OH BOOMER
Where art thou?
OH BOOMER
Where art thou?
OH BOOMER
Where art thou?
Name calling
In an earlier article, we observed Gen Z might be the first global generation. While Baby Boomers are often referenced as such, they are anything but. The 'baby boom', a term used to describe those born between 1946-1964, was not a truly global phenomenon. A quick glance at the graphic below indicates the term hardly applies in Brazil, India and Nigeria.
While these countries experienced population surges at different times, they did not coincide with the boom in North America and Western Europe – so global use of the term “Baby Boomer” to describe those born between 1946-1964 can be misleading.
Perhaps instead of this description, something like “mature adults” or “adults of a certain age” may be more representative?
Examples of 'baby booms' or fertility peaks
Brazil's peak
United States' peak
India's peak
Nigeria's peak
Source: UN Population Division
Obsession
Since the middle of the 20th century, marketing has been tilted towards youth.
This obsession with young people comes at the risk of missing out on greater opportunities. In many countries, mature adults make up a much greater number of the country’s population than Gen Z. In the US, those born between 1946-1964 make up 25% of the total population, while Gen Z represent just 17%. In Italy, a country grappling with effects of a rapidly ageing population, mature adults number 28% with Gen Z just 12%. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, a country expected to become one of the most populous by the end of the century, Gen Z make up over a third (35%), while only one in ten (9%) are 'Baby Boomers'.
For marketers, focusing too much on younger generations means not only ignoring a greater proportion of the population, but one with more money to spend. In the US while mature adults make up 25% of the US population, they hold 70% of the assets. This is not just the case in the US. As many countries around the world grapple with a cost-of-living crisis, 77% of mature adults globally feel financially stable.
Marketing’s preoccupation with youth has meant older adults rarely see themselves represented in the world of advertising. Our advertising assessment database at Ipsos tells us that only 8% of ads globally in the past three years featured a grey-haired/mature adult in a primary role.
And while they may or may not care, mature adults have noticed. Marketing efforts with cast members full of Gen Zs and Millennials leave most mature adults feeling as if they are not represented in the ads they see (and these are the ones they see that are theoretically targeted to them). Forty-one per cent across all generations* think advertisers value people under 50 more than people over 50. This view rises to 51% of mature adults.
Despite representing a healthy percentage of the population and controlling a very healthy percentage of assets around the planet, this group is curiously neglected in marketing… and when they are represented, it is often with the implication they should want to look and act younger.
What we have here is… failure to communicate
It can be harder to unlock spending when people are in a behavioural groove and happy with what they have – and it is true that older adults can be a harder nut to crack for marketers.
of mature adults say they like to keep their lives simple as far as possessions are concerned."
Seventy-six per cent of mature adults say they like to keep their lives simple as far as possessions are concerned. Compared to Millennials, mature adults are 30% more likely to say “I usually only buy the things I need". Though once painted as a hedonistic 'me' generation, most mature adults express little interest in aspirational brand-badging these days.
With younger consumers more engaged in a number of categories and out-of-home activities, perhaps we in the marketing community can be forgiven for gravitating to those with natural interests in what we’re peddling.
But if we want to unlock this mismatch in buying power and actual buying, it becomes vital to get a better understanding of mature adults and the relationship between their relative contentment and economic participation.
It is time to engage on their terms. Not all – but the vast majority - of this age cohort is telling us:
1.
They want to age gracefully and without the aid of youth-restoring chemicals and procedures
2.
They don’t see themselves cast in the messages they receive
So let’s not fixate so much on selling them what we have or trying to convince them to be something they don’t want to be – but find out what they want, and make that!
And while we’re at it, let’s remember that even within an age cohort, there are major differences:
- Across countries and;
- Among sub-segments within countries.
Myths and realities
Mature adults are just as likely to feel good physically and mentally as Millennials.
of mature adults say they feel good both physically and mentally compared to...
... of Millennials
Omnichannel is not just for young people.
of mature adults say they find it important to buy something online and have it delivered.
Boomers are more liberal than Gen Z on abortion and are more likely to say that it should be legal.
And although Boomer women are less likely than Gen Z women to define themselves as “a feminist”, they’re also less likely to consider that men are being expected to do too much to support equality.
Getting to know you
Mature adults are not a bunch of conservative, grumpy, greedy cash hoarders. They are a big group. They don’t all think – or behave – in the same way.
Ipsos is now developing a new segmentation approach which has identified four groups. These can be broken down into: Simple Contentment, Chill Indulgence, Strugglers, and Strivers. Each has specific characteristics, as the table below illustrates. One thing that unites them, though, is a desire to age gracefully. Mature adults, in the main, are not particularly driven by the desire to look 25-30 years younger.
Adjusting our behaviour
As a marketing community, we are doing comparatively little to try to engage mature adults.
We might need a vocabulary adjustment when it comes to 'Boomers', but whatever we call them, they are a segment with great spending power that can’t find itself in modern communications casting.
And most of them might not be so obsessed with pretending to be young – or in clinging to a demographic to which they no longer belong.
While they can be a difficult audience to engage, we’re likely to have success if we do so on their terms. We can begin by asking ourselves some tough questions:
- Are we speaking of (and to) an entire generation in a broad, inaccurate brush stroke? Globally, should we refer to mature adults as Boomers?
- How much do we know about different types of mature adults? What will it take to engage them and tap into their buying power?
- As researchers, do we make generational comparisons in a disciplined way? At what age do we cap survey participation?
Footnotes
* Generations surveyed include Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers
