Boomers Defined: Potential Uncovered Niche Markets?

Posted by Cecilia Jy, AIMS member and volunteer...

One of the sessions in our next AIMS event: Marketing to YOUR Customer on Feb. 27th is "50+ Canadians – Do you know what makes them click? " by David Cravit, Senior Vice President, Marketing, The50PlusGroup. 

Even though the collective purchasing power of baby boomers is highly noted and coveted, marketers are generally seen to miss the mark when boomers are treated as one formidable generational group.   

Chadwick Martin Bailey recently released a baby boomer research that shows that boomers can be subdivided into five distinct groups:

Status Seekers: The largest segment identified, Status Seekers make up 26% of Boomers. The group is characterized as materialistic and feels that money is the best measure of success. They enjoy the finer things in life and are willing to pay more for brand names. 31% of Status Seekers drive a vehicle they feel makes a statement about their personality and style.

Traditionalists: This group accounts for 23% of Boomers. Traditionalists are defined by their conservative political, economic and social views. They have traditional attitudes and belief systems, are known for following the rules, and are smart consumers (interested in value, trust and variety). 45% of Traditionalists report that they'll go out of the way to buy American-made products.

Blue Collar Skeptics: 18% of Boomers fall into this group. The Blue Collar Skeptics are just that – skeptics. They are hesitant to trust big businesses and are concerned about the amount of information online. As they fall on the low end of the Boomer income bracket, this group is more stressed about time and money than the rest of their generation. 68% of Blue Collar Skeptics fear they haven't saved enough money for retirement.

Activists: The most politically and socially active segment, 17% of Boomers are Activists. They are generally liberal and also donate a significant amount of time and money to charity. Activists are concerned about the environment, are brand-loyal, and are financially smart. 37% of Activists describe themselves as 'green consumers' ( i.e. buying hybrid cars, recycling, etc).

Achievers: The minority of Boomers, just 16% fall into the Achiever category. This group adopts technology early and relies on it heavily. They are focused on success and wealth and are heavily involved in social activities. 24% of Achievers claim to be the first among their friends to have new gadgets and devices.

Do you think that internet marketers should predominantly target the already engaged Achievers or should we pump more ideas and resources to reach out to the disinterested Blue Collar Skeptics? 

Please share your thoughts with AIMS members!

Comments

[Robert H.]

Unfortunately, the boomer survey segmentation is AMERICAN - not Canadian. There have been a number of research studies dne on the boomer market in Canada over the past year which would be much more appropriate to reference, a American attitudes can very quite substantially from ours - and not only are the segments quite different (actually, it is not possible to use the same segments here as the diffrences are so deep), the approaches to marketing are also.

Don't rely on market research done for a different market - get the right information for the market you are in!

[Kathryn Lagden]

Hi Robert - I agree the segments are different and we need to keep that in mind. Regardless of the percentages I did find it interesting to read about the different types of groups.

I know David Cravit will be using Canadian numbers in his presentation at our event on the 27th. I'll ask him to add his .02 to this blog post and see if he can provide some Canadian statistics.

If anyone knows any good Canadian sources for research about the boomer generation please add your comment.

[Cecilia]

Hi Robert! Thanks for your comment. Just curious though, if you are in internet marketing & sales, wouldn't North American most likely be the natural extension of the market you are in? Guess it depends on the business you are in. Cheers, C

[David Cravit]

Hi Robert,

My presentation on the 27th won't actually be dealing with segmentation, but rather, with online behavior (what works, what doesn't) as we see it on our portfolio of web sites and e-newsletters.

I'm interested in your comments, though. I'm particularly curious to know exactly what studies have been done in Canada over the past year, as you state. Could you reference any of them?

I have no evidence to suggest that the segments used by the Chadwick Martin Bailey survey are the only way to segment the American market, let alone the Canadian one. I know there are other studies in the US market that would appear to be more comprehensive on combining attitude (per Chadwick) and income. I am not aware of exact Canadian equivalents, so perhaps you could cite them.

I will say, however, that based on our own experience as the largest Internet destination specializing in Boomers and the 50+ in Canada (some 2 million page views a month to our web sites and e-newsletters), I see no evidence to support your claim that "the differences are so deep" between Canadian and US boomers, or that marketing differences need to be particularly deep either. That said, we definitely need more and better segmentation models here. But in our experience, for what it is worth, Canadian Boomers go online to look for information, first and foremost, and the big topics of interest -- health (including wellness and anti-aging), money (including employment), travel, and other leisure/lifestyle topics -- are the same as in the USA.

[poetryman69]

people of different ages have different needs

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