Boomers – not brand loyal and are more ready and willing to make a switch. One More Reason Why Marketers Still Need to Target Boomers

Commonly thought to be set in their ways, Baby Boomers are more likely than Gen-x and Gen y to experiment with new products. Boomers are more likely to place importance on perceived benefits such as price, value and customer service, where younger generations are more likely to focus on style and prestige. Consumers in all groups say they will switch brands and pay more to get a product that better meets their needs.

A  Nielsen/Hallmark study updated information on Boomer spending power and compared brand loyalty measures by product across Boomers and younger demographics. Boomer households represented more than 50% of sales in 98 of the 122 product categories analyzed, accounting for almost $200 billion in total sales in those categories.
Yet, despite the fact that the average Boomer share of those categories was 53%, some advertisers do not target Boomers with their media strategy, instead concentrating dollars on younger consumers with the intent of wooing loyal lifetime customers.

Are you targeting the Baby Boomer audience? Is your brand message resonating with them and drawing them in? 

Source: Nielsen

(On January 1,2011, the first of the Baby Boom generation begins to turn 65. While marketers have traditionally viewed anyone over 49 as over the hill, there are compelling reasons why overlooking Boomers isn’t smart for business. During the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting 65 of those reasons.)