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June 7, 2007
Seniors - any new terms?
The latest Kellen newsletter asks some pointed quetions about marketing to the new Boomer / Senior. As someone who thinks too much about Millennials, they're interesting.
Here's some outtakes:
"The days of reaching the age of sixty and fading into the background are long gone."
"It’s hard to believe that until recently, marketing demographic data was segmented into four age categories:
18-24
25-34
35-49
50-plus"
"50-plus? What could a 50-year-old possibly have in common with an 80-year-old?"
"The first Boomers turned 60 in 2006 - By 2020, the over-65 population is expected to double from what it is today - By 2030, one out of five people in the U.S. will be age 65 or older
And they have made it clear that they will not be making a quiet exit: Boomers are embarking on second careers, going back to school, and participating in philanthropic activity in droves."
"marketers are now beginning to tap 60 years of age and over celebrity spokespersons to pitch mainstream products, not Depend and Geritol"
"vocabulary commonly associated with marketing to seniors: ‘Senior citizen?’ ‘Golden years?’ ‘Elderly?’ These terms are verboten to Boomers, so be on the lookout for a whole new marketing vocabulary to emerge in the next few years."
"Successful marketing to this generation is a work in progress ... they cannot be ignored. Just about every marketer should consider this developing segment an essential target audience."
Stephen
Posted by stephen at June 7, 2007 10:22 PM
Comments
Well, for starters, what a 50-year-old could have in common with an 80-year old is annoyance at being labeled as old and ready to die (also AARP membership, for that matter).
As a pre-boomer, I find all of the generational labels more harmful than helpful, and "senior citizen" is an invitation for a swift kick.
"Grown-up" might do it...
Posted by: walt crawford at June 8, 2007 11:43 AM
'Grown up' - kinda cuts it perhaps - except a lot of the over 50's I know are busy trying to relive their childhoods - at least the fun part! So maybe a focus on having fun with learning and a regonition and engagement with the wealth of prior life experience and knowledge in developing programming and service delivery would be useful.
Posted by: Paula Kelly at June 11, 2007 6:56 PM
'Seasoned citizens' are people who have been through numerous seasons of life and their wisdom and experience is valuable enough to share with others.
Posted by: Steven at June 18, 2007 10:59 AM