Members of the Baby Boomer cohort are now aged in their late 40’s to late 60’s. And my, how they do buy cars and trucks! According to a Marketing Daily post, Boomers have been purchasing about two-thirds of all those vehicles being sold in the U.S. Over half the recent growth in auto sales is from purchasers at least age 50, and sales of environmentally-friendly vehicles like hybrids are disproportionately due to the Baby Boomers.
But at the same time, points out the Marketing Daily post, the Boomers are getting a disproportionately low share of auto retailers’ marketing dollars.
One might argue that this dearth of marketing doesn’t seem to be pinching sales to older drivers much, as evidenced by the sales figures. Still, the argument holds that the auto segment of retailing may be overlooking opportunities among seniors. And other retailing segments might be doing the same.
It’s understandable. America is youth-oriented.
As the world was getting set to be one century older—on December 28, 1999— Hallmark Cards filed for a U.S. trademark on the phrase “The Time of Your Life.” Hallmark’s marketing group had noticed that nearly 80 million American Baby Boomers were turning age 50. Hallmark said they wanted to use the phrase on products ranging from greeting cards to journals to paperweights, all targeted to older consumers. Special sections appeared in Hallmark Stores carrying “The Time of Your Life” merchandise.
When time came to renew the trademark, toward the end of 2007, Hallmark cancelled the registration. “The Time of Your Life” merchandise had not sold well. The greeting cards and the other items were all quite upbeat—showing healthy-looking senior citizens enjoying themselves. But it appeared that few people were interested in buying items that made a point of the recipient being old.
Skechers took a different approach to woo the older consumer. Their “Comeback” campaign featured retired sports stars like Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In the campaign, each of the stars talked about how products from Skechers could help them return to professional-level game performance.
Older consumers are equipped to actively spend money with retailers. Job losses have hit the younger adults harder. Compared to Millennials in your target consumer audience, for instance, Boomers have about a 20% higher median household income these days.
Keep the Baby Boomer cohort alive and active in your marketing, advertising, and promotions.
Click below for more:
Offer the Time of Their Lives to Senior Citizens
Market to Seniors, not to Elderly
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