Boomers. Are Advertisers Missing Out?

Are Boomers a missed opportunity? Youth has always been a desired target demographic group for advertisers. But the genus of this attraction started in the 1960s when the youth oriented ABC network decided to shift the conversation from strictly male and female audience targeting to age and gender. In other words, it was a marketing ploy and that ploy has gained credence over the decades.

According to a recent study by IPSOS in the U.K., the impact of aging on societies will be greater than the impact of Millennial “disrupters”.  The report notes that “rising life expectancy and falling birth rates mean populations around the world are getting older. The shift has been gradual, and because humanity is better at spotting immediate change or danger, rather than noticing steady transformation, our shared understanding about what later life is like is woefully out of date. It is portrayed as a ’narrative of decline’ – not a time of opportunity and change.”

Older adults are not slowing down, according to the study, but rather are taking on new challenges, roles and responsibilities and, because of medical breakthroughs, are more active and enjoying life more than previous generations.

Advertisers are advised to promote inclusion and respect:

• Advertising Presence. Older people are largely absent from advertising messages, despite having a disposable income that makes them worth courting.
• Advertising Depiction. When older people are included in ads, it is often in an unflattering light – as comic relief or as exploiting stereotypes.

The AARP reported that adults 50+ are responsible for 51% of all consumer spending despite being only 45% of all adults. They are projected to have 70% of all U.S. disposable income over the next five years  and currently have a greater share of spend across a wide range of categories such new cars and trucks (57%), personal care products and services (53%), household furnishings and equipment (52%), and entertainment (51%).  And yet, AARP finds that this group is targeted by just 5%-10% of all marketing efforts. Ignoring the older consumer is simply bad business.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.

Age is Not a Factor in Digital Fluency According to Hulu

“Digital fluency is more about attitude and behaviors than it is about age,” stated Julie DeTraglia, Head of Research, Hulu. Her company just released the results of a major new research study on what constitutes digital fluency, focusing on how consumers adapt different digital journeys throughout different forms of media, in ecommerce and across lifestyle brands. 

The results confirmed tested truths while also offering some surprising insights.

Charlene Weisler: What were the major takeaways of the study?

Julie DeTraglia: We found that digital fluency is not driven by age. It was the impact of technology that prompted behavior change. Digital connections are now normal for people, media and brands. We also found that media is core to digital identity because social and streaming are gateways to digital consumption. 

Weisler: What were the major surprises?

DeTraglia: The biggest surprise was that across all generations, including Gen-Z, just as many people identified themselves as Minimalists and Averse (lower end of spectrum) as they did Maximizers and Creators (higher end of spectrum). We also were surprised and happy to see that social media, streaming video and online transactions are all tightly intertwined when it comes to changing habits. 

Weisler: Do the consumer profiles of the younger generations differ along the spectrum? For example do the most adverse have a different demo profile to the Maximizers?

DeTraglia: No, they are demographically similar which is the point behind the study. Just because people are mapped to a generation doesn’t mean they have the same attitudes or perceptions of technology. It ranges more on the behavior than the age. 

Weisler: What about the older generations? How do they fall on the digital fluency spectrum?

DeTraglia: Specifically, for Boomers (55+), 2% are Creators, 7% are Maximizers, 15% are Connected, 34% are Confident, 26% are Enlighted, 12% are Minimalists and only 4% are Averse. The biggest difference we saw is that Boomers have a much lower percentage of Creator, Maximizer and Connected identified users and that they are higher in Confident and a lot higher in Enlighted. They over-index in the middle of the spectrum which is surprising to most.

Weisler: Your hierarchy of digital needs looks to be patterned like Maslow's Hierarchy. Can you talk about each hierarchy stage and what it means in the digital journey?

DeTraglia: There is a hierarchy of digital needs that the user travels along, starting with media, which is where the trend towards connectivity started back when Facebook and social media launched. What we found is that media is the foundation to a digital identity which is then closely related to transactions and shopping.  The trend towards connectivity started in the social and media and entertainment sphere, which eventually impacted every product of service, how we communicate, eat, date and transact. Once you’re comfortable with media, you slowly move along the journey, you become comfortable with transacting through digital, and eventually begin using applications that make life easier and more convenient like eating, dating, traveling. Advanced technology is the next level which pushes the consumer to use virtual reality and voice activated systems which eventually lead to curating a personalized lifestyle.  Depending on applications like HelloFresh and Aaptive and StitchFix, in turn make your life more convenient. 

Weisler: Is it possible to move someone who is more of a technophobe across the digital spectrum?

DeTraglia: Great question. We continue to explore this more at Hulu. It is diffidently a larger barrier for a consumer who is completely averse to move along the spectrum.  The only wave of movement would be if they were to try something first and realize how much better it will make their lives before they jump in. But we believe it is possible, as some later adaptors of technology are functioning as more connected, which means it is always a possibility. 

Weisler: Are there certain consumer categories that attract more Maximizers and Creators (aside from the obvious tech categories)? Any surprises?

DeTraglia: The direct-to-consumer businesses are the ones booming right now which certainly attract Maximizers and Creators.  They feel more comfortable to use them and feel like it is a great addition to their life for the convenience factor. From a Hulu standpoint, we learned that our users are further along the spectrum so they are more likely to use direct-to-consumer apps and social media.  There wasn’t anything too surprising here, but we are continuing to explore.

Weisler: What ad messages can be used to reach people by their place in the spectrum? Different messages for the Adverse vs Maximizers for example?

DeTraglia: Marketers and advertisers need to understand that it is more about where they reach these consumers vs. the language used. For example, it is about where the brands capture attention, which we know Hulu and other streaming services do that.  Consumers at the higher end of the spectrum prefer a different type of ad, they want them to feature people, make the consumer feel like they are a part of the ad, give them a sense of brand personality, take the consumer along a storyline. This came from follow-up work that we worked on for creative best practices for our advertising partners. These were the aspects, more immersive commercial experience, that consumers urge for and that video can offer.

Weisler: What are the next steps in this research for Hulu?

DeTraglia: We are a direct-to-consumer business, in this space for a long time, and we know that the people on our service are ‘empowered consumers’. They are important to us from both a marketing and advertising partnership perspective because they are valuable to reach. We used this data when we designed our new brand campaign, “Better Ruins Everything”. We will continue to explore these segments to align with our consumers’ needs and expectations. From an advertising partnership perspective, continuing to understand how our consumers are different and what they are more receptive to, help guide our advertisers as to how best reach and engage their targeted consumer.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

It’s Time to Welcome the 55+ Demo into the Media Mainstream

Some topics of conversation in media never get old and that includes the ongoing discussion of the value of older consumers. For years, many of us in programming, marketing and advertising have been engaged in one long conversation regarding the accuracy of age-based demographic breaks that effectively exclude Adults 55+ from the sales value equation. “Oh we don’t need to specifically target Adults 55+,’ they will say, “because we can reach them anyway – they are heavy TV viewers.” Well not so fast, sonny. Today’s 55+ are not like 55+s of yesteryear.

While this has been argued before, it bears repeating. According to economic trends, today’s older consumers command much greater buying power compared to current and previous generations. Boomers alone represent 70% of the total net worth in America and account for 40% of total consumer demand.  It is time for the media metrics to keep pace with economic realities.

Media Ecologist Jack Myers believes that it is vital for the industry to come together and change the traditional age-demo breaks. “We need to recognize the economic and societal evolutions that have occurred since the 1960s and embrace a new set of demo standards,” he stated. He proposes the following breaks:

Ø  Teens/Tweens (11-17)

Ø  Gen-Z (18-24)

Ø  Millennials (25-45)

Ø  Gen X/Y (45-62)

Ø  Boomers (63-75)

Ø  A new combination for sales targeting purposes (45-72)

The History

Let me share some history that will help explain why this makes sense. It all started out innocently enough. In the early 1960s when advertisers divided the media pie into simply households and men or women, upstart network ABC, which trailed in overall household performance, had a great idea; why not further divide the population into age breaks? After all, the younger-skewing ABC argued, younger people were less fixed in their brand loyalties and were more open to change and experimentation. At the time, they were referring to the rebellious Baby Boomers who were very different psychologically from previous (and future) generations. Unfortunately, the idea of youth worship based on age alone resonated with advertisers and programmers. Today it has stultified into dogma.

A sales positioning idea that was initially conceived to more easily categorize audiences into future, peak and declining brand building and spending years has, in my opinion, led the industry astray. In fact, one could argue that 18-34, 18-49, 25-54 and 55+ breaks never really made much sense. Did an 18 year old ever really spend like a 49 year old? Does one fall off the face of the economic earth on their 55^th birthday? Of course not!

If there was ever a cohort that should be actively sought by advertisers and programmers, it would have to be psychologically based, not necessarily age-based. Who came of age when consumerism was at its peak, when advertising was the epicenter of choice consideration and when media technology was young and experimental? Baby Boomers. Today they are still active in the workforce, are in their peak earning years and are as changeable and rebellious as ever. Maybe it’s time to finally reevaluate the age-break demographic to better reflect the behavioral dynamics of the generations it purportedly represents.

Changing Business as Usual

Older consumers in 2018 are very different from older consumers in 1960. In 1960, if you were 55+ you could have experienced a Depression and two World Wars in your formative spending years. There were also much fewer brands and the major forms of communication were newspaper and radio. Today’s older audiences grew up in a time of relative luxury and peace, the grand expansion of media communication and advancements in healthcare that has extended not only longevity but also quality of life. How today’s older adults live and spend are worlds apart from their grandparents and parents.

Getting to Consensus

In this highly competitive media world where reaching the “right” audience is pivotal to success, how do we get all of the players to agree on a modification of the standard age-break ranges? Megan Clarken, President Watch, Nielsen, understands the dynamics of the marketplace. “Reaching industry consensus is always a journey, especially when it comes to determining changes to the currency,”  ​she said. “For example, if an older-skewing network pushes for an age-break re-definition, there will be a younger skewing network that would push back. Our role is to encourage the conversation and provide the data and insights - whether its age-gender or advanced demographics beyond the standard demos - that the industry needs to transact with confidence.”

But there is some movement in reaching a new consensus. “While the vast majority of industry deals remain a demo currency, revisiting demographic breaks is an important piece,” advised Radha Subramanyam, Executive Vice President, Chief Research and Analytics Officer, CBS Television Network. “Going forward, moving away from age/gender as the foundation of planning and buying seems to make the most sense. The framework needs to be audiences and audience cohorts, though defined more broadly than some of the segments currently popular in the programmatic ecosystem,” she added.

In a world quickly moving to more addressable consumer segments, some believe that a change in the standard age breaks are unnecessary at this time. “Given the industry’s continued push to implement purchase-based targeting, I am not sure there is a strong rationale for what looks to be subtle changes,” stated Ed Gaffney, Head of Implementation Research and Marketplace Analysis U.S., GroupM. “Targeting begins with planning. The buying teams simply refit the planning target to a demo to facilitate media deals.”

Further, as we head more towards cross platform measurements, Gaffney believes that it will inevitably lead to a new targeting consensus. “The linear networks will most likely not be interested in moving to different demos when they could move to targets that better align with those used in digital buys (signal based), and digital is not very interested in using age based targets for anything but comparative purposes,” he added.

Others believe in going further by dropping age-break metrics entirely, even for comparison purposes. John Rosso, President Market Development, Triton Digital, a leading online audio measurement service, explains, “The real question in my mind is this: why care about age at all? The digital world has moved on to audience targeting and, through initiatives like Open AP, the traditional media world seems to be embracing more advanced audience segmentation as well. Do we still need to use demographics as a proxy for behaviors and intents when we can target those things directly?”

Nielsen remains the unbiased arbiter of age-break demographics preferring the industry to decide for itself what metrics work best for the buy/sell paradigm. Because of this, Nielsen must remain neutral. “We don’t set the rules for the industry. We rely on the industry to negotiate the rules amongst themselves. And there isn’t any general industry committee that I know of that actually says ‘this is the rule’ which makes it tough to reach a consensus. Nielsen is a third-party, independent organization so it's difficult for us to do it on behalf of the industry,” Clarken concluded.

In my next article on this topic, I will explore how outdated and irrelevant media buying and planning tactics are costing the media industry billions of dollars.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Older is Cooler. Surprising Results from the 2017 Mindshare Culture Vultures Study

For those of us who have aged out of the desirable 25-54 demographic, we can now take some comfort and satisfaction from the results of the latest Mindshare Culture Vulture Trends report. Culture Vulture is Mindshare's global cultural trends program that sets out to identify macro and micro trends.  Now in its sixth year, the Culture Vulture has been ascertaining consumer trends with eerie accuracy.

Past studies have correctly mapped out the increasingly divided nature of our society. “Over the years, two of the biggest trends we’ve tracked have been ‘2 Americas’ and ‘Crossover Culture,’ both of which are still two of most impactful trends years later,” explained Alexis Fragale, Director, Consumer Insights, Mindshare NA . According to this year’s study, we are experiencing a Boomaissance as the value of this overlooked demographic now becomes apparent.  

The 2017 study marked ten impactful trends that are then matched with advertiser demographic targets to help in strategy and planning. The ten major trends are ‘Tapped Out’ (Too busy lives and plateauing productivity), ‘Boomaissance’ (Older adults take on a Middle Aged Millennial mindset), ‘21st Century Success’ (Traditional American dream vs dream of personal experiences), ‘Unmasking Unicorns’ (Parsing fake news), ‘My World / The World’ (Widening gulf between personal perceptions and views of the world overall), ‘Mind(ful) Optimization’ (Seeking purpose and mindfulness), ‘Land of the Giants’ (Corporate giants dominate but niche brands fight back), ‘The Informal Normal’ (More casual at work and with friends), ‘ Borecore’ (More and more, we’re posting and watching ‘boring’ content) and ‘Open Lives’ (Less privacy, more exposed lives).  

I sat down with Alexis Fragale and Jodie Huang, Manager, Insights, Mindshare NA and asked them the following questions:

Charlene Weisler: Two of the biggest trends from past studies are ‘2 Americas’ and ‘Crossover Culture’. Can you tell me about them?

Alexis Fragale: In ‘2 Americas’, we explored how Americans' values and lifestyles have been diverging significantly over recent years – making it harder for brands to speak to ‘one’ homogenous country. This was clearly a huge factor in the 2016 election and we’ve seen it move beyond values and lifestyles to other areas like content preferences and our social algorithms. ‘2 Americas’ has been evidenced in our 2017 trends of ‘My World / The World’ and ‘Unmasking Unicorns.’

In ‘Crossover Culture’, we explored how a more connected and complex world gives opportunities and a need for crossover in art, technology, science, ideas, and brands. And in a world where it’s harder to gain consumers’ trust and wallet share, more brands are finding ways to extend their brand into more areas of their consumers’ life. For example, take West Elm who is set to open a hotel, and NBA teams buying eSports teams. ‘Crossover Culture’ has been evidenced in our 2017 trends ‘Tapped Out’ and ‘Land of the Giants.’

Charlene Weisler: What are the big takeaways from this year's study?

Alexis Fragale: First, the report is a reminder on how quickly the world and culture changes. Second, there are pockets of growth opportunities that advertisers may be missing and may need to address differently than before – for example, look at Boomers, or how to deliver against consumers’ changing definition of success. Third, there are a lot of myths out there. Myths about how people are feeling in America. About the types of content people want. About consumer media behavior. That’s why you’ve always got to keep looking at the data – question those myths.  

Charlene Weisler: Do you think advertisers will shift advertising dollars to the Boomer cohort and why?

Alexis Fragale: Boomers control much of the disposable income in America and they are living longer than ever. While companies will still advertise and try to win over younger consumers (which is partly a Customer Lifetime Value play), it would be a missed opportunity to ignore or alienate such a large portion of Americans, especially one with so much spending power. As for shifting dollars to Boomers, it depends on the nuances of both category and jobs to be done within the campaign (e.g. retain consumers, inspire trial, etc.).

Take spirits as an example: for certain brands, their stronghold of users is among Boomers (e.g. Scotch), but to grow the category, they need to appeal to a (21+) millennial audience. They’ll need to strategize how to balance the growth opportunities while speaking to their loyalists.

Charlene Weisler: How is the American Dream changing and how will that impact spending?

Jodie Huang: We’ve seen a bigger push towards experiential over materialism, especially amongst Millennials. These experiences increasingly help define their lives and identities versus the things they buy. So there is a shift in how they spend, the content they look at, and what companies they use to enable this lifestyle change. Travel is one category that will benefit from shift to experiential spending, and the one-upmanship we’re seeing among Millennials (e.g. the race to be the first of your friends to travel to Cuba or planning an epic celebration vacation for your 30th birthday).

Charlene Weisler: How can we dispel myths and fake news?

Jodie Huang: Educating consumers on how to tell the difference between fake and real news will empower the readers and puts the onus on them to decide for themselves whether or not to trust the content they are reading. Tools and content hacking devices can help make it easier to look at the source material, check facts, review credentials and speed up the process of verifying the news.

Charlene Weisler: Give me one descriptor word for each generation.

Jodie Huang: Gen Z: Ephemeral, Millennials: Savvy, Gen X: Overlooked, Boomers: Idealistic

Charlene Weisler: What advice would you give advertisers today to best prepare for the future?

Alexis Fragale: A lot of industry ‘futuring’ work tends to be wrong, especially in highly uncertain categories (the famous quote: “Wall Street indices predicted nine out of the last five recessions”). The best you can do is map plausible scenarios and prepare for a small number of likely outcomes. Our Culture Vulture work throws up the trends that may underpin different category and media scenarios. It’s important to keep a pulse on the directions the world may be heading in, and what the implications are for brands. We recommend three things:

Talk to consumers as frequently as possible (or ensure that your agencies do). At Mindshare, among our other ongoing surveys and research, we run monthly ‘consumer conversations.’ We speak to the early adopters of technologies or behaviors (e.g. right now we’re chatting to folks who have Amazon Echos and Google Home). Look to understand the drivers and barriers of new behaviors to understand the impact to the brand today and tomorrow.

Set up a committed test-and-learn program, with a funnel of hypotheses that come from consumer insights/research, and an overarching measurement strategy.

Get out and experience the emerging technology and cultural spaces – do monthly safaris out into new format retail stores, or set tasks for your organization to download and trial the newest app (e.g. try Meitu).

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Who Are The AlphaBoomers? NBCU's Alan Wurtzel Explains.

I have written articles on the value of targeting Baby Boomers and now NBCU’s Alan Wurtzel goes one step further. He says that it is not specifically Baby Boomers that advertisers should target, it is the AlphaBoomers, a valuable sub-set of Adults 55-64.

Who exactly are the AlphaBoomers and why are they so important? I sat down with Alan and he explained it all in this series of videos:



In this 10:33 minute video, Alan Wurtzel talks to Charlene Weisler about the NBCU Alphaboomer study - the reason behind the study, the methodology and some conclusions:



Charlene Weisler talks to Alan Wurtzel about Brands and Agency Issues regarding the NBCU AlphaBoomer Study in this 7:20 minute video:




In this concluding 7:52 minute video, NBCU's Alan Wurtzel taks to Charlene Weisler about his AlphaBoomer Study - all of the myths associated with an older audience and next steps for the study conclusions:

According to Alan, Alphaboomers are 55-64 and the reason why he considers them a sub-set of the Baby Boomer population is that they are freshly minted Boomers. He explains, “every 7 seconds someone in the U.S. turn s 55 which immediately puts them outside the monetize-able Nielsen demo – basically forgotten but not gone. “ And yet they behave exactly as they did a year before – same purchasing decisions, same media choices – but they are no longer considered a part of the monetize-able advertising and television viewership ecosystem.

This is an issue not just for ad sales but also for measurement. Alan cited the example of CNBC whose 25-54 ratings inexplicably plummeted from one month to the next. Nothing in the schedule changed. But what happened was that three Nielsen panelists, all heavy viewers of CNBC, celebrated their 55th birthdays that month. They were no longer in the 25-54 demo but they were still in the sample. Happy Birthday panelists! Now you are no longer valuable consumers.

Alan describes it as like “a canary in the coalmine” where he began to understand that the demography of the country is shifting. This demographic shift would not only impact news networks like CBNC, this shift would impact any network that falls in the latter end of the 25-54 target demographic. The march of time will have a monetary cost for many content providers and advertisers.

So what Alan decided to do was conduct a research study to measure Baby Boomers age 45-64, dividing the group into adults 45-54 and 55-64. In this way it is easier to see how the segments compare and contrast. The study consisted of 1500 online questionnaire interviews as well as some in-person ethnographies. The results confirmed a distinct difference in the two age groups. Adults 55-64 were more likely to be empty nesters. And because their family structure was changing, they had more discretionary income, were experiencing a life transition that likely resulted in much more purchasing decisions and they also tended to be starting new homes or refurbishing their current home – more to their personal liking rather than a compromise to children and their needs.   

These Alphaboomers, those who are 55-64, confound all the myths we hear about older adults. Alan calls them Urban Myths and they are as follows:

Myth: Boomers are Winding Down. That is simply not true. There are a substantial number of Boomers that keep on working. Some do it for economic reasons but most define themselves through their work and enjoy what they do. They are not prepared to go quietly into that good night.

Myth: Boomers Have Less Income So They Spend Less. Just plain wrong, says Alan. Yes, Boomers may   be out of their peak earning years but income alone doesn’t predict purchasing power. Discretionary income does and Boomers have more of it than any other age group... and they need instant gratification. That is a powerful consumer combination.

Myth: Boomers Are Set in Their Ways. Alan says that this myth goes way, way back. The idea that established brand loyalties last through one’s life is no longer true. AlphaBoomers are, by nature, more cynical about brand advertising. They say “Show me your value or I will go to someone else.” Yes there are iconic brands but the notion that all brand loyalty is unchangeable is simply not true.

Myth: Boomers are Techno phobic. No. In fact, they are more likely to spend on electronic because they have the money to spend.

Myth: Boomers are Easy to Reach. Alan’s study found that this is no longer true. The respondents were given a choice of 35 of the top channels – broadcast and cable networks - and were asked to rank their top three favorites. The result: 40% said some combination of one broadcast and two cable networks and another 40% chose three cable networks. Just as other age groups are fragmenting under the large amount of viewing choices, so are Boomers.

Will the NBCU’s AlphaBoomer  study change perceptions? Let’s see what happens in this next upfront season.