THE BOOMER BRAIN - Consumer · PDF fileTHE BOOMER BRAIN. WHO ARE BOOMERS? ......

Michael SmithJune 20, 2013

NEURO INSIGHTS FOR MARKETING TO THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION

THE BOOMERBRAIN

WHO ARE BOOMERS?

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THE “PIG IN THE PYTHON” GENERATIONGlobal demographic trends

"World Population Ageing." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. http://www.un.org./esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050 (accessed May 15, 2013).The Nielsen Company, BoomAgers LLC. “Introducing Boomers – Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation,” 2012.

THE GLOBAL POPULATION IS AGINGdue to declines in fertility and mortality rates

THE OLDER POPULATION IS EXPECTED TO TRIPLE IN SIZE to approximately 2 billion during the next half century

THE YOUNG‐OLD BALANCE IS SHIFTING50% of U.S. Adult population will be aged 50+ by 2017

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AMONG THE OLDER POPULATION IS DECLINING around the globe, and more so in more developed regions. Despite declines, there is an increase in female share of the older work force

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BOOMERS ARE 80 MILLION STRONG IN THE U.S.Proportionately similar in Canada and the rest of the developed world

The Nielsen Company, BoomAgers LLC (2012). “Introducing Boomers – Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation”

1940 1950 1960 1970

BABY BOOMERS: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1946‐1964

In 2010, approximately 98 million US consumers were aged 50+

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BOOMERS ARE WELL‐HEELED…and becoming more so

The Nielsen Company, BoomAgers LLC. “Introducing Boomers – Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation,” 2012.

BABY BOOMERS STATS:63% OF BOOMER HOUSEHOLDS HAVE AT LEAST ONE PERSON WORKING

IN FIVE YEARS, U.S. ADULTS 50+ WILL CONTROL 70% OF THE COUNTRY’S DISPOSABLE INCOME.

BOOMERS IN THE U.S. STAND TO INHERIT $15 TRILLION IN THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS.

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BOOMERS ARE SPENDING FREELY


49%

51%

41%

59%

40%

60%BABY BOOMERS

OTHER

CPG SALES WIRELESS HOME NETWORK

PREMIUM TRAVEL APPLE COMPUTERS

80%

20%

…a trend that will continue or accelerate

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BOOMERS ARE ONLINE – A LOT…connectivity will only increase

”Pick Baby Boomers as Your Target Market for the Holidays" Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kernlewis/2012/11/09/pick‐baby‐boomers‐as‐your‐target‐market‐for‐the‐holidays/(accessed May 15, 2013).The Nielsen Company, BoomAgers LLC. “Introducing Boomers – Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation,” 2012.

53% OF BOOMERS ARE ON FACEBOOK

71% OF BOOMERS GO ONLINE DAILY

33% OF BOOMERS SHOP ONLINE The 50+ segment spends almost $7 billion online in the U.S.

33%

67%

BOOMERS REPRESENT 33% OF INTERNET USERS

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BUT THEY’RE STILL WATCHING TV..but their viewing habits will accommodate 3+ screens with the general population


BOOMERS WATCH 174 HOURS OF TV PER MONTHTelevision viewership increases with age

BOOMERS DRIVE THE TOP SHOWSSix of the top ten TV shows are dominated by the viewers aged 50‐64

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TRADITIONAL BIAS..create an opportunity.


MARKETERS TRADITIONALLY FOCUS ON THE YOUTHLured by the prospect of a younger consumer, marketers continually focus on the 18‐49 age segment

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BOOMERS BRAINS ARE AGING…basic research documents real changes even in the healthy cohort

Gazzaley, Adam. “Cognitive Neuroscience: Cognitive Aging.” Lecture, Nielsen Neurofocus.

• The brain continues to evolve and change even past the age of 60

• Brain atrophy occurs with normal aging• This occurs as a result of shrinking neurons, rather than

as a loss of neurons

• Atrophy doesn’t occur consistently in all brain regions. For example, it is more pronounced in the frontal lobe

• White matter changes (resulting in diminished neural pathways)

• Neurotransmitter systems decline

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AND CONTINUING TO EVOLVE…the changes come with new opportunities in marketing strategy

Gazzaley, A. “Cognitive Neuroscience: Cognitive Aging.” Lecture, Nielsen Neurofocus.Kaszniak, AW, Menchola, M. “Behavioral Neuroscience of Emotion in Aging.” Behavioral Neurobiological of Aging. 2012: 51‐66.Mahncke, HW, Bronstone, AA, Merzenich, MM. “Brain plasticity and functional losses in the aged: scientific bases for a novel intervention.” Progress in Brain Research. 2006; 157: 81‐100.Quigley, C, Andersen, SK, Muller, MM. “Keeping focused: sustained selective visual attention is maintained in healthy old age.” Brain Research. 2012; 1469: 24‐34.

• Able to holistically process many concepts and see the big picture

• More even‐keeled and emotionally balanced

• Ability for sustained attention is maintainedTHE MATURE BRAIN

In fact, new research shows the brain has a high degree of plasticity and can regenerate and establish new neural connections, even very late in life

UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN OF THE MATURE CONSUMER

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TRADITIONAL CONSUMER INSIGHTS MODELDoes it tell the whole story?

Market Data

• POS

• Panel

Consumer Data

• Focus Groups

• Questionnaires

A Complete View of the Consumer

ASSUMPTIONConsumers are able to fully comprehend, access,

and articulate their thoughts and feelings

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WE CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE TO “THINK” WE JUST OFTEN DON’T NEED TO …Two decision‐making “systems” in the brain*

*As described by Daniel Kahneman, in his Nobel Prize for Economics acceptance speech, 2003.

• Fast

• Parallel

• Effortless

• Associative

• Emotionally‐charged

Used for tasks like watching ads and

making most day to day purchase decisions

• Slow

• Serial

• Effortful

• Rule‐governed

• Non‐emotional

Used for tasks like taking tests and filling out questionnaires

Intuitive (“System 1”) Thinking Rational (“System 2”) Thinking

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NEUROSCIENCE CAN ACCESS UNARTICULATED, INTUITIVE RESPONSES TO MARKETING MESSAGES

Up to 32 sensors collect data over 500 times every second to fully capture activity across all brain regions

Eye‐tracking to pinpoint hot zones

High resolution dense‐array EEG measures

brain response

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NEUROSCIENCE MAY HELP COMPLETE THE PICTURE

Market Data

• POS

• Panel

Consumer Data

• Focus Groups

• Questionnaires

AMORE

Complete View of the Consumer

Implicit Consumer Data

• Non‐conscious

• Physiological Reactions

MARKETING TO THE MATURE BRAIN

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MARKETING TO THE MATURE BRAIN…acknowledge their strengths

Pradeep, A. K.. The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010.

Acknowledge their point in life, but don’t overdo the “senior” status

CONCENTRATE ON BOOMERS’ ADVANTAGESOlder adults like to feel good about who they are and how far they’ve come

DON’T EMPHASIZE THE GENERATION GAPStudies show that

emphasizing the generation gap can backfire

UNDERSTAND THE MATURE BRAIN

60 year olds are still themselves, but they process information

differently than when they were 20

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PRECISION MARKETING MATTERS FOR BOOMERS

…success in targeting this group requires recognizing their heterogeneity


• Boomers cannot be easily classified by stereotypes• Some are brand loyalists (“old habits die hard”)

• Others are open‐minded and eager to discover new things

• In actuality, Boomers are dynamic consumers • Boomers’ brand loyalty levels are the same as other age groups

• Brand loyalty is influenced more by household size/need than predisposition

• They are no more likely to compare prices or use coupons than other consumers

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TALK TO THE “REAL ME”…Mid‐life crises disrupt traditional gender stereotypes

"Midlife Crisis: Depression or Normal Transition?" WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/healthy‐aging/guide/midlife‐crisis‐opportunity (accessed May 15, 2013).Pradeep, AK. The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010.

“Mid‐life crises” can occur between the ages of 40‐60, during which:

MEN MAY BECOME MORE NURTURINGThough men are traditionally more driven by a need to show success (stereotype: sports car purchase), many men will get more in touch with their “feminine” side

WOMEN MAY BECOME MORE FOCUSED ON THEMSELVESThough women are traditionally more nurturing, they may now return to school, change careers or start a business

Gender‐based marketing should reflect these changing tendencies and avoid stereotypes

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ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE

Pradeep, AK. The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010.Kaszniak, AW, Menchola, M. “Behavioral Neuroscience of Emotion in Aging.” Behavioral Neurobiological of Aging. 2012: 51‐66.

Present positive imagery, avoid “negative modifiers” in messaging

• In mature brain, the amygdala (an emotional center in the brain) tends to be active only when viewing positive images

• Negative images tend to be overlooked unless immediately relevant

• “Preferential processing” can lead some mature brains to overlook negative messaging

• Over time, directions such as “do not take with juice” can be recalled as “take with juice”

MATURE BRAINS EXPERIENCE FEWER NEGATIVE EMOTIONSAND HAVE MORE CONTROL

WHEN THEY DO

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SPEAK TO THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE…age brings wisdom and perspective

Pradeep, AK. The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010.

• Boomers have a more positive emotional bias than young adults• Life experience endows mature brains with

high emotional resilience• A “don’t sweat the small stuff” mentality protects against

alarm messaging like “last chance to buy!”

• Wisdom— “emotional intelligence”—is reflected in greater capabilities including:• Reorganizing priorities

• Enhanced compensation strategies

• Effective intervention tools

Emphasize upbeat messaging, and acknowledge gains (not their losses)

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FOCUS ON THE FAMILIAR…ease‐of‐processing brings trust and acceptance


Repetition of core message points can help the mature brain to process and recall them

IT IS EASIER FOR THE BRAIN TO PROCESS INFORMATION THAT IT IS FAMILIAR WITH

MEMORY DEFICITS CAN LEAD THE MATURE BRAIN TO BELIEVE THAT FAMILIAR INFORMATION IS TRUE.For example, “I’ve heard that before, so it’s likely to be true.”

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SUPPRESS DISTRACTIONS…increase signal, decrease noise

Gazzaley, A, Cooney, JW, Rissman, J, D’Esposito, M. “Top‐down suppression deficit underlies working memory impairment in normal aging.” Nature Neuroscience. 2005; 8: 1298‐1300.Gazzaley, A, Clapp, W, Kelley, J, McEvoy, K, Knight, RT, D’Esposito, M. “Age‐related top‐down suppression deficit in the early stages of cortical visual memory processing.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 2008; 105: 13122‐13126.

For years, the working theory was that there is simply a decline in the ability to

store things in long‐term memory

THE AGING BRAIN IS ACTUALLY IMPACTED BY THE DECLINING ABILITY

TO SUPPRESS DISTRACTIONS

OLD THEORY NEW FINDING

Emphasize clean, distraction‐free messagingAvoid simultaneous stimuli like multiple sounds, and scrolling screens

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CREATE TOT TRIGGERS…and avoid hard‐to‐interpret names for new products and services


Help combat TOT by creating mnemonic triggers for your brand or product

MATURE BRAINS CAN STRUGGLE WITH TOT

THEY CAN’T RECALL WHAT IS ON THE “TIP‐OF‐[THEIR]‐TONGUE”

MATURE BRAINS ARE GREATAT SUSTAINING ATTENTION

THIS ALLOWS MATURE BRAINS TO ABSORB MORE OF A MESSAGING SITUATION

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REMEMBER GENDERS…men and women can respond differently to messaging, regardless of age


WOMEN RESPOND WELL TO TEXT‐BASED ADS

MEN STRONGLY PREFER IMAGERY‐FOCUSED ADS

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THE FOREST FOR THE TREES…keep the core message front and center

Oken BS, Kishiyama SS, Kaye JA, Jones DE. “Age‐related differences in global‐local processing: stability of laterality differences but disproportionate impairment in global processing.” Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology. 1999; 12: 76‐81.

THE AGING BRAIN MAY HAVE DIFFICULTLY WITH “GESTALT PERCEPTION” –THE ABILITY TO DISTINGUISH THAT MANY SIMILAR ITEMS ARE PART OF A LARGER WHOLE

AVOID PRESENTING THE MATURE BRAIN WITH TOO COMPLEX OF A VISUAL PRESENTATION

USE POP‐OUTS IN TEXT BLOCKS TO MAKE KEY PHRASES EASY TO PROCESS

DIFFICULTY WITH GESTALT PERCEPTION SIMPLIFY GRAPHICS

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BOOMERS IGNORE BORDERS…core communications are crucial

BOOMERS OFTEN IGNORE THE BORDERS OF A TV ADThis is particularly true when the ad is busy or there is a lot of motion

Do not relegate important content to the edge of the ad

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BOOMERS IGNORE CLUTTER…keep it simple

Gazzaley, A, Cooney, JW, Rissman, J, D’Esposito, M. “Top‐down suppression deficit underlies working memory impairment in normal aging.” Nature Neuroscience. 2005; 8: 1298‐1300.Gazzaley, A, Clapp, W, Kelley, J, McEvoy, K, Knight, RT, D’Esposito, M. “Age‐related top‐down suppression deficit in the early stages of cortical visual memory processing.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 2008; 105: 13122‐13126.Water Ways Travel. Advertisement. http://www.surfermag.com/buyers‐guide/surf‐camps/2013/waterways‐puertorico.htm (accessed May 21, 2013).

CLUTTERED PRINT ARE DISTRACTINGCLUTTERED ADS CAN CAUSE THE BOOMER BRAIN TO

IGNORE LARGE AREAS OF AN AD, SOMETIMES UP TO 50%.

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MARKETING TO THE MATURE BRAIN...

MAKE IT MEMORABLEBE POSITIVE KEEP IT SIMPLE DON’T STEREOTYPE

David CravitVice President, ZoomerMedia

HOW TO CONNECT WITH THE FASTEST GROWING ONLINE SEGMENT AND TRACK SUCCESS

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CONTENTS

• The numbers should make it obvious by now, but just in case…

• Boomers have always loved tech• What are they looking for?• What should you do about it?

– Messaging

– Tracking

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• 9.4 million Boomers and seniors (collectively, 45+) visited websites in the past month

• Spent $1.3 billion online in the past year• Highest growth rate in social media

– Nielsen 2011 vs 2012

THE NUMBERS SHOULD MAKE IT OBVIOUS BY NOW, BUT JUST IN CASE…

73% 70%82% 77%

65% 62%48%

31%

65%

Total 13‐17years

18‐24years

25‐34years

35‐44years

45‐54years

55‐64years

65‐74years

75+ years

% of Online Users

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33%

11%23%

32% 38% 42%

114%

Total 13‐17 18‐24 25‐34 35‐44 45‐54 55‐64

• Highest mobile growth rate on Facebook

– comScore 2011 vs. 2012

THE NUMBERS SHOULD MAKE IT OBVIOUS BY NOW, BUT JUST IN CASE…

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• Boomers have always loved tech• Never been technophobes• Yuppies of the 1970s

– Conspicuous consumption

– New brands – e.g., BMW, Sony

– First cell phones – shoe, flip

– If it was new, Boomers were interested – why would they stop now?

BUT WHY IS ANY OF THIS A SURPRISE?

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• Impossible to understand their interest in/usage of digital media without first understanding their attitude to life

• Living longer, living better• Attitudes and behaviors different than any previous generation of the same age

• Key drivers

– “I’m not getting off the stage”

– “I have plenty of time left and lots to do”

– “I’m in charge of my own future”

THE “REINVENTION” OF AGING

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• Above all, information– Products, services, news and ideas that will enable living

longer and living better – Tech is a means to an end, not just “cool” for its own sake– “What’s in it for me?”

WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?

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• Key topics of interest

– Health

– Money (including employment)

– Travel

– Food, wine, entertainment (recipes)

– Reinvention and retirement – “What’s next?”


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• Key usages of digital media– Research – Shopping – Exchange of ideas– Connections, relationships– Growing importance of mobile

– Apps that promote health, security– Recreational apps for tablets (brain

health)


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• Messaging “do’s”– Relevance

– Why is your story important? What’s the benefit of your product/ service? How is it relevant to their needs/wants/lifestyles?

– Context– Place your message alongside information they are already

seeking and finding– Branded content – created more focused microsites, rather than

have them wandering around your main site looking for what’s relevant to them

– Feedback– They like polls, surveys, forums, opportunities to express their

ideas– Downloadable reports, coupons

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

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• Messaging “don’ts”

– The biggest sin: being patronizing or condescending, especially about the technology

– Unspoken message: “This is probably too tricky for you”

– Always stress the benefit of the content, rather than the “coolness” of how it is being delivered

– Don’t show them as old or helpless


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• Tracking– Set tough performance metrics, with an emphasis on hard

rather than soft objectives– Funnel – clicks, downloads, purchases– Willingness to subscribe to your e‐promotions

– This includes research – Don’t settle for “awareness” – zero in on “relevance”

– Do they “get” why your brand/product/service is relevant to their lifestyle?

– Remember: they are the most accomplished players in the marketplace, when it comes to tuning out your message– Very unsentimental about brand choices – willing to switch to

something better– Very demanding


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• Hugh breakthroughs in tech…• Only to arrive at marketing as it was 60 years ago

– The ability to figure out why your product/service matters

– The ability to tell a compelling story• It may be “cool,” but it’s still just marketing – especially when it comes to Boomers

– Don’t fall in love with the media or the method –keep your eye on the story

THE DIGITAL PARADOX

THE BOOMER BRAIN - Consumer · PDF fileTHE BOOMER BRAIN. WHO ARE BOOMERS? ......

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