Since Baby Boomer generation are more affluent than their previous generation (Silent Generation). Why advertisers still stuck with the 25-54 demographics? Is there a change in the marketing that targets 55+? Plus Baby Boomer generations still spending lots of money than their previous generation counter parts.
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55+
- Thread starter e-dawg
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The issue is not affluence. The factor is that the older consumers get, the more set they are in buying habits. That means that it takes more ads more often to make a sale and that can be unprofitable
This has been explained many times before and it basically breaks down to two reasons. In a nutshell, the 55+ age group is frequently buying products they have never had to buy before and generally speaking, television works well in selling these products. When it comes to the 55+ consumer, they tend to have strong loyalties to products they use. It simply takes so much money to sway a 55+ customer to buy the advertised product, you could have swayed several younger age group persons for the same cost.
You can cater to 55+ but you must rely on business to business sales. That is almost impossible in a major city where virtually all significant businesses are handled by an advertising agency. Even the big market poorer signals have difficulty with direct to business sales for one reason: the typical advertiser is a single location mom and pop. The chances of a marginal station having enough listeners to produce results for such a business is virtually zero. And such businesses cannot spend much...maybe $300 a month meaning you need lots of businesses running to pay the bills. The smaller the market, the better your chances of success with a 55+ format.
The third factor is as a business owner, most will choose an easier path to profit. To go after the 55+ is not just 'the hard way' but a very hard way that is more likely to fail than other options. Most would say they want an easier path with a better chance of becoming profitable.
You can cater to 55+ but you must rely on business to business sales. That is almost impossible in a major city where virtually all significant businesses are handled by an advertising agency. Even the big market poorer signals have difficulty with direct to business sales for one reason: the typical advertiser is a single location mom and pop. The chances of a marginal station having enough listeners to produce results for such a business is virtually zero. And such businesses cannot spend much...maybe $300 a month meaning you need lots of businesses running to pay the bills. The smaller the market, the better your chances of success with a 55+ format.
The third factor is as a business owner, most will choose an easier path to profit. To go after the 55+ is not just 'the hard way' but a very hard way that is more likely to fail than other options. Most would say they want an easier path with a better chance of becoming profitable.
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And even worse for 55+'s radio prospects, many older consumers who change their buying habits go from buying name brands at supermarkets to buying store brands. So you have a double whammy when it comes to ad agency thinking -- trying to market to consumers who not only won't bite on a sales pitch but won't even switch supermarkets unless it's to migrate to bare-bones chains like Aldi -- which, AFAIK, doesn't use radio at all.
Saw some statistics the other day, where 55+ used to follow much more brand loyalty when buying a vehicle. A value leftover from their parents.
Now vehicles to millennials and Gen-Z are considered disposable, mainly purely transportation, and a place to integrate with their smartphone. There is no brand loyalty anymore.
And they do today, but we have learned that custom, familiarity and having learned that "new" is not always "better" is what creates brand loyalty. An older person, having found during their life that changing a familiar and good product for a new one is often just a bad experience, will be more resistant to change.
No, it is not everyone. But it's a prevalent enough habit to make the cost of marketing to seniors have a much lower ROI than promoting to younger demos.
And that is true in affluent urban areas. Among those who are of lower income... such as those who started with a used car or two, moving to a new car is a very significant life step. The assumption that all Millennials exhibit similar behaviours is not true... there are wide ethnic differences as well as urban, suburban and rural differences, income level differences and flyover vs. coastal differences.
This one thing about brand loyalty that puzzles me - at least in the consumer electronics area, mainly TVs, some very old brand names are being revived for TVs.
These old brand names have no connection to the companies that originally used them and the TV quality may be questionable.
The most famous, of course, is the RCA brand, that brand is, IIRC, licensed to at least 2 different companies although the RCA company hasn't existed for ~35 years.
Have there been any surveys to see if 55+ consumers realize that some well known brands may not be what they seem?
Kirk Bayne
These old brand names have no connection to the companies that originally used them and the TV quality may be questionable.
The most famous, of course, is the RCA brand, that brand is, IIRC, licensed to at least 2 different companies although the RCA company hasn't existed for ~35 years.
Have there been any surveys to see if 55+ consumers realize that some well known brands may not be what they seem?
Kirk Bayne
You mean like Muntz, Zenith, Philco, or RCA? No, they aren't. For TV's you have two types of consumer:
1. Price conscience. Looking for the TV for the best price. Brand makes zero difference.
2. Videophile wannabe's. Are willing to spend more money for higher end brands which have technology like Organic LED (OLED). #2 is by far the smaller in numbers.
All are made in China or Indonesia. No flat panel TV's are manufactured in Japan anymore, let alone the U.S. Now before some of you start jumping on me with the; 'But my 1990 Panasonic plasma TV was made in Japan', we're not talking about something made twenty, thirty, or forty years ago. Let's try to focus on the mid 21st Century for once.
The survey data is derived when you purchase a consumer product.
i'm looking for anyone who has experience selling ads on radio using the nielsen rating system/book to local and national agencies. I'm trying to learn the biz and get insights and advise. any experienced broadcasters or sales people here? thank you in advance.
Because they're not looking just for people who have money, they're looking for people who spend money. Consumption of almost everything falls off the cliff at age 55, when the kids are out of the home.
Nope.
Isn't that a little bit like calling heaven and asking if there are any Christians around?
Yeah, I sent him my phone number and he never responded.
One thing to consider here, not all Boomers who are "affluent" may have a lot of liquid assets available to do a ton of consumer spending. In my city I know Boomers who bought houses in the 1980's and 1990's and while they may or may not have high salaries, the value of their houses alone makes them close to millionaires -- yet they may not have a ton of money to spend on frivolities.
That and the other things mentioned upthread.
Oh, yeah, and leading edge of GenX is starting to pass 55+ also.
That and the other things mentioned upthread.
Oh, yeah, and leading edge of GenX is starting to pass 55+ also.
Look up a guy named Scott Howard, who's the local sales manager at WOWO. You'll find him on Linked-In or his own website.
wowo | The Genuine ScLoHo aka Scott Howard
https://www.scotthoward.mes
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