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danger, rather than noticing steady transformation, our shared understanding about what later life is like is woefully out of date.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.

The Linear TV Model Will Change. Interview with Greg DePalma

Greg DePalma, newly named Head of Revenue, IPSOS Affluent and Influencer Database, has a career steeped in research, data and analytics. “I started in New York with my first seven years at Nielsen working in the National NTI TV ratings group supporting network, agency, and advertiser clients,” he shared. 

He also worked at TiVo planning and measuring consumer response to advertising with time shifting and device shifting and on the media agency side with “nearly every media consumption and purchase behavior data company to inform campaign planning/targeting, activation and measurement.” This primes him for the current media ecosystem which increasingly relies on an ever increasing number of datasets and questions about how to best leverage them. 

As the world of research and data evolves, DePalma has some interesting thoughts on data, the future of television and measurement: 

Charlene Weisler: What do you see as the biggest challenges to TV measurement currently?

Greg DePalma: The proliferation via time shifting, device shifting and platform shifting create a spider web of measurement problems.   The technology on the back end to serve and measure program audiences and commercial ad views is not unified – clients say they want advanced data targeting and measurement, but agencies are paid on demo CPMs.  How do you measure a new data driven brand campaign that is 10% of a particular network buy, which is 10% of your overall spend?    There is no way you can parse out and report on 1% of a brand campaign.   

Charlene Weisler: Do you think the linear TV sales model will be here five years from now? Why or why not?

Greg DePalma: The networks will try to hold on to upfront premium inventory trading as long as they can. But consumer behavior will move faster than the networks can hold on to the current linear TV sales model.  Anecdotally I see it with my tweens at home.   Try asking kids, “if you could have one TV option would you chose Netflix, Disney, or HBO?” the answer is Netflix 90% of the time.    Now ask millennials a similar question.   It is especially discouraging to see only pharma ads on Network TV evening news.   Local stations historically made a huge percentage of their profits from news.  Who is watching local news now?   The ad dollars follow the eyeballs and sooner than later, the linear TV sales model will change to mirror digital trading.  

Charlene Weisler: How has the role of data in media changed since you first started?  

Greg DePalma: Data has transformed the media marketplace in terms of transactions, talent and strategy.    We see programs replacing people and data replacing insights. You really need to dive under the hood.  The black box research and attribution models have to be completely examined.  I’ve seen media companies report on their “ROI” and attribute sales with a model that applied a 25:1 weight for their own ad exposure impact.  I was fortunate to work on a team that challenged the media company to open up their attribution formula and provide the correct recommendation to our client.  

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com

Jack Myers Talks About His New Book "Hooked Up"

I sat down with media legend Jack Myers to talk about the publication of his recent book, "Hooked Up: A New Generation's Surprising Take on Sex, Politics and Saving the World". His book is based on an IPSOS/OTX research survey of one thousand college-bound 17-21 year olds plus interviews and offers a range of insights on the influences, mindsets and behaviors of this first truly Internet immersed generation. 

Jack calls those born between 1991 and 1995 “Internet Pioneers” and the way they view and interact with the world not only has immediate implications but also long term impact on society.

The four videos of this fascinating discussion are as follows:

Subject                                                            Length (in minutes)

Introduction and Methodology                           (2:34)

Takeaways and Pioneer Values                         (7:59)

Future of Television                                           (8:44)

Politics and Education                                       (5:10)

Jack Myers talks to Charlene Weisler about his new book, "Hooked Up"and in this 2:34 minute video he outlines the books purpose and its methodology:

Here are some of the major takeaways of the book captured in this 7:59 minute video:

CW: What is the definition of television to the Internet Pioneers described in the book? And how do their attitudes impact the future of television?

JM: Television to them is video wherever they are watching. A declining percentage is watching television in the traditional way. They don’t necessarily differentiate between watching American Idol live on Fox versus watching a repeat of Pretty Little Liars or an MTV show that they’ve DVR’d or that they are watching on Netflix or that they are watching on demand. Or that they are pirating over the internet. More and more of them are looking for ways to watch programming on any number of means to access them whether that means iTunes or YouTube or whatever.  They love television. It’s extremely important to them. They recognize the importance of broadcast networks. They love the cable networks but they love YouTube just as much and they are just as likely to watch a three or five minute program on YouTube as they are to watch some of the more successful programs on broadcast or cable television. They tend to treat television the same way they treat music. It is the soundtrack of their lives. There is less loyalty to specific genres or programs. Music used to be packaged by albums with specific well known artists but now, because of such services as Spotify and Pandora, there is a discovery process taking place because new music is being pushed out every day. Television will evolve in the same way – there will be a constant process of discovery.

Check out Jack Myer's complete response in this fascinating 8:44 minute video:

Politics and education are two major areas of change among Internet Pioneers. 

 

CW: If as you say in your book that this generation is more gender-blind and more open to diversity, how does this play out politically?

JM: I was actually very surprised by the politics of this group. All are now eligible to vote in the 2012 election and over 90% of these 18-22 year olds intend to vote. Only 10% say that they do not intend to vote. Of the 90% who intend to vote, not only in this presidential election but also in future elections, 70-80% on any given issue tend towards the more moderate and progressive side and an average 20% tend to the more conservative side. So they are a very politically progressive block. There are some issues that they don’t even understand the debate. When Rush Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke on the issues of women’s rights and reproductive rights, they didn’t even understand the conversation. The importance of diversity and human rights is such an ingrained part of their DNA that they are confused by the debate and the discussion.

While we see it on college campuses today, we can look back and see it in past generations of college students as well. One could say that while they are in college they are progressive but once they graduate and start in the working world they become more conservative. But what is going to be interesting about this generation is that they will stay connected to each other by the internet. They are going to stay Facebook friends. They will become Linked-in friends. They will continue to have those same qualities now and society is less likely to bifurcate and polarize in the future than it has been in the past several decades.

 Learn more about the findings and how these areas are impacted in this 5:10 minute video:

Hooked Up: A New Generation's Surprising Take on Sex, Politics and Saving the World is available online.