Why Baby Boomers Matter for Luxury Marketers

Today, I'm re-posting an article by Elizabeth Zelesny from Luxury Daily as it addresses a topic near to my heart - mobile! (And because in it, Ms. Zelesny most graciously chose to quote me.)

Luxury brands and retailers are preparing for the future by targeting young, affluent consumers with their marketing initiatives. But when it comes to luxury spending via mobile and online, what about the baby boomers?

Although the times are changing, and many in the young, affluent Generation Y consumers are spending as much as the baby boomer generation, it is still important for luxury brands to target the older market. Luxury marketers must understand the unique desires and differences between both the under 40-year-olds and over, especially in the mobile space and online.

“I think it’s incredibly important for luxury brands to target baby boomers via mobile because it’s such a perfect demographic,” said Lauren DeLisa Coleman, a New York-based socio-political digitalist and president of Punch Media Group.

“Here you have a population which turned 46- to 64-years-old in 2010, thus typically more affluent than their younger counterparts and in a better economic position, at least in theory, to actually purchase rather than aspire to luxury brands.

“Younger boomers are also making more and more smartphone purchases, so it’s a beautiful way to engage them on a platform that is always on,” she said.

Boomer consumers
Baby boomers were the first television generation and, later, the first PC generation. Now, they are mobile users.

This demographic uses technology differently than younger generations and luxury marketers need to understand their digital habits.

A new report by eMarketer titled “Digital lives of Boomers: Reaching them Online,” found that 78 percent of boomers are online, when is nearly 60 million adults.

Even as the baby boomer luxury consumers numbers decline, the eMarketer report said the penetration rate will remain high through 2015.

According to the report, the baby boomers control more than $2 trillion in annual spending.

Boomers spend more time and money online than any other demographic.

Young boomers, ages 47-55, spend about an average of 40 hours per month online, according to eMarketer.

Older boomers, ages 56-65, averaged only slightly less, at 36 hours per month online.

This is vital information for luxury brands and retailers because it is not just the tech-savvy, Generation Y consumers buying high-end products via mobile and online.

The baby boomer generation is tech-savvy, too. And they shop online.

Forrester Research reported that boomers spend an average of about $650 online over a three-month period in 2010, compared with $581 by Generation X Internet users ages 35-46 and $429 by Generation Y consumers, ages 18-34.

Baby bloomers
Boomers may be slower to embrace mobile applications than their early-adopter counterparts, but as the smartphone matures, the baby boomer generation has come around to the power of both mobile applications and the mobile Web.

“Media makes fun of boomers being slow adopters of tech, but that’s not generally true,” said Vanessa Horwell, chief visibility officer of ThinkInk, Miami Beach, FL.

“The generally accepted wisdom of effective apps applies to boomer appeal as well: ease of use, attractive, responsive and intuitive interface, relevance and utility and a low or free, download price point all resonate with boomers and users in general,” she said.

“An app that telegraphs its utility – particularly if it’s a branded app – will gain the most traction with this lucrative market.”

Many luxury brands have developed mobile applications in which a game is involved. These marketers, it would seem, are targeting the younger affluent consumers.

How should luxury brands target the older consumers with their mobile applications?

To continue reading Ms. Zelesny's article at Luxury Daily, click here.

Five PR essentials for luxury marketers, from Luxury Daily

Exclusivity – you have it – everyone else wants it.
Traditionally, this has been the approach of marketing luxury products.
Exclusivity still dominates the message, so understandably most marketers concentrate on this very appealing trait when selling high-end products or services.
You will be special, you will be desirable and feel this way, too, and your peers and the great mass of humanity will covet you if you buy a particular luxury product or service.
But the luxury market and the behavior of its audience are shifting: We are experiencing a wide-scale broadening of high-end goods and services.
Apple iPhones end up in the hands of millions of consumers who do not typically buy pricey electronics.
The Porsche Cayenne prowls U.S. highways and suburbs in far greater numbers than ever expected.

Prada is not only a rite of passage for the über urban, but also for those in the fly-over states.

Luxury and its exclusivity are now within reach of the many – not the few – making it not so exclusive anymore.

For luxury brands, the path well-trodden is not necessarily the path best-travelled any longer. Consumers expect more and will continue to do so.

What is truly different or interesting about luxury brands these days when consumers have such easy access to them?

Are luxury brands still banking on heritage or scarcity?
Maybe it is time to think about a few more qualities.

In our Age of Available Affluence, luxury marketers need to ratchet up the creativity stakes when pitching their products.

Here are five ideas – traits that identify luxury products and opportunities to distinguish and differentiate the brand from its competition.

1. Begin your own tradition: Exclusiveness is about creating a legacy
With the commoditization of formerly exclusive goods, a brand must distinguish itself from the competition by emphasizing the experience of owning it.
Have you noticed how exclusive Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe – whose new slogan I used as a title here – expertly markets the timelessness of its timepieces? “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”
In other words, you are not simply buying a product, but possessing an heirloom for generations to come, infinitely passing along the heritage and legacy of the owner.
My husband recently gave a very handsome Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust that once belonged to his father – a gift of trust and time that a newer or fashionable brand, say, Toy could never reach in terms of emotional connection and family heritage.
The chance to own something that will be used, treasured and serve as a witness to history through generations is a powerful inducement. It is a testament to a luxury brand’s staying power.
Is it any wonder that, despite my reference to a different brand, Patek Phillipe holds the world’s record for most expensive watch ever sold?

2. Sir Ernest Shackleton in Burberry regalia: 1914: Tell a story. People love stories

To continue reading mine, click here.