Boomer Myth Busters from AARP

The latest quarterly report from from AARP Services and Focalyst, titled “How Well Do You Know Boomers? Counting Down the Top 10 Boomer Myths” contained some pretty interesting myth-busters. My favorites are:

Myth #7 - You can capture Boomers with mainstream advertising

Boomers are paying attention to advertising, but they do not always like what they see. 66% say that ads have gotten more crude in recent years and another 67% say they are less likely to purchase a product if they find the advertising offensive. 23% say they consider ads that are geared toward their age group insulting.

This is yet another reminder for all those creative department types (read twenty-somethings) to keep the audience in mind when developing creative.

Myth #4 - Boomers are winding down with age

Actually, they are quite active, as the typical Boomer regularly participates in an average of 10 activities and the participation extends beyond going to church or gardening. They are traveling (60 million took at least one trip last year), attending live sporting events (22 million) and bicycling (11 million), among other activities.

Nike, Adidas and Reebok are you listening?

Myth #3 - Boomers are technologically challenged

Contrary to many assumptions, Boomers were in the workforce during the evolution of computers, email and the internet, and were the first to understand the value of technology. Some 82% of Boomers use the internet and 64% have been online. Their online activities include instant messaging, downloading music or movies, financial transactions and online gaming.

This goes against the grain that only the thirty-somethings and younger are heavy users of new/social media. Companies that make this assumption are missing the opportunity to engage with their audience on a more 1-to1 and intimate basis.

Click here for the full list of myths.

SoCon08 Survey

My response to the dNeero social survey on SoCon08.