Mature adults are asking marketers, “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”

There are two kinds of trends that every marketer needs to watch. There is the overnight sensation, like Twitter, that demand your attention and force you to play catch-up. Then there are the Really Big Ones, like global warming, which change everything but are so big, and move so slowly, that long-range vision is demanded.

In the next ten years, the biggest shift in marketing will be the movement to the mature market (which shouldn’t be confused with the sudden uprising in “boomer marketing”), for 40+ customers. This is more than theory, by the way, it is numerically factual. Since 1989, this cohort has grown to be over 50% larger than the youth market. And just as youth and its values rightfully dominated our marketing culture for the past 50 years, older people and older values are now the majority (and in America, majority wins).

So welcome to the 21^st century, everyone. It’s an exciting time to be alive. An exciting time to be getting older. And, if you’re a younger marketer, that rare opportunity for some old dogs to teach us all a few new tricks.

Mike Baumayr, Chapter Two Communications

Mature marketing expertise from one of America’s “oldest” authorities on boomers, retirement, aging, longevity, and inter-generational marketing.

From the mature market news desk: Boomers are no different than any previous generation.

Long before the boomers began to weigh in on the importance of the boomers, life had pretty well established the fact that there were four basic seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. And each of these seasons has its own unique set of psychological values.

Life, in other words, has turned out to be bigger than the boomers. In fact, life as we know it hasn’t even been remotely affected by this group; nor have the rumors of extended longevity in the 21^st century (one recent study predicted that half of the American babies born in 2007 would live to the age of 104) changed the rules either.

Below is a shorthand version of The Four Seasons. Remembering the importance, and universality, of these seasons is vastly more important than all the boomer books ever written.

How we process the world around us during each season of life:

SPRING

Childhood to adulthood, ages 7 to 18+

Highly imitative
Unquestioning
Nuance insensitive
Black & white reality

The worldview of life in Spring is comedic (life is great).

SUMMER

Young adulthood, ages 16+ to 40+

Rules-based reality
Rationally imitative
Very questioning
Slight sensitivity to nuance

The worldview of Summer is romantic (just about everything is possible).

FALL

Middle adulthood, ages 38+ to 60+

Reality seen in shades of grey
Context is key
Selectively imitative
Strong sensitivity to nuance
Selective questioning

The worldview of Fall is tragic (not everything is possible).

WINTER

Late adulthood, age 58+

Rarely imitative
Sensitivity to nuance peaks
Everyone’s reality is different
Faith over questioning

The worldview of Winter is ironic (a time of reflection).

Marketing should reflect life as we know it. Unfortunately, when we look in the mirror, the first half of life and the second half of life have completely separate reflections. Just remember that both are changing constantly, but we all go through the same ones on our own time.

10 great things about getting older, part 2.

1. Old people love your kids (their grandchildren!) beyond reason. Young people have to take care of their kids.
2. Old people know what they like and buy it. Young people talk it over with friends.
3. Old people have more money to invest in worthy charities. Young people have to invest in themselves.
4. Old people appreciate not working. Young people fear unemployment.
5. Old people take care of each other. Young people take care of their families.
6. Old people volunteer their time. Young people don’t have any time.
7. Old people have 2/3 of the country’s wealth. Young people want to know how they did that.
8. Old people let the government pay their medical bills. Young people pay for the old people, then pay for themselves.
9. Old people go to school because they want to. Young people go because they have to.
10. Old people don’t worry about a mid-life crisis. Young people have them to look forward to.

Mike Baumayr, Chapter Two Communications

Mature marketing expertise from one of America’s “oldest” authorities on boomers, retirement, aging, longevity, and inter-generational marketing.

Don’t worry, be old.

We all have something we worry about most of our lives: Getting sick, losing a loved one, losing our hair, our spouse’s fidelity, gaining weight, losing a job…there’s plenty to choose from. So why is getting old, which occurs every minute of every day, seen as an unwelcome encroachment upon our daily lives?

One good reason is because it is a harbinger of final days. And while this may be true, it is still a lot like going to a funny movie and then leaving early, and sadly,  because it’s almost over. It is the scarcity of time that makes it precious.

Another good reason is the declining value we place on these later years. This is more serious, because if we acknowledge and accept the American view of aging when we’re young, then we become shackled by that view as we grow older.

Personally, it saddens me to see us accept silly societal maxims like “60 is the new 30” or “50 is the new 20.” Oh good, we seem to be saying, we are not as old as we thought we were.

Me, I’m older.  And frankly, I couldn’t wait to sell my stock in the youth market.  Youth is hard. Youth is uncertainty. Youth is peer pressure, fitting in, looking good, saying the right things, trying to appear to be something you’re probably not. In short, youth is exhausting. But ask any 60-year-old you happen to see (there are still a few of us getting around) and they will tell you that 60 bears little resemblance to, and has little interest in, who you were at 30. You are a different person with different values (I’ll go into more detail in a later blog). And the “declining value” I referred to earlier is, in actuality, a whole new set of values that older people wear like a brand new skin.

Mike Baumayr, Chapter Two Communications

Mature marketing expertise from one of America’s “oldest” authorities on boomers, retirement, aging, longevity, and inter-generational marketing.