Are Boomers the Key to a Booming Business?

Boston, MA, February 05, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Are marketers overlooking a potentially valuable target audience? Tom Gorski, Lynn Schweikart and Laura Willis think so. The three founders of Gen-Sights presented their case at the January 27th meeting of The South Shore Ad Club. In a presentation entitled "Baby Boomers - From Myth to Magic", they explored the 10 biggest Boomer myths, explained key core truths and laid the ground work for some branding magic that can help businesses design products, develop strategies and create communications that resonate with Boomers.

The Baby Boomer generation ranges in age from 47 to 64, and includes more than 77 million Americans. While Boomers represent 28 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 77% of all financial assets, with an estimated $2.2 trillion in spending power. Yet too many marketers fall prey to the myths that keep them from connecting with this valuable audience. “We just want to help companies get their piece of the pie”, stated Lynn Schweikart, co-creative director and Chief Story Teller.

One myth that the audience found particularly intriguing portrays Boomers as married, empty nesters. In fact, only about 1 in 4 Boomers fit the profile of married with adult children who have left home. 37% still have children under 18 in the home - and 1/3 are single. Of interest is the role that Boomers are playing in caring for their parents. “Boomers are the first generation that could be taking care of their parents longer than they did their children,” Laura Willis, Gen-Sights co-creative director and Chief Designer said. “We’re finding that Boomers are frequently the real decision makers for products and services targeted to their parents. That has real implications for companies that market to seniors. ”

What inspired the three to focus on Boomers? “The three of us are Boomers with varied backgrounds and from different segments of our generation,” said Tom Gorski, Chief Marketing Strategist. “We’ve been working together off and on for many years, developing branding for national and local companies and were amazed by how many businesses wouldn’t even consider a target audience over the age of 49, despite its size and spending power. So after almost a year of research combined with our own insights, we've launched Gen-Sights.” Gen-Sights is a collaborative marketing communications venture focused on helping companies position themselves for success in the Boomer market by creating, re-tooling, or enhancing their brand. The team is planning to do additional seminars in the near future, to continue to generate awareness around this lucrative audience. For more information check out their blog at www.gen-sights.com or e-mail Laura Willis at lwillis@gen-sights.com

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