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mer / neXt is the 50+ audience arm of VizioNation, a communications and product strategy consultancy. Our seminars, publications and custom studies help brands leverage the hidden generational dynamics that shape perceptions and buying behavior in the U.S. 50+ demographic. It is the world’s 3rd largest economy, but …
- Most brand teams – median age 38 – underperform here because they are generationally and socio-culturally out of step with Americans in the 50+ demographic, median age 65.
We give decision-makers powerful new tools to overcome generational distortion, immerse in the subconscious programming of the over-50 audience and win sales from complacent competitors.
Socio-Cultural Imprinting: The Key to Brand Prosperity in the 50+ Demo
In classic psychology, imprinting causes a sudden subconscious shift in perception and behavior. Triggered by external events at susceptible moments, the best known example is that of the baby geese who came to accept a scientist as “mom.”
In humans, subconscious imprinting events are more frequent, less predictable and involve social and cultural factors – including products and brands – as well as natural life-stage triggers.
- The result is constantly evolving hidden programming
- Over decades, new events overlay and obscure the past
- Inevitably, no two generations are imprinted the same
The implications for advertisers are huge. The subconscious mechanisms of marketers in their 20s and 30s are radically different from those shaping how customers over 50 relate to brand messaging.
Boomer / neXt helps brand teams understand and exploit the unique socio-culturally imprinted dynamics operating beneath the surface of the 50+ demographic. Brands that fail to cross the generational chasm that separates marketer from customer face destinies beyond their control.
Underperformance in the World’s 3rd Largest Economy
120 million strong, Americans over 50 represent the world’s 3rd largest economy, but less than 10% of the U.S. ad spend goes to actively competing for their business.
Except for the health and wealth categories, mainstream advertisers see them as:
- Reluctant to switch brands or adopt new behavior
- Too toxic for brand image to depict in advertising
- Stuck in the past and easily engaged by nostalgia
- Anyway, covered by campaigns targeting the 18-49 demo
Our clients learn to sidestep these old memes, create socio-culturally relevant strategies and grow at the expense of the laggards.
Brand Culture Mismatch With America’s Best Customers
The typical brand marketing team is generationally disconnected from the 50+ demo.
- Most ad agency creatives are in their 20s/30s
- Only 5-10% of all advertising, PR and marketing professionals are over age 50 themselves
So, as consumers enter high-spending midlife, their marketing peers disappear and brand cultures drift out of step with those of their best customers.
Boomer / neXt trains Millennial and Gen Z professionals to reverse this drift and regenerate authenticity in the 50+ space.
50-Plus: One Demographic, Three Generations
Three distinct yet connected generations drive the world’s #3 economy:
- 29.5 million Gen Xers, b. 1965-1980
- 68 million Baby Boomers, b. 1946-1964
- 20.5 million Pre-Boomers/Silents, b. 1945/earlier
Obviously, this is not a one size fits all demographic.
Gen Xers, Boomers and Pre-Boomers cannot be simply segmented by lifestage; differing patterns of socio-cultural imprinting play crucial roles in shading brand perceptions and pecking orders.
Boomer / neXt programs teach marketers to avoid the pitfalls of treating this vast economy as merely lifestage driven. Too big to ignore, it is also too complex to stereotype and too smart to risk offending.
Rethink Horizons: Boomer / neXt Seminars and Publications
Boomer / neXt offers seminars and content across a wide range of topics, including:
- Forget the Memes: 60 Is the New 60
- Generation X: Misunderstood eXiles on Main Street
- Marketing to Midlife Millennials
- Crossing the Chasm to the World’s #3 Economy
- Brand Courtship in the 50+ Demo
- The Granola Bar, the Running Shoe and the SUV
- The Humble American Cupholder Revolution
- Volkswagen, Cadillac and the Failure of Thinking Small
See Seminars & Publications for details – and sign up our free newsletter.
Boomer / neXt is the 50+ audience arm of VizioNation, a consultancy teaching that no brand is immune from the silent forces of generational imprinting. Visit here.
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