Notice Any Change?

May 17, 2011      Admin

From Engage: Boomers, here’s a brief demographic update, in which marketer Stephen Reilly argues that Boomers are finally getting the marketing attention they deserve.

He notes that there are more Americans age 51 than any other age, and that the average age of Boomers is 54.

Argues Reilly: “Anyone reviewing sales data has to recognize that a giant number of customers (in almost any conceivable category) are in their 50s and 60s. Not just some of them, but most of them … In 2011, that undeniable fact is: most sales are going to consumers in midlife and older. And those consumers require a different marketing approach, demand different qualities in the products they buy, and value relationships with brands differently than their younger counterparts. They also have more money.”

In the face of this “undeniable” purchasing power, Reilly says marketers are finally waking up to the necessity of positioning their brands against the requirements of a more mature consumer.

This theme is pushed further in this NY Times article … In Shift, Ads Try to Entice Over-55 Set.

Hmmm. It seems to me that fundraisers — certainly direct response fundraisers — have always recognized that their appeals were most welcomed by older donors … folks older than Boomers. Boomers are simply now joining the ‘matures’ party and swelling its numbers.

So this should be nothing but good news for fundraisers … unless for some reason Boomers are carrying with them some attitudes or expectations that make them harder to ‘sell’ to. Here at The Agitator, we’ve tended to argue that Boomers are more demanding of demonstrated performance … Who gets results? And more of them?

By now, your nonprofit should have plenty of Boomer donors in your file. What’s your take on them … any different than the ‘Seniors’ who preceded them?

Tom

One response to “Notice Any Change?”

  1. David Hazeltine says:
    May 18, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    Tom-

    Great stuff here, and just about every day for that matter – keep up the good work!

    There are vast differences between Boomers and their G.I. Generation parents — and within the Boomer segment. The one-size-doesn’t-fit-all theory absolutely applies in this important sub-set of donors and prospects.

    I wrote about it just recently in our blog, No Green Bananas, which focuses on marketing to the 50+ market…
    http://www.nogreenbananas.net/2011/05/06/fundraising-to-boomers-%E2%80%93-its-not-your-fathers-10-envelope/

    DH

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