A Multi-Trillion Dollar Market

Ignore this at the risk of short changing your company
(And perhaps your career)

Fact: 100,000,000 Americans are 50 years old or older
(USA Population = 300 million +)

Fact: 70 percent of adults 50-64 are online
(and the numbers are growing)

Why has this invaluable segment of society been ignored for so long? One factor is the advertising community's love affair with youth and willingness to ignore the cold, hard facts. It may also reflect that the young people at work at many agencies find it hard to believe their parents or grandparents have "lives” often more varied and interesting then theirs. But this group with over $3 trillion to spend is too powerful an attraction that corporate headquarters can ignore any longer.

"To me - old age is 15 years older than I am." - Bernard M. Baruch

With Trillions at Stake Baby Boomers now Gaining the Respect of Marketers

A sampling of recent headlines about the growing trend to address this audience:

• "VIACOM'S TV LAND STRONGLY PITCHES OVER-40 DEMOGRAPHIC
  Suggests Ignoring Boomers is Billion-Dollar Mistake"
  
  
• NINTENDO AIMS FOR MINDS OF BOOMERS
  New Video Games for Older Adults Play on Fear of Losing Mental Sharpness
  
  
• ACTIVE OLDSTERS PEPPER NEW INSURANCE AD CAMPAIGN The Wall Street Journal
  An insurance company is challenging long-held beliefs in the advertising industry with a new campaign that defies tradition by featuring elderly people in ads targeting baby boomers. The new campaign features six active, vibrant people who are all at least 100 years old

les wolff CEO of the smart marketing group has been lecturing on need to focus on this "graying" of America for close to 20 years. Now he (a baby boomer as well) has established a Baby Boomer Marketing Advisory section within SMG. They provide an understanding of the creative, strategic and tactical tools and techniques necessary to succeed in this arena.