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| Beware of the Male, 25 to 54. BRANDING EFFORTS CANNOT IGNORE THE YOUNG AND OLD |
- As a marketer, it used to be that building brand identities and brand personalities that appeal to the Average Joe was enough to prosper. However, with a generation of technology-savvy youths and a trend toward a more flexible and active senior population,
 opportunities exist for marketers who will take the initiative to build brands that connect with these "bookend" consumers. As with any branding effort, understanding them is the key.
Today's teens, more commonly known as Generation Y, are realistic and optimistic with a strong sense of individualism. They have been raised during a time of advancing technology and a booming economy which influence their perspectives on brands. Generation Y has caught on to most marketing ploys. They understand marketing lingo and they will not tolerate being spoken down to. They are also willing to go the extra mile to find the product that best serves their needs. They are educated on trends and they are trusted by their parents who have less time and skills to become educated consumers. In fact, Generation Y parents consult with their product- and information- savvy children when making purchase decisions. In effect, when you target Generation Y, you are tapping the disposable income of the entire family.
Two characteristics of the Generation Y consumer that should influence the actions of brand-conscious marketers is 1) their desire & ability to become educated consumers and 2) their need for activism. They are naturally more technology savvy than any generation before, which means that they receive information about your brand faster and through more channels than traditional mass media. A proper branding strategy should include appropriate media channels and a brand promise that is consistently reinforced at every opportunity. As social conscious consumers, teens are more likely than others to switch brands based on social issues if price and quality remained the same. A 1999 Cone/Roper Cause-Related Teen Survey found that 85% of Generation Y'ers say they will continue to buy products from companies that are supporting causes. In other words, marketers cannot ignore their social responsibility when it comes to building their brand. In fact, social responsibility should be a major component in developing your company's brand personality, brand identity and positioning.
On the other side of the population is a senior generation that is one of the wealthiest in history with a demonstrated spending power. Although traditional marketing strategies may have included addressing the needs of seniors, marketers have tended to shy away from attempting to do more than simply include them in the mix. The reason is that we have always perceived seniors to be frugal spenders who are stuck in their ways. Any attempt to convince them to switch brands would be a waste of valuable marketing dollars. However, Research 100, a Princeton, N.J.-based company recently found that today's seniors are "neither frugal nor set in their ways." They found that seniors are open to new brands and products and spend more time considering new products and brands than other age groups. In fact, Zona Research Inc., in Redwood City, Calif., reports that seniors 55 and older spent three times as much on Internet purchases during the 1998 holiday season than the average Internet shopper. They use the Internet to save time and money while finding better products and avoiding crowds.
In addition to being relatively Internet-savvy, the senior market is economically-worthy a household net worth of 2.5 times the national average. They also represent 13% of the U.S. population with an inevitable and sizeable growth rate as aging baby boomers enter this segment. In order to capitalize on this senior market, marketers need to shed their misconceptions and age biases. Understanding who your consumers are and what they're about is a fundamental component of a powerful branding strategy. A brand is worthless if it doesn't connect with the right audiences in a relevant way.
Kilmer Kilmer Marshall Duran is a strong advocate of the power of branding. To learn more, please call us at 505.260.1175 or 800.260.1165. Our e-mail is kilmer@k2md.net.
© 2000 Kilmer Kilmer Marshall Duran, Inc.
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