If I see one more article where some "Baby Boom" consultant or corporate Marketing Director talks about the impact of the Baby Boom "generation", I think my head is going to explode. The Baby Boom, those born between 1946 and 64 is made up of multiple generations. Leading edge Boomers have one foot in the Eisenhower Generation and the other in the 60's. Trailing edge Boomers have one foot in Generation X. Assuming they think, act, and believe as one is simply insane.
In a recent article, I saw the following quote attributed to Giunero Floro, vice president of advertising, brand and media for Ameriprise, "There are an estimated 78 million baby boomers approaching retirement. We wanted to connect with them in a very personal way," he said. "The biggest insight [reflected in the ad campaign] was that baby boomers have really changed everything that has come before them, and now they are revolutionizing retirement." What a crock.
Let's examine this statement. First, the youngest Boomers are still in their 40's. If that is "approaching retirement," I guess your are approaching San Francisco once you reach Kansas City. Second, to use 60's "hippie" stereotypes to portray the Baby Boom could hardly be perceived as a "personal" approach. Finally, Baby Boomers did not demonstrate values different from previous generations as they moved up the demographic triangle; there were just more of us. We aren't reinventing retirement; but changing circumstances, health and resouces have made yesterday's concept of retirement outdated.
In 1969, Abraham Maslow described "behavior attributes of more highly matured adults" to include being more introspective, seeking simpler lives, more others centered, increased need for personal autonomy (independence) among others. In 2001, the Yankelovich Monitor published what it called "leading behavior attributes in older markets"; and they were remarkably similar to Maslow's list published three decades earlier. In other words, what we are seeing is not "Boomer Values;" but values shared by all adults in life's third stage. Boomers get all the credit for changing every decade simply because there are so damn many of us.
What we are experiencing is a marketing and advertising industry attempting to fit the square peg paradigms of yesterday's youth market into the round hole that is the nation's first market dominance by older consumers. Like most people in later life, my decisions are not motivated because Paul McCartney, Christie Brinkley or some other "Boomer" spokesperson endorses a product or service. That approach was pretty effective in life's first half; but is simply a waste of advertising dollars. The fact that many Boomers "relate well to" a Paul McCartney doesn't convert to increased trust of the company or its products. We have learned that "paid" celebrities delivering a "scripted" message is just that.
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