Boomers Alert: We are Technology-Savvy!

There is a new study out about the Baby Boomer Generation (one that's near and dear to me for obvious reasons), and it reports that direct marketers better not try to reach us using our parents' technology. HA! I feel like such a rebel! Apparently, we Boomers are branching out and adopting newer technology to do all kinds of things -- including shopping, researching products and services, and receiving advertising messages.

In a recent article from BizReport, author Kristina Knight reports that "Baby Boomers said they are spending less time each week reading books and newspapers than they were six months ago. At the same time, the group says they are spending more time on their computers and using their cell phones. Listening to music, watching television and using the Internet have remained at a steady consumption rate." This is important to us because the Baby Boomers are still the largest generation alive today -- and the age range is wide enough to impact lots of different purchasing decisions (generational experts put Boomers at between approximately 43 - 61 years of age).

As Knight reports, although these results aren't earth-shattering, they do point to the fact that marketers should include this group in their online advertising efforts for sure. And, mobile marketers should also take note of this trend -- there are lots of Boomers who actually use their wireless phones for more than staying in touch with the kids and grandkids. This is certainly a departure from the thinking that it's only the skate-boarding, extreme sports kids who use their mobile devices for downloading videos and music. Boomers are using these devices for email, news and driving directions.

As we've posted about before, it is really important to keep all of the six generations alive today in mind when creating your marketing strategy. And, as this study points out, we need to also keep a finger on the pulse of generational evolution and how each generation prefers to be communicated with over time. In fact, if you haven't read our Impact of Generational Attributes on Marketing white-paper already, you may want to take a look at it now.

Meanwhile, I'm going to go do some online shopping, and then text my buddy and see what she's up to. : )