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As a member of Generation X, I like to think we’re much more tech savvy than our parents' generation. Younger generations grew up with technology at their fingertips and now spend most of their day making connections with friends and colleagues via our laptops and smartphones. We Tweet, Facebook, IM and text all day long. But the often ignored truth is that our parents are right there with us.

In fact, the Baby Boomer generation is much more tech savvy than we acknowledge. According to Nielsen, Boomers make up 1/3 of all online, social media and Twitter users.

However, once the primary target of Retail marketers, Baby Boomers are being left behind for a much younger, trendier audience. But there are 80 million Boomers currently in the United States, and they are extremely affluent. eMarketer suggests that this digitally-savvy generation, who are between 47-65 years old, “spend more time and money online than any other demographic.”

Pat McDonough, an SVP at Nielsen states, “Boomers should be as desirable for marketers as Millennials and Gen-Xers for years to come; they are the largest single group of consumers, and a valuable target audience. As the U.S. continues to age, reaching this group will continue to be critical for advertisers.”

So, how can Retail Advertisers regain the interest of Baby Boomers online?

• Don’t Age Up Messaging. Baby Boomers are an active generation: working full-time, caring for their parents, travelling, staying on the move. They don’t want to be associated with being old or decrepit. Create ad messaging that appeals to all ages.

• Keep it Simple. Because Boomers joined the online world later in life, they may not be quite as tech savvy as younger generations. Ensure ad copy and landing pages are as clear and concise as possible. Create a quick and painless checkout experience where consumer privacy and security is clearly stated.

• Connect via Mobile. Keep up with this fast-paced group by targeting them on their mobile devices. eMarketer estimates that more than 86% of Boomers have a mobile phone. By 2012, more than 25 million Baby Boomers will be accessing the Internet via their mobile device. This mobile ad messaging should stay simple, relevant and mirror offline advertising. Retailers should keep landing page easy to read. Another consideration is to ensure pricing in mobile ads are compelling and location specific. While many Baby Boomers are relatively affluent, a large percentage have had to delay their retirement due to the economy, and are interested in getting the best price available.

Posted by Susan Minniear, Google Retail Team

Mothers today seek reliable information to make the best decisions and purchases they can for their families. Increasingly, they’re seeking this information through digital channels. This behavior provides an opportunity for marketers to reach moms in contextually relevant environments. Are you adapting your online strategies to target moms?

Google, in partnership with BabyCenter®, the leading global online parenting resource, explored how you, as marketers across industries, can empower mothers through online channels. The insights will help you best utilize the Internet and search in your marketing programs targeting moms.

We hope you will join us Tuesday, February 9, 2010 12:00 pm PST / 3:00 pm EST.

The webinar will spotlight two pieces of research:

• BabyCenter’s 21st Century Mom™ Report: A comprehensive look into the hearts and minds of the modern mom
• Google’s The Four Truths About Moms & Search: How and why moms search

Register here.

Posted by Jaime Mayer & Jenny Liu, the Google Marketing Team

My mother always said that her three children were the most important thing in her life. Blanketed in the narcissism of childhood, I not only believed this to be true, but went several steps further - taking it as a given that my siblings and I were our mother's singular focus. Really, it wasn't until I reached college age that I fully understood that being a mom and having interests beyond one's children were not mutually exclusive. Having had this epiphany, its now clear that, like all moms, my mother worked hard to balance work, parenting, friends, and personal interests.

Mothers of young children today face similar challenges, however, to manage their priorities, they use the Internet in a way my mother never did - both for utility and as a communication platform. When it comes to their online activities, moms are not only moms, but also, individuals, with their own diverse sets of interests.

Digital Channels: Key at All Stages of the Purchasing Cycle

From a marketing standpoint, the "Mommy" segment has always been an attractive one. After all, moms shop not just for themselves, but for their entire household.

If you are looking to attract their attention, its important to note that as moms' media consumption patterns shift, the digital channel has become increasingly important for influencing their numerous buying choices. Many of the 34 million moms online [1] learn about products for the first time not via TV, but online. Then, looking to get more information, they turn to Web resources such as online reviews and search. Finally, when they are ready to purchase, they seek out online destinations to save time.

The Household's Chief Purchasing Officers

According to Experian Simmons' 2007-2008 Survey, 70% of online moms made a purchase on the Web in the past 12 months. Their top three purchase categories were apparel and accessories (36% made a purchase); books, music and video (31%); and toys and games (24%). It is true that moms often make online purchases for their kids and family, but they also routinely shop for themselves.

And, when it comes to spendng, moms are hardly using their childrens' Monopoly money. On the contrary, 38% of moms surveyed by Experian had they spent at least $200 on online purchases over the past year and 13% coughed up $1,000 or more.

Once moms do find something they like, their influence extends well beyond their own families. Nielsen found that women ages 25 to 54 with at least one child were not only highly likely to give advice about parenting/family issues (88% more likely than the typical Internet user), they were also more likely to share information about household and beauty/cosmetic products. [2]

Finding Moms in their Natural Habitats:

For marketers looking to reach this group, there are a multitude of ways to do so. Moms are both regular searchers and frequent visitors to parenting and family, news, weather and political content sites. As shown in the chart below, marketing to the digital mom is best down through web links (43.1%) and sponsored search results (41.9%). [3]

Historically, typical marketing segmentation strategies have dictated that the 18-49 year old adult should be the primary focus of firms’ promotion efforts. However, as the last of the baby boomers, the 78 million individuals born between 1946 and 1962, celebrate their 50th birthdays, marketers are quickly realizing that they will have to alter their traditional tactics if they hope to tap into this group’s collective spending power of more than $2 trillion - some 50 percent of U.S. discretionary income.[1]

In particular, reaching aging boomers online represents both a challenge and an opportunity for today’s marketers. The 53 million baby boomers online make up the largest generation surfing the Web, and represent 29.8% of all US Internet users.[2] Yet, regardless of their intentions, businesses are not taking full advantage of the chance to target this generation online; more than 72.5% of adults aged 45-54 and 83.2% of adults 55 years and older believe online advertising is focused on younger generations[3].

Boomer Marketing Challenges:

In trying to determine the difficulty in reaching baby boomers, some demographers have noted that the generation might actually be better understood if split into two distinct groups: older boomers (born between 1946 and 1954) and younger boomers (born between 1955 and 1964). While there may be a case for further segmenting the boomers by past experiences given the number of years this age cohort spans – this is really only the tip of the iceberg for marketers looking to reach this diverse group.

Raised by permissive parents, who were anxious to provide their children with the material goods, security, and pocket money which they had been deprived in their own childhood, baby boomers grew up in an era which celebrated youth and prized individualism.

In fact, if you are looking to find the greatest common denominators underpinning the boomers' collective aspirations, you may discover that they can be found in this generation’s desire to be perceived as youthful and unique – and, of course, to see themselves through this lens.

To this end, marketers using messaging tailored to ‘seniors’ or ‘aging hippies’ may find themselves alienating a group whom expects to be catered to on their terms. It’s necessary to consider the goals and concerns of the baby boomer audience based on that which is relevant to them today, rather than focus purely in terms of past shared experiences.

Themes in the Midlife Stage:

Among other things, this involves a closer look at the impact of increased life expectancy on the midlife period, which is characterized by distinct rites of passages that mirror neither those of senior living nor young adulthood.

To do so, it may be valuable to consider the roles that each of the following play in the lives of boomers:

Indulgent Caregivers

According to a recent study conducted for Grandparents.com 54% of all grandparents, almost 38 million, are younger than 65 years old and 51% of the grandparent population will be baby boomers by 2010. Spending by grandparents on their grandchildren has grown an average 7.6 percent per year since 2000, nearly double the average annual growth rate for consumers overall and the study expects grandparents to spend $52B on their grandchildren in the next year.

Additionally, adults over 40 spent nearly twice as much per month on children and three times the amount per month on teenagers as those under 40[4]. As the Hallmark Channel’s Henry Schleiff recently noted in a NY Times article, in the midst of a recession, the boomers offer advertisers “an audience — and here’s your quotable quote — that has assets, not allowances.”

Cougars: Sexy at Any Age

In a recent interview with Marketing Daily, Carol Davies, a partner at innovation consultancy Fletcher Knight, discussed the new TV Land show ‘The Cougar’ and its place in highlighting boomer women’s desire to look attractive and – yes - feel sexy.

Davies highlighted the growing cultural sense that women want to continue to be sexually relevant even after they turn 50 as well as the hyperactive beauty trial mode, in which boomer women conduct a mad search for beauty products, exercise regimes and nutritional solutions to help them look as young as they feel.

Health & Wellness Information Seekers

Boomers are highly motivated to go online to find out more about a drug, condition or regimen they have seen advertised on TV. In an earlier ThirdAge/JWT BOOM survey of 1,039 people over age 40, 68% said that seeing a health-related TV commercial had prompted them to go online for more information.

And, among those seeking additional information, a whopping 80% said they clicked on an online ad related to health issues!

Targeting Tactics:

By targeting based on the needs of the midlife stage detailed above while simultaneously considering boomers’ collective aspirations and beliefs in messaging, marketers may find that they grow increasing effective in reaching this elusive group.

Here are some ideas on tactics that may resonate in marketing messaging:

Trust:

One way to achieve success in the boomer arena is to create a brand that is associated with trust – and prove it. Boomers tend to be less brand loyal than younger generations, and, in fact, according to an AARP/Focalyst survey in 2008, some 61% agreed that “in today’s marketplace, it doesn’t pay to be loyal to one brand.”

On the other hand, once a firm manages to attract a boomer following, it can pay back in droves, particularly among female consumers. A year-long survey by Keller Fay Group for Prevention magazine found that word-of-mouth is a strong influence in buying decisions among boomer women. Some 68% of boomer women rated information they heard in conversations as credible and 55% said they made purchases based on their conversations.

Quality Products and Accurate Information:

Perhaps because they have seen more trends come and go than their millennial counterparts, your messaging should reflect boomers’ focus on a products long term quality and value; this generation is not typically interested in short term fads.

According to a 2008 Focalyst Survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents ages 43 and older said they paid more attention to ads for products they already planned to buy. Since boomers are not brand loyal, they are likely to decide on a product purchase without having a brand in mind, as a result, they are highly receptive to advertising that provides additional information on products they intend to purchase and more likely to be willing to experiment with new brands.

As a caveat, false advertising can be harmful to your brand, the same Focalyst survey revealed that two-thirds of Boomers would be less likely to buy a product if they found the advertising to be offensive – such is the case with ads that bucket them as ‘seniors’.

Nostalgia:

Recently, we've seen nostalgia-themed advertising campaigns for companies like Target, Coke, and Nationwide Insurance; marketers' goal in revisiting the past is to distill the economic anxiety of the present. Some of these campaigns involve combining the best of the past and present in order to bring in younger audiences, but boomers, in particular, tend to benefit from nostalgic targeting that reminds them of their youth.

[1] Value Retail News; Dec2008, Vol. 26 Issue 10, p19-19, 1/3p
[2] comScore Media Metrix Research, September 2008.
[3] Burst Media Corp., March 2008
[4] TV Land’s “Generation BUY: A Close Look at the Boomer Consumer” study.


Posted by Yael Davidowitz-neu, the Google Retail Team