Yet, marketers who rely too heavily on interactive channels, at the expense of traditional channels, risk losing out on the lucrative Boomer segment that are avid multi-media consumers. In fact, unlike other age groups, Boomers consume a daily, balanced diet of media from multiple traditional and interactive sources with traditional media -- television, radio, and newspapers -- providing their daily "squares."
While the media has been focused on reporting the demise of traditional media, Boomers have largely been ignoring their prognosticators and continue to use these mediums as their "go to" sources for entertainment, news and exposure to brands.
Consider these statistics:
Television
advertisement
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Radio
These traditional sources provide the foundation of Boomers' awareness and knowledge of brands. They augment their daily traditional media consumption with time online, spending on average two hours a day. But unlike other age groups, Boomers -- who according to The Pew Internet and American Life Project now account for 35% of all Americans online -- use the Internet much more heavily to research and purchase products and connect with friends and family than their younger peers. Typically, traditional advertising triggered their online search.
And, Boomers are researching products and services online because their brand loyalty is up for grabs; they are not brand loyal. Refuting a popular marketing truism that older consumers become more brand loyal, a 2008 AARP/Focalyst study found that 61% of Boomers felt "it didn't pay to be brand loyal." A more recent Nielsen analysis of brand spending corroborated that finding: in March 2009, Nielsen reported that only a fifth of Boomers were more brand loyal than their younger cohorts.
As those who target Boomers well know, this segment offers an incredibly wealthy opportunity for marketers:
But, only if marketers shift some of their advertising dollars back to traditional media, creating an integrated media plan, to engage Boomers.
Nice Post Anne. I like your summary statistics about boomer's usage of Televison, Radio, & Print. It really demonstrates how important traditional media is in generating mindshare for your brand. It may be interesting to include information about boomer's usage of emerging media. http://tinyurl.com/lpku49
Very helpful, up to a point. On the other hand, are age demographics really where it's at today?
Hello Anne,
I concur.
In our national work with Old Mutual we found integration and BALANCE to be the keys. Boomers responded well to both traditional and new media. Brand awareness jumped 70 percent over the benchmark and traffic to the campaign site exceeded the goal by 25%.
Chris Schlegel
Chief Creative Officer
Kilgannon
Mr. Gruber - I can't get your tiny url link to work....
And yes, us over 40 can still say that television reaches more people more often than any other channel....
so far.
Add to this that 69% of people have no understanding of (or use for) Twitter and the need for an audience/boomer-specific media plan is painfully obvious.
One important thing (and thank you for including that, Anne) is the type of usage by medium. If you're in a research mode, advertising might not be what you're looking at on CNET (or whatever the site may be), since you are 'goal-oriented' and not receptive for (perceived) distractions.
Thanks for reinforcing the importance of integration. There is no one silver bullet for marketers regardless of age.
I agree. From a 2007 blog post:
I'm often asked about media planning and Baby Boomers. My glib answer: "Who needs media planners. The 50+ Demo is the only one that soaks up all media - TV, Radio, The Web, Magazines, Newspapers, Direct Marketing, etc. Take your pick. You can't miss them."
http://tinyurl.com/kssf5t
A belated "thank you" to all for your feedback and real life experiences utilizing an integrated approach to reaching Boomers.
And, to Patricia, age demographics is just one of the many "tools" marketers have available to them to understand and target consumers. Consumers' -- mine too -- attitudes, perceptions, affiliations are shaped by our life experiences -- and age often serves as a shorthand "proxy." So, yes, I do think that age is important but not the only "tool."