The Forgotten Generation
While browsing nytimes.com, I came across an article that surprised me. This article, written by Janet Morrissey, is focusing on how marketing and advertisements rarely target elderly people. I originally thought that it is more efficient to target millennials, but this article has shifted my viewpoint. Baby boomers are the generation with large amounts of disposable income and a number of companies have not forgotten about this aging group of people.
T-Mobile actually targeted people 55 and older with an ad campaign. The chief executive commented that other wireless companies offer older people flip phones with larger buttons. While some companies are choosing this strategy, T-Mobile wants to offer elderly smart phones with sensible data plans so they can stay connected to their families. Older generations are becoming more tech savvy than a lot of companies give them credit for.
It seems as if older people have become an afterthought in regards to marketing in recent years. Companies want to focus on dazzling millennials with ads, even though they are not the generation with the deepest pockets. The article also mentions that companies think if they catch millennials early in their lives, they will remain loyal to their brand. This is not the case though, which comes as another surprise to me. Millennials are actually more likely to switch brands, where as baby boomers tend to remain loyal for years.
This article changed the way I thought about this topic. I have always thought that millennials would be the best people to target with advertisements, but older people are still a massive advertising market. Millennials may be the trendier target audience right now but don’t forget about the boomers just yet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/business/media/baby-boomers-marketing.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FAdvertising%20and%20Marketing&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=collection