Age Subcultures

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Age Subcultures
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Age and Consumer Identity

• Age Cohorts My Generation
• A Sense of Shared Identity
• Shared Experiences
• Shared Memories
• Nostalgia Appeals

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Figure 15-1 Household Income by Age
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The Teen Market

• Attractiveness of the Teen Market
• Teen Media
• Brand Loyalty
• Purchase Influence
• Fashions and Trends

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Figure 15-2 The U.S. Teen Population
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The Teen Market

• Coolness
• Four Themes of Conflict Common to All Teens
• Autonomy Versus Belongings
• Rebellion Versus Conformity
• Idealism Versus Pragmatism
• Narcissism Versus Intimacy
• Researching the Youth Market
• Appealing to the Youth Market

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Appealing to the Youth Market

• Tweens
• Children aged 8 to 14
• Speaking to Teens in Their Language
• Rule 1 Dont Talk Down
• Rule 2 Dont Try to be What Youre Not. Stay
  True to Your Brand Image.
• Rule 3 Entertain Them. Make it Interactive and
  Keep the Sell Short.
• Rule 4 Show That You Know What Theyre Going
  Through, but Keep it Light.

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The College Market

• Changed Media Habits
• Attractive market because they have yet to form
  brand loyalties
• Campus Newspapers
• Wall Media
• Event Marketing

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Appealing to Young Brides

• Federated Direct, which owns Bloomingdales and
  Macys, had to adjust its strategy because of the
  younger age of todays brides.

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The College Market

• Four Key Segments
• Cynical Disdainers
• Traditional Materialists
• Hippies Revisited
• Fifties Machos

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Baby Busters Generation X

• Born Between 1966 and 1976
• Stereotyped inaccurately as alienated, cynical,
  and lazy
• Advertising campaigns that tried to appeal to the
  stereotype failed
• Actually an entrepreneurial generation
• Desire stable families after being latchkey
  children

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Baby Boomers

• Born Between 1946 and 1965
• Economic Power He Who Pays the Piper, Calls the
  Tunes
• Impact on MarketTastes
• More active and physically fit than previous
  generations
• Baby Boomlet

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The Baby Boomer Age Cohort Has Had an Enormous
Impact on Our Culture
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Many Boomers are interested in maintaining a
youthful appearance. Botox injections are the
newest craze.
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The Gray Market

• Gray Power Seniors Economic Clout
• Gray Market
• Account for more than half of all discretionary
  spending in the U.S.
• In many product categories, seniors outspend
  other age groups
• Understanding Seniors
• Autonomy Leading active lives and being
  self-sufficient
• Connectedness Bonds with friends and family
• Altruism Giving something back to the world

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The Gray Market

• Perceived Age Youre Only as Old as You Feel
• Chronological age Actual number of years lived
• Perceived Age How old a person feels
• Feel-age How old a person feels
• Look-age How old a person looks
• Many marketers emphasize product benefits rather
  than age appropriateness

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Modern Maturity Appeals to Older Adults in This
Ad With This Visual Picture and Headline
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Echoing the Saying, Youre Only As Old As You
Feel, These Ads Remind Us That a Persons
Perceptual Age Often Does Not Correspond to His
or Her Chronological Age
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The Gray Market

• Product Adaptations
• Packages sensitive to physical limitations
• Serving sizes
• Mature Marketing Messages
• Prefer ads that provide abundant information
• Not amused or persuaded by imagery-oriented ads
• Basic guidelines for advertising to the elderly
• Simple language
• Clear, bright pictures
• Action attracts attention
• Speak clearly, low word count
• Single sales message emphasizing brand extensions
  for familiarity
• Avoid extraneous stimuli

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• Zoomers Sony sells about 1/3 of its products to
  consumers age 50 and older.