If Charles Mackay, the canny Scottish author of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841), were alive today he’d probably rename his book Group Think, Herd Mentality – maybe even Mob Rule – to gin up his SEO results. But madness of crowds is right on the money when it comes to describing how mainstream Madison Avenue approaches generational marketing, in general, and Gen …
Health, Wellness And Five Foods Boomers Learned Aren’t So Bad After All
By Barry Robertson – A recent New York Times Food Section article, headlined The Hippies Have Won (Christine Muhlke, April 4, 2017) took an in-depth look at the veggie-enlightened world of chia seeds, Kambucha and kale – the later dubbed “the bacon of the clean-eating movement.” Ms. Mulke’s journey began with a nostalgic hat tip to yoga, meditation and Birkenstocks …
Four Million Gen Xers Disappear: Blame Madison Avenue’s Death Star
The Star Wars franchise turns forty this year; look for quotes and metaphors to crop up ad nauseam in marketing circles. Always ahead of the pack, we’ll get ours out early. In another 2017 milestone, for the third year in a row over four million members of Generation X – born 1965-1981 – will reach their 50th birthday and disappear from mainstream brand advertising. Thanks to Madison Avenue’s remorseless …
How The Boomers Took America Global
By Barry Robertson – When January rolls around, many Americans turn their thoughts to vacation planning. And, as in most other areas of the U.S. economy, Boomers are the driving force behind the travel industry. It’s not just about loading the family into the minivan for an interminable are we there yet road trip to see the world’s largest ball …
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Thanks To Those Spoiled Boomers
By Barry Robertson – The doting parents of the Boomer generation grew up in tough times. The economy crashed in 1929 triggering the Great Depression of the 1930s – during which unemployment never once fell below 14% – followed immediately by World War II. So when the U.S. entered a period of incredible post war prosperity and self-confidence that lasted from 1945 until the mid-60s, our …
How Boomers Revolutionized The Luxury Car Market
By Barry Robertson – The 2016 LA Auto Show opened on November 18 and will run through the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It gives Los Angelenos a chance to walk off all that turkey and holiday goodies. Who knows, maybe somewhere in the glittering array there are vehicles as transformative as in the 1990 show when the shiny new Lexus LS400 was on display. Thanks to …
Boomer Girls Still Just Want To Have Fun
by Barry Robertson – Who says Boomers aren’t adaptable? For sure, not the defunct music cassette industry… Back in 1980, when Donna Summer rocked our disco world, vinyl records were at the peak of their popularity – we just called them “records” in those days, the traditional term handed down from our parents and grandparents. However, cassette sales were already …
Memo To Smartphone Marketers: Don’t Put Boomers On Hold
by Barry Robertson – One ringy dingy, two ringy dingy … Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-1973) was a TV favorite among leading edge Boomers. It debuted on NBC Television as the top-rated series of the 1968/69 season, with an average rating of 31.8 (TV Facts, Cobbett Steinberg). Eat your heart out, Big Bang Theory (3.4 rating, season finale May 12, 2016, Nielsen). Okay, it’s …
Advertising to Boomers: Early Adopters will be too late
By Barry Robertson – In the Golden Age of cheesy sci-fi movies, scaly mutants in low budget rubber costumes, claymation monsters and rear projection creepy-crawlies ruled. One of our favorites is the 1954 Toho Film Company classic, Godzilla, starring a prehistoric dinosaur with a seriously bad attitude due to being awakened by H-bomb testing. Sure, anyone would be irked but, …
Boomer Spending Power: Chicken Little, Pollyanna and Wile E. Coyote
by Barry Robertson – Chicken Little and Pollyanna spar over Pew data There’s an old story about the corporate CEO who insisted all analysts present their findings to management with one arm tied firmly behind their backs. The boss was tired of wishy-washy reports that concluded “on the one hand … but on the other hand.” Legendary or not, when a Pew Research Center report proclaimed The American Middle …
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