Advertisers, marketers, and business people are all trying desperately to hit Baby Boomers and to reach into their deep pockets, because Boomer Chicks control a lot of money. And, these women over 40 are responsible for a large percentage of America's purchasing decisions. The problem is that very few content writers or copywriters understand the minds of this huge female cohort.
Marketing to Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. And, according to "Online Baby Boomers: A Demographic Profile, 2009", 64.8 million American Baby Boomers are using the web. That's 37% of all people online in the US, and this number is growing.
OK, Gen X and Millenials are still not convinced that we Boomer Chicks are a significant group...so try wrapping your head around this quote from Baby Boomer Headquarters:
“We are amused when (people) ask what effect the Boomers are having on the economy. Folks, in 2010, the economy IS the Boomers! We represent the vast majority of the workforce. There are 75 million of us; we ARE the economy. That is not bragging; that is just a statistical reality.”
Here is the most important line again, “We (Boomers) ARE the economy.” And, according to Kristi Dockus in What Women Want: Effectively Marketing to Women, Boomer women “make up 19% of the total population.” So Boomer Chicks are a hot segment of the market.
In order to grasp the current situation, you must know that women make 80% of all household purchasing decisions and that Boomer women have been totally ignored online. Also, when addressing Boomers, too many advertisers are getting it all wrong. Clueless strategists and copywriters refer to these Boomer women as “seniors.”
Marketing to Boomer Women
It seems like there are two problems that are commonly made when younger people try to reach Boomer women:
- Content writers and copywriters don’t understand Boomer women.
- Content writers and copywriters don’t have a universal, catchy "name" for Boomer women or Baby Boomer.
Boomer Women Are Not Seniors
The word “seniors” carries a terrible connotation when it hits the ears of Baby Boomers, and most Boomers would prefer being called a four-letter word over being called "a senior". So, anyone trying to reach this big demographic of women should never use these phrases:
- Seniors or Senior Women (unless you are referring to older women who have gone back to school to finish their degrees and they are in their fourth year)
- Old Women, Old Ladies, Older Ladies
- Silver Surfers or anything referencing silver (unless you're talking about precious metals or jewelry)
- Golden Girls or anything related to golden years (unless referencing the David Bowie song of that name)
- The Graying Population
- Grandma, Grandmothers, Grandparents, Grannies
- Mature Women (most Boomers are fun-loving and sometimes they like to feel immature)
Well, it’s easy to learn what not to say, but no one really knows what to call Boomer women.
Don't Use the AARP Definition of Senior
Younger Boomers are still in their 40s and many have children under 18 living at home. People in their 40s are not seniors, and people in their 50s are not seniors. The word "senior" is used for people who are old enough to receive Medicare and pensions. I don't care what definition AARP uses. AARP is just trying to sell life insurance and other products to Boomers, so they changed their age requirement to 50. It's smart marketing on AARP's part, but the AARP definition of senior, as someone over 50, is still incorrect.
Even when we Boomers were young, we never called people over 40 or 50 "seniors", although we might have called them "mom" or "dad".
Baby Boomer Women Need a New Marketing Name
The question remains: What should marketers call female Boomers?
Until some enterprising, young “junior” pulls together a flipping focus group, here are some viable options:
- Boomer Women (boring but better than “seniors”)
- Women Over 40
- Women Over 50
- Boomer Chicks (a personal fave; taken from hippie chicks)
- Boomer Babes (a take-off on Rush Limbaugh’s “Info Babes”)
- Boomer Girls (sounds like “Sex in the City")
- Female Boomers (a bit clinical)
- Aging Baby Boomers (this is ok, although Aged Baby Boomers or Old Baby Boomers are verboten phrases)
- Boomer Witches (even if you start both words with a “B”, this is better than “seniors” or “mature women”)
- Boomer Senoritas or even Boomer Senioritas
Boomer Chicks are happy to lipo, pull, tighten, color gray hair, or do just about anything on earth to avoid being asked that dreaded question, "Would you like the senior discount?"
What to Call Boomers
Really, someone in marketing or advertising is going to have to come up with a “universal phrase” for women born between the years of 1946 and 1964. Someone needs to find a phrase for these women that’s memorable...a phrase that’s descriptive, but not offensive.
Part of the problem is that the Boomer cohort is so big, it has splintered into two groups. Well, I was born (almost) right in the middle of the Baby Boom years, and I use music to distinguish the two segments. Cliff Notes for Gen X and youngsters:
- Older Boomers, born 1946-1955, are more like aging hippies. I like to call them Beatle Boomers.
- Younger Boomers, born 1956-1964, are more like punk rockers. I like to call them Disco Boomers or Punk Boomers.
Music is what defined Baby Boomers. However, the above definitions are not true for everyone. There are older straight, non-hippie chicks who never pushed their way to the front of a concert to stand near Jim Morrison, and there are plenty of nerdy, goody-two-shoes, younger Boomers who think "The Ramones" refers to a mountain range in Italy. And, I have no idea how you can reach non-rock-and-roll Boomer Chicks. Still, music is the one main thing that unites all Boomers in some way.
Advertisers and content writers need to come up with some non-derogatory term for Baby Boomer women or "women over 45" or "women over 50" or "women over 60" or whatever is being used in lieu of "seniors". There is just too much money at stake. And, may the person who coined the phrase "Baby Boomer" rot in hell....it certainly wasn't invented by one of us. We don't like that phrase, either. However, being called a Boomer is better than being called a senior.
More Articles:
Women's Travel Cruise Wear Online: Over 40 & 50
Remarriage After Divorce - Second Marriage Wedding Dresses
Best Online Catalogs for Women Over 40 & 50
Resources:
Online Baby Boomers: A Demographic Profile, 2009
Christina Gregoire - Christina Gregoire writes about divorce, fashion, and baby boomers. Her forte is explaining complex ideas in simple language.
Join the Conversation