Can the car you own indicate your presidential candidate preference? According to a recent marketing research study of 11,142 vehicle owners by Kelley Blue Book, it does.
Conducted September 19 through October 8, the survey concluded the following:
- Senator John McCain (R-AZ) rates high among domestic and luxury owners. Among the domestic brands, owners of GMC (61%), Chevrolet (60%), Buick and Dodge (each at 58%), as well as Ford (57%) vehicles are the highest in favor of McCain. In the luxury vehicle segment, McCain leads among Lexus, BMW, and Lincoln owners at 52% each
- Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) leads McCain among owners of…
Here’s the final entry in this mini-series of myths about Baby Boomers.
Tenth in the top ten myths: Boomers are retiring early
Much of the attention given to Boomers’ turning 62 this year is being eligible to take Social Security benefits early.
In reality, few plan to stop working entirely when they reach retirement age — only 11 percent.
Of those Boomers who know what they plan to do when they reach retirement age (some two-thirds), 72 percent plan to keep working, either part- (65 percent) or full-time (7 percent).
Whew. It makes me tired just thinking of all those years of working ahead of…
Preconceived notions about Baby Boomers are out there, but here at Beneath the Brand, you get to know the real Boomer through the Quarterly Boomer Report from AARP Services and Focalyst.
Ninth in the top ten myths: Boomers are downsizing their homes
Do you have an image of older consumers as “winding down” and simplifying their lives and homes as years progress?
I admit I did. However, it isn’t so.
Just 6 percent of Boomers plan to live in a smaller residence five years from now.
Moreover, 76 percent plan to live in either a same-sized (their current home or a new home of the…
Eighth in the top ten myths: Most Boomers are married empty nesters
• Most are not Empty Nesters.
• Only about one in four Boomers fit the profile of married with adult children who have left home.
• 37 percent of Boomers still have children under 18 in the home.
• One-third of Boomers are single.
Source
Christine Babick is a blogger at www.beneaththebrand.com. A marketing strategist and linguist, she specializes in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause and relationship marketing.
Seventh in the top ten myths: You can capture Boomers with mainstream advertising
Boomers pay attention to advertising, but they do not always like what they see.
- 66 percent say ads have gotten more crude in recent years
- 67 percent are less likely to purchase a product if they find the advertising offensive
- 23 percent consider ads geared toward their age group insulting
Here, the key for the marketer is to find out exactly what is considered offensive to those 67 percent!
Source
Christine Babick is a blogger at www.beneaththebrand.com. A marketing strategist and linguist, she specializes in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause…
Sixth in the top ten myths: Boomers are brand loyal and will not switch
- Commonly thought to be set in their ways, Boomers are as likely as younger cohorts to experiment with new products.
- They pay attention to advertising for new products
- 61 percent of Boomers agree that “in today’s marketplace, it doesn’t pay to be loyal to one brand,” compared with 62 percent of those age 18-41.
I have to say I fell prey to this myth. I thought the “stick-with-it-ness” of the tried-and-true brand/consumer marriage was held in high regard by Boomers.
I should have known there was hole in the story I…
Fifth in the top ten myths: Boomers are all wealthy
Collectively Boomers are the wealthiest generation in history, but only 9 percent are truly affluent (defined as having pre-tax incomes of $150,000 or more if working, or $100,000 or more if retired).
In fact, one quarter of Boomers have no savings or investments at all.
What does this mean in terms of preference for certain brands? Is this niche unlikely to choose luxury items?
Source
Christine Babick is a blogger at www.beneaththebrand.com. A marketing strategist and linguist, she specializes in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause and relationship marketing.
…
A report that came out in April can help us to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Boomers.Third Quarterly Boomer Report from AARP Services and Focalyst, titled “How Well Do You Know Boomers? Counting Down the Top 10 Boomer Myths.”
Fourth in the top ten myths: Boomers are winding down with age
They are quite active. The typical Boomer regularly participates in an average of 10 activities — and participation extends beyond going to church or gardening. They travel (60 million took at least one trip last year), attend live sporting events (22 million) and bicycle (11 million), among other…
AARP Services and Focalyst have tackled a few myths about the Baby Boomer generation in the third Quarterly Boomer Report released in April of this year.
Second in the top ten myths: Boomers are the “me generation”
Boomers have typically been portrayed as the self-centered “Me Generation,” but their actions in later adulthood suggest the description “We Generation” is more accurate.
Here are the facts:
- They are caring for others and for the world
- 70 percent feel they have a responsibility to make the world a better place.
- 57 percent try to buy from companies that give back to their communities.
Third in the top ten myths:…
Preconceived notions exist for just about everything under the big blue sky. Part of being a savvy–and therefore, successful–marketer is knowing that myths exist and that you have to cut through the myths to get to the reality.
Today I’ll begin a series of entries that cuts through the chaff about Baby Boomers and get to what makes this generation’s beat go on.
We have a top ten, and I’ll start with the first: Boomers are all the same.
That’s right–all 77 million of us. But according to Jack Lett, executive director of Focalyst, we are not. “Within this generation are diverse segments…

Do you share the perception of many that Americans over 50 only dabble on the Internet? Ditch the belief. USC says their research proves otherwise.
In fact, online behavior of older Americans is mirroring younger users’—even teens.’
Older Americans have not only embraced Web 2.0, but now often use social media as much or more than their younger, more tech-savvy counterparts. In specific areas, there is often little difference in online use between older users and some of the youngest users.
• Older people are increasingly spending time in online communities.
• Users 50+ go online more frequently to check news than the under-20…

Chalk one up for tradition. Personal communication is still unbeatable WOM…offline WOM is more prevalent, positive and credible than online buzz.
First of all, word-of-mouth conversations that take place in person and over the phone are far more prevalent than those online. About 3.5 billion US WOM conversations occur daily. Offline WOM accounts for 92 percent of these. Offline is the predominant mode of WOM across all age groups.
And not only is it more prevalent, face-to-face communication is more:
- Positive in tone
- Likely to be judged “highly credible”
- Likely to lead to strong purchase intent than online talk
…………………
I’ll believe it when I see…
Question: What do “Supernova,” “Doodles,” and “Jawbreakers” have in common?
Answer: They’re all branding design trends.
So says brand expert Bill Gardner, president of Gardner Design, one of the nation’s top branding firms, with clients that include Fortune 500s such as Chrysler, Hallmark, Cessna Aircraft, and Kroger.
Gardner released his sixth annual report of logo trends in GD USA, a national design magazine. The report discusses 15 trends found all over the world and provides insights on how they may influence customers.
One trend, “Facets,” is composed of logos that remind the viewer of highly polished gems. Another is called “Animotion.” These moving logos are…
My daughter is isn’t quite a teenager just yet (only 11) but she already embodies the traits of this hard-to-reach group of potential buyers.
A recent study by OTX suggests that while teens aged 13-17 spend about 11.5 hours per day online interacting with social network sites and general browsing, the group still prefers face-face interactions with friends and shopping.
Check out these statistics:
Knowing this information might not help you execute your next campaign, but these types of insights are priceless when you are trying to develop ways to tackle this unique consumer group.