eMarketer: Seniors Didn’t Catch the Wave

eMarketer released an article today titled “Few Senior Surfers Sighted.” “Not Internet-addicted?” That’s an interesting perspective. I don’t mean to suggest that seniors are “addicted” to using the Internet, but what this article infers is a bit of a stretch.

Nothing More “To Be Determined” for Boomer Social Network

During the recent boom of websites geared toward baby boomers, TeeBeeDee was an outlier. But much like Barack Obama early in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, TeeBeeDee embraced its status and ran with it.

2009 Generations Online Report

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released the 2009 version of its Generations Online report. As we suggest in Dot Boom, older generations are generally following suit with younger adults. Pew states, “Much as we watch demographic and age groups move up in degrees of access on our thermometers, we can probably expect to see these bars become more level as time goes on.”

Man-on-the-Street Video Interviews

Watch and listen to what happened when Immersion Active asked boomers what they would do without the Internet.

Kleenex Campaign

With this example from Dot Boom, Kleenex encourages consumers to “Let It Out”. Read on (and watch) how this campaign aims to connect with consumers on an emotional level. The result is a campaign that is both ageless and without cultural boundaries. Check out the comments for what happened later when Greenpeace decided to take Kimberly-Clark up on their offer.

Home Instead Senior Care Landing Pages

View for yourself how storytelling and the power of making emotional connections helped Home Instead Senior Care realize a 52 percent lift on their landing pages over a traditional “left brained” approach.

Kashi Foods Web Site

One of Dot Boom’s recurring themes has to do with marketers helping the consumer (especially boomers) process their lives. In this example from the book, we point out how Kashi Foods does a good job of “living the brand” when it comes to their “7 whole grains on a mission”.

Flash Intro for Triple Creek Ranch

Don’t confuse emotions with feelings. In this example from the book, we show how Triple Creek Ranch engages all fives senses right from the homepage. Finally a Flash based intro with a purpose? You decide.

Adventures of Stan and Marcia Interactive Piece for AARP

How much interactivity can an “older” consumer take? This example, from Dot Boom, shows how AARP Magazine used interactive media to increase both their appeal with boomers online and the number of return visitors to an otherwise static website. Check out the live link and get a taste for “Stan and Marcia’s Adventures” for yourself.

Corona Web Site

“That’s me!” How many times have you thought that to yourself after seeing an effective ad? As relevance is a key to good advertising, so “conditional positioning” is a key to relevance. In this example from the book, you’ll see how Corona goes about helping you see yourself enjoying their cold beverage on a warm beach. Don’t ignore this incredibly important tactic in marketing to boomers.

Aleve Commercial

“Live long and prosper,” says Leonard Nimoy. It’s easy to think that celebrity endorsements are a slam dunk with the cohort dubbed the “TV generation”. Truth is, it’s a tricky proposition. In this example from Dot Boom see how Aleve makes good use of this boomer icon to connect with them “where they are”.

Intro Animation for Harley-Davidson Web Site

There are a lot of ways to tell a good story and interactive media creates even more opportunities. See how Harley-Davidson uses video on the web (and keen sense of the times) to remind boomers what the famous brand has always been about.

Touch of Gray Web Site

It’s so easy to think that nostalgia is the key to connecting with a boomer consumer. In this example from the book, see how one brand’s attempt to take boomers back to “better times” ends up insulting the very consumers it aims to woo. Don’t believe us, watch the video for yourself and check out some of the strongly worded comments on YouTube.

BONIVA Campaign

“I would prefer to remember Sally Field as the Flying Nun than a hawker for BONIVA.” This represents the general sentiments of the many bloggers that make up the first several pages of results on Google for the term “Sally Field BONIVA”. In Dot Boom, we share how Rouche and GlaxoSmithKline do an admirable job of positioning the boomer icon with their osteoporosis brand. That said, we do feel that this campaign scores low on our MOE Scorecard in the areas of Thought Trust, Creative Authority and Creative Commitment — all brand-related criteria. Additionally, we think there is a big missed opportunity to act on a Feedback Loop — an essential element in deploying a boomer campaign. Watch the short documentary-style video on Sally’s quest for bone health then check out our interactive MOE Scorecard for more on how we define meaningful engagement.

Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign

If you are at all familiar with the mature markets, you will most likely be aware of Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty”. While we admire this campaign for many of the same reasons that most marketers do, Dot Boom takes a unique look at what really makes this campaign successful and the big role that online information exchange played. This is truly a boomer campaign that goes more than “skin deep”.

Top 50 Websites among users 50-64

The top 50 websites among users of all ages (ranked by reach) and ages 50 to 64 specifically (ranked by reach and by composition index).

Top 50-plus Site Categories

Site Categories
A list of the top website categories (ranked by advertising dollar
amount)* is as follows: