomers on 10/10/2011)

    While it is true that Apple advertising has been created for traditional media, it has a strong presence online. Their web site provides access to their current television commercials 24/7, and if you want to see older Apple advertising, there's a ton of it on thier YouTube channel. It's brilliantly unpaid advertising, but it's advertising nonetheless.

  • 'Waiting for Superman' -- The Caregiver Version by Lori Bitter (Engage:Boomers on 10/11/2010)

    Many thanks for a necessary call to action on a critical issue that is only going to become more so as millions of Baby Boomers age.

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