Recently we cited Anderson Analytics' latest study of brand consciousness in the 18-24 demographic. Perhaps because it goes without saying, we didn't mention that Tom Anderson framed the study's release in terms how important marketers think 18-24 year-olds are — despite the fact that they are a small cohort (around 18 million in 2007) compared with their primarily boomer parents. Mr Anderson told Advertising Age:
They have huge impact on what their parents buy, and then they have their own money, more than any other generation before them, and of course they are the consumers of tomorrow.
But do marketers pay a disproportionate amount of attention to that relatively small population? Sure, Anderson says:
In America, everyone wants to be younger, so we look to younger people. We think they're happier than us and we want to be like them, resulting in a younger-targeted marketing message.
Ahh, so it's about holding onto the past, is it? Not so fast says Ad Age managing editor Judann Pollack:
...There are an estimated 78 million boomers in the U.S. (born between 1946 and 1965), and we are retiring later and working more after retirement. And even before those golden years, we're shelling it out. Information Resources Inc. estimates boomers spend $46 billion annually on package goods alone, while Unilever's research shows that we buy a disproportionate 60% of all package goods.
Pollack quotes Unilever's Eileen Kozin: "You've got to continue to think about this target. It's a huge target, and they're not going away. They're still going to be influential as they get older, and they've got the money to spend."
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
— Wm. Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, scene 5
What sets Ms Pollack's teeth on edge is that this is news to anyone: "These statistics have pretty much always been true, so it's kind of galling that just now marketers have woken up to boomers' value." Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land, told Ad Age, "Three years ago the preponderance of advertisers out there were targeting 18-to-49. Today more and more have started buying into the 25-to-54 demo because [that demo] has the biggest pile of money, and it is growing faster than the 18-to-49 money."
It's about time as far as Ms Pollack is concerned. She doesn't buy Mr Anderson's reasoning:
I don't think boomers want to be young again — I don't think they feel old in the first place. One thing this generation isn't about is giving in to anything gracefully. Its hallmark has been forcefulness, decisiveness and strength. So if you insist on reaching out to us now — years after you so cavalierly threw us away — your communication better be honest and thoughtful.
So . . . did someone just wake up on the wrong side of the generation gap this morning or is Pollack the voice of reason, calling product designers and service providers of all sorts to wake up and smell the money? Or is all this just sound and fury in the ethos of You're Not Good Enough Marketing?
