If you want to run a popular blog and/or receive a billion comments to a post, focus on “Marketing to Baby Boomers.” Include insipid statements such as “Marketers are ignoring Boomers at their own peril” and “Boomers want to be treated just like any other age group, not like old farts.” Wait for the “Great Post!” comments to roll in.
All of it wrong.
Boomers ARE being marketed to (Cialis, much?). And Boomer marketing is NOT condescending (if you want your marketing to be effective, you must speak to the needs of your target).
The real issue? Boomer marketing is not focused enough on the way older folks “consume” marketing. Today’s Exhibit A follows.
Wells Fargo survived the Great Recession in nice fashion, and has always had its marketing act together. The bank just completed a study on women young and old concerning their retirement planning situation. Wells found that women are significantly more underfunded and unready for retirement than men.
On the heels of its study, Wells Fargo launched "Beyond Today," a women-only website devoted to retirement topics. Excellent.
As part of site navigation, the bank created a tab for “Age,” that allows women to link to content suited to their individual situation. More excellent.
Then it falls apart for the Boomer woman.
Format
The “In Your 60s” tab links you to a page that looks just like the one for “In Your 20s.” Dense copy, miniature font, with a half-dozen options to link onward. No variation in tone, as if you might speak to each age group the same (not to mention how emotionless the copy is).
Visual Cues
Tiny stock photos. Limited use of video. No reflection of multigenerational scenarios (grandkids, etc.).
Contributors
The Beyond Today writers are authoritative, but reflect a mid-40s vibe. Most of the content posted to date is fairly general, leading one to believe that all women see every challenge through the same lens.
Social/Community
Adding discussion forums on Beyond Today would go a long way toward addressing Boomer women’s need for, and comfort with, sharing financial concerns and solutions with their Boomer peers.
Beyond Today is a great start. But to help the Boomer contingent, much more work needs to be done. Segmentation isn’t just about targeting your market – done right, it’s also about targeting your marketING.
Boomers will act their age. Boomer marketing must also.
