On January 1, 2006, the oldest Baby Boomer will turn 60. Then, for the next nineteen years, one Boomer will turn 60 about every 7.5 seconds. This demographic tidal wave will affect the health & fitness industry with greater impact than the aging of any previous generation. Mature values and trends will dominate marketplace realities.
Over the last three decades, Boomers have made substantial monetary contributions to health and fitness companies. However, many of the leading fitness brands have forgotten their legacies, recently ignoring the generation that propelled early growth.
Health & fitness companies are learning that the motivations driving Boomers today are very different than those that were once the foundation of industry marketing. Instead of marketing to externally-directed values, such as appearance and romantic conquest, Boomer-focused innovators address internally-directed values such as age acceptance, gains in stamina and energy, and forestalling age-related illnesses.
Curves has created a culture where members perceive that they're helping each other. The burgeoning fitness franchise has discovered the power of "dialogue over monologue." Curves further addresses its clientele of middle-aged women by facilitating formation of support communities. The company plays classic rock music to create an uplifting user experience.
In his book, Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers, Brent Green further identifies the rising importance of a new consumer segment entitled Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, or LOHAS. The group is an economic powerhouse, purchasing over $350 billion in goods and services annually. Over 26 million members of the LOHAS segment are also Boomers, born between 1946 and 1959, or members of the Silent Generation, born between 1940 and 1945.
LOHAS consumers differentiate themselves by preferring brands that meet value-driven expectations for wellness, self-development and healthy living.
They gravitate to fitness programs integrating "body, mind and spirit," such as PIYO, a blend of Pilates and yoga.
Other intrinsic fitness drivers include the need to remain mentally and physically active for the purpose of being productive and useful. Boomers' most preferred exercise methods include walking, bicycling and weight lifting. Yet, this technology loving cohort resonates with the work-out advantages of high-tech machinery.
Boomers will increasingly pursue fitness as a way to obviate the cosmetic impact of aging. Less obvious will be emerging fitness motivations such as staying vigorous for grandchildren, undertaking intense physical preparation for adventure vacations and learning expeditions, and to improve cognitive health and memory.
Brent,
You are exactly right on about the growing importance of fitness in the lives of Boomers. In addition to the reasons you cite for the resurgence in fitness, there's another one: competition.
There's a significant part of the Boomer population who run, swim, bike, play baseball, surf--you name it--not only to stay fit, but to keep the edge that competition provides.
Boomer competition comes in many forms: Sure some people are competing to win; but far more are competing to get better, to break a personal best or achieve some other personal goal.
We call these people GeezerJocks, and we've created a magazine just for them called, you guessed it, GeezerJock. We've gone from 0 to 60,000 subscribers in the last year, and expect to have 75,000 in 2006.
We've been called the Sports Illustrated for Boomer sports, which is an awfully nice thing to be called.
People can check us out at http://www.geezerjock.com.
Thanks,
Brian Reilly
Publisher
GeezerJock magazine
Posted by: Brian Reilly | November 15, 2005 at 09:40 PM