A Case for Generational Marketing and Baby Boomers

In the realm of marketing to adults older than 45, vigorous debates arise about how best to construct advertising messages and frame offers in memorable and compelling ways. Pundit opinions fall into three overlapping theoretical camps.

Some are proponents of “Ageless Marketing” as conceived and articulated by my colleague David Wolfe. Ageless Marketing is “marketing based not on age but on values and universal desires that appeal to people across generational divides. Age-based marketing reduces the reach of brands because of its exclusionary nature. In contrast ageless marketing extends the reach of brands because of its inclusionary focus.”

Some are impassioned about “Life-Stage Marketing,” which understands the consumer from the life-stage they’re experiencing in the present. So, for example, adults between 45 and 55 today have a lot in common such as children in high school or college, the beginning of caregiving for aging parents, accumulation of significant consumer debt, and so forth. Further, stage of life implies psychological priorities. Thus, some argue that middle-age or the “Fall Stage” includes a reduction of material pursuits in favor of accumulating experiences.

And some are committed to “Generational Marketing,” an approach for which I’m a proponent. As I write in my newest book, Generation Reinvention:

“… a generation implies membership in a unique group, bound by common history, which eventually develops similar values, a sense of shared history, and collective ways of interpreting experiences as the group progresses through the life course.

“One way to describe this phenomenon of generational identification is the concept of cohort effect, which sociologist Karl Mannheim wrote about as ‘the taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period or generation.’ He also referred to the notion of zeitgeist, the idea that a generation has a collectively shared sense of its formative historical period.

“Marketers tap into the cohort effect when they remind consumers of cherished events and experiences from the past and connect these acquired memories with brand identity.”

Critics deride Generational Marketing as superficial: feckless attempts to connect nostalgic memories with products. Boomers aren’t invested in their formative years, critics argue, they’re looking ahead. Formative experiences are of little contemporary consequence. What’s done is done.

Aside from my assertion that humans always recall nostalgic moments with enduring and emotionally powerful reflections—and therefore these memories can become potent motivational triggers in contemporary marketing communications—sophisticated new consumer research substantiates the affirming power of nostalgia.

Authors of a multi-continent research study, published by the Association for Psychological Science, determined that feelings of loneliness—emotions such as unhappiness, pessimism, self-blame and depression—reduce perceptions of social support. Loneliness can be alleviated by seeking support from social networks. And here’s the surprising psychological insight: nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, increases perceptions of social support. A sense of social connectedness nourishes the soul. Nostalgia functions similar to optimism in maintaining health. Nostalgia, appropriately harnessed, inspires positive feelings, including positive brand associations and affinity. (APS, Vol. 19, #10)

This does not mean that creating an advertising strategy around shared generational experiences is always on target or well-executed. Creative problems begin when brand associations are hackneyed or arbitrary.

Misjudgments sometimes occur when those outside a generational cohort superficially interpret generational experiences. We’ve seen recent ads targeting Boomers that connect brands with peace symbols, classic rock music, and the rebellious spirit of Boomer youth. Once potentially powerful as a creative approach, connecting brands to the spirit of the sixties has been done.

Other marketers create messages where psychic connection between nostalgic memories and a brand have little in common; that is, brand utilities have nothing to do with the creative message.

St. Joseph Aspirin recently launched a TV ad featuring Ken Osmond, the actor who played Eddie Haskell, cheeky friend of Beaver Cleaver in the hit 1950s sitcom, Leave It to Beaver. Significantly, this is the first situation comedy ever written from a child’s viewpoint, thus elevating potential for nostalgic resonance with the children of that time: Leading-Edge Boomers.

Although this ad deserves acknowledgement for resurrecting an actor who is part of Boomer nostalgia in a fairly big way, we are left wondering what Eddie Haskell has to do with headache pain relief. (Maybe the product is a palliative for the headaches Eddie often caused Beaver’s parents, June and Ward.) But brand connections between Eddie and an OTC analgesic are vague. Even minor copy changes could have strengthened ties between Eddie, the obnoxious neighborhood headache, and a popular aspirin brand of the same time. To the credit of this advertisement’s creators, contemporary Eddie helps reposition the brand for what Boomers need today: cardiovascular health. (A note of caution: Ad critiques rarely consider sales or measured changes in brand awareness/preference generated by a campaign, and these performance measures are, indeed, the bottom line in judging marketing effectiveness.)

Successful Generational Marketing requires mastery of nuance and meaning. Linkages between a brand and nostalgic meaning must make sense. Further, all formative life experiences of a generation, from early childhood through young adulthood, have potential for development. Boomers possess a rich repertoire of shared experiences beyond those that occurred between 1967 and 1973. Potential nostalgic motivational triggers go way beyond Woodstock.

Based on thirty years of experience marketing to Boomers, I can affirm with my career and portfolio that Generational Marketing succeeds when executed properly. I have created numerous ad campaigns and promotions, dating back to 1981, that performed by generating sales, memberships, donations, inquiries and leads.

Some argue that Generational Marketing is exclusionary:  marketing messages that appeal to a specific generation exclude members of other generations who might not identify with the message or conclude that the product is not for them.

I say, “Welcome to market segmentation.” Target marketing forces choices about who is most likely to buy a product, their common characteristics, and the most potent ways to evoke an emotional connection, to inspire a brand-consumer relationship. These choices force exclusion. As one of my mentors once instructed, “Brent, always make your easiest sales first.” Some of my successes in advertising and marketing correlate with the degree to which my team was effectively exclusionary.

Further, big brand marketers create and target messages to multiple segments for the same brand. When I handled advertising and sales promotions for McDonald’s in Colorado, we executed campaigns targeting young parents, children, Latinos, African Americans, and older customers. Each of these segmented campaigns involved sophisticated messaging that considered cultural and social nuances of the segment. McDonald’s brand meant slightly different things to different segments.

As I have written and instructed in my speeches, Boomers, particularly Leading-Edge Boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) have a sturdy sense of generational identification. This is due to two factors.

First, the Leading-Edge grew up during significant cultural and social upheaval. Karl Mannheim and several social science researchers have confirmed that turmoil in youth strengthens generational identification and durability of formative experiences.

Second, Boomers comprise the only generation to have grown up with just three monolithic television networks. No generation older or younger experienced this convergence of technology with youth. Boomers growing up in Alaska and Florida shared many of the same televised moments and thus learned the same cultural and social messages. We watched Eddie Haskell weekly in dominant generational percentages. We either liked or disliked Eddie, but we all recall his shifty character. This isn’t about the past or future; it’s about who we are: the sum-total of our life experiences.

Nevertheless, as a marketer, I’ve always maintained a full toolbox. The three Boomer marketing approaches discussed here can succeed when well executed. All three approaches can fail when creators have inadequate understanding of the market, message, methodology or meaning conveyed through their ads.

Ageless Marketing can inspire advertising messages that appeal across generational divides because of commonly shared values, such as the nearly universal desire for a cleaner environment. Boomers and their Generation Y children share passion almost equally for greener living and sustainability.

Life-stage Marketing can offer another path to success for those who connect a product or service with a stage need. Many Boomers today need help in understanding their caregiving challenges and responsibilities. This hallmark of their current life-stage predisposes them to offers of caregiving support and education.

And Generational Marketing can create powerful associations between a brand and a segment’s formative experiences. These nostalgic associations can become instant shorthand for positioning a contemporary brand constrained by cluttered media and product/service parity. Nostalgia is rich with opportunities for deeply personal brand interactions.

Those who insist that Generational Marketing is the least effective way to create advertising targeting Boomers may simply not understand this approach at a level of expertise necessary to be successful.

Comments

[Brent Green]

Our colleague Joe Pine, who wrote the business bestseller, "Authenticity," might answer your question this way. Fake becomes faux when we instill something once thought of as non-genuine with new meaning. While Eddie was literally a con-kid, he can be remembered now as representative of a generation's "Leave It to Beaver" era. The visceral qualities of his character matter less now that he's become just another metaphor for the halcyon 1950s and the homogenized, mass-market appeal of TV programming of that time. When I saw this ad, I didn't connect so much with Eddie, the fake persona, as I did with the TV series and all the characters, evoking distinct memories of my youth and watching this weekly sit-com. I also thought of St. Joseph brand in a new, refreshed way.

I still believe that advertising critics rarely know the results of these branding campaigns. As David Ogilvy famously concluded, "It's not creative if it doesn't sell." We usually only address the aesthetics, which I embrace when we see ads that are blatantly ageist or totally derogatory of our generation.

What if this campaign has significantly moved the needle in terms of brand preference, sales and top-of-mind recognition? Most critiques then become irrelevant – just a matter of opinion: I like it, you don't.

Some pundits criticized the Ameriprise Financial campaign of several years ago that evoked Boomer youth and rebellious times -- you know the vignette TV spot that included a cover of Steve Winwood's "Gimme Some Lovin’." They also featured the late Dennis Hopper (evoking memories of the movie "Easy Rider") in another couple of spots. I have always maintained that this Boomer nostalgia campaign established a national brand from scratch, thanks also to significant advertising reach and frequency, and during the year of its debut, stock prices for Ameriprise soared.

[Matt Thornhill]

On the use of Eddie Haskell, here's another perspective.

Why would a genuine and authentic brand use a character famous for being superficial and fake?

Just a thought.

[Brent Green]

The St. Joseph twist that takes this spot away from the typical celebrity pitch involves connecting its aspirin brand with Eddie Haskell, not Ken Osmond (a name few would remember). Eddie is a character connected to our most impish days of youth -- the kind of kid we might have hung around with to the chagrin of our parents. And you are correct, Mr. Nyren, I did advise in "Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers" to consider nostalgic connections with the more halcyon days of the late-fifties to mid-sixties before “the revolution” began in earnest. To me it still comes down to the integrity of the ad concept and execution, marketing technique notwithstanding. We rarely learn how well any ad has performed by hard measures, so it's always a bit speculative to either condemn or applaud an ad on creative resonance alone. I always want to know the numbers, but they're hard to capture; for competitive reasons, companies don't like to share big wins or losses.

[Gill Walker, CEO Evergreen Advertising, Australia]

Brent. You hit the nail on the head. With over 10 years experience of advertising to boomers and seniors, you're right harnessing 'collective life stage events' are incrediably powerful catalysts to reach the heart and minds of boomers. It's interesting as we see the boomers look at retirement village options they are more interested to look at retirement living where they have friends with common interests for that life stage, (such as the arts, sexualaity, past careers, alumuni) rather than distance to family.

[Chuck Nyren]

When I talk about not using nostalgia - it started with the spate of campaigns invoking the late sixties political and social upheavals with music and images - somehow relating it all to financial planning, adult diapers, etc. Pretty stupid and insulting.

I believe it was someone named Brent Green who opined (paraphrasing): If you want to reach baby boomers with nostalgic music, use the music from the late 1950s, early 1960s. That's when we were young children, early teens. It was innocent times and the music was cheerful and happy and brings back good memories - not political, conflicting ones.

Leave It To Beaver reflects that earlier time period. The St. Joseph's spot is fine with me. My mixed feelings about it have to do with most Boomers not really trusting actors and celebrities as spokespeople (there is research on this somewhere on my blog).

However, pushing low-dose aspirin is practically a public service announcement. Ken Osmond isn't selling real estate in Florida or some miracle anti-aging cure.