When it comes to advertising, marketers have an over infatuation with the youth of America, however, in doing so they and their media company partners are under utilizing a segment of the population, Baby Boomers, that has significant buying power and whose buying power is only going to grow over the course of the next decade.

1. The Mercury Index
January 2011
Michael Goodman, Senior Director, Research & Analytics
mgoodman@mercurymedia.com, 508-449-3319
Boomers Mean Big Business
When it comes to advertising, marketers have
an over infatuation with the youth of
America. What they are watching, what they
are wearing, how they are communicating,
etc. As a result, media companies focus on
reaching this coveted 18-34 and 18-49
demographic. However, in doing so marketers
and their media company partners are
underutilizing a segment of the population,
Baby Boomers, that has significant buying
power and whose buying power is only going
to grow over the course of the next decade.
Based upon an analysis USA TODAY did of
data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the 116 million U.S. consumers age 50+ spent
$2.9 trillion last year, up 45% percent in the
last 10 years. In comparison, the 182 million
U.S. consumers under 50 spent $3.3 trillion
last year, up 6% in the same period of time.
Not only do Boomers have money to spend
today but they are about to get a lot richer.
Over the course of the next 20 years U.S.
consumers age 50+ will inherit and estimated
$14 to $20 trillion.
Marketers tend to think of Boomers as older
folks who spend less, have little interest in
new products and have brand preferences set
in stone. Nielsen estimates that less than 5%
of advertising dollars are currently targeted
towards adults 35-64 years old (which
includes the latter half of Generation X in
addition to Boomers). Despite this limited
spend Boomers account for 38.5% of CPG
dollars and dominate 1,023 out of 1,083
consumer packaged goods categories.
© Copyright 2011. Mercury Media. All rights reserved.
Today’s Boomers are not like their
predecessors. They are affluent, adopt
technology with enthusiasm, and have shown
a willingness to try new brands and products.
They comprise one-third of all TV viewers,
online users, social media users and Twitter
users. Like any demographic group, however,
you need to understand their media
consumption patterns to effectively reach
them. Television dominates Boomers media
consumption. According to Nielsen’s 1Q 2010
A2/M2 Three-Screen Report, adults 50-64
watch an average of 44 hours and 20 minutes
of TV a week. This accounts for approximately
85% of their media consumption via TV,
Internet, and mobile phone.
Exhibit 1
Reaching Boomers through Television
Source: Nielsen Company - 1Q 2010 A2/M2
Three-Screen Report
Average Weekly
Time Watching TV
(HH:MM)
Person 2+
35:34
Adults 65+
48:45
Adults 50-64
44:20
Adults 35-49
36:35
Adults 25-34
32:03
Adults 18-24
26:45
Teens 12-17
24:28
Kids 2-11
25:48
Much of today’s marketing to Boomers is
based upon what’s wrong with them, such as

2. age spots, wrinkles or erectile dysfunction.
While it’s true that Boomers will have more
health issues than younger age groups it is
doing them a huge disservice to solely
categorize them this way. Boomer’s have
much more diverse interests than just getting
rid of age spots. For example, according to
the 2009 Consumer Expenditure Survey from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumers 45+
spent $190.0 billion on entertainment, $184.9
billion on new and used cars, and $104.7
billion on apparel and services. In
comparison, those under age 45 spent $135.0
billion on entertainment, $136.1 billion on
new and used cars, and $103.8 billion on
apparel and services. But even with this
discrepancy in expenditure when was the last
time you saw a car manufacturer advertise to
the 50+ segment?
As the US population continues to age over
the next several decades now is the time for
smart marketers to begin improving their
understanding of this growing segment of the
population and focus more of their
advertising budget here.
© Copyright 2011. Mercury Media. All rights reserved.