Whether the economy is on a slow upswing or about to roller coaster into a double dip tilt-a-whirl, one thing is clear. The baby boomer is one demographic that still has plenty of spending money. Perhaps, that’s why AARP is launching a new online network.
The seniors’ organization has just launched more than 600 websites catering to this group with names like Grandparents.com and Oxygen.com. These targeted sites are aiming for the 40 million aging boomers that are spread across the country from Del Mar to Dallas to Durham. A sophisticated data management platform is being used to slice and dice everything from age to gender and income.
“What this allows you to do is have this highly efficient ad play with scale,” said Peter Zeuschner, AARP’s Northeast media sales manager. Marketers and their advertising agencies are beginning to realize that the older boomers are not as brand loyal as previous gray hairs. So everything is up for grabs from biscuits to electronics.
The only thing that a brand has to respect is the boomers’ reluctance to stare at themselves in the mirror. Most have mentally locked in at 35. “Boomers don’t want to be targeted physically,” said Lisa Phillips, senior analyst at eMarketer. “They don’t want to see themselves in ads.” So, to sell a boomer your product you simply have to show a brand’s value and quality. It’s all right if a hard-bodied model is holding the brand up in the ad.
The baby boomer has always been able to use his imagination.
