Marketing to Baby Boomers is not a new thing. However, according to The Old Rush:Marketing for Gold in The Age of Aging by Peter Hubbell, many brands have forgotten about the Boomers and have changed their marketing direction to focus on younger generations. He feels that’s a big mistake.
Hubbell, an ad man with the agency BoomAgers, an advertising agency dedicated solely to targeting Boomers, starts the book by sharing the history of Baby Boomers and the time period that they were raised and what their values are. In the following chapter, he provides a comparison between the Gold Rush of the 1840’s and the Old Rush (Aging Boomers). The last chapter of the book focuses on marketing to the Old Rush.
This past January 2014 marked the year that all Baby Boomers will be over the age of 50. Hubbell seems to feel that there is a ton of opportunity in this market that many brands, like Levi Strauss, are dismissing. He talks about his brand loyalty to Levi’s and how when he saw a recent ad targeting youth, it turned him off and he started wearing a different brand of jeans.
In The Old Rush, he says, “Aging is a global trend. In less than 5 years, 50% of the US adult population will be fifty and older and spend close to $3 trillion dollars, up 45% from the prior decade.”
He states that, “Marketers know that the fifty and over cohort is important, but they also believe that the 18 – 49 consumers are the franchise of the future.” He’s right. Take a look at brands like Nordstrom’s. They recently changed their line of clothing to try to attract younger buyers and added TopShop, a popular London brand to their line. Although they still sell some of their traditional “older” lines, this is alienating many of the older buyers.
Hubbell also talks about the average age of the ad executive today. He says he/she is 29. How can a 29-year-old be able to market to the Old Rush? He says the Boomers are way too important to ignore and it’s important to reprioritize your marketing efforts to attract this group.
Interestingly, Hubbell says that Boomers need to continue to work, unlike decades of the past when the retirement age was between 55 and 65. Today, you are finding more and more Boomers continuing to thrive in the workplace. The interesting thing here is that Boomers are re-imagining themselves and starting new careers at 50. Many are becoming entrepreneurs.
In the last section of the book, he talks about ways to attract Boomers and embrace their sales. One of the important tips he suggests is to not think of this older generation the way we used to. For example, most Boomers feel younger than they actually are. Many believe that “old age” starts at 72. Hubbell says this is why:
1) They are taking better care of themselves
2) Boomers look for simplicity
3) Boomers aren’t getting older, they are growing older
4) The home is becoming more important and focusing on home products is a good way to go
The Old Rush is well-written and well thought out. Hubbell makes a good argument why more companies need to market to Baby Boomers.
I was a little confused though about the book. I wasn’t sure if it was written for brand managers making them aware that they need to address targeting Boomers in their marketing plans or if it was written for marketers looking to target Boomers. If it was the later, the author didn’t offer any real concrete examples as to how to target this group.
All in all, I found it interesting and it was certainly a quick read.
