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Video Case for Marketing Research Reveals Marketing Opportunities in the Baby Boomer Generation

For many years, marketers have focused upon consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 to promote products. Marketers feel that wooing consumers early in life will ensure that they become lifetime loyal customers. While this seems logical, research is revealing that Baby Boomers might be a more profitable demographic. Statistics show that while spending for Millennials is actually shrinking, Baby Boomer spending has been increasing. Baby Boomers are estimated to have $3 trillion in annual buying power.

The Baby Boomer generation is vastly different from the generations preceding it. They have also proven to be a hard market to understand. Numerous studies have shown that Baby Boomers desire to have a variety of products available to them. Many of the products traditionally thought to belong to the younger generation are actually bought the most by older generations, such as cars and technological products. With approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population estimated to be 65 years or older by 2030, marketers are beginning to research better ways for marketing to Baby Boomers.

In one study researchers attempted to understand how older consumers shop and interact in stores. Because store marketers often target younger generations of consumers, little thought has been given to how accessible these stores are for older generations. The research design involved equipping a person with gloves, neck braces, helmets, blurry goggles, and other equipment to simulate how a person in his or her 70s with arthritis is feeling. Researchers would then observe how the person takes items off shelves, gets into his or her car, and gets up from chairs.

This research has been shared with many businesses, which have interpreted the findings to create a retail environment better suited to this demographic. CVS, for instance, has lowered its shelves, made its store lighting softer, and installed magnifying glasses for hard-to-read labels. Other businesses are using this information to redesign their products. Diamond Foods Inc., for example, has designed the packaging of its Emerald snack nuts to be easier to open, a great help for older consumers whose hands become less mobile as they age. The company also studied consumers with arthritis and decreased the time it takes to rotate the caps to open its products. Procter & Gamble are conducting similar studies with its Tide products.

Additionally, Baby Boomers have created an opportunity for businesses to market entirely new products. Baby Boomers tend to embrace fitness and exercise regimens as a way to stay fit and prolong their lives. Technology firms are seeing an opportunity to develop products to be installed in the homes of older consumers. These products monitor the movements of the inhabitants and alert family or experts if there are any changes in the inhabitants’ movements. A decrease in mobility could signal a change in the person’s physical and mental state, which may require medical attention. Althoughthese devices might otherwise seem intrusive, Baby Boomers’ desires to stay healthy and prolong life are increasing their demand. Many Baby Boomers are also concerned with preserving their more youthful appearance. Lingerie maker Maidenform has created shapewear, or clothes that help to tone the body, targeted toward those ages 35 to 54.

There is one description that marketers must avoid when marketing to Baby Boomers: any words or phrases that make them feel old. Marketing research has revealed that Baby Boomers do not like to be reminded that they are aging. Therefore, many marketing initiatives aimed at older consumers must be subtle. For this reason, Diamond Foods does not market the fact that its packages are easier to open because it does not want to make Baby Boomers feel aged. Even marketers of products that are for older people have overhauled their promotional campaigns to focus less on the concept of aging. Kimberly-Clark’s Depend brand for incontinence was widely regarded as “adult diapers.” This negative connotation led many to avoid them. To try to counteract this view, Kimberly-Clark released commercials that discussed the benefits of the product but also tried to “de-myth” the brand by discussing its similarity in look and feel to underwear. Many other businesses that sell similar products are following suit.

Although marketers have long focused on Millennials, the demand for products by Baby Boomers is changing the ways that businesses market to consumers. Marketing research is key to understanding the Baby Boomer demographic and creating the goods and services that best meet their needs

1. Sensors installed in the home to record movement is considered a:

a. Mechanical observation method

b. Mechanical survey method

c. Mechanical interview method

d. Mechanical descriptive method

2. Celia’s impact on early intervention success could be determined through:

a. Descriptive research

b. Marketing opportunity analysis

c. Experimental research

d. Marketing social media research

3. OSHU’s approach to placing sensors in homes could be a:

a. Probability sample

b. Survey sample

c. Quota sample

d. Observation sample