We’re hearing a lot these days about the aging demographic makeup of the country. As a first generation Baby Boomer, that is both reassuring and frightening. Reassuring that being a part of a large constituency means more attention to the wants and needs of that group going forward, but frightening in the sense that I’m now considered borderline senile!
The tide, however, is turning: Advertising Age quotes recent Nielsen results with the (partial) headline, “…Younger Consumers Are Losing Dominance.” Further, they note that more than 80 percent of growth in the number of households over the next five years will be among those headed by people 55 and older. No other age group comes even close to that growth rate. Whoa…that’s scary!
At the same time, the deflated retirement accounts and slowly recovering economy will keep many of us in the workforce longer than we anticipated…some of us, much longer. While advertising has long been recognized as a youth-obsessed field, putting older workers in competition with younger ones should be about ability and not age. Probably the most critical ingredients are intellectual curiosity and the ability to embrace change. Naturally, it goes without saying that you can’t discount experience. Motivating a Multigenerational Workforce contains some good advice for employers. While younger workers may have an edge from coming of age in the digital era, that is not always the case: I anxiously awaited the opening of the area’s new Apple store and stood in line with the predominately Gen Z’ers the morning it opened. Not to buy anything, mind you (I already have an iMac, an iPad and an iPhone)—just to be there amongst my fellow geeks.
There are many like me who are just as comfortable with technology as any Gen Z’er. Likewise, I am not influenced to buy a product/service by a brochure containing photos of a gray-haired couple and a golden retriever somewhere on a beach. The Business of Aging/Marketing to Boomers lists some interesting stats from the Pew Internet & American Life Project:
- 74% - Use the Internet
- 62% - Have broadband at home
- 72% - Use a cell phone
- 43% - Connect to Internet wirelessly
- 91% - (Of Internet users) use search engines
- 78% - “ “ “ search in health care
- 30% - “ “ “ use online ratings
- 38% - “ “ “ share video feeds
- 26% - “ “ “ read blogs
- 17% - “ “ “ share creations
- 16% - “ “ “ have a social network profile
- 7% - “ “ “ blog
Long story short--boomers still rock. We just hope the XYZ’s can keep up.