Personal Investing Advice

S Use music to connect to boomers. Whether it is Elton John’s “Rocket Man” in an AT&T commercial about a father who travels a lot for work and misses his family, or Steppenwolf ’s “Born to be Wild” in a recent Valvoline ad, classic rock connects with boomers. Some evoke a tear; some cause even the most staid executive to play a little air guitar; all bring attention to the brand being advertised. “Using a rock song that boomers already love in an ad allows products to piggyback on established emotional connections and connect with customers,” says Eric Steinhauser, vice president of J. Walter Thompson. “Breaking through the clutter is easier when they not only recognize the music but relate to it and become actively involved with it.” The power of music is massive. It enters the minds of consumers peripherally, without the filter of thinking about direct claims featured in the advertisement. Classic rock songs serve as extrasensory connectors between memories and associations stored in consumers’ minds, relating the connections to new products or ads. This makes acceptance of an ad’s message more likely, writing the brand indelibly into the minds of consumers, to be retrieved as they drive by stores or choose brands within the stores.

S Use transgenerational appeal. The best of rockers reach across the ages with a transgenerational appeal. You see it most vividly in the appeal of Elton John, Aerosmith, and the Stones, but it is omnipresent in the bands described in this article. They’ve found the sounds and emotional appeals that transcend cultural values and ages. That’s what boomers want. Whether they are dining, traveling, or shopping, they like to be able to do it with their children and their parents and sometimes both. This is changing the way winning firms configure stores and advertise products.

As consumers age and need fewer things, the demand for services will increase. In addition to financial and home services and life management planning services (including career and family advice).

Home Reconfiguration In addition to beautifying their homes floor master suites and laundry rooms and handicapaccessible doorways and bathrooms. And those with financial freedom may buy second homes.

/ choose styles of clothing that give them comfort and good fit, retailers, like Chico’s, that provide quality, stylish, comfortable Services Galore travel services, consumers will want to buy more daily chore with nicer furniture and decor, consumers will likely begin changing their homes to adapt to their changing lifestyles.

Many will look to stay in their homes longer, opting for firstThe bottom line is that firms need to monitor these types of trends to anticipate how aging baby boomers are likely to change / their wants and buying behavior.

emotional chord in all of us with his tribute to the September tragedy, but he represented well the emotions of boomers. The Rolling Stones relate to the desires of boomers to be active, energetic, and young at heart, as Aerosmith connects with the lifestyle and desires of fans who want to be young again, not defined by the traditional chronological definitions of age.

Even with the desire to be young again, boomers can’t escape the realities of aging, including natural weight gain. In fact, most women in the United States today wear size 14 or higher. Lane Bryant, a 100 year old brand in the $32 billion plus size market, celebrates curves and uses rock and roll to help position its brand as hip and upbeat. Its 2003 fashion show featured Roseanne Barr as emcee, singer Kelly Osbourne, who endorses Lane Bryant fashions, and model Mia Tyler-daughter of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. Lane Bryant’s 2002 runway show featured KISS, singing the opening words “You show us everything you got,” from “Rock and Roll All Night” as the lingerie clad women strutted their stuff on the runway. Jennifer Peterson, director of brand development at Lane Bryant, says, “The brand is empowering women by making them feel better about themselves and their bodies.” By focusing on sexy plus size fashions with rock and roll stars, sales in the 18 to 34 group of women also have increased by percent without losing any of the older age groups.

S Relate to the desires and lifestyles of baby boomers. Bruce Springsteen relates to sentiments representing the boomer generation, including his most recent hit, “The Rising.” He touched an affected by these trends.

Maintenance and Parts ” might become the official motto of today’s baby boomers.

sell eyeglasses, hearing aids, and prescriptions-are knees, hips, and hair far behind? In a focus group about shopping, one confrom the Depression did is out, and so is buying things to fill want more than what they already have and bad news for those who just sell stuff they hope consumers will add to the stuff they already own.

As people increase the number of years they crafts, cooking, and foreign language or arts courses to keep and JoAnn’s and also community colleges, the University of education.

/ Box 8. What Will Baby Boomers Buy in the Next 10 Years? Changing lifestyles and purchasing power of today’s baby boomers will change their buying behavior and wants. Strategic planning of manufacturers, retailers, and service providers will be The old adage, “If I’d known I was going to live so long, I’d have taken better care of myself, Consumers want to take care of their, skin, joints, bones, and body parts, looking beyond doctors to retailers and manufacturers for help on how to do it. Sears and Wal Mart already Crowded Closets sumer said nothing comes into the house unless something goes out. Hoarding unnecessary junk like our grandparents up an empty house like the 25 to 34 year olds of the past.

That’s good news for marketers who sell stuff that people Creative Arts have as empty nesters, they will likely look to activities such as them fulfilled. It’s good news for retailers such as Michael’s Phoenix, executive MBA programs, and schools offering adult Style over Fashion Young consumers need the safety in numbers of fashion apparel. Muppies (mature urban professionals) / having overcome the need to look like their peers and don the latest fashion craze. Consumers will be loyal to the brands and clothing they can count on.

However, since they already have enough housing, cars, and clothing to satisfy what they need, they possess the power to withhold spending until brands deliver precisely on what they want as customers-a far cry from a decade ago when they were still paying for homes, cars, and educations. Today, the purchasing power of this group makes brand managers salivate because the likelihood of converting interest or preference into sale is higher among boomers than any other demographic segment.

Boomers significantly influence the consumption preferences of many products; hence, the recent resurgence of classic rock and bands such as Led Zeppelin and the Eagles. Just as music migrates as boomers move through different life stages, so also have other products followed this trend, with automobiles providing perhaps the most observable example. The 1980s were all about minivans; their personality defined baby boomers’ needs for maximum capacity and flexibility to transport a cargo of kids. In the 1990s, however, cargo demands diminished and road dominance increased, leaving the SUV as the product of preference for baby boomers. In the 2000s, the personality of the auto industry reflects boomers’ need for fewer seats but more experience-and sporty convertibles fit the bill well.

Baby boomers will affect demand for products and services and provide growth opportunities for manufacturers, retailers, and service providers that understand the types of projected changes highlighted in Box 8.1.

The market power of baby boomers is undeniable. The strategies and nuances that have translated into bands’ long term dominance focus on staying in tune with baby boomers, who today represent an increasing proportion of music industry sales. Their most effective musical spokespersons are themselves baby boomers, and since these bands are part of this segment, relating to them is easier than for younger bands. Staying connected to them is challenging, but here are some of the ways they do it.

The principle of “Borrow from the best” lives deeply inside the walls of many stellar corporations, well illustrated by two of the most dominant brands in the world-Microsoft and Wal Mart. DOS was the operating system licensed by Microsoft for IBM personal computers, but Bill Gates didn’t write that program-it was purchased from someone else. Microsoft took an existing idea and made it a dominant product, diffusing personal computers to the masses. At Wal Mart, Sam Walton was famed for plucking ideas from employees, competitors, and books and rolling them out fast. When a reporter asked him about borrowing ideas, he acknowledged the importance of this practice, but he added, “I always try to improve on them.” The way great brands roll over everyone else is by incessant borrowing from the best-perfecting wheels, not inventing them.

Baby Boomers Rule! It’s a simple statement with profound ramifications for marketers.

Just ask the Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen, all of whom have achieved market success in part because of their connection to the largest demographic segment in the United States. Once popular with this nostalgic, massive, and lucrative market, bands that evolve to stay relevant and remain top shelf performers can ride the boomer wave to sustained profitability. Brands, such as Coke, have done the same.

Not only do baby boomers dominate the demographics of industrialized economies, they sit poised at the driver’s seat of financial demand. In defiance of the Rolling Stones’ admonition, baby boomers get satisfaction because of their freedom to spend on things they want.

Some people talk about wearing their emotions on their sleeves; Tyler one ups the sentiment.

Borrow from the Best The most obvious example of borrowing from the best lies in the evolution of rock and roll itself, which borrowed heavily from rhythm and blues, deeply rooted in black culture. Some even say rock pioneers stole the soul of African American music, which emerged from a culture of suffering and survival to become America’s most unique and globally dominating art form. Elvis was a key innovator who combined soul and gospel, the sounds that surrounded him in his youth, to create a new sound that mainstream culture gobbled up.

The massification of his roots, which stemmed from exposure to black culture and music, divided pop music culture into two eras- “B.E.” and “A.E.”-which not only changed contemporary music but changed cultural values around the world as well.

The transition of blues and soul to rock and roll was not limited to Elvis and Bill Haley; some first movers within minority markets, such as Louis Armstrong, Nat “King” Cole, and Chuck Berry, achieved substantial mass market success. Following a trickle up approach, they broke through the traditional race based market barriers to reach and dazzle mainstream markets. But even rural blues stars like B.B. King achieved greater success because of the massification of his product by the likes of the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. In fact, today, his records sell to more white consumers than African American fans.

Two white singers who helped pave the way for mainstream adoption of B.B. King were Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley. Like Elvis, they listened to black singers such as Charlie & Ray and Jessie and Marvin, duplicating their soul based, close harmony songs so well that they were booked at black oriented clubs. During one of their appearances, one fan yelled to them on stage, “That’s righteous, brothers.” You know how the story goes from here. Millions of records and scads of sold out concerts later, it was clear that fans of all colors had embraced rock and roll sounds derived from the African American culture. Hatfield and Medley were honored as the Righteous Brothers at the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for their “blue eyed soul” music. At that same induction ceremony, Elton John acknowledged the debt rock and rollers owe to the blues musicians who developed the art form that led to rock and roll’s dominance among global music and culture.

Firms with a passion for returning cost savings to consumers as lower prices master the financial magic of making a little on a lot.

Though most of Wal Mart’s fans may not give much thought to the complexities of inventory turns and expense control, they connect emotionally with low prices and friendly service. Like rock and roll, they just know they like it-and they evangelize others to “attend the concert.” Energy and passion play the greatest role, perhaps, in personal branding. If you had to describe the brand called You, what would you say? How would other people describe you? Do you project energy and passion, or do you suck it out of others? Whether you explore these questions for personal or professional reasons, your brand affects whether people want to spend time with you or work with you. Ask yourself, who would you rather hang around-someone who mopes all day, feels sorry for themselves, is lethargic and just generally negative, or someone who smiles, gives off positive energy, and seems to enjoy life? Though the answer seems obvious, it’s surprising how many people choose to settle for a personal brand that focuses on the former characteristics rather than the latter.

During the rehearsal of the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, crew, staff, and musicians alike gathered to go over lines and practice their sets. After reading through the script of the speech Steven Tyler would give that night as he inducted AC/DC into the hall of fame, he didn’t leave the room like most performers.

He moved off stage and into the audience area to watch the Police rehearse. Moving to different seats during the 30 minute session and occasionally singing along with Sting, Tyler watched intently as if he were making mental notes. Perhaps he was; or perhaps he was just enjoying the scene. Either way, his passion and commitment to his art was apparent. When asked later why he still does what he does, what keeps him going, he simply replied, “Passion, man, it’s all about passion.” He pointed to his left wrist and proudly showed a diamond bracelet that spelled the word passion.

What can corporate America do with the idea of listening to the fringe? In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ron Castel, vice president of marketing at BankOne, spoke to national assemblies of bankers, recommending they attend protests (in jeans), listen to rock musicians, and visit campuses (where they would smell an aroma different from that of conventional tobacco products). It was controversial advice for the normally white shirted, blue suited bankers. Those who did break out of their suited environments and listened to the fringe went on to invent the automatic teller machine (ATM), point of sale processing of credit cards, electronic funds transfer, and a host of other innovations in banking products that eventually penetrated the majority culture.

Passion and Energy Create Brands People Want to Adopt Jagger struts; Madonna vogues; Tyler twirls; Diamond radiates; Simmons stomps; John pounds his keys. Attend a concert by any of these superstars and you’ll surmise that the commonality uniting them is the extraordinary degree of passion and energy they project. Night after night, city after city, these professionals take the stage and take charge of the tens of thousands of fans standing before them. They win their attention with the quality of the music they play; they captivate them, however, with the energy they emote. They never stop moving while on stage, leaving fans exhausted at the end of their two to three hour concerts. Leaving the venue, you’ll undoubtedly hear people talk about how energetic they are. Fans respect sweat.

Brands project energy and passion as well-some just project more than others. Victoria’s Secret emits an intimate form of passion, while Nike projects passion for exercise and life. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is passionate about coffee. Wal Mart is passionate about consumers and giving them the best possible value. When cost savings are achieved in most firms, the savings often flow to the bottom line as higher profit margins. When Wal Mart works with vendors to lower their costs-something it does with a passion-or works passionately to lower its own expenses, it returns those savings to consumers in the form of lower prices. In the long run, its passion for prices results in more consumers buying more items more of the time-one reason why Wal Mart’s revenues are now over onequarter trillion dollars. Some firms rely on high margins, but market dominance is often achieved with velocity or rapid asset turnover.