The image occurs in at least one commercial every holiday season: Children come running down the steps on Christmas morning to find that Santa has placed a furry little bundle of joy under the tree. Okay - we're talking to and about Boomers here, so let's fast forward a few years or decades.

There are two firms that are making breakthroughs in important areas of Baby Boomers' lives. One is in brain health, and the other is in preserving historical family assets digitally. As a marketer, it is important to understand, connect and engage your target audience. These two companies are creating engaging campaigns, and understand how to connect emotionally with their Baby Boomer audience. Engaging photos are important and relevant but so is the copy. Below in quotes is the copy used to connect and tell a story.

A recent survey of women over 45 confirms what the cosmetic industry wishes weren't true: most of the gazillion dollars spent targeting the 40 million Boomer women in the U.S. are just making them mad.

Baby Boomers continue to gain momentum as a consumer group while eroding the notion that targeting people age 50+ doesn't pay off. Increasingly, brands are seeing Boomer marketing efforts deliver meaningful ROI. In a recent survey conducted by the Online Publishers Association, a majority of ad agencies and marketers identified Boomers as a must-reach segment for brand-focused digital campaigns.

Although all of us have basic values and motivators that drive us, we manifest them differently as we move through the spring, summer, fall and winter of life. Marketing and selling to Boomer and older customers is different primarily because of this shift in values. Our need for identity, relationships, purpose, gaining knowledge and growth, rejuvenation and recreation are always with us, but as we grow older, we focus more on having meaningful experiences, rather than gaining material goods.

The holidays are upon us. For many of us that means hitting the road and, most likely, filling up on gas and other items at our favorite convenience store.

Marketers, do you know your demographics? It helps to have a face with a name. Here are the four main U.S. economic demographics with four famous cultural icon examples for easy identification and spending facts.

Eighteen years of marriage have taught me not to talk to women about their moods, so if you opened this post upset about a man opining on a subject he can't understand, stay put. This post is about some fascinating insights from women, delivered by a woman, on what makes them different.

One of my favorite marketers is Michele Miller. In a recent post, she discusses the value of storytelling in marketing. Her lead was "Intensify the Believability and Persuasiveness of Your Ads with Hard-Hitting, Personal Stories." Below Michele shares and dissects a J. R. Dunn ad campaign. Listen to the one-minute spot (you can download the media file here: J.R. Dunn) and read on.

So much has been written lately on the Boomer vote and how it is driven by the Medicare debate and the generation's desire to protect their retirement. This oversimplified sound bite doesn't represent the policy challenges facing every county, city, and state as the population ages.