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As Baby Boomers Hit Elderly Status, Marketers Want ‘Em

The arrival of baby boomers into the upper age brackets is changing the way Madison Avenue looks at the elderly.

For decades, marketers actively sought young consumers, who were thought to be more likely to try new products and change brands - not to mention more likely than their frugal elders to spend every penny they earned, writes The New York Times.

But now that some of the 76 million Americans born between the years of 1946 and 1964 are beginning to reach their 60s, marketers are shifting their opinions about older consumers.

Another reason for the change is that older consumers today are behaving differently than they did in previous decades. In particular, they travel and eat out more often and are willing to adopt new technologies.

One indication of change is a conference that was held earlier this week by Meredith’s More magazine. The conference, titled the Reinvention Convention, was aimed at women 40 and over. It was sponsored in part by Wachovia and Harley-Davidson. More is geared toward older women and ad pages have been making double-digit gains. However, there are some categories, such as fashion, that still have “an obsession with youth,” according to Brenda Saget Darling, vp and publisher of the magazine.

Other marketers that have begun focusing on older consumers include Biomet, which sells artificial hips and knees, Unilever, which is marketing a line of anti-aging products called Dove Pro-Age, and Olay, which is marketing a competitor to Dove Pro-Age, Olay Definity.

Related stories:

Baby Boomers Embracing Mobile Technology

Boomer Media Consumption: Less TV, Newspaper; More PC, Cellphone

Boomers, Becoming ‘Empty Nesters,’ Have More to Spend